Saturday, December 5, 2015

Happy Hour has that affect on me..in Belize...

Yesterday morning started out with a goal of finding  Marbucks Coffee House, I had seen signs pointing from the beach and from the road but was not quite sure where (in between the road and the beach) it could be.  Yesterday, I decided to quit being wimpy and follow the signs. Apparently, there is a road in between the main road and the beach, which I should have remembered from my last visit. It was the less bumpy road Larry took because the unpaved main road was full of ruts.

Breakfast at Marbucks Coffee House


The adventure was worth it.  I enjoyed a delicious breakfast bagel sandwich with coffee and decided that I now have another beach breakfast option.





View from the Boca Del Rio Bridge

I then took a walk (all the way) into town.  I followed the main road to the Boca Del Rio Bridge. After the bridge, I took a left to the beach and followed the beach to the town square.  






From Grand Caribe to the town square it is about 2 miles  - two hot, sweaty miles.  I walked around the square a bit and then hopped the water taxi back to Grand Caribe's dock.


I might should have stopped at 1 LI...

I did a few laps in the pool and then heard happy hour calling from the pool bar.  And what a happy hour it was.  A lobster quesadilla and two long island ice teas later and I was feeling no pain the rest of the day and into the night.  Who knew happy hour Long Islands could be so strong?  






Stella's in the morning

First thing this morning I headed to Stella's Smile Wine bar. Margo told me about Stella's and their bottomless Sangrias.  It is a fairly new place about a quarter of a mile south of Grand Caribe. In addition to the bottomless Sangria in the evenings, they offer a bottomless Mimosa on weekend mornings.  What better way to get over a Long Island hangover than imbibing in a few mimosas?  Oh, and their crepes are pretty awesome,  too. I enjoyed a lobster crepe because, when in Belizin in lobster season, I try to take advantage.







After breakfast, I took another walk into town.  I did a little shopping before returning  via  water taxi. 



Stella's in the evening...
A few laps in the pool and back to Stella's to try the famous pizza night with bottomless Sangria.  I opted for the white pizza with shrimp topping.  It was sooooo good.  I have enough for lunch tomorrow  - or maybe a late night snack tonight because I am getting hungry thinking about it sitting in the fridge. 





After I asked for a box for my leftovers, the staff moved a chair to their dock so I could continue to enjoy my bottomless Sangrias and a good view of the lagoon.  And, a few Sangrias later, when  I was ready to leave, they poured one for the road. Bottomless really is bottomless at Stella's






On a sad note, I am missing the tree trimming party happening tonight  at my son's place back in Ohio; I do love a tree trimming party when it is not my tree to trim.  But on the flip side, I am in Belize.  


Disclaimer: There may be typos, misspellings, bad grammar in this post- it's the Sangria doing the writing.


Thursday, December 3, 2015

Belize me....

I started  writing this while sipping on a Mimosa at the pool bar this morning.  But then breakfast came and got in the way. I could get use to this life.

Yesterday, I started the day with a walk North along the beach.





I thought I might make all the way to the bridge leading to town,but about 3/4th of the way, I realized I should have eaten something before I started out. So, back to the pool bar for breakfast and a not-spicy Bloody Mary that ended up being hot n spicy.  

My Favorite Lap Pool

After breakfast and a few laps in my favorite lap pool, I hitched a ride to town with David, during his lunch break.










I walked around town a bit, visited a couple of gift shops and a few landmarks I remembered from my last visit, and then took the water taxi back to Grand Caribe. I hope to get back into town at least once this visit to dine at Estel's Dine by the Sea and take the ferry to Caye Caulker.


This morning, I woke up feeling under the weather.  My head does not like the Belizean humidity any more  than it likes the Ohio humidity.  So after my morning walk, poolside breakfast, and a few water-walking laps, I gave in and took a couple hour nap. I hate wasting  daylight napping, but the clouds and rain made the guilt a little easier to handle.


I opted for the naturally mild Mimosa this morning!





When I woke up, the clouds were still lingering, outside and in my head.  It was not raining so I took a walk to the truck stop for dinner.  I enjoyed Shrimp Diablo and a Beliken on their deck overlooking the lagoon.









It started to rain a bit on my walk back - just enough to create a beautiful rainbow.





And now my head is hurting again, so I am going to  see what I can do to make it stop.  I want to feel like walking to  Marbucks coffee house in the morning.






Tuesday, December 1, 2015

A perfect vacation day...

I did not get up early this morning.

I did not go for a morning walk, but instead enjoyed coffee and a toasted  bagel  on my porch.

I did spend a lot of time lounging by the pool - until the dark clouds brought showers early this afternoon.  I took the showers as a sign that I should take a nap - and so I did.

I did manage to get in an afternoon walk along the beach.

 I returned to find this guy welcoming me back to Grand Caribe...
...pointing me to the pool bar where they serve those awesome shrimp and mozzarella sandwiches and  funky monkey umbrella drinks:)

Ah yes, a perfect vacation day!





Monday, November 30, 2015

Outtakes from Belize - Part One

In case you have missed my blog...it's back...

What brings it back?

Well, I am on a much needed vacation in Belize and having a totally relaxing and awesome time.

But.....

I am too cheap to pay for International Cellular service so I cannot post to FB like I usually do when I am out and about doing something fun or wanting to share an opinion or two or three.  (Which is all good, because, honestly, I do stop whatever I am doing to share to FB a lil too much when it is readily available.)

And another but....

I expect  the sun to shine longer in warmer weather.  The Belizean sun does not live up to my expectations - it gets dark here just as early as it does back home:( 

And then there's the mosquitoes - lots and lots of mosquitoes - OMG!!!  American mosquitoes do not bother me so much, but these Belizean mosquitoes - they love me tooo much. Tho after retreating indoors and downing a couple of benadryl tabs - all is well.

Rest assured, I am not complaining - just explaining why my blog is back.  Rather than waste parts of my days FBing,   I have decided to try to just post my adventures once each evening after the sun stops shining and the mosquitoes start biting.  (Maybe I can carry this practice back to the States with me.   Ok, probably not - who am I kidding?)

This morning, I walked along the beach to AKBOL for a delicious beachside breakfast of coffee with a ham and cheese fryjack. I was tempted to sign up for the free morning yoga class, but  then I remembered how much I do not like to sweat, so I opted for water walking back at the Grand Caribe lap pool - no class needed:)

Then I sat by the beach for a bit before water-walking  a
few more laps.














The best part of the day so far was the long walk north along the beach 

past Captain Morgan's. I definitely reached my step goal today.

Along the way, I met this guy...
and  revisited this tree...


And then,  back at Grand Caribe, I made myself a tuna steak and enjoyed a beer on the porch.







Now I am thinking of heading over to Rain and having another beer or two...

Cheers!