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Bill & Lori Say Belize 2003

Lori wrote this. --BW

We just got back from spending a week in Belize. Belize is one of those places many people have heard of, but couldn't say exactly where it is. It's in Central America on the Caribbean coast, nestled between Mexico and Guatemala. We stayed in Placencia, a sleepy town in the southern part of the country. It's the least touristy place I've been to in a long time. The locals speak primarily English or Creole, and they are SO friendly! We stayed at the Turtle Inn, a rustic beach-side inn owned and run by film director Francis Ford Coppola. It features 15 thatched-hut private cottages sumptously appointed, an open-air dining veranda, and the most delicious food and wine you could want. The front steps of our cottage were 10 feet from the ocean and we went to sleep each night to the sound of the waves lapping on the sand.

Bill and I went to Belize primarily to dive--I needed to do four ocean dives in two days with a diving instructor to complete my PADI certification (Bill is already an expert diver--over 100 lifetime dives). We spent two days diving with Julie, our divemaster/instructor, and had a great time. We saw a nurse shark, barracuda, giant green moray eel, stingrays, tons of tropical fish, and beautiful coral.

We're thinking of going back to Belize in May or June to see the whale sharks while they migrate through the area. Whale sharks are the world's largest fish -- they grow up to 45 feet long and eat primarily plankton, so it's safe for humans to dive in their vicinity.

We also took a one-day jungle trip and saw howler monkeys, three-foot long iguanas, and many exotic birds.

Turtle Inn

Our cozy, coastside cottage
Bill relaxing	Lori relaxing
A private (modulo the paparazzi that took this shot) outdoor shower
Open-air bathroom	Bill relaxing on the porch
Bill relaxing on the beach (yes, there is a lot of relaxing going on!)	Lori grins in spite of the sand flies

Monkey River

This was the closest we got to the howler monkey
Iguanas, on the other hand, were a dime a dozen	Tiger egret
White egrets	Blurry Bill in bamboo forest
Cool butterfly	How nature says, do not touch
Edible, poisonous, or just plain fun?	Lori and Terry (tourguide) on Monkey River tour
Terry's hometown, Monkey River, in the background	Monkey River

Placencia

When you truly want to get away from it all!

Diving

Julie Berry
Bill on a small island	Bill and Lori, shipwrecked, on a small island
Whale sharks, our next adventure

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