Belize 2013: Independence Day in the Carribean

Happy 4th of July from San Pedro, Belize

It is considered good luck in Russia if it is raining before you start out on a long journey. Luck was definitely on our side today. Dani and I were rattled awake by a thundering storm at 3am this morning. Soon afterwards the rain fell, and fell, and fell. By 4am we were on our way to the airport and when the plane lifted off at 6am the rain had finally dwindled down to a fine drizzle. Normally, I would love to be in Utah during the summer storms. Only a week on the beach in Belize could top that.

We landed in Belize City just after another Tropic Air's 14 seater plane. It was an amazing 17 minute flight to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye - more like a ride at Disneyland than a simple commuter flight. Loved it!
enormous storm passed through. The ground was saturated by the rain and looked more like the Louisiana Bayou. Ours was the only international flight arriving that afternoon. We breezed through customs and then caught our final flight on

The sky was still a bit soupy from the storm but as we approached the island we could begin to see the barrier reef through the translucent green water. We picked up the keys from the land lord and hopped into a golf cart for the short trip to our home away from home - Brianna's Beach House. Like Vespas in Italy, golf carts rule the streets of San Pedro. Our little beach house comes with bikes, so we will make our way around town that way.

No sooner had we unpacked our swimming suites that we see the neighbor boy, Harrison, coming into our yard to get his pet parrot. It was a pleasant first encounter. On our way to pick up supplies for the week, we happened past Annie's, a little pink shop with wonderful pastries and local goodies. We also stocked up on fruit, veg and other essentials - including some McVites Digestives s (this is still a British Commonwealth, after all.)

 After an indulgent dinner of homemade salsa, tortillas and a few more of our pastries, we went in search of the sunset. Near the only bridge on the island, locals were fishing as the sun slowly sank behind the clouds and left a vibrant pink glow in the western sky. We sat out on the beach for a bit as the sky faded to black and a few stars broke through the clouds.



Dani brought her ukulele and serenaded couples out for a stroll and children trying to keep their soccer ball from straying into the sea. The tide was coming in so we slowly lost our space on the beach and called it a day. No fireworks here...just an incredible Independence Day!