Tropical To-Do List

Part Two - Belize

(Be sure to see the LAST post about Belize FIRST!)

The Activity Agenda on a tropical island is minimal.
It includes things like watching birds for hours.
This is a great way to de-stress.

The above shot was taken as we munched on our ceviche.
(The restaurants are mostly OVER the water or on the beach.)

The post-dwelling birds were highly entertaining,
because they played a PERCH SWAPPING GAME
with their high-end real estate.
One would decide that another bird
had a better perch and would seize it,
causing the 1st owner to snatch one from a different post dweller.
Within a few minutes, everyone had a new home!

Kelty spent far more time in the water than her mom,
since I'm still recovering from my spinal reconstruction.

She did a full-day dive and a half-day trip
in addition to our snorkel dives together . . .

. . . and saw a sea turtle, a nurse shark and a million tropical fish!

We did four mother-daughter snorkel dives.
One from the beach and three from a boat.

Kelty held my arm while we worked our way
through some strong currents, pulling me along,
almost in a motherly way.

Although I don't have a photo of her guiding me,
I DO have a great little shot of a snorkel trip almost a decade ago.
My son took this shot of my two daughters and me.

(Our family has a long history of heading to the beach
- always 'on a dime' - during the long Utah winters.
Snorkeling is undoubtedly our favorite activity.)


During one of the dives during THIS trip,
we were swarmed by manta rays.
Like, dozens of them.
And they had no qualms about coming
RIGHT UP TO YOU!


Kelty enjoyed experiencing the ocean from the top-end
and did some kayaking.

She paddled along the shoreline,
but she also went WAY OUT THERE!

In fact, you might not even be able to see her.
She's a RED SPECK in front of the sailing vessel.

Speaking of sailing vessels, we had quite an experience
doing an evening sailing trip.
We were awestruck by the night sky
with a gzillion constellations, in all their glory.

Patrick, the captain of the boat,
let Kelty steer the vessel for a while.
(SEE HER LEFT HAND ON THE TILLER.)

Patrick and Kelty did some fabulous dancing
to Reggae music under the brilliant stars and wanted me to join it,
but I'm certainly NOT fluid like my daughter!

The highest price we paid for getting a boatman
to take us outwas $25 U.S. dollars.
That includes drinks & some food as well as snorkel gear.

No-cost entertainment was abundant.
Since the island was only about 1/4 mile wide,
we could enjoy BOTH the sunrises and sunsets over the water.

BTW, this shot was taken at sunrise in front of FRAN'S GRILL . . .
our favorite place for dinner.
(I woke up for the over-the-top sunrises almost every day.)

These bikes provided a fabulous way to explore the island.
They were given to us as an "amenity" with our room.


We found little paths to take us through the island nature preserve
and all kinds of funky places.

Whether on foot or bike,
there's always a feast of COLORS in Caye Caulker.
Belize it or not,
I carefully bottled them up
before heading back to Utah's winter clime.