My Trip To La Isla Bonita In Belize

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Traveling to Belize from California was quite a chore.  Our first layover was in Phoenix where we grabbed dinner at Cowboy Ciao.  I tried their main restaurant in Scottsdale before, and I was pretty impressed.  I got the fried chicken and red velvet waffles.

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Our second layover was at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.  It was overnight so I booked a local Doubletree by Hilton hotel for the night.  In the morning, I was able to go shopping at the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop at the airport before leaving for Belize City.

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We arrived at Phillip S.W. Goldson International Airport in Belize City (BZE) after about 2 and a half hours from D/FW.

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The airport in Belize City is pretty small, and there were no jetways.  We deplaned using stairs.  The airport was nice however for a small nation.

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Here is a picture of a Belizean flag at the airport.  Belize got independence from the UK in 1981, and they still recognize the British Soverign as their monarch as well.

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I got a nice Cuban Cohiba cigar at the Duty Free Store after clearing immigrations.

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The duty free store had complimentary rum tasting as well.  Belize is known for their rum!

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We took a Cessna Caravan owned by Maya Island Air from Belize City International to San Pedro via Belize City Municipal Field.

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It was pretty cool being able to watch the pilot since the plane was so small and did not have a seperate cockpit from the main cabin.  Our flight time to Belize Municipal Airport was only about five minutes.

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I took this picture of the beautiful Caribbean waters and the barrier reef from the flight from Belize Municipal Airport to San Pedro.

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This was our landing approach into San Pedro Airport (SPR).  The airport has no control tower.  The flight took about twelve minutes from Belize City Municipal Airport.

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Here is the small Maya Island Air terminal at San Pedro Airport.  Our hotel is the orange building in the distance.

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The hotel porter met us at the airport, and he took our luggage across the street to the Sunbreeze Hotel.

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This is the outside of the Sunbreeze Hotel in San Pedro, Belize.  It was decent for a non-US chain hotel.

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The grounds of the hotel were lush and tropical.

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There was a large sandy courtyard also.

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The Caribbean Sea was right outside the hotel.  It was located on the beach.

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The pool at the hotel was a nice treat on the hot and humid days.

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The hotel's dive shop was right on the beach too.  They had a pier too.

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The rooms were decent for a non Hilton property.  The sheets were soft and clean, and they had fresh flowers on the beds.  The crown moulding was a nice touch too.

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For dinner, I got lobster tostadas at a restaurant called Caliente.

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Caliente was located on the water, and I enjoyed the signature drink of Belize, "The Panty Ripper," as I took in the views of the sea.  The Panty Ripper is pineapple juice and rum.

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The club in San Pedro opened up really late.  We got in there at midnight right when it opened.  I figure the people party into the early morning hours.

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Like the Zac Brown Band says, "I got my toes in the water....."

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We went on a snorkel trip to Mexico Rocks on the northern side of Ambergris Caye on the 2nd day.  I am on the dock for the dive shop here.

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I am on the boat waiting to take off for our snorkel spots.

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The barrier reef is off in the distance.  One can see it from where there is surf hitting the reef.

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I am in the warm Caribbean waters in this photo.

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Our guide found a live conch shell, and he dove down to get it so we could see it up close.

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These fish are called Sargeant Majors.  They are yellow and black.

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I worked up an appetite from all the swimming in the sea so I ordered lobster, shrimp, and red snapper along with coconut rice and veggies at Fido's in San Pedro for dinner that night.

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The next morning, there was a brief storm as we headed out to sea for the 2nd day of snorkeling.

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This is the Hol Chan Marine Reserve.  Hol Chan is a small narrow passageway where there is a way for ships to pass between the reef.

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I am snorkeling in Nurse Ray Ally here.  It is where I swam with nurse sharks and sting rays.  Nurse sharks are non aggresive usually.

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Here are some nurse sharks approaching our boat.

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We had lunch at Hurricane's Restaurant and Ceviche Bar which is built onto the water.  They suffered some damage from the recent hurricane that passed through Belize.

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At night on the 3rd day, we took a sunset booze cruise to the western side of the island.

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There was a lot of alcohol options aboard the catamaran.

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We also had some great snacks including ceviche and fresh fruit.

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The next day, we took the water taxi over to Caye Caulker, which is another island off the coast of Belize.

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Caye Caulker is a laid back island with no paved roads.  It is untouched paradise.

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We took a golf cart taxi from the arrival dock in Caye Caulker to the Split, which is where the island was cut in two by a hurricane in the 1960s.  Belikin is the beer of Belize.

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The Split at Caye Caulker is a popular place for people to party and relax.  We ordered some food and drinks and just took in the views.

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The waters off Caye Caulker are really nice also.

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This was a scene right out of the Corona Holiday Commercial at our hotel in San Pedro.  The breezes at night felt great!

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The next day, we had a full day excursion to the mainland to visit a Mayan Ruin.  We had to take a boat from the island to Belize City.  These are some mangrove islands we passed.

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Belize City is in the background in this photo.

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We took a second boat after an hour van journey on the New River to get to Lamanai.  We saw a spider monkey along the way.

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They served us a Belizean lunch once we got to the ruins that consisted of rice and beans, stewed chicken, cole slaw, fried plantains, and spicy relish.  It was great!

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I am having a Belikin beer with my lunch.

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This is the first temple we saw at Lamanai.  It is called The Mask Temple.

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I was able to climb up to the top of the Mask Temple.

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This is the Jaguar Temple at Lamanai.  Lamanai was built around 100 BC.

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The Jaguar Temple has the face of a Jaguar on both sides.  It was really neat.

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Here is another great picture of the barrier reef in the distance from the flight from San Pedro back to Belize City International Airport in Ladyville.

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I wore my traveling watch, a Certina GMT watch for this trip.

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After arriving at Phillip S.W. Goldson International Airport, this Belizean beauty escorted us back to the domestic arrival area.

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This is the area around the airport in Ladyville.

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This guy is named "Jet."  He has a bar at the airport that serves great homemade chicken sandwiches, chicken hot dogs, and rum punch!  He looks stern, but he is a nice guy.

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We departed Belize on an American Airlines flight.

   A few days after getting back from my trip to the San Juan Islands with Joy, I left for another trip with one of my friends since Joy did not have enough vacation to go on the trip with me.  I had thought about going to Belize recently after watching all those travel shows about the small Central American country.  After researching it, I was all determined to go there and experience La Isla Bonita, or Ambergris Caye, which is an island off the coast of Belize.  The flight time to Belize City was pretty long since we had to connect through Phoenix and D/FW.  In Dallas, we had an overnight layover so I booked a local Doubletree Hotel for the night so we could get some sleep.

    Upon arrival at Phillip S.W. Goldson International Airport, we were taken by a gate agent for Maya Island Air to their counter to check in our bags for the short fifthteen minute to San Pedro.  Our flight was on a little Cessna Caravan plane.  After arriving in San Pedro, a bellman from the hotel took us across the street to our hotel, the Sunbreeze Hotel.  The first night we just had a great dinner and checked out the bars and club on the island.  The nightlife was pretty active for a small town.

    The next day, we were able to go snorkeling at Mexico Rocks, which is an area north of San Pedro off Ambergris Caye.  The water was amazing.  It was one of my best snorkeling experiences ever!  During the trip, I had a large turtle swim next to me!  Moreover, I saw a moray eel on the bottom on the sea floor.  There were lots of cool tropical fish also.  For dinner that night, I loaded up on Caribbean lobster, shrimp, and red snapper!

    We went snorkeling to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Ally on the following morning.  I got to swim with my nurse sharks and sting rays!  I was more scared of the sting rays than the nurse sharks since a sting ray killed the Crocodile Hunter.  It was definately an experience I will not forget.  That night, we took a sunset booze cruise to the Western side of the island.  The staff was really friendly, and they kept coming around and serving us awesome tropical drinks.  It was really relaxing.

    The next day, we went to Caye Caulker to chill on this undeveloped island.  There is a place called the Lazy Lizard, which is a bar built right at the Split.  The Split is where the island was cut in two by a hurricane in the 1960s.  Lots of eye candy were swimming around in the waters off the shore there.  Afterwards, we just walked around the little town.

    We visited the Mayan Ruins of Lamanai on the last day in Belize.  These ruins were built around 100 BC, and they actually let us climb up to the top of these pyramids.  It was a lot of work, but the views from the top were cool!  The tour company took us by boat from the island to Belize City where we took a one hour van ride to the New River.  We had to take an hour boat ride from there into the jungle to get to Lamanai.  They served us a great Belizean lunch too!


Last Updated:  September 17, 2016 10:07 PM
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