Belize in Your Dreams

Chris and I took a little side trip to Belize while we were in Cancun this week, mixing a little business with pleasure.

We flew from Cancun to Belize City and then hopped on one of these little 10-seaters for the 30-minute flight to Dangriga. You know its risky when they position you inside the plane according to your weight! I got to sit in the far back...I hope that means I was one of the lighter passengers!

It's always a relief to step down onto the tarmac

after flying in one of these little puddle jumpers!

This is our fourth trip to Belize and we always stay at the Jaguar Reef Resort near Hopkins Village. They have these beautiful cabanas right on the beach. This is the view from our front porch...beautiful and serene. It's quite possibly my most favorite spot on earth! On our first trip to Belize in 2001, Chris and I bought a beach-front lot just down the beach from Jaguar Reef and it looked alot like this...primitive and overgrown.

Now it looks like this. Here is the view from the road. The same people own the lots on both sides of ours. The big house is where they live and they built the little house as a rental property.

Here is the view of our lot looking back from the beach... And here is our own piece of the waterfront! Here is the view looking south towards Sittee Point from our lot. You can see that this stretch is quiet and undeveloped...quite different than Cancun!

The reason that Chris and I decided to make this quick trip is because the gentleman that owns the lots next to ours wants to buy it flat out or trade it (plus $$$) for this rental property. We knew we had to see it in person to make an informed decision. This is the front...

...and this is the back. This home was just completed a few months ago and was built with the intention of adding a second unit directly on top of the first unit. We spent the morning talking and taking photos and then said, "Enough business...Let's relax!"

We grabbed a couple of bikes from the resort and rode the short distance into Hopkins Village. This cemetery is in a part of town that we haven't explored before.

These Garafuna women were doing their afternoon shopping. There are very few cars in Hopkins Village. Most people walk or ride bikes.

This is Alex Anderson. He had a small table set up by the road to sell the jewelry that he makes from shells and coral. Chris bought a black coral necklace with a genuine boar's tooth (perfect for Mic-o-say ceremonies at scout camp!)

This restaurant is new since the last time we were here. Rob was a chef at a resort down the road and decided to step out on his own. The food was awesome so we believed Rob's wife when she said they are busy every night. Notice the house in the background that is unpainted and on stilts...very typical of Hopkins Village.

All to soon it was time to return to Cancun. This is the site that greeted us as we landed in Belize City.

Sometimes I just can't wait to get back to the United States!!!