5-12-2019 Sunday Afternoon Sailing

Our friends Yingzhi and Uwe recently arrived in Hopkins on their boat, Zen. On a lovely Sunday they took us out sailing for
the afternoon, and we had a very nice, relaxing time.

3-17 to 3-19-2019 Bread and Butter Caye Trip

Our friends Pam and Oli invited us to go out to Bread and Butter Caye for a couple of days with Oli's visiting family.

Some family members took a powerboat (with everyone's luggage) to reach the island, and the rest of us sailed out there on
catamarans. There wasn't much wind at first, but by the time we were ready to leave it had picked up enough to sail. We
went out on our friend Mark's boat (the one in the middle).

It was a beautiful day, and we all reached the island without incident.

Pam's family and several other friends were on the island for a lunch stop on their day trip at sea.

The owners of the island, Duane and Kim (pictured far left), happened to be there as well.

The sweet island dog, Rudy, is much more chill than he used to be.

A stingray came to see what was going on.

Friends Luckie and Cheryl, of Happy Go Luckie Tours, had some luck spear fishing that day.

Their fresh fish made a nice lunch for them.

The stingray hung around to eat the scraps from the fish cleaning.

We didn't bother him, so he didn't bother us.

Tree-climber Khaya.

Oli's brother, Stephan, took Khaya around the island on the paddleboard.

Oli's father, Wolfgang, was ready to party!

After lunch and relaxation the day guests headed back to Hopkins.

After that we had the island to ourselves.

Shortly thereafter our friend Terry arrived on his jet ski.

Oli's father, Wolfgang, and nephew, Jonah.

Nearing sunset on the first day.

The next day Terry took Judy for a ride on his jet ski.

Luckie was back on another tour, and he thought about hopping a ride as well. Lol.

It was another beautiful relaxing day.

In the afternoon several of us decided to sail over to South Water Caye. There was decent wind when we took off, but then it
died, and we never did reach the island.

It was EXTREMELY slow sailing back, and we actually had to paddle most of the way on Mark's boat. We all got back to
Bread and Butter Caye just as the sun was setting. Thankfully, Judy cooked and dinner was ready when we reached.

Good morning sleepy Rudy.

Last breakfast before we left to return to Hopkins.

We had a fantastic time hanging out with old friends, new friends, and Oli's family.

Farewell Bread and Butter Caye - until next time! There was more wind this day for a quick, direct sail back to Hopkins.

After showers we went to our friend Marcia's new restaurant, Cafe Mana, for dinner. This is
Cara's delicious falafel salad.

Eric had the falafel sandwich on a homemade tortilla.

3-11 to 3-14-2018 Altun Ha & Caye Caulker with Cheryl

Our friend Cheryl came to Belize for a visit, so we drove to the airport in Belize City to pick her up.

We saw this on the Hummingbird Highway - a common site.

Our first stop was the Altun Ha Archaeological Site (a Maya ruin - click for more info).

We had the place to ourselves on this Sunday afternoon.

Do you see the face?

After the ruin we drove the Belize City and took the water taxi to Caye Caulker.

We checked into our hotel and cleaned up.

We looked up the top restaurant on Trip Advisor and headed to Chef Juan's Kitchen and Pastries for dinner. It's a very casual,
cute little place.

Eric's Shrimp Coconut Curry

Cara's Veggie Coconut Curry - delicious!

Cheryl was ready for sun and fun!

We stopped for coffee then headed off for our adventure.

The first day had a better weather forecast, so we went on a full day sailing and snorkeling tour.

First they took us over to see the huge tarpon fish. These pretty pelicans were hanging out there also.

We were lucky to have the right number of people to take the catamaran (in the distance) - it's a really nice ride!

At our first stop, Hol Chan Cut - you can see whitecaps from the waves breaking on the barrier reef.

Second stop, Coral Gardens - this is the least spectacular area on the trip, and no good underwater pictures turned out.

Last stop, Shark Ray Alley - very cool.

They don't chum the waters, so the nurse sharks and rays don't come in huge numbers, but we still saw several.

We explored the area more, which was really nice. Here you see a big school of horse-eye jack fish.

Another nurse shark.

Rays

A ray and a turtle!

We LOVE seeing sea turtles!

On the return we docked on the back side of the north part of the island, where the new Koko King development (bar, restaurant?, beach, resort?) is located. 

Of course, we had to check out the digs.

Very pretty, but we were tired, so maybe we'll hang there another time. We took the free shuttle back to the main part of the
island, cleaned up and went out for dinner.

We found a new place called Falafel Bar - they did have things besides falafel, but that's what we all got, and it was yummy.

Cara had found a place on the island that offers yoga by donation, so she and Cheryl were
happy to give it a go.

It's on a covered rooftop, and the view is nice. This pic was taken early - the rooftop was FULL by the time class started.

The yoga is on the rooftop of a really cute cafe.

We wandered the island, then decided to stop for lunch at La Cubana.

Eric and Cheryl both got Cuban Sandwiches, which they liked.

Cara enjoyed her Cuban Nachos.

More island wandering...

Whoopsie!

Cheryl was photobombed by this cute little girl.

Our last dinner on the island was at a gorgeous place called Il Pellicano.

Musicians we had seen perform in Hopkins were performing that night, which was cool.

Margherita Pizza

Our hotel had free breakfast, but it wasn't very impressive, so we opted for a nice breakfast
out before we left the island.

It's a beautiful setting for a meal.

Eric's Poached Benedictine Eggs

Cara's gluten free waffle with spinach and mozzarella

Cara's gluten free waffle with crushed caramelized peanuts and homemade cane sugar syrup.

Teeheehee - Boaty McBoatface!

We took the water taxi back to Belize City, then drove three hours to Hopkins.