an unBELIZEable week with an unBELIZEable friend!

Woo sorry this is so late! I've been having too much fun!!

As you know, the week started off great by going to Goff's Caye! We had Monday off which worked out perfect to rest up from the previous day of fun! Also good because the excitement of Marielle's upcoming visit would have got the best of me at work : )

It turned out that I could not sleep very much that night!! Too excited for what was to come! I arrived at work and my supervisor had just come back from the 'Concasida' (which was an AIDS event in Costa Rica). She said that it was quite the experience. I had ADD all morning and I think everyone was getting frustrated with my pacing through the building : ) I made a promise to Ms. Bulwer that I would be her slave when I got back if she would agree to let me have the rest of the week off.....and of course she did because she's amazing!!

Mar arrived right on time and Ms. Bulwer had me hide behind a car while she greeted Marielle. I popped out and we both started screaming! It was just so exciting that she was here and I still could not believe it! I brought Mar into my work and introduced her to everyone while giving her a tour of the building. Everyone was so happy to meet her because that meant that I had finally stopped pacing ; ) We had to wait till Terry got to work to grab the house keys so in the mean time I brought Mar to try the horchata drink (rice drink). She loved it!! I was so happy because it was really hot when she arrived which allowed her to feel the real Belize how I did when I arrived. She was also excited to be wearing flip flops and shorts : )

I couldn't believe how much Mar had packed when I told her she wouldn't need pretty much anything! Turned out she wore almost all the same things all week too (we practically lived in our bathing suits). Of course the first thing I had to do was bring Mar to Moon Clusters! On the way to MC we bought matching handmade bracelets hehe. At MC we ordered chicken quesadillas along with a choli for Mar and a double shot for myself. She fell in love!! Now she can go back and express how good it really is! On the way home we bought some groceries and stopped in a couple of the little stores downtown to browse. It felt so good to have a slice of home visiting : )

Mar seemed to like the front deck just as much as I do, to sit and enjoy the sea breeze and view. We relaxed there for a bit then planned out what we wanted to do for the week while Terry fed us spaghetti [nothing like Mar's first Belizean meal to be pasta ; ) ] Mar fit right in like I knew she would.

I did not sleep very well again because the excitement was still getting the best of me! Mar and I got up early and had breakfast on the deck before a fabulous day of snorkeling! Terry brought us to the tourist village and it was complete chaos with 5 cruise ships being in and a majority of the people being college spring breakers.

We arrived at Spanish lookout which was on the opposite side of the island from where I had snorkeled last time. We had an hour before snorkeling so Mar and I walked to the other side of the island (with our complimentary rum punch). When we were snorkeling, all Mar could keep saying was that she should've been a marine biologist! haha I think she found her new love! We saw some pretty cool, colorful fish and we got to hold a conch shell (followed by me telling Mar that she will be eating that when we go to D'Ceviche hut). We arrived back at the island and had an hour to relax and eat. It was soooo hot that day so a cold shower felt great when we got home!

The evening was chill. We went to Wagan's (the $5 store) and of course I bought some more things. Mar got some good stuff too! We got home and watched 'Precious' with Terry. That movie is really heartbreaking. The rest of the evening was spent on the front deck : )

I finally got some sleep which was much needed for an exciting day at the ruins! We originally thought the tour we were taking was cave tubing and the ruins but they were traveling to the furthest ruin site so we had to decide between the two. Of course we picked the ruins because you don't get that option everyday! Our tour guide, J.R., was fantastic! I learned so much more about Belize that I was not aware of. He talked the whole way to the ruins about the landscapes and different things about Belize. It was neat to see how the environment changes the further inland we went. I also got to see many of the places that I type into the cytology database!

When we arrived we had to take this raft-like, wind ferry across the 'safe' river to get to the park. The river is considered safe because there are no crocs, snakes, or piranhas. Once we got to the park entrance, we had to hike up this large hill to get to the ruins. It was so hot out but still felt great! When we first walked up to the ruins, it didn't seem like much till we turned the corner and there was this HUGE 160+ ft structure. J.R. was great at describing the history of these ruins and each specific structure. The name of these specific ruins is Xunantunich (stone lady) and revolves around a story of a lady dressed in white with fire red eyes who disappears into a wall. I even went all the way up to the top!! Of course, I came down on my butt : )

You could see Guatamala from the top! It was just amazing! It was like nothing I had ever seen before and so much better than some boring museum. All the stories we learned growing up and I was finally getting to see it with my own eyes.

On the way back we stopped at this restaurant where they served us chicken, rice & beans, and coleslaw. Mar loved it! It was good but I can't say I am very found of the combination anymore. Climbing back into the bus called for siesta after the fiesta....and that we did! Mar decided she didn't want to miss a thing and stayed awake while taking a picture of me sleeping : }

When we arrived back at the tourist village, Mar and I took the opportunity to walk around and check out all the booths. We both bought some souvenirs while I got many ideas of souvenirs that I want later. Apparently the tourist village is the place to go if I want to get hit on A LOT or find a party to attend (none of which I would actually attend to). Mar and I decided after all the calories we had burned off from sweating that we were in much need of some more Moon Clusters : ) We walked there and I finally ordered the caramel choli while Mar got the choli supreme (oreo choli). Both were absolutely delicious which I expected nothing less!

We arrived home to clean up, post pictures, and Mar bonded with Dani (the youngest) by doing the puzzles my mom had sent the boys. Terry came home and decided tonight would be a great night for Mar to try ceviche! Mar loved it!! (She would fit in just as well as I do!) Again, another thing she can go back and express that I don't exaggerate when I say the things here are fabulous! After a long day and a good workout (climbing ruins is not for the faint hearted), Mar and I passed out!!

We got up early the next day and set off to the cayes (pronounced keys) for a majority of the weekend! We caught the 9:15 am boat to Caye Caulker which takes about 40 mins to get to. The boat rides are nice though because you get to stare at the beautiful blue water and pretty islands along the way!

Caye Caulker is a really cute, rustic beach town. All the buildings are so colorful! Right off the boat, a 'taxi' guy caught us and said he would take us to the beach. The taxis here are golf carts. It was quite the bumpy ride but it was nice to see everything on the way! Mar and I were the first to the beach and we rented two beach chairs and an umbrella. Our plan was to just relax....

Relax we did! We got in the water a bit before deciding to have lunch at the Lazy Lizard (right on the beach!). Just getting in the water and walking out a ways, there were so many colorful fish and two little guys kept swimming right in between our legs! From time to time they would even poke us!! Mar and I really wished we had snorkel gear at this point...

For lunch, we decided to finally try the infamous 'panty ripper' which is coconut rum and fresh pineapple juice. It was delicious! A perfect beach drink if I do say so my self. We met this woman named Lurosa from Oregon who has been traveling for the last 2 and a half months by herself. She's been to Mexico and Costa Rica and this will be here last week in Belize. I could not imagine traveling like that by myself! She was such a kind woman though so we sort of adopted her for the afternoon.

While having lunch, I noticed a boat docked that had a sign that read: Snorkeling gear for rent $5 belize. It couldn't have been more perfect!! We got our gear and headed right out onto the reef. It was sooo cool to see so many colorful fish along with huge orange starfish (not like the ones we picked up in Maine with skinny legs but more liked the webbed starfish). I later found out that a fish I spotted was called a lion fish (venomous but afraid of humans) but in Belize they are trying to rid their waters of the lion fish because it is eating so many of the other reef fish. They offer $50 for each one you bring in! I wish I had known that because I spotted 2!! Mar kept snorkeling while I decided just to swim. The water here is just amazing and refreshing!

When we were finished, we slowly made our way back towards the water taxi to catch the boat to San Pedro for the night. We stopped at little tables and stores on our way. We also got ice cream that was melting faster than we could eat it!

It only took about 20 mins to get from Caye Caulker to San Pedro. San Pedro is a beautiful beach town. I was told to call Miguel (the son of the lady who's hotel we would be staying at) to set us up. He gave us directions and it was only about 2 blocks away from the water taxi. It's not hard to get lost in San Pedro because it is 4 parallel streets with beach on both sides. Mar and I showered quick and headed right back out.

We walked around for a bit to get ideas of where we would like to eat but ended right back across the street from our hotel at a place called Elvi's kitchen. Their special that night was a Mayan buffet. The food was absolutely delicious and so filling! The restaurant had sand on the floor so you never really got away from the beach feeling (not complaining what soever). After dinner we made our way to Playa lounge (a really outdoorsy lounge that we had seen from the water taxi). This place has couch like seating with pillows galore! Let the drinking begin!

Mar and I paced ourselves because we were so full from dinner but I ordered captain and coke (my drink!) while Mar had a sex on the beach (her drink!). There was a band playing so we chilled out and listened to them for a bit while random strangers came up to chat and leave. It is quite interesting, the people you meet abroad. Many people seem to be from the mid-west. Miguel and his friends came to get us around 9 p.m. and then the party really started!

They first took us to this quaint, local karaoke bar. It was really dark in there but a very chill place. We didn't stay there long and headed to Bar 208 at the San Pedro airport. REALLY NICE bar! We hung out there for quite a while before heading over to Jaguar Temple club. The club had an outdoor area and the inside club. We hung outside for a bit where Miguel's friends sang 'happy birthday' to him (it wasn't really his birthday but they always pretend it's someone else's birthday when they go out to get free drinks). It worked because the bartender brought over shots! You learn something new every day haha : )

We started dancing outside and made our way into the club! It was sooooo much fun. They switched the music up from english speaking music to spanish. It was great though because no matter what the language, I danced away to the beat. I forgot how much I love dancing and had Mar going too! More and more people came as the night carried on. It was such a great dance atmosphere!

We left the club when it closed around 3 a.m. and everyone seemed to gather outside in the park where food vendors were waiting and willing. From there Marielle and I did not sleep. We chilled till sunrise. Sitting on the beach watching the beautiful pink sunrise was so amazing! It was like nothing I had ever seen before! One of the pictures above is us at sunrise on the beach.

From there we found a place right on the beach that was open at 6 a.m. and ordered french toast, potatoes and coffee! Mmmmmm. We couldn't believe we had stayed awake all night but kept right on going. We stopped in several gift shops and got some nice San Pedro stuff. We made our way back towards to docks to go.....PARASAILING!

It was funny because the guy handling the equipment on the boat remembered seeing Mar and I at the club and said that we looked mean as hell! I could only laugh and tell him that that must of been close to closing time when we were worn out. There was a couple from upstate NY with us that went first! I was getting nervous because my fear of heights was taking over but like I said before I came down here....I will not say no. Therefore I would not let this fear get the best of me. If I could climb ruins I could certainly do this!

When the couple came down, the lady offered to take one of our cameras and take pics of us! So we got both pictures from down below and pictures from up above!! It was unBELIZEable! You could see so far and so much in the crystal blue water! It was sooo neat to be above the world's 2nd largest barrier reef! Not only does San Pedro look beautiful while you're there but from the air! Ugh words cannot describe!

Arriving back down, Mar and I both started feeling a bit queasy. It's a lot of motion especially after a night of drinking, dancing, and not sleeping! We got free beers upon arrival back at the pier and drinking that made me feel much better ; ) Mar on the other hand was not feeling so hot so we decided just to catch the next water taxi and head back to Belize City.

Mar and I showered quick and both passed out for a majority of the day. I woke her up around 8 to see if she was feeling well enough to go to a local birthday party we had been invited to but we decided to relax at home and ended up passing out again ; ) It was much needed and we had already done so much!

Sunday morning Mar woke me up and we made breakfast and ate on the front deck. I could not believe how great the weather had been for her entire trip so far! This morning was a bit cooler but still beautiful. Terry dropped us off at Old Belize which has a history museum, restaurant, and beach. The museum was really interesting and I really liked how it was set up. You start off in a rainforest with caves and move on to Mayan temples and huts. From there you head to the beginning of Belize industry and finish in a small 1900 town. It was fascinating to see how Belize developed as a British colony.

After the museum, we decided to do ziplining! The zipline at Old Belize starts at this high tower on the museum side and you shoot over towards the farthest end of the beach. The guys that ran it were sooo friendly and great instructors! Wow, now that I think about it I really conquered my fear of heights on this vacation! Ziplining was soooo much fun and would be so much better in the rainforest! A picture of Mar's face at the end is absolutely priceless with such glee written all over her! It was a great finish to our trip together.

After ziplining we enjoyed some lunch at the restaurant. The food was delicious along with large portions that were so filling. If we had known they were so big we would have just shared! With all the excitement and filling food it was time for a nap on the beach. We found two comfy beach loungers and parked our butts there for the remainder of the afternoon. One amazing thing we recognized was the very large fan in the bar cabana on the beach. This thing had atleast 10 ft blades! Don't worry I got pictures with Marielle sitting underneath for comparison! It was also written on the fan base: Big Ass Fans (self explanatory see).

We arrived home to relax for the evening. I can't believe how much we accomplished and how much fun we had! It was so sad that our time was coming to an end : ( Mar spent the evening bonding with the boys by playing video and board games while I uploaded pictures of our adventures and captioned them. We both took soooo many great pictures! Monday came too quickly!

Luckily due to our ride situation, Mar got to come to work with me and we got to spend her last couple hours in Belize together. I was definitely missed at work and they had loads for me to do! Mar finally got to meet Raf (who brought her to the airport). I was so happy they got to meet because they are both such AMAZING people and Mar had the opportunity to tell him how much she loves Moon Clusters : )

"...true friendships are characterized by grace, truth, forgiveness, unselfishness, boundaries, care and love in gigantic and mutual proportion."

I am so lucky to have a friend like this in Marielle. I am so glad I got to experience Belize with her and could not ask for a better friend! I call her the love of my life because she is that one person outside of family that I can ALWAYS turn to. We always have such great times together and I could not ask for anything better. I am lucky to have someone with such a great spirit as her in my life and wouldn't trade it for the world! I love you Marielle and I am so glad you came to visit and experience this with me : )