Our vacation during the Adventure!

Our Belize vacation has been so much fun! I can't believe how long I have gone without posting.. So this will be a long update of our week! Also Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! :)

Our stay here has been between two places. Coral Bay Villas -- which we stayed the first 5 days. It was amazing. There are pictures of it in my last post. We had bikes when we stayed there and checked out our second place during that stay.. Our second place is way closer to town and a completely different feel from our first. The first place was a relaxing oasis -- and once we realized we would not be getting that same feel  at the second -- we took full advantage of living at the pool. We made it our goal to stay there as much as possible and hold off on all excursions until we were at the second place.

The second place Seven Seas is still beachfront but not as nice as the first. It is more an apartment style feel here and surrounded by nightlife. Our first day here Taylor, my mom and I all went snorkeling at the reef and then shark n ray alley. The snorkeling was pretty good and filled with many colorful fish. Shark n Ray alley was quite incredible! There were tons of sharks and HUGE stingrays. We got to touch the stingrays which was cool.

My favorite place so far has been a bar called Palapas. You get to sit in inner tubes in the ocean and they send beer down in a bucket of ice! It is so fun! The food is really good too. They were rated # 1 of 26 bar and grills on the island. They have fried bacon that is UH-MAY-ZING! Heaven in your mouth!

I am just skipping around here but at our first place we had bikes so we spent a lot of time riding around the island. One side of the island meets the Caribbean sea and the other side meets a lagoon that is filled with crocodiles.

We have fulfilled pretty much everything on Taylor and I's to do list except scuba diving.. Neither of us are certified and neither of us wanted to spend the money or time to get certified so snorkeling made up for it instead.

The night before thanksgiving Taylor and I went out to a bar called Wet Willeys. I won't go into details of the night but it was a lot of fun and I definitely paid the price the next day. They really do party late here because Tay and I stayed out until 3am! crazy! It was also the last time of this trip that I will drink so much. From here on I will stick to maybe a beer or two here and there but a break is definitely happening!

As fun as I am having here I am itching to be back in adventure mode. I bought the Steve Jobs autobiography on audiobook to listen to for all the bus rides I have to come. I have already started listening (sorry Tay)  and it is SO good. I look forward to every minute of it! Best part is its 25 hours and 6 mins long! :)

I love the water here!

The watch dog.

At our favorite bar. We have gone multiple times!

The best coconut water to have! <3 

Captian Morgan Retreat

Today my dad and I are taking a 4 hour bus ride to Punta Gorda for the night and then a ferry ride to Puerto Barriers, Guatemala -- followed by a bus ride to Le Ceiba and a flight to the Roatan! I am pretty stoked for it all. All my google searches on the Bay Islands have had me pumped about finally getting there..


So our bus ride to Punta Gorda today took 6 hours.. We are now staying the night and have ferry at 9:30 am.

I can't BELIZE we made it!

Flying over El Salvador

We are in Belize! :) Funny story of how we got here. When I booked our tickets in October I couldn't figure out why they were so expensive.. They were the same price as our tickets home from Panama City. Well our mystery was solved when we got to the airport and realized that I booked first class tickets. Oops!

I thought it was a nice surprise but my dad wanted to exchange them and ride coach. (It was too late though). It was definitely a great ride over. :) My mom and Taylor were suppose to be meeting up with us on our connecting flight in El Salvador but unfortunately their flight got cancelled from San Francisco and ended up arriving a day later.

But enough of the flights... Belize is unreal! So beautiful! The place we are staying is a condo on the beach. There is a pool in front of us and then the ocean which is turquoise!  

View from our room

The first night my dad and I had Lobster and chicken curry for dinner. We went to a place right by our hotel called Caroline's Cooking. It was good and we ended up making friends with a guy named Darren who we have hung out with ever since. 

I spent the morning between laying in the hammock and laying on a lounge chair in the pool. It was so relaxing and nice. I am so content with life and where I am! Going back to reality is going to be tough! 

I also loved the fact that we have a kitchen and I was able to make my own breakfast this morning. The one thing I miss when I am not home is cooking! 

Taylor and my Mom finally arrived in the afternoon! They surprised me and came walking up casually in their suits to the pool! I'm so excited they're here!

My Mom and friend Kelly are taking over watching Evan and Olivia for me while I am gone. It was so nice to hear all the stories of what they have been up to since I have been gone. Evan wrote me a card and gave me coupons! My mom said he was trying to give me a dollar from his savings but she told him no he should save it -- so instead he picked out coupons to give me! (So cute!) He also wrote me a card which is so cool because I have been helping him with his homework and learning to write letters. I took a picture because it is the cutest card. It makes me miss them so much! 

The card from Evan

The weather in Belize is so nice. It is constantly the perfect temperature. You don't even need sheets when you sleep. Its always in the consistent 80s I'd say. And even when it gets to 90s the pool and ocean are always refreshing. I love the Caribbean ocean too. It is so warm! 

For dinner last night we went to Blue Iguana and had lobster. It was good and I think I've gotten my lobster fix now. Taylor and I enjoyed our first rum and cokes of the trip! Here are some pictures from our evening. 

I love this picture. 

We also found out that we can try Iguana which is definitely on Taylor and I's to do list.

Here is our list so far--

• Ride a golf cart. (Everyone uses golf carts as transportation here)
• Swim with the sharks 
• Try the oddest food we can find -- Iguana so far
• Possibly go night scuba diving 
• Find out what Elvis wears outside of work. (He is a security guard at the place next to us)
• Attempt to party the way the locals do.. (the biggest party hour is 1am-4am-- and tonight there is a concert we are going to go to and hopefully make it to the bar after)

My Dad and Mom celebrated the Independence of this island from Slavery today. It is kinda like our fourth of July in the states. They woke up at 6 this morning and rode their bikes downtown. They watched the arrival of boats and reenactment of the day.  (I guess it was a big deal but Taylor and I slept through it) 

Up at sunrise

We woke up at 4:30 in the morning to meet up with our tour guide Jack Koopa. We originally were suppose to couch surf at Jack's house but ended up staying in a hotel the whole time. The hotels were cheap and more in the town where we wanted to be.

We met Jack and went up the hill to watch the sunrise.. Here are a series of pictures from it. It was a pretty incredible view and best place to enjoy coffee and breakfast! :)

Best view I've ever had coffee to. 

 The sunrise was beautiful over the lake. We had coffee and bagels watching it. Then we went to the zip line where we did a mini one to the other side.. hiked up a bit and then enjoyed the 400 meter zip line. It had amazing views of the lake, volcanos, and greenery. 

The view right by the zip line

Not recommend for those with nervous conditions.. 

My Dad choose to do superman style. I did not. 

Right on the water our third night in San Pedro La Laguna

I already wish I was here again. 

 The second place we stayed was right on the water. Not bad for 15 a night right??


I also enjoyed an hour and 30 minute hot stone massage. It was wonderful except one of the stones burned my upper shoulder and now it kinda feels like a sunburn. 


I could not be happier on this trip. Everyday has just been filled with fun. Making new friends, being adventurous, outdoorsy, relaxing, living... I could not ask for more. And its just going to continue to get better because tomorrow my Mom and Taylor will be meeting up with us for 11 days in Belize! :D!! 

We fly out of Guatemala city at 1 tomorrow and our connecting flight in San Salvador is the same one Taylor and my mom are on. So we will all be flying into Belize city together! :)

Everyday just keeps getting better!

I still need to finish about our time in Antigua but I wanted to get pictures up from today. We are now in San Pedro La Laguna because of Lake Atitlan - Which is gorgeous! I keep uploading pictures as much as I can in case I get mugged or something and I don't want to lose them. People getting mugged is common but I am just hoping for the best. 


We met a bunch of travelers in our shuttle car from Antigua --> San Pedro. We all ended up staying at the same place all next door to one and other and have been hanging out ever since. Some have been traveling for the last 6 months or more so it has been a fun group to be with.

The shuttle ride

To new friends you meet along the way

Hanging out at our hotel

Lake Atitlan

They called this spot the tramoplin

Rooftop view

A bar in the town

My dad and I split up for the day and while I hiked around the lake and went to a swimming reserve -- he got a massage and adventured on his own for a few hours. Tomorrow we have to be up by 5am for a sunrise zip lining tour! Early as can be but it should definitely be worth it! :)