The Relaxing
To discover the wonderful relaxation Belize had to offer, we flew on a tiny, three-passenger prop plane to the offshore island of Ambergris Caye. From the lively Caribbean port town of San Pedro, we hopped a water taxi to the beautiful Portofino Resort, a remote and tranquil vacation spot. Over the next few days, we relaxed on the pristine white sand beach and next to the palm-shaded pool, lounged in hammocks in the shallow tropical water, drank each every one of the tropical drinks on the resort's bar menu, were pampered with massages right next to the water, enjoyed excellent fine dining with well-paired wine, and fell asleep under a thatched roof to the sound of the gentle surf outside. The Portofino offered exactly the kind of experience that one might dream of when thinking of a honeymoon.
As a capstone to our tropical honeymoon, we went snorkeling in the calm waters created by the barrier reef that protects Ambergris Caye from the Atlantic. A boat dropped us off in the national park called the Hol Chan Marine Preserve, where we observed a variety of colorful fish, green moray eels, spotted eagle rays, great barracuda, interesting coral formations, and even green sea turtles grazing on the ocean grass. We then boated to the area of the national park called Shark Ray Alley, where there was an appropriately dense population of nurse sharks and yellow stingrays. Our guides chummed the water with sardines, attracting the hungry yet harmless nurse sharks to swarm our boat in a cloud of solid fish, and we slid into the water right in the midst of the sharks! It's quite an experience to be bumped and pushed by four or five medium sized sharks all at once.
After a little more exploring underwater and petting the gentle sharks and rays, we finished our last, leisurely adventure. We had one more slightly bitter-sweet night on the island. We spent it exploring the bars and street fair in San Pedro, and then headed back to our resort to savour the flavorful Belizean food and sip tropical drinks at the open-air beach bar one more time. As our amazing honeymoon came to a close we flew home, glimpsing Belize's vibrant jungles and clear waters one last time. It was a trip of thrilling adventure and memorable discovery, of enjoying our familiar company and expanding our cultural horizons, and of good food and good people and good sights and good pictures and good memories to last a lifetime!