Mosaic Monday #74: Let's Go to the Beach!

Sand between my toes.  The smell of salty air wafting on the breeze.  A rum-infused cocktail nestled in my hand.  I have been day-dreaming about all of this, especially since it is a given that our planned family vacation to Grand Cayman in early May is now nothing but a dream.

Coincidentally, I recently cleaned out my bed-side table (so much free time on my hands!), and was tickled to get re-acquainted with a travel journal I began in August 2011.  Would you believe the first entry was about our trip to Belize?  Yes, another beach vacation.  So, I thought this would make a great post for today.  I may not be going to the beach anytime soon, but I can certainly re-visit one through my memories.  Pull up a sun chair and a Rum Runner and let's go!

The journal - 2011 to 2014

Belize is a nation on the eastern coast of Central America, with Caribbean shorelines to the east and dense jungles to the west.  Offshore, the massive Belize Barrier Reef, dotted with hundreds of low-lying islands called cayes, hosts rich marine life.  And that is why we traveled there.  In the spring and early summer of 2011, all four of our family members became certified scuba divers, and Caye Caulker would become the first place we utilized our new skills in the ocean.  Exciting and a little bit terrifying.  

Sometimes you have to participate in something  to know it is an experience you don't want to repeat.  Such was the case with our diving on Caye Caulker.  Quite simply, we didn't know what we didn't know.  Here is what we learned.  One: drift diving has some risks.  On one dive, #1 Son had trouble with his ears, and when he re-surfaced with Spousal Unit, the boat was 400 yards away and the boat driver couldn't hear them shouting (the fact that he was listening to music with earbuds didn't help).  They eventually got his attention and he returned to pick them up.

Two: diving beyond the protection of the reef means wave action, an abundance of wave action.  Fortunately, none of us tend to get seasick, but it certainly offered some challenges when entering the water.  We still tell the story about #1 Daughter and how she was the first one to leave the boat on our first dive ever - she showed no hesitation when she flipped backwards off the side while the boat was pitching up and down!

Three: we like to dive in clear water.  On a couple of our dives, the dive master said "head down to the bottom and I will meet you there".  Five minutes later, we huddled near the sand with our dive buddies, and we can't see a thing beyond our fins.  If we can't see him, how will he see us?  Obviously, we all survived, but it doesn't do much for the length of your air supply when you are sucking it down due to nerves!

#1 Daughter found this conch shell in the water near the beach

Sign says "Amanda's Place"

Lest you think that our trip was a total bust, I can say that we enjoyed the small pool that came with our accommodation, a house called Amanda's Place.  Amanda lived across the street, and we felt an immediate connection with her since she was originally from London.  At one point during our stay, the kids fixed the pump cover in the hot tub, and she treated them to ice cream at a shop down the street.  Her dog was called Scrumpy, and her cat Boy was a regular visitor to the yard around our house.

As with all tropical environments, flowers bloomed in profusion.  At our guest house, a hummingbird frequented the hibiscus.  Small lizards skittered among the foliage, and Amanda explained that those you find outside the house are called a wishwilly.  Lizards inside a structure are geckos.

Exploring the island was a simple affair since you can stroll from one side to the other in 15 minutes.  No cars are permitted on the island; the most you had to watch for were speedy golf carts!  We witnessed a wedding on one of the beaches, and were amused to see children playing soccer with a shoe on the kicking foot and a long sock on the other.  Of course, no beach vacation is complete without stunning sunsets; we liked to watch ours from the Iguana Reef Inn.

We sampled a number of restaurants on the island.  Our favorites were: the Happy Lobster due to variety on the menu; Syds, known for its superb Fry Chicken with stew beans and rice; the Bakery - piles of sticky, gooey, yum yum baked goods.

Caye Caulker main street

Fiddler crab

Christmas tree worms (Internet)

Snorkeling is a must-do on an island like Caye Caulker; we did plenty on our own and also purchased a snorkeling tour that was a good value.  A green Moray eel came out of a crevice and began free swimming when the tour guide clapped his hands under water.  Part of the tour included Shark and Stingray Alley; the tour guide would hide food in large, empty conch shells, and the animals would find it.  I was fascinated by the Christmas tree worms, the common name for Spirobranchus giganteus, a marine worm that lives on tropical coral reefs around the world.  When startled, the worms rapidly retract into their burrows.

The excitement just kept coming, as a tropical storm began to threaten the island at the end of our stay.  The last day of our visit, we left the island on the first boat, earlier than planned.  The vessel was crammed with people who all had the same idea.  We made it safely to the mainland, and stayed overnight at a Radisson.  I had a new appreciation for the term "batten down the hatches" as we watched workmen install steel shutters on the restaurant windows while we ate  our last supper brunch.  Fortunately, the storm landed south of us, without affecting our return flight.  From beginning to end, it was a memorable trip!

Mosaic Monday

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