When we arrived in Belize, we  took a 20 minute break and then hopped on a flight at the International airport to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. The 20 minute break led to an interesting rum punch from Jet’s, a bar in the airport. That is a post in itself.

The Mayan Air flights turned out to be the exact price we thought- as long as you pay in cash. It was reliable and left on time.

In this post I want to focus on the great photos we got from our 20 minute flight from the Goldson International Airport to the San Pedro Airstrip. The excitement was extreme as we boarded a small, 8 passenger plane, with two other couples venturing to the Ambergris Cayes. The photos are spectacular and the video as well. The videos we are still working on and will eventually add them to the site.

While I prepared properly with shots and pills to avoid sickness while in Belize, I can say that both Courtney and I did not come down with anything significant. Whether we were just lucky or just over-concerned, all that matters is that we were fortunate not to have any accidents with broken bones, sickness, hurricanes or anything of the sort.

When we purchased travel insurance we weren’t entirely thrilled about spending the money on it.  In the end- it turned out to be worth the money invested for the peace of mind. I do still recommend it. Especially with how crazy it is driving on the roads in Belize. That is a post in itself. Oh MY!

It is hard to believe but last night was the very first night that I was able to review the photos from the trip. Correction: It was the first night that I could view the photos from Saturday, the day we arrived. I have yet to review the rest of the week. Do bear in mind that Lizzy has been reviewing them and has passed several of them my way (e.g., spider pics and some others). Last night was just the first time I reviewed them myself.

I came across this amazing photo from our kayak and snorkel trip. We kayaked out a couple hundred yards to a buoy, tied a line and hopped in. The water wasn’t deep and the tide made it almost impossible to take a photo – above the surface or below!

Lizzy appears here just barely above the surface as she floats along admiring the view below. The timing of this shot was pretty spectacular to get the half-n-half. I just wish that I’d gotten a clear view below. That would have been amazing. Still working on my photography skills, though.

After enjoying the natural setting of Hol Chan, we rested up on the boat as Ecologic Divers took us on over to Shark Ray Alley. Shark Ray Alley has been selected as one of the seven best “animal dives” in the Caribbean. Local Fisherman used to clean their fish in this area, which in turn attracted Nurse Sharks and Sting Rays. With Ecologic divers, they “chummed” the waters and immediately a flurry of fish came to feed. We also encountered some sting-rays with a wing span of 2-4 feet. They were incredible!

Courtney was right. We ended up tipping so much money, and we hadn’t even budgeted for it. I know I brought an extra $200 to spend on sculpture/artwork to take home, and ended up coming home with nothing for myself. And that’s okay. I have photos, videos and memories. Money can’t buy that. But there were a few instances where tipping was a deep discussion among Courtney and I. In fact, at one point it even became slightly disagreement (It’s okay, no one agrees with everything!)

There was a worker we had encountered on our trip that recently had a bad injury, and regardless of the injury, the first night he did everything he could to show us a remarkable evening. We appreciated it so much and had an incredible time. This worker had fallen a few days before we arrived and from the explanation of his symptoms to me two days later, it sounds like he may have broken a few ribs and maybe punctured a lung. He told me how a local doctor’s appointment cost a whole weeks salary. That local doctor could not pinpoint all the problems and referred him to a better doctor in Belize City. That worker had to trek to Belize City in his condition, and spend another weeks salary for his Doctor’s visit- not including any x-rays or whatever else he may need. This being, his family could not eat for weeks and it was effecting his work. In Belize, health insurance is a luxury. We are so lucky that we have what we have, even though we may complain about it often.

The disagreement came between Courtney and I when I decided to give this worker a hefty tip for his services. Out of appreciation but also out of charity, in a way. Tipping him $100 in USD was like tipping him $200 BZ dollars, which meant he only needed to find another $25 USD or $50 BZ dollars to go see that other doctor in Belize City he needed too. We talked about covering the whole cost (feeling so bad) but decided that a $100 tip/charity was sufficient. And I highly believe it was. Courtney, wasn’t so sure about that. He was wondering if this could have been a scam to get more money out of us. I considered it, and thought about the night we arrived at this location and how great he seemed and that he didn’t seem to have any problems- it was heartbreaking to find out after he did… we quarreled a little bit over it, but in the end I decided to reach into my spending funds and tip him $100. Whether he was legit or not on what he said (and to this day, I think, and hope he was) I know I can sleep peacefully at night knowing I tried to help someone, even when I don’t have much to offer. Regardless, we also went to town to buy some meats and vegetables to cook this worker and his wife a dinner the last night we were there to also help out.

This topic had me so concerned after the trip, I brought it up to my mother and father on separate occasions. My father wrote me an e-mail that really helped me come to grips with the situation and help me to validate my actions on this situation.

“Mom was saying you and Courtney told her you gave one helper there who had medical problems a nice tip and were hoping he wasn’t faking his health problem.

As you found out Latin America is part of what’s known as the “third world”. Dirt poor by our standards. It begins in Mexico and as far as I know reaches all the way to the
end of the world in southern Argentina & Chile. There’s a few rich at the top of the pile, then millions of squalidly poor at the bottom of the pile, with barely no middle class.

During my many visits to Mexico City I often emptied my pockets of change to the beggars who were usually small children or old women. A child could eat all day on ten cents equivalent of American money. Every where you went there were beggars and people living in the streets. The hardest to see was the little children with no adults to be seen – presumably orphans.

By their standards we are filthy rich. We have roofs over our head, a safe place to call home, plenty of nutritious food and most of us can get medical and dental care. The poor of Latin America have none of this and even those that have a tin roof over their heads cannot afford enough food for their families or medical or dental care.

I had a cab driver in Mexico City who would always be waiting for me with his beat up green VW Bug wherever and whenever I asked. He had chronic illnesses and most of his teeth were missing. He also had a family to feed. I always doubled the measly cab fare as a tip. Cab fare to the airport whenever I was leaving was only about $2.00 in US equivalency. I tried to give him an extra $20 bill in US Dollars as a tip on my trips out. No doubt his family would eat that week and probably longer. Maybe I couldn’t make a difference to everyone in the city but I made a difference to that cab driver and his family.

What I want to say is that the guy you tipped probably wasn’t faking it and even if he was you still probably made a big difference in his life and the life of his family. Be thankful for what we have here and be glad you were able to help some other less fortunate inhabitants of our small planet.”

This really helped me in knowing that what I was feeling towards this man and family was right. And most likely it was legit. My parents raised me to be very generous and to appreciate what I have- to give to the poor and to help people. Seeing a homeless man on the street makes me cry because I feel so much love but I feel so weak in helping them. To me, I think I did this man a great favor, and I believe Courtney agrees on this issue after forwarding him that message from my father. But who knows, maybe Courtney was right. Regardless, we take our everyday life for granted. The people in Belize do not live in any way we do. It was so sad and heartbreaking to see the way the people live down there. But also, it was my first encounter with a foreign country. I know there are places worse off and I honestly can’t even imagine. If I could, I would have given all my money to every person in Belize who needed it. Maybe one day I can do more for humanity.