It is very peaceful here. The ocean, the temperature, the beauty and the quiet really make it easy to relax.
This morning we went back to El Divino’s for breakfast. They have a large menu and the food is very good. After breakfast we took a drive north on the golf cart. If you are staying north or south on the island, you will need to rent a golf cart. And even if you stay in the middle of town, you may want to rent one for a day or two to go and explore the island. Ambergris Caye is 25 miles long and San Pedro is closer to the southern end. There is a toll bridge (10 dollars Belize, which is 5 dollars in the US for a round trip pass) on the north end of San Pedro and after you cross the bridge there is a paved road for several miles. We drove north for about a mile and a half and found The Truck Stop. It is fairly new and features several eating areas built of cargo containers, like an outdoor food court. It is very colorful and creative and the containers feature ice cream, southeastern and Latin American fare.
Next we passed Rain Restaurant and Rooftop Terrace. The restaurant is on the roof and the building is several stories high so they have a wonderful view and atmosphere and the food is really good. We ate here on an earlier trip for dinner and loved it. The steaks and seafood were both delicious. You do need to call ahead though because sometimes the entire restaurant is closed for private events. (Tip: Try to schedule to be there at sunset. The view is spectacular.)
We headed back from there and spent some time at the beach at Athen’s Gate.
This day was so gorgeous that we stayed outside near the resort all day. We went to Pelican Reef for lunch again. We knew the nacho’s and snapper sandwich was excellent but today we added a grilled snapper quesadilla (you can get it blackened also). We just love to be able to walk down the beach to lunch and then sit outside and watch the ocean. Today we stayed on the pier and beach at Athen’s gate and snorkeled right off the end of the pier.
In case I haven’t already said it enough, “This place is beautiful!” After lounging around all day, we decided to stay in and watch some football (yes, you can watch almost anything you want on TV). We ordered pizza from Pepperoni’s and not only is the pizza excellent, they also delivered it on a bicycle in a warmer bag.
Even though we just relaxed today, I did want to mention one of the most popular excursions that you can make on the Island. You can get a boat to pick you up and take you to Hol Chen Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. Hol Chen is Mayan for “little channel”. It is a cut in the reef about 25 yards wide. The entire reserve covers about three square miles and is divided into four zones: the reef, the seagrass beds, the mangroves and shark ray alley.
There are several ways to do this excursion. There are catamarans, sail boats and diving boats. You can arrange a trip with your host at most of the places you stay in San Pedro. Some places like Ramon’s have a pier with boats at their resort and you can go out right from there. Others like Athen’s gate have a boat come and pick you up and take you straight out to the reef or go to a pier to meet your boat and crew. So the great part about this snorkeling experience is that you are on the second largest reef in the world. The coral and fish are amazing. You will have a guide who will be leading your group and pointing out various species and interesting ocean life. For years this area was used by fishermen to clean their catch. Now the nurse sharks and sting ray know that when the boats come in there will be food. At the shark alley stop you will actually get to swim with nurse sharks and sting ray. The sting ray have a wing-span of two to four feet and are surprisingly soft on their bellies. The nurse sharks are four to six feet in length and it is a bit unnerving to be snorkeling and have one of these amazing creatures swim up under you. If you come to San Pedro, please do this trip. You will never experience anything quite like it. If you are a little nervous about trying to swim and snorkel and watch the sharks and fish and rays, you can put a life jacket under your arms and that will help you feel a little more confident in the ocean (especially if it is a little wavy) so you can enjoy the trip.
So tomorrow will be out last full day here…..