Lots of catching up to do! I don't know where the month went but it is almost gone! The days are certainly warming up and we haven't seen any substantial rain for over three weeks. It's finally starting to feel like dry season. April was our hottest month last year so I'm feeling a bit anxious as we are getting ready to turn the page on the calendar.
The pool is coming along but we are still a few (several?) weeks from swimming. But I'll dedicate another blog to that one! For now, let's step back a few weeks to our visit with Squid, Cheri Lee and Kent.
Adam took the crew to Placencia for a few days to get some sun and sand. They found the sand and a little sun but the weather wasn't the best. I stayed home because of the pool construction but as it turned out I ending up watching the pool fill with rain water for four days! A bit of a set back!
The pool is coming along but we are still a few (several?) weeks from swimming. But I'll dedicate another blog to that one! For now, let's step back a few weeks to our visit with Squid, Cheri Lee and Kent.
Adam took the crew to Placencia for a few days to get some sun and sand. They found the sand and a little sun but the weather wasn't the best. I stayed home because of the pool construction but as it turned out I ending up watching the pool fill with rain water for four days! A bit of a set back!
Placencia wasn't a complete wash out, though. They did get a sunny day in at Laughing Bird Caye. Adam hasn't been to this caye before and he wanted to try a different dive location. Cheri Lee and Kent even signed up for the Discovery Dive program and got a chance to try out scuba diving. Squid was a happy beachcomber for the day. Placencia is such a beautiful place but you really do need the nice weather to be able to fully enjoy it. The nice weather wasn't cooperating so they decided to come home a day early.
Adam is working to accumulate enough scuba dives to be able to dive with the whale sharks. I think twenty dives is the magic number. The whale sharks come to feed off the coast, near Placencia, between March and June each year. This is a true bucket list event! These gentle giants can get to be up to 40 feet long with a mouth 5 feet wide! During these months, around the time of the full moon, a variety of reef fish such as mutton snappers spawn in the area. They release millions of fish eggs and it is this event that attracts the whale sharks every year, who come and feed on the eggs. Adam doesn't have enough dives yet but it's a realistic goal for next year!
Adam is working to accumulate enough scuba dives to be able to dive with the whale sharks. I think twenty dives is the magic number. The whale sharks come to feed off the coast, near Placencia, between March and June each year. This is a true bucket list event! These gentle giants can get to be up to 40 feet long with a mouth 5 feet wide! During these months, around the time of the full moon, a variety of reef fish such as mutton snappers spawn in the area. They release millions of fish eggs and it is this event that attracts the whale sharks every year, who come and feed on the eggs. Adam doesn't have enough dives yet but it's a realistic goal for next year!
Once the group got back to Cayo, the weather cleared up and we got back to the task of sightseeing and having fun. Cave tubing was on the must-do list as it was something we missed last time Cheri Lee and Squid visited. We decided to sign up with a tour company in town and let them guide us for a change. Sometimes is nice to just be along for the ride. The caves are located along the Caves Branch river. This is, hands down, my favourite river in Belize. It's warm, clean and beautiful! And about half of it runs underground.
Before getting into the refreshing water for a relaxing float through the Mayan underworld (Xibalba), the rest of the group opted for an adrenaline rush...zip lining! The Belizean tourism board has really developed the cave tubing site very nicely. While there, you can zip line, enjoy a nice lunch in the restaurant, go for a horseback ride, hit the gift shop or picnic under the trees. It makes for a full day. I missed out on the zip line. Had a headache so I took drugs and napped on one of the nice picnic tables. Just what I needed because I was totally ready for the cave tubing when they were done flying through the jungle!
Before getting into the refreshing water for a relaxing float through the Mayan underworld (Xibalba), the rest of the group opted for an adrenaline rush...zip lining! The Belizean tourism board has really developed the cave tubing site very nicely. While there, you can zip line, enjoy a nice lunch in the restaurant, go for a horseback ride, hit the gift shop or picnic under the trees. It makes for a full day. I missed out on the zip line. Had a headache so I took drugs and napped on one of the nice picnic tables. Just what I needed because I was totally ready for the cave tubing when they were done flying through the jungle!
We rounded out their visit with sight seeing at the near by Mayan sites of Cahal Pech and Xunantunich. The howler monkeys were in great form at Xunantunich. Listening to them never gets old. And we spent a particularly warm day hanging out at the pool at a local resort. Anyone can use the pool for a fee. It's a fun way to feel like a tourist. Soon enough, we'll be hanging by our own pool! I hope that Adam is prepared to be pool boy and bartender.
But it can't be all fun and touring around...still some work to be done. For the last couple of months Adam has been saving the burn piles in the yard for our pyromaniac, Newfie friend from the north! Squid got in there with lots of enthusiasm!