Klye checks out a python.

On our last day, we venture out to the Belize Zoo which is located in the jungle and features only native species. Some animals run free (sticking around for the food) and the rest have minimal pens.

Our return to Belize City is a 3-hour journey and this time we will share the boat with some 20 odd passengers compared to 12 on the way out. Fortunately, the boat is much bigger and the waves much smaller resulting in a much less traumatic journey back to the main land. Our last night is spent in the Biltmore Plaza Hotel where we all race for our first hot, fresh water showers in a long time. The evening culminates with an exceptional meal at a Chinese restaurant (a nice change of pace from a weeks worth of Belizian fare).

I too found the hammocks to be my favorite recouperative destination.

All of the activities in the ocean are exhasting and a lot of time is spent resting in the hammock palapas.

The wind is your friend when midday temperatures soar. This morning they are brisker than usual averaging about 30 mph.

 Our last day in paradise and I am up with the sun and the moon.

Friday evening and time for the Long Caye Talent Show. Jes and (the other) Gray treat us to music that was nothing short of fantastic. Kyle and I wisely elect not to traumatize the other guests with our attempts at singing. I should add, however, that each night after volleyball, despite being percussionally challenged, I participated in a drum circle.

One of my favorite art shots.

Today we paddled the sea kayaks out to a great snorkeling site on Glover’s Reef. We spotted a big barracuda, several squid, fish of all size, shape, and unbelievable color and a very BIG lobster.

By far the most ubiquitous creature on the island was the hermit crab. For the record these guys will draw blood if they pinch you with their claws (Grae was first to discover this fact and the rest of the group seemed all too happy to discontinue further investigation). Pictured here is the organic waste dump site covered in crabs. Every shell contains a crab and you can hear the sound of them eating from 20 feet away. Their favorite food seems to be the remains of oranges we used to squeeze our juice from each morning.

A closer view in flight.

A pair of ospreys maintained vigil over the atoll. Click on the photo for a close up of the impressive talons on these guys.

The days activities included windsurfing and kayak surfing in perfect conditions. Both required the use of long retired muscles and each day produced a new batch of sore body parts. All worth the exhiliration, however.

Good thing these guys were friendly, because they were certainly abundant.

Despite their fierce appearance, I found the iguanas to be very playful. They run away at the first approach of a human. I suspect if they ever figured out how good we taste, I might have a different perspective on the matter.

You have no doubt noticed some really cute cottages on stilts by now. Kyle and I, perhaps deemed the most likely to survive in them, were assigned these significantly less idylic ground level platform tents. Each tent holds one person and little more. Crabs and iguana are happy to pay a visit in the night if you fail to heed warnings of keeping food out. After the first night, we realized that due to shear exhaustion, sleep came quickly and life in the tents was grand given their very convenient proximity to the bathroom, mess hall, volleyball court, and kayaks.

A pelican out for breakfast.

Morning light was not nearly as dramatic as evening light, but there was no time for photography at sunset. Daily volleyball strated at 5pm and continued until it was too dark to see the ball and then for another ten minutes more.

As evening approaches, Kyle and I sit on one of the docks enjoying the refreshing sea breeze which averages between 10 and 30 mph during our visit. Of the many spectacular things we observed on this adventure, the most breathtaking for me was the star-filled night sky. With zero light pollution and crystal clean air, I was for the first time in my life able to fully appreciate the heavens above. There really are millions of stars in the sky and when you can see them all at once it is a sight to behold.

Kyle wastes little time locating the hammock palapa. We all need a little rest to recover from the crossing.

Despite the lack of electricity, two composting toilets for the entire island, and gravity fed, solar “warmed” (“heated “would be an overstatement), brackish water showers, the island is remarkably well stocked with sea toys.

The island is sprinkled with palapas which create shade from the intense afternoon sun.

Despite expectations to the contrary we arrive at Long Caye alive. The 50-yard wide atoll will be our home for the next three days. Land never looked so good to me. The word paradise does not do this place of beauty justice.

Did I mention that the boat is very small. Gabe’s hair is sticking out sideways not because of the wind but because she is returning to her seat after being bounced off the top of the cabin. Lee is not reaching for a bag but rather prefers to absorb the impact of each wave while hunched over rather than sitting down. Zoom into the photo for a peak at Kyle’s face. I mentioned that the boat was small right? And that we are in the open ocean for a 35-mile, 2 hour crossing in high winds with big swells. For the first five minutes, this was more exciting than any thrill ride I have ever been on. After ten minutes, I start planning water survival strategies for when the boat breaks in two from impact with waves twice its size. You are getting the picture, right. Tiny boat, huge ocean waves, fear of death and spinal injury.

Today we drive to Dangriga where we will transfer to a small boat for a 35-mile open ocean crossing to Long Caye located on Glover’s Reef.

Back to the Maya Mountain Lodge for our last night. Each evening we are treated to a 4-course meal featuring exquisite local cuisine explaining why, despite 6-hours of strenuous exercise each day, I managed to gain weight. While in the jungle, Kyle and I also sampled live termites a great source of protein with a carrot like taste. Had they been the sole source of food, I am sure I would have lost a lot of weight.

A moment of rest. Our group included two other father-child combinations. Gabriella (Gabé) age 14 and her dad David (not pictured) and Lowell (pictured) and his three sons, Gabe, Jesse, and Lee. Rounding out our group was a single mom, Grae and a couple from Alaska, Steve and Marie.