AdventureCPA

As fans of Art Deco architecture, Miami Beach is a Mecca. We visited Beach briefly then walked our way up the street noting the various buildings. Back to airport and almost bumped again...but they put us on the plane. Denver at 7PM and Alamosa at Midnight. So in the end, we spent about $800 for the trip, received $700 in vouchers for a net cost of $100 for the two of us for a week. YaHo. That's my idea of a good vacation!

Our 1/2 day on the island, we had a nice breakfast at a stand owned by an Aussie lass, then on the boat back to Belize City. Walk back to Bus Station. (Bill 4, cabbies, 0). Then take the local bus to Ladyville, home of the airport. $1.50US and we are ready for a 1/2 mile walk back from bus stop to airport. The American Airlines flight was 1 hour late, Customs, Immigration, Etc in Miami took an hour and our two hours to transfer to a Denver bound plane was not enough. We missed the flight, but because it was caused by mechanical issue with plan AA put us up in a nice hotel with meal vouchers it was ok. Up early, back to Airport Saturday and our flight is overbooked. Ca-Ching....$700 in United Vouchers later and we are booked on a 3PM flight to Denver. At that point Denyse found that you can take a bus for a little over $2 to South Beach (30 minutes) and we stored luggage and went off to South Beach section of Miami Beach. Note temp of 70 degrees.

On Thursday, Denyse did a 1/2 day snorkel tour. She says it was better than snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia or around St. John's in the Virgin Islands. Bill walked from one end of the island to the others, talked to US Midwesterner's who spend the winter in Belize and had a beer at the Split. Seems what was one island before a hurricane became two after the hurricane and the waterway between them is now called the Split.

In Caye Caulker, very few vehicles other than golf carts and bicycles as transportation. Most people just walk whereever they want to go. It is about 4 blocks across and a couple miles long. Here are pictures of the street below our room and the Caye Caulker Beach. Most of beach not great for swimming....sea grass seems to grow nicely but many small hotels/inns/hostels on the island.

On 3/14 we left San Ignatio (See pic of Cabin) to travel to Belize City via Blue Bird Bus, then on Water Taxi to Caye Caulker. Along the way, we asked the bus to stop at the Belize Zoo. Seems a film was shot on wildlife of Belize and when the film was over the animals had been "civilized" so couldn't be returned to the wild. Solution...start a Zoo in the jungle which is their natural habitat. At $15 Us per person it is a little pricy...but for a zoo very interesting and very animal friendly. Here's another picture...this of a Harp Eagle. After boarding the next bus to come by (a 5 minute wait) we proceeded to the bus station in Belize City. Various warnings of "Danger" from cab drivers but being mid day and streets filled with school kids we walked the 8 or so blocks to the Water Taxi doc. No Problems. Bill 3, Cabbies, 0. Forty Five Minutes and we are on Caye Caulker, a sand island a few miles off the coast. ($20 each round trip) Walked to our rented r...

Tuesday - From San Ignatio (20,000 Pop) one can take a number of tourist tours to Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM), Carocal, Mopan River, Equestrian Trails and Tikal. We elected to see the Mayan Ruin right in town, top of the hill. (Walk toward the cell towers) . Cahal Pech was once a settlement of 10,000 to 20,000 during the time period of AD 600-800. It is partially excavated and seldom visited. $5 US to visit and you can crawl on, climb on or just visit. Interesting is the ability to see the excavated and restored part right next to the still overgrown forest that has reclaimed the site. That evening we had dinner at what must be the "adult or senior" travel spot, sharing a table with a couple who saw us on the bus the day before. He is a Pipeline consultant, she undisclosed occupation. Wine is pricey but the Bilikan Beer is good and cheap.

Sunday, March 10th, 11:55 PM Denyse and I left Denver Airport for a Red Eye Flight to Miami. Pretty uneventful with a later flight to arrive Belize at 10AM Belize Time (Central, No Daylight Savings). Now the Adventure Begins! After unsuccessfully finding another couple to share a cab with, we optioned to walk from the Airport toward the town of Ladyville and it's public bus terminal. Cab drivers wanted $25 for a 20 minute ride into town (and no sharing.) As Cabbies warned us that it was dangerous to walk (1.5 miles in daytime and rural location) we finally got an offer from a gypsy driver (not licensed cab) to get ride to town for "Whatever you want, I'm going that way anyway." Billl 1, Cabbies, 0. Small talk and seems he was headed to San Ignatio anyway (our destination) so negotiate $25 to San Ignatio. OK, but cell phone call to driver results in "I can only take you to Belmopan". OK, still avoided Belize City Traffic. As we approach Belmopan (the Ca...