Thursday, August 10th, 2017

Time to say goodbye to the hotel, Bradford, and San Ignacio. We drove back to Belize City, dropped off the car, intended to get a cab but the car drop off guy said he could be our cab and then hopped into the SUV we’d just dropped off and took us to the ferry dock. It was a total zoo there, buying the tickets and managing our luggage in the crowds was a bit stressful. And once we got on our boat it was also totally crowded with a bunch of groups of bachelor and bachelorette parties. The sea was a bit rough so I was glad I wasn’t one of the ones drinking! The hotel we were staying at, the Phoenix Resort, recommends you take a plane but the boat was only two hours and way way cheaper, so that’s where we were with that.

Once we got to Ambergris Caye, we discovered our bags were on the next boat so we had to wait for that one to arrive and then we called the driver to come get us. They got there really quickly, and when they took us to the hotel we found out why. It was only a little more than two blocks away! They showed us to our condo, which was about the size of our cabin with way nicer finishings. The bathrooms were the size of rooms, and the rooms weren’t too small either. Oceanfront with views and a really nice kitchen. Very nice place to stay, and within budget in the off season!

We cooled off and then walked around the town a bit and enjoyed the pool and the beach, and we went somewhere for dinner but for the most part the restaurants are good but not really remarkable.

Friday, August 11th

Pool and beach day.  Enough said. Oh, and we went into town and found the chocolate store there. After taking a shower, Genevieve was enchanted with the “dress towel” (robe) I guess she’d never seen one before (we are uncultured swine over at our house who change into clothes or PJs right out of the shower). We went to the hotel and bought her her own to take home as a souvenir, she still uses it.

Saturday, August 12th 

More pool and beach. One funny thing happened, we went to the Palapa restaurant that hangs over the water and then used their inner tubes to float around off their dock. Genevieve got stuck in her tube and couldn’t really maneuver, and then this creepy guy came swimming over while she was defenseless. Eventually, she freed herself enough to swim away, evading the “Carribean Creeper”. The girls and Mark also got henna tattoos from this guy on the beach, and we took a quick boat tour to try to see manatees and feed the nurse sharks. We were with a big group and it was a fun, short tour, but we weren’t able to see manatees.

Sunday, August 13th

Today we chartered a boat for a fishing tour, only to realize that the only one that had any interest in fishing was Mark. The guides were so disappointed in us! But we did fish and even caught half a fish (a reef shark had caught the other half). The guides took over and we snorkeled while they caught us lobsters and more fish. They took us to another snorkeling area and we swam to the beach where they made us a true seafood feast with lobster sushi and other great stuff. Then we went to another location and snorkeled some more. And uh oh. Charlotte and I were so sunburned on the back of our legs we had to go out for aloe for relief. Ouch.

Monday, August 14th

Day of recovery and pool, in the shade with lots of screen! We also went into town and found Charlotte a pair of leggings she could wear in the water to snorkel to avoid a repeat of the day before. And like every other evening, we participated in the hotel’s happy hour where drinks are complimentary and they don’t check IDs. Genevieve likes rum punch, Charlotte not so much.

Tuesday, August 15th

While we were waiting for our tour on Sunday, we met another boat driver who promised he could get us to see manatees, as well as lots of other sea creatures. We got his card for Belize Magical Adventures and booked a snorkeling tour to Caye Caulker and it was amazing. He found the manatee as well as sea turtles, more nurse sharks, and then took us to the Split which was a bar like entertainment zone with innertubes and floating platforms out in the water with swings and things and all kinds of good stuff. Charlotte had to wear her leggings and I had to wear this pair of lightweight dress pants so as not to get fried again. We looked kind of ridiculous but you do what you have to do! This was our favorite day on Ambergris Caye, highly recommend the tour.

Wednesday, August 16th

Spa day for the girls! We got them both booked at the hotel for teen facials, then a rest at the pool. We also enjoyed our hotel’s paint night where we each did a seascape. We will be sad to leave this beautiful place tomorrow!

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