Hello from Belize

My husband and I are vacationing in Belize this week. We desperately needed some sun, and something to look forward to during a long Chicago winter that refused to end. Charles told me to plan a vacation. Wherever I wanted to go, he just didn’t want to plan it and he said he wanted to relax on the trip. I chose Belize for several reasons: I had heard great things, neither of us had been, there are beaches and rainforest, and its kinda close (I hate long flights). During our trip down to Hopkins Beach, Charles asked me what the food is like. I said kinda like Mexican food, it’s no fuss satisfying food with fresh local ingredients. Charles laughed and accused me of planning a vacation around the food I wanted to eat. And maybe I did.

Belize is gorgeous. It was a little challenging to get here. We had to stopover in Texas and then once we got to Belize City we had to wait a couple hours for a flight to Dangriga. That time was spent at Jets the tiny bar at the airport. (The Belize City airport is very similar to the airport on the show “Wings”). We befriended several Texans who gave us great advice on how to rack up airline miles. Then we boarded a 12 passenger plane for our 15 minute flight to Dangriga. Charles gave me a “sure you are ok” look since I hate flying, but a did have a few beers in me, and I took a similar flight in Costa Rica and loved it. The flight was a great introduction to Belize. It is such a stunning place. It is so lush and green, and filled with citrus farms. So after about 10 hours of traveling we were finally there to sit on ~~our thrones as a prince of Bel Air~~ the beach.

Belize is a great place to relax under a palm tree, or you could live it up on adventure trips, You can go on day trips to Mayan ruins, or repel down waterfalls, or scuba through the worlds second longest reef, or seek out jaguars, birds or whale sharks. There is something for everyone. We decided to go on an adventure every other day and to spend the rest of our time at the beach.

<
Of course I have been trying the local cuisine. One of my favorite meals was at Belize City’s tiny airport. There is one restaurant which serves up specialties from Belize. I had pulled chicken tostadas with avocado, crema, black beans, and cheese. It was far superior to any of the offerings at the Houston airport.

Another food that I love is nachos. The salsa here is made fresh, and it isn’t spicy. We tried the”famous” nachos at Barracuda a seaside restaurant by our hotel. They were excellent vegetarian nachos with just the right amount of toppings. I had steak as my main and Charles had seafood carbonara. I took photos but they are too dark to share since the sun had set by then. We must admit that since we live in Chicago, which has incredible food, we are hard to impress. The food here hasn’t been the type of amazing meals you remember forever. But it is fresh and fun.

As you read this post Charles and I are out with a local guide who is taking us to a secluded island. We are learning to hand fish with just string and bait, snorkeling, and drinking rum punch. We met some friends at the resort who did the trip a few days ago and loved it. I will write more about our Belize adventures when we get home.