San Pedro: Beach Bar Hopping

With the first sunny day we've seen in a while, we headed out to San pedro, Ambergris Caye for the night excited for an escape from Belize City. We took Caye Caulker Water Taxi, which was an easy and enjoyable ride of about an hour and a half. Once out there we took a short walk along the beach to our very centrally located hotel, The SunBreeze, with inentions to drop off our bags, have lunch and take advantage of the now beautifully, sunny day. I knew of a place next door for a great lunch and sure enough BC's provided us with just that. Set on the beach front, the restaurant is a open, wooden structure with stools surrounding a huge bar and the barbeque set up at the back. Burritos are thier special and we quickly ordered one and the house margeritas. BC's proved to be the perfect lunch spot and seemingly a local's favorite from the crowd sitting enjoying the view and watching the day go by, Belikin in hand. The Burrito "was one of the best ive had, for coming in 5 minutes" michael raved, and we left with satisfied tummies ready to soak up sonme sun at the pool. We headed to the Sunbreeze pool next, and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool and enjoying tasty and inventive mixed drinks and friendly service. With need for some action, after lounging by the pool, we headed into town, along the beach to a place we had passed earlier advertising "The Chicken Drop." Said to be a "must-do" in San Pedro it was just that! We sat at the quickly filling bar and ordered the happy hour special of rum punch and watched as people poured in to bet on thier chicken - the San Pedro form of Gambling". Basically you join the line to bet on a number, if the chicken poops on your number you win! At $1 a piece you can win $100 if the chicken poops on your number, or bet $10 and have the chance of winning $1000! The simple and genius! The crowd gather on the beach around a pen (similar to a bingo card) and the game begins. Each week the same instructions are given and a guy says "Pretend the chicken is a pair of dice, gently shake her 3 times and blow on her butt for good luck". The lucky chosen tourist shakes the chicken up enthusiastically and throws in in the pen and the crowd goes wild cheering te chicken on to poop. the winner of the game not only gets the vash, but the honor of cleaning up the chicken poop! the rounds go on into the night with the rum punch flowing and the chickens pooping. After the chicken drop we headed to Fido's, another great beach bar for thier $1 wing specials on a Thursday night. With live music and a great atmospher its another one of my San Pedro favorites, but was unchararacteristically quite this night. however, beginning our bar hop way too early (at lunchtime) we headed back to the SunBreeze, snd sat at the BlueWater Grill. Hands down the best restaurant on the island, we had our last margeritas and amazing sushi and retreated to bed for the night.. Only to begin another day of island loving tomorrow <3

Old Belize: Making History Fun on A Rainy Day

The week has been rainy in Belize, and to avoid being stuck indoors we headed to Old Belize, about fifteen minutes outside of Belize City on the Western Highway. Old Belize proved great for an afternoon escape as it has a marina, restaurant, small beach and historical/ cultural centre giving us loads to see and do. We decided on visiting the cultural/ historical center first and the 45 minute tour gives you a brief but full understanding of Belize’s history, people and culture. The indoor tour brilliantly depicts the main attractions of Belize taking you through showcases of the rainforest, caves and waterfalls, to the Mayan temples and ancient civilization. It shows Belizean culture and history through a recreation of Colonial Belize, as well as, a Garinagu home. Also it highlights the main historical industries of the country from sugar, to chicle, to logging. Altogether its very informative and enjoyable, with just the right amount of information and interesting facts to give you an appreciation of the country and snapshot into its history and people and Michael knows his history! After the tour, we headed over to the restaurant, TGI Gringo, that sits on Cucumber Beach, the perfect place to check out the action on the beach or in the marina. Service and drinks are great and while I thought my nachos were okay, Michael loved his fish burger. The menu has a mix of everything and I’d definitely return for the great atmosphere, service and drinks (happy Hour at the big outdoor bar would be great!). Before leaving, we briefly walked out towards Cucumber Beach, but we didn’t really stay long as the entrance fee was a bit high ($10 US) and the rain brought mosquitos. I’d definitely recommend the restaurant and cultural/historical exhibit, the beach I’d give a miss, unless you were going to spend an entire day there.

MeatPies: A Local’s Favourite

Meatpies, a flavoursome combination of meat and spices, packed into a miniature thick pie crust with a cover!  Open it up and the steam and delicious, meaty aroma tease your taste buds. While Michael bit straight into it, I carefully took the cover off and scooped up some meat for my first bite. The bottom and second half, still filled with meat sauce, was quickly gone in a few other bites. Meatpies are a Belizean favorite and are eaten for breakfast, lunch or a snack. My personal favourite part of buying meatpies is opening the brown paper bag they come in and taking in that fresh out the oven smell. At .85 Belize cents apiece (.42 cents U.S) 3 to 4 meatpies, could fill up the average person.  This local treat is a must try and can be bought at Darios, my personal first choice, a little shop tucked away on Hyde’s Lane in the heart of Belize City. Because they are very popular, you do have to wait a while for your meatpies as the shop gets very busy. The wait, however, just adds to the experience, standing up amongst the locals who call out their orders throughout the small store. If your not up for the wait, carts also peddle meatpies around the city in the early morning.  If it was up to me, I’d eat meatpies every day, but we have a lot more to try, taste and explore. Until next time..

Viv and Mike

Starting Our Journey In Belize

Today we arrived in Belize and cannot wait to begin our summer here together. We started a blog with the idea that seeing a country from a local’s point of view provides a better experience to explore the hidden secrets and cool tidbits of the country. This blog will give you insight from me, a local Belizean, and Michael, my lovely boyfriend, and an American and newcomer to Belize. Together we will share the best of our travel experiences this Caribbean/ Central American getaway has to offer from the pristine beaches and the beautiful Barrier Reef, to the inland treasures of ancient Mayan sites, lush rainforest and extrinsic cave systems. We’ll meet the melting pot of cultures and people and sample the delicious traditional food and drinks through local restaurants/ street vendors/ food holes. All in all this blog gives us a platform to show and share with you the multitude and variety of experiences offered in this compact, tropical paradise and place I call home. We hope you all find this blog site informative and entertaining and can’t wait to share our journey with you.

Viv&Mike