Jennette--Hugging Sharks and Feeding Iguanas!

Jennette & Noam

Jennette Fisher arrived from Albuquerque on May 19th, beginning a week of adventures for both of us! 

We wasted no time in beginning the first of many firsts for Jennette with Dave flying us to Ambergris Caye!  Jennette had not been in a small plane so this short flight was a fun adventure with beautiful views of the Reef!

Jennette and I stayed at the Sun Breeze Hotel, which is just across the street from the San Pedro Airport!  The hotel has a beautiful courtyard and pool, and we spent the afternoon lying by the pool.  Lots of talking and laughing with great drinks from the poolside bar!  Dinner was at one of the best restaurants in Belize, Elvie's!  

The following morning we were told that the electric company was shutting down electricity in the whole town!  And I was pretty desperate for a cup of coffee!  Luckily, we left the hotel early in the morning and quickly discovered Mesa Cafe run by Joann and Shelby from Australia!

While they didn't have electricity, they fixed us icy drinks, chai for Jennette and a Machiato for me! Heavenly!  Then we went shopping--about the time that the electricity returned!

Lunch was at Ramon's Village Resort.  What a beautiful place!  Jennette had her first chance to dip her feet in the Caribbean Sea.    Ramon's burned a few months ago, and our waiter said that 250 people worked to rebuild the resort in 5 months.  The plants are new, and the landscaping is spectacular!  It would be a fun place to spend a few days!

The Sun Breeze Hotel did not have enough people signed up for a snorkeling trip, but they found us a trip a couple of docks away.  Mystic Adventures, with Shamir as the guide, turned out to be a great alternative! A family joined us...grandparents, parents and three children...and they spoke only Spanish! Gave me a little practice!  

We first went to Hol Chan Marine Reserve where we began snorkeling.  The current was strong coming in through a gap in the Reef at high tide.  Shamir led us out, as we looked at colorful fish--large and small!  We saw a green eel and a small shark!  Jennette caused Shamir no end of grief.  To me: "do you know where your friend is?"  Well, I was trying my best not to be left behind and not to drown, so the least of my worries was where Jennette was!  She was very competent at snorkeling and simply was following the fish..but not following Shamir so much!  She was also in charge of the underwater camera, so she was busy taking pictures.  (Shamir took over the camera at times, and dove down to take close-ups!)  We also saw big loggerhead turtles!

After a long snorkeling experience there, we climbed back in the boat and went to Shark Ray Alley. Shamir threw in some fish, and the sharks swarmed!  They were on top of each other, fighting for a bite to eat!  Wild!  What a turmoil of water!  On the opposite side of the boat, Shamir, Jennette and the parents of the children dove in to swim with the sharks!  Shamir caught a shark in his arms and gave it to Jennette to hug!  He also caught a stingray, which Jennette "pet" and said was "slimy."  (I preferred to stay in the boat and took pictures!)

After returning to shore, Shamir dropped us off at our Hotel dock.  By this time, Jennette had noticed that she should have been following Shamir the whole time!  And I am pretty confident that he was happy to have Jennette on board!

Jennette and I collapsed at the pool to recover for a while, then ate dinner at the Blue Water Grille at the hotel.  Excellent food!

Thursday morning we went to the water taxi to catch a ride back to Belize City.  We had done so well with our sun screen up to this point, but we grabbed the chance to sit up on top of the water taxi, sadly without sun screen.  We had a wonderful ride in the SUN and wind, stopping briefly in Caye Caulker before reaching Belize City. Jennette, especially, was scorched.

Given that we still had time on Thursday afternoon, Jennette and I drove to the Belize Zoo.  We were lucky that a "Jaguar lick" was going on with a couple of people, during which the Jaguar does somersaults and eats treats from the hand of a visitor (not us) and jumps atop the cage that holds the visitors!  The day was particularly hot, so the Howlers didn't howl much and the Spider Monkeys didn't play much.  But it was nice to be in the jungle!

Friday was a laid-back day.  I needed to do some work at the Centre, and Dave took the airplane to International Airport for an oil change.  The three of us had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant, and Jennette returned to work with me to see the facility and meet the children.  Dinner was at the Riverside Tavern.

Saturday was another day of firsts!  Jennette and I climbed into the car for a trip to Cayo District.  We stopped first at the Orange Gallery where we both found great things to buy!  We had lunch in the outdoor restaurant.  Then we drove on to San Ignacio, stopping at the San Ignacio Hotel & Resort where we took the Iguana Conservation Project tour.  

Playing with iguanas may not be my favorite activity, but watching the faces of my friends as I take pictures is worth the creepiness (to me) of being with the lizards!  Jennette loved it!  She started out by petting an iguana, and with our guide, Bert's, encouragement, she then held one...two...three...and pretty soon a dozen (baby ones)!!  She held one of the big ones, Noam, and he thought he'd take a bite of her shirt--and wouldn't let go!  The iguanas were hungry fellows and swarmed around one's feet, looking for some leaves.  One leaped from the hand railing onto the back of a very surprised man!  I also enjoyed watching the children, particularly one little guy who appeared to have Aspergers/Autism.  He hung back for much of the tour, watching his brother play with the iguanas.  In the baby nursery, though, he held eleven of them!  What delight on his face!

We still had time for one more adventure!  We went to Cahal Pech for a brief look at one of the many Mayan Ruins in Belize.  Jennette, who has had a couple of surgeries on knees, discovered that her knee felt better in Belize, and she was able to climb a bit at the Mayan temple.

And so the week was over.  We had a wonderful time exploring Belize, and I think that she went home with an appreciation of air conditioning and paved roads!

(More pictures will be added as I get them from Jennette!)