High up in the sky in a Boeing 737 I was happy to have a window seat and a splendid view of Texas, neatly mapped out and organized. So many housing estates like little crop circles with one way in and one way out. Then the Gulf and the sea, the clouds like balls of cotton floating beneath us. Soon we were over the Yucatan, a landscape of small villages attached to each other by white lines and brown earth where the forests had been cleared along with slow burning fires spreading triangles of dissipating white smoke. Soon we were skimming over the palm trees and bumping down in Belize.
We had arrived. Moisture and sunshine. Cool temperatures. There was no mechanized gantry, only stairs. At the bottom of the stairs a short heavily built Belizean in his early sixties, his hair grizzled, was waiting with a wheelchair. Watching Marney descend slowly and carefully, he seized upon her triumphantly, had her in the chair and in a flash we were off to customs, bypassing the health checks. We now had our personal conductor who knew the ins and outs and all the shortcuts. His English had that beautiful Caribbean lilt and we felt like family immediately. I just tagged along behind the porter with the bags, following the memsahib. We passed down the side of the immigration building and in through a side door. Officials in glass cabins looking as if they ought to be at school, inspected our papers and stamped them. So easy and fast. Our loyal guide knew the ropes.
Marney decided we needed to stop at the duty free. “So much cheaper than the shops,” our guide intoned. The smallest need had to be looked after and in a flash we were off to the local flight area where our loyal guide delivered us up into the hands of a handsome, well- built young man with a loud voice and easy manner who was organizing the tourists heading to Ambergis Caye into squads of 14 while American holiday makers milled around. We were counted then escorted to the plane – a sturdy enough looking aircraft. Belize’s main tourist attractions are the beautiful beaches, the wonders of the barrier reef, the Blue Hole, the equatorial rain forest, the Mayan ruins… the chocolate and rum…and the pleasantness of its people. Nothing for them is too much trouble.
A party of American ladies took up the back seats of the plane and dissolved into raucous competitive laughter. The males crowded around the pilot eagerly focused on the intricacies of the flying. I was impressed by the roar of the single engine which sounded more than adequate to get us into the air along with our four suitcases. And up we went out over the low -lying forest.
Marney had chosen what looked on the internet to be a well-appointed AirBnb in the middle of Ambergis Caye, (pronounced Key) a peninsula parallel to the reef south of San Pedro – population 12,000 – a vital cog in the tourist industry. As we flew over the shallow water towards the town, I noticed thin red lines floating in the water looking what I fancifully thought might be the backs of large gold fish. Weird. More of that later.
Fifteen minutes later we landed in San Pedro and were met by our taxi driver Jr. and his beaten up old taxi . He collected our cases, and we were soon bouncing up and down on our way to Tranquility Beach Club No.2. There are cobblestone roads in the centre of San Pedro but the rest are made of crushed coral and sand. Bumps are at regular intervals in the form of heavy ropes slung across the road. The main form of transportation is the golf cart called the “cartita” (imagine bumper cars you run around in but which you are not allowed to use to hit anyone or anything). People drive them with gay abandon and often with pina coladas in hand.
San Pedro and its environs are a work in progress: magnificent temples of tourism in exclusive walled and manicured estates; building sites with piles of sand and half -finished concrete piles and the humblest of wooden shacks beneath palm trees. Everyone is busy and reasonably cheerful. If someone asked me what San Pedro is like, I’d have to say, “They’re working on it.”
We were soon at our destination and settling into the apartment.
All was well until we unlocked the door on the seaward side and ventured out to the pool.
There was a heavy stench of rotting eggs coming off the sea which was sea weed, fermenting in vast puddles along the shoreline. It’s called “Sagassum”, a sort of algae that has little bubbles that keep it afloat. The only way to escape the smell was to walk out along the private jetty. Scientists think its growth is triggered by pollution.
There’s trouble in paradise!
Marney Here:
Our travel from Phoenix to Belize was easy and the porters in Dallas and Belize were incredibly nice. I hate having to ask for a wheelchair but I know Dallas is huge and it would be a struggle for anyone to go end to end and when I saw the long staircase coming out of the plane in Belize, I didn’t care how embarrassing it was – I needed help and they were so kind. We went through Immigration easily (I had heard it can be awkward but it wasn’t – maybe they took pity on me in the wheelchair) and yes, Duty Free (of course) and on to the small plane (after a pit stop – the porter took me to the bano and waited outside – a little embarrassing but I was sure there were no loos on the plane). I had been on one of those before in New Zealand and we had to make an emergency landing in a pasture full of sheep (after climbing over a mountain I was sure we would hit and I was in the co-pilot seat). So… at first I was a little reluctant but not for long -you can see so much more detail in a smaller plane. I will say it had been a long day and the woman in the back seat never shut up. As tired as I was I thought if she described her Zen hotel one more time I would send her out the back door and straight to her doorstep.
When we arrived at the condo I was relieved. I’m in charge of travel and ergo places to stay and I am always concerned it won’t be what I think it will but this was (at least inside). It was disappointing when we went outside though.
The smell was like one of the sulphur springs in Arkansas which I remember from when I was in high school there. Anyway, I’m looking forward to the catamaran next week so we can go out into the ocean and see what everyone raves about in Belize – the clear blue ocean with all the beautiful fish of every imaginable color. Hope to snorkel and will take lots of photos.
All was well until we unlocked the door on the seaward side and ventured out to the pool.