I don’t know that Liz and I will make it a habit to post every morning, but on this day, we just so happened to be awake before everyone else is and have the luxury of a few minutes to relax and gather our wits about us. Much of this may have to do with the 8:30 bedtime last night! We were so exhausted by the end of our journey yesterday (OK after we kayaked out to the reef, climbed a tree, drank coconut rum punch and ate a wonderful dinner), that we simply couldn’t stay awake any longer.

But going to bed at 8:30 leads to an early rise, even after ten hours sleep! So we got up, walked to the dock, laid in the hammocks for a couple of minutes and are now prepping or a trip to forage for food.

One new travel tip: ALWAYS stick to your plan. Liz and I got too excited to stop and grab groceries on our way to Cocotal yesterday. We were indecisive on what we should do and ultimately skipped it. Would have been easy to cook up some grub and roll out the kayaks first thing this morning. Lesson learned.

Old Travel Tip: Pack a few clothes into carry on items! A nice couple from Birmingham shared our flights but not our fortune as their luggage didn’t arrive. They are staying at a private island with the clothes on their backs and a tank top Liz insisted the lady borrow. I feel bad for them, but on the bright side, they do have all the privacy in the world on that little island!

We can’t sleep. We’re too excited. At least we got three hours. Hopefully that is sufficient?

We forgot to mention over the weekend some bad news we received about the trip and the plans (we were way too busy with John and Jamie’s wedding, congrats!) but our car rental company, Rental Car Group.com, cancelled our reservation. We weren’t too happy to find that out. Of course, this left us in a scramble to find another car rental and most of the companies being sold out already. And on top of the added stress from all the wedding plans these past few days and family being in town, it was hard to find time to book a new reservation. Not cool at all for that to happen. Very unreliable car rental company. Stay away!

Luckily, Courtney was able to book us a rental with Belize Auto Rental. The downside about going with them is they only have one location and that is at the International airport. So we will take the water taxi in from Ambergris Caye (San Pedro) and hop in a cab to the International Airport and then grab the car rental and trek to San Ignacio for our jungle fun.

The car rental came in at a hefty $195 for the three days. That’s average $100 per person. I’m not too happy about that but I do think time is money in Belize and we don’t want to waste it traveling on a hot long bus ride. Luckily, the total also includes auto insurance. It’s smart to have that with theft and the road ways not being patrolled, etc. This whole car rental thing has been a slight nightmare. I hope it’s not too much more of a nightmare when we show up there. Hopefully it will pay off with the ease of being able to go anywhere we want at the drop of a hat.

Tonight is my packing night for Belize as the next two nights I am busy.  I am curious to see if everything I need to bring will fit.

Things to Pack in Your Carry on:

• Passport
• Airline Tickets
• License
• credit cards
• phone
• travelers checks
• cash
• luggage keys
• sunglasses
• cameras
• camera batteries
• prescription medicines required while traveling
• a change of clothes in case luggage is lost
• necessary personal care items for plane and a few extras in case luggage is lost
• Field guides and reference materials
• Insurance certificates
• Address and telephone number of whom to contact in case of emergency
• Personal first aid kit

I will be packing my MacBook too on my carry on as that is the designated computer for this trip.

For more info see Courtney’s Travel Tips post.

As for your main luggage- pack for the carribbean. That means, bathing suits, sunscreen, a flashlight, sandals, snorkel, mask and fins. You might consider a hat, long-sleeved linen shirts, and long, light skirts, insect spray with Deet, snacks, headlamp for caving and Zip-lock baggies (to put wet clothes in or anything you may want to keep dry).  Shorts and short sleeve tops are recommended to keep you cool as well. Assume one day of rainy weather and pack a long sleeve shirt and raincoat to protect you.

As for Shoes: Trails are often wet and therefore slippery, so your footwear is important. Walking shoes that grip or two pairs of tennis shoes (in case one pair gets wet and muddy). Flip-flops or shower togs. Leave the stilletto shoes and make-up bags, as they will be unecessary for your travels to Belize.  We’re going to Mother Nature’s best kept secret, not Las Vegas or NYC .

Also, leave any fancy jewelry or watches at home. They will only attract criminals. Just remember, bare essentials. BARE BONE ESSENTIALS!

U.S. dollars are accepted as readily as the local currency in Belize, so you don’t have to be too concerned about the exchange rate there.

It is mostly recommended to carry cash with you when traveling to Belize. Carry only the allotted amount of money you need for the day and to store the rest in a safety deposit in your hotel room. If need be, there are ATM’s frequenting shopping areas and the small towns.

Traveler’s checks can take some time to cash and they are increasingly not accepted anywhere.

Also, bring a credit card for back-up. But only use if absolutely have to. While the item may be priced in USD, the credit card companies are charged in Belizean dollars. The credit card company will have to exchange that from the USD and they will charge you a fee for that exchange. If you’re concerned about money, stay away from credit cards while in Belize.

I personally am considering grouping the money into envelopes for each day that I plan on spending. That way, I can label the envelope, say, “Monday.” and just grab it out of the safe per day. I know that I will for sure have an envelope labeled “LAST DAY.” That will include the Belize Exit tax and necessary cash for any obstacles that may get in the way for catching our flight home. If we miss that flight, apparently we will be stuck in Belize until the following Saturday. Yikes!