A Gorgeous Week In San Pedro, Belize And The Week Ahead – Back to the Jungle

It’s been sun sun and more sun this week…with the wind increasing quite a bit as it progresses.  My Tuesday trip to the Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef was somehow perfectly timed for relatively calm seas and…just general gorgeousness.  I’m already plotting a way to get back to Half Moon Caye for a night or two of camping.

And just general gorgeousness.  Imagine waking up in this perfect place?

Here are some photos of a walk in town yesterday.  With the increasing wind (you can always see it in detail on Windfinder) came increasing sargasso.  And put many to work cleaning up the beaches.

The fence right next to Estel’s made a nice seaweed blocker for my photo.

The rainbow play set donated by Blue Water Grill and her patrons.

Fishermen pull up the municipal dock in the Central Park and sell lobster and fish.  Fish sells out early…

And then the seaweed.  BP oil spill chemicals?  Change in water temperature?  Mangrove removal and agriculture run-off?  There are lots of articles out there.  But it is affecting lots of the Caribbean and the sea is a mysterious thing…

I walked down the alley passing one of the cutest spots in San Pedro, the Conch Shell Inn.  Definitely wins an award for cutest wall…

I went to buy my ticket at the Coastal Express water Taxi to head just a mile and a bit up to Grand Caribe Resort.

Again…passing the seaweed.

A few dive tanks.  I will get refreshed in diving again soon.  Seriously.

Sargasso, my asso.  Look how pretty the water is just beyond.

And a large lemon boat parked on the dock.

2:30pm boat.  All aboard!  I was off to Grand Caribe Resort.

And a small wedding was about to happen…

And now prep for the week ahead.  I am heading to Chaa Creek next week – not for their amazing facilities and lodge but for Eco-summer camp!

I will spend a day or two in San Ignacio – the largest town in the Western Cayo district and then…

…head into the Chiquibul with the Scarlet Six BioMonitoring Team to help (that’s my word, not theirs) with the many month project of protecting scarlet macaw babies from poachers.   If you love belize, you must read the book “The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw”…

The mysterious Chiquibul…pronounced Chicky-Bull…and on the border with Guatemala.  Unpopulated jungle.  Cover myself from head to toe.  Sleep in a hammock.  Jungle.

The fight against poachers in this region is VERY REAL.  Heralded photographer Tony Rath wrote a very interesting blog – with GORGEOUS pictures of the area – titled “Belize Is At War and doesn’t even know it”.

Of course, I will be reporting back.