This place could be home!

It's been exactly one week since we left the place I (Matthew) could gladly call 'home'.  Well, probably a 2nd home...I don't think Carly would go for it!  Carly has already filled in details about our Hol Chan/Shark Ray Alley trip.  For the record, this snorkeling trip was nothing short of fantastic.  And she is NOT kidding about swimming with a 6'+ shark.  I jumped in the water immediately to get the chance to swim with this creature knowing that they rarely, if ever, cause harm to humans.  What a rush...along with all the jacks darting around you feeding on chum.  UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL!!  I can't wait to do something like that again.  I am left wishing that our underwater photographs turn out as we'd hope.

"High Temple" - Look closely, that's us way up there!

At any rate, when I first talked to Mom on Monday, she asked what my favorite thing about the trip was.  At the moment, I hadn't been able to wrap my head around that question because everything was great.  This definitely wasn't a cop-out answer; I just honestly couldn't determine the best part of the trip.  However, after some reflection, there was one thing that stood out to me the most.  It wasn't the snorkeling or the trip to the Maya Ruins or the fishing trip.  You might ask, well what else could it have been?



It was the people and the culture.  Being this my first (of many more to come) international trip, I guess I really didn't know what to expect.  It helped that English is the official language of Belize, no doubt.  Everyone was simply friendly; and it was absolutely genuine.  We made many friends while on the island simply by striking up a conversation with anyone and everyone.  They were happy to talk with us at length.  One day I stopped Tomas (the manager of the hotel we stayed at) while he was working to repair the beach from the hurricane back in October to ask him a simple question.  It turned into and hour and a half conversation that including everything from religion to local politics to the length of time it takes for a coconut to ripen to the frequency of hurricanes and the historical damage they've created on the island.  This was not an anomaly.  Javier, Kristian, Trevor, Wayo and Glen were equally open to talking about anything and everything; even about buying land and starting a business....I've been brainstorming since midweek on the island.

Save for the sailing trip on Wednesday morning, everything we did was fantastic!  Couldn't have asked for more.  More on the sailing trip verbally...it's just too much and too crazy.  But I think someone is going to die or get a hand chopped off....you're curious now, aren't you?  We'll just have to set up a get together over dinner and drinks to discuss the happenings.

The trip provided a perfect blend of activity and relaxation for Carly and I.  And the friendships we made will last forever; something for which we will be forever grateful.  Oh and don't forget the food we ate on the island...amazing!  Almost every review I read leading up to the trip noted that there were no bad restaurants on the island.  They were right.  And about my attempt to sustain myself on Belikin (from an earlier post); I almost succeeded but in the end it was just too much.  My body was screaming for water!  I'm stronger for it and vow to give it a try again come September 2012 in Ireland!  Only this time with Guiness...

If you're looking for a vacation idea, Ambergris Caye (pronounced key...don't forget it!) is it.  Don't just trust us; try it for yourself.  I'm certain you'll enjoy. 

Take care all until our next trip. 

Matt and Carly