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If you want to get excited about a trip somewhere warm (BELIZE!!!) what better way than to enjoy than pictures of other people having fun?Our Cleveland friends just left and we had the time of our lives. I am sure the rest of the group is as exhausted as I am after 10 days of nonstop fun :). I already posted the first few days of pictures….here is the rest of their trip!!

We already miss them very much!! We had a great visit. We are lucky enough to have Cleveland group #2 coming in April! The weather has been picture perfect here, so more great images to come!

More to come!

It was a gorgeous week! Clear water, mostly clear skies, people were everywhere on the beaches this week. Today, Sunday, has been cloudy but no complaints after this week we had! Here are a few shots of the crystal clear skies we saw:

Dave got home on Tuesday, and it was so nice out, I got him to change right into his trunks and head to Fusion. It did not disappoint! There were several groups there enjoying drinks and the great pool. It looks like Miami beach, you will NOT be disappointed to spend an afternoon here, we are planning on taking a large group of our friends there in a week! Don’t miss the mojitos…wow. Here are a couple pics of what you see as you lay out:

Also on the list this week was Tranquilo. If you want a truly unique experience for you or for your guests, GO THERE. We called Geof on our way to the pier, and we easily found the little boat “3 Things” that takes you to the Placencia Caye dock–about a 2 minute ride. Oh, we saw this on the way to the restaurant in the 2 minutes….no filter….(this is a dolphin, not a great white.)

The sunset we caught was perfect, and Geof even took us on a fun little adventure to see a bit of the Caye and the development there. Some great history there already! The staff were great, and Dave loved the margaritas. At sunset you get a free sunset shot–AWESOME…I drank it like a drink, it was so good. We both had the tuna and the shrimp puppies, and both felt it was one of the best dishes we have had in Placencia. It was a really quiet and relaxing evening, so special and truly unique. This is a MUST DO and we will be taking our friends there as well! Look at these images!!

The weather was so nice yesterday we continues our outdoor activities…starting with breakfast at De’tatch. You can’t go wrong, it is a classic, but just to reiterate….look at this fun!

We then took our kayaks up to Maya Beach and found a spot to launch, This was not as successful as the rest of the weekend….lol. The wind picked up and we were fighting waves on the lagoon for about 90 minutes before we gave up, not really going anywhere ;). I did get a lot of seawater in my face/mouth. Dave told me afterwards, that he saw a really strange reptilian creature raise his head up out of the water, and figured if he told me in the moment, that would have ended the fun earlier. He was right. He did see two dolphins too–although just the fins, so perhaps we were being circled by sharks as well as alligators. We decided to head up to Riversdale, before we disappeared into the lagoon, to see Lost Reef Resort, as we have heard good things.

Lost Reef Resort is what I imagine when I think of Belize :). Rustic little beach cabanas, a bar that looks made from a ship, a cute little pool with hammocks, pelicans, dogs, and iguanas walking around. Earl the bartender was so great. The weather calmed down and we had a perfect afternoon there. I recommend this highly as a rustic little afternoon getaway!!! Check these out…

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sticks-in-BZ/793918960644782

Sticks at De’tatch…being pensive perhaps, about the possibility of success with his new page.

Can’t wait to see our Cleveland friends in less than a week!!

Look, I don’t want to be smug, but it has been GORGEOUS here recently. The weather has cleared up, it has been really warm and comfortable, and the beach and water have been pretty sea grass free!! So why not a positive post with a few pictures? OK!Let’s start with a real stunner, I stole this from Lee Nyhus :)…this was taken from Tipsy Tuna today, they built a new second story eating area overlooking the beach…if this doesn’t cause you to make your plane reservations I don’t know what will!!

Although I have spent 90% of my days in the last two weeks painting/urethaning/cleaning/etc the casita, to get it ready for its first guests….Sue and Sharon showed up this past sunny Friday and convinced me to go to the Mariposa pool with them….look how upset I look!

We had a great time….my pictures I took of the pool didn’t turn out, but here is what it looks like (via google)….

Here are some delicious shrimp fritters from their menu (I ate 80% of this plate. Plus dinner.) She also has great wine! It is such a fun place to spend the afternoon, or for dinner. I should note, Sticks is only allowed in the dining room at certain times 🙂

Have to thank Sharon for this coconut drink….THIS is what I am working towards lol!!! Mine are still sloppy and don’t sit up 🙂

My poor husband has been in Cleveland to work on a few projects…and I have really been enjoying his weather updates from up North….here was one of my favorites!! It was LITERALLY 115 degrees warmer here that day when you took into consideration the wind chill and the heat index….!!! (Yes, that DOES say wind chill -21.)

Here are some of the horrible things I have had to look at while he has been vacationing in the snow….

Also, one thing I keep hunting for is new things I can make with the ingredients available here. You can find ALMOST everything, but not quite like the US, and it is helpful to find good staples that are always available. I came up with two things that would be good for those that live here and also visitors…

#1–YUM! Throw a bit of coconut oil in a pot with a lid. Put it on a burner, put some popcorn kernels in, and voila! Until I hear otherwise, coconut oil is supposed to keep you alive and young looking forever. This is also really cheap!

#2–I had a few random ingredients and wanted pizza. I also realized I didn’t know how to use the oven in the new place. I am convinced if I mess with a gas appliance, I am capable of blowing buildings up. So, having to wait until Dave returns for the oven lesson, I threw some corn tortillas on a pan, put some tomato sauce on top, then a bit of cheese, tomatoes, and green onions. I let it sit on the pan for a few minutes, and this was like wayyyy better than it even should have been!

Also–you really only need the tortillas, cheese, and sauce, and these can ALWAYS be found easily. Pizza is easier to find now than when we first were here (Galley delivers now YAY!) but this worked for me. I am sure the poor visitors get sick of eating out every night, so here ya go! Pizza without an oven 🙂 Also good on a hot day when you just don’t want to turn it on.

Finally, a totally gratuitous chihuahua picture. I have been taking too many pictures of the dog, because I was certain Dave missed him as much as I would if I were gone (he doesn’t. But I like taking the pictures.) This one was just a real gem….Sticks’s vet said chihuahuas have bad teeth and it would do him a lot of good to have them frequently brushed. Anyone who has tried to brush their dog’s teeth, knows what a treat this is for both of you. I feel that I captured the mood of this interaction here:

Dave returns in a day and half, yay! And, probably due to the above mentioned weather in Cleveland, we have three group of friends from Cleveland coming in the next 6 weeks and I CAN’T WAIT to have fun down here with them!!!!

One of my favorite things over the last couple months, has been getting emails from future guests, with fun questions about how to improve their trip, and general excitement (right now, all the Northern climates are thrilled to escape the polar vortex).I know I am not alone in this, but when I travel, I become obsessed with the place I am going and I read blogs, forums, and look at images of where I am going, to daydream about it. To me this is part of the excitement of the trip!

Just a few fun things happening around Placencia these days…..!

Anna from Cleveland came in for a visit! We had a great time. Here she is at arrival…

The few days she was here flew by. She loved the Cockscomb tour with Doyle, and we also went to the Belize Ocean Club and a lot of touring of the beach bars 🙂 Anna works her butt off in Cleveland so it was great for her to hang out on the veranda and just relax. She took the kayak out and loved walking the beach, and we had a beach barbecue one night…we have learned not to push people to do too many excursions as this place was really made for relaxing! Here we are the night of the cookout:

However, with that being said, to not push people to do more excursions…..Kelly and Titus just moved here from Indiana. Titus’s dad had a dream to have a glass bottomed boat to sail around Placencia and he built it from the ground up, right here in Belize, with local wood! The boat is absolutely amazing. Kelly and Titus invited some of the business owners and workers to go out and experience the boat, and I HIGHLY recommend it!! We took a relaxing 30 minute cruise out to several spots, where you can see from my pictures, you are almost snorkeling above water!

The tour is about 4 hours and goes in both morning and afternoon. You can find Sea’n Belize here.

The Placencia Marathon was also this past week, and it was SO MUCH FUN to help at the water stands…the runners were so gracious and grateful and the proceeds go to scholarships for local teens to attend high school!

Also, last week, Mariposa had their first ever wine tasting, over 60 people attended…great food and wine, very fun time! We hope they continue to have these 🙂 Here was the view during the event!!

And, Belize Ocean Club has been busy lately!! They had the White party a couple weeks ago, and tonight is the Mistletoe Ball. Still waiting to find the pictures from the White party…

And in final news, Dave and I made a big move this week….literally :). We were fortunate enough to find a small beach apartment for us to rent, right in the back of Caribbean Beach Cabanas! It is twice as large as the cabanas, which for long term living, is necessary. I think I could write a book at this point about the perils of living for 9 months with no space/walls/time alone…..it was time to live like normal people again 🙂 I think it will be better for guests as we will not be RIGHT in their face, and in addition, we now have a very cute open casita on the beach for the high season, so come on down!!

Here are a couple pictures of our new apartment, in North Beach….(pictures by North Beach….we aren’t moved in yet 😉 )

For those living in winter climates, sometimes just looking at beachy homes can improve your mood. Admittedly….the weather down here this week has been a bit overcast and drizzly, and we experienced on Thanksgiving, the coldest day the locals had seen for a long time :).

We have been enjoying having guests here –finally!!!–for the last few weeks. We are learning a lot about how to create the best vacation, and what excursions people are giving the highest ratings to. I have written blogs in the past about what to do for a 7 day trip, budget tips, and the great excursions like Cockscomb (our guests LOVED Cockscomb with Doyle Gardiner, they highly recommended him as a guide and a person!) Here are a few more that got high ratings from our guests:1.) ATM Cave Tour. I have blogged about this tour in the past…and our guests said that the full day of driving, the high cost, and the exhaustion were totally worth it!! We found two highly rated guides that will drive you from Placencia to Cayo, where the ATM cave is. It takes about 3 hours….BUT…you also get to see a lot of the country that you would not see otherwise. If you are going to San Ignacio during your trip, just wait until you get there to do the tour. If you are only doing Placencia or the Cayes/Placencia, this is probably the #1 highest rated cave tour. From Placencia, you can contact these two to schedule it:

PACZ Tours (in San Ignacio but they pick you up here)

Ask for Bob-$225 US per person includes ride, tour, and lunch

824-0536

In the village-talk to Laura Godfrey at Trip N Travel-

$225 US

523-3205

660-7189

lgodfrey@btl.net

2.) Monkey River Tour-Percy with Barebones Tours–has had Jack Hannah on his tour, and is said to be the highest rated Monkey River tour guide.

Also, if you are doing this tour, here are some great tips from Trip Advisor from guests who were on it (must read if you want to keep monkey poop off you).

3.) Snorkeling and Scuba Diving with Splash: everyone may have already heard this! But, the guests we have had come down for diving, consistently say that Splash is the best/cleanest/most professional diving group. You can see their diving tours here:

https://www.splashbelize.com/

4.) Day sails and snorkeling–we got a good review for the Daytripper Catamaran Charters, they can be reached at:

666-3117

daytrippercatamaran@gmail.com

$75 US includes lunch and rum drinks

5.) Robert’s Grove Sunset Cruise–we recently went on this trip with our guests and it was awesome! For $20 US, you get two drinks, (sometimes snacks too), and you can purchase snacks or drinks from the bar onboard. It is a fun two decker boat, and you take a leisurely cruise through the lagoon. We saw tons of dolphins right by the boat and had a spectacular sunset! Highly recommended for a quick (4-7pm) excursion that is cheap. They also shuttle you from your place to Robert’s Grove. You can see their schedule here:

6.)Also, we heard the Tarpon Caye Fishing excursion was really good. We will be going on this ourselves mid December with some guests. For $300 US for a party of 4, you can go out for 5 hours, starting at 7:30 am, and you get to decide what kind of fishing you want to do! I can’t wait! (I chose the package of fishing for something we might be able to catch and eat, but we will see. I better perfect putting a worm on a hook before I get too ambitious.) Here is more info:

https://fishingbooker.com/

7.) And finally, for an even more ambitious excursion…..how about this one!!

https://www.glovers.com.bz/activities.html

Here, you will go out from Dangriga….to the outer cayes!! Here is a description, and you can even do your first scuba open water dive to get certified! We are going to be trying this in the future and will review.

…in early December with our friend Anna, from Cleveland, who will be in town. I will be sure to review this as well!! Poor Anna is going to be worn out on her trip….she is already scheduled to go to the ATM tour, Tikal, a wine tasting, Belize Ocean Club, help us volunteer at the Placencia Marathon, and maybe even snorkel….all in 5 days!! 🙂

OK on the flip side…it is not ALWAYS perfect here…we had beautiful weather for a few weeks….then a cold front came in 2 days ago. It has been rainy and cold (73 degrees…..I can imagine the eye rolls I am getting!)

RIGHT before the front came in….poor Dave ambitiously decided to help out by filling in some potholes on an access road by our place. As SOON as the delivery guy had dumped all the filler…..it started pouring (that was 2 days ago and it hasn’t stopped!) The insane amount of work he put in is not showing…..yet…..but when it dries out I am sure he will feel like a hero! Till then….it is a bit of a sludgy mess 🙂 HUGE THANKS to Dick and Sandy Beach….our newest neighbors on the peninsula….who saved the day by helping out with their bobcat!! Wait a minute, Dave isn’t even helping in this picture, Dick is driving and Perfecto is…helping!

While we are still waiting on an actual professional to get some pictures of our place, I did my amateur best in the meantime 🙂 We have been having a ball with our first guests, and everyone seems to be having a great time. We had Kris and Rick, honeymooning from Cleveland, and they did Cockscomb and ATM–loved both tours and highly recommend them. We also have Elaine and Martin from B.C., and they have been wonderful guests. They are here until Saturday, and they have done Cockscomb, Belize Ocean Club, we had a beach cookout last night, and they have kayaked and swam every day. The weather has been AMAZING! the beach has been perfect, so we are thrilled with the first couple weeks. Our guests may be going on a sunset cruise with Robert’s Grove later today, and perhaps Monkey River.

We had a stop last week from Rebecca Coutant, who has the most read blog in San Pedro, called San Pedro Scoop. She came in to check out the latest developments in Placencia and included us in her blog post, which can be seen here.

I am very proud of living in Placencia and showing it off! We are booked pretty solidly through April at this point and hating to turn down guests whose dates are already filled. Maybe time to look at some extra cabanas next season!

Here are the latest pictures: