Belize 2013: Monday - Happy Hearts

There is nothing better than jumping out of bed at 7:30am, throwing open the curtains, and yelling "LOOK WHERE WE ARE!"

Oh wait, I lied. What’s even better than waking up in paradise next to the one you love, waking up to a beautiful pool two steps outside of your room, waking up to a morning filled with sunshine and ocean air, is waking up somewhere that you can say “I’m going to walk over to my sister’s!” (and as the week went on, my dad’s, mom’s, other sister’s, and friend’s resort abodes).

Lizzie and Kevin established an “open door” policy with all of their wedding guests. Their Coco Beach condo was at the head of the resort, facing the beach. The condo was great, but it was Lizzie and Kevin that made it wonderful. The combination of their open invitation and my excitement alone was enough to surpass my worry of being a bother. Most mornings, Garrett and I would wake up, throw on our bathing suits, and head to Lizzie and Kevin’s. Monday morning was no different.

Together with Lizzie, Kevin, Bubby, and Kurt, Garrett and I took the water taxi into San Pedro. Garrett and I headed off to find fishing supplies while Bubby and Kurt went in search of groceries and Lizzie and Kevin met with their wedding photographer.

Garrett and I walked into what we thought was a fishing store but turned out to be...not a fishing store. The girl inside saw our concern, and told us to follow her. Shrugging our shoulders, we followed as she led us past a "Beware of Dogs" sign (the dogs we had to beware of were two floppy puppies), up a flight of stairs, and into somebody's apartment.

"Wait here," she said.

“Uh,” was our response. Our hearts fluttered, but we didn’t—couldn’t—move.

Out came Nester, a local with a serious sunglass tan. He didn’t sell fishing tackle, clearly, but was a guide. He took us out to his balcony (hearts fluttered again), and pointed out the bait and tackle store. Since he turned out to be so kind and helpful (thank goodness!), Garrett asked his price and availability. We left Nester’s home with all body parts intact and a fishing trip planned for Tuesday.

Garrett and I waited out rejoining our group at a local restaurant called Wild Mangos. We sipped tropical drinks as our party returned to take the water taxi back to Coco Beach.

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the pools, sliding down the water slide, and splashing in the ocean. We all soaked up the sun gratefully in each other’s company.

 

Earlier in the day, when Garrett and I were at Wild Mangos, we laid our eyes on some seriously large burritos that looked seriously good to eat. The group, now grown to include Kevin’s Uncle Jim, Aunt Nancy, and cousin Patrick, headed back into San Pedro, bellies rumbling for the rumored burritos. Our hearts were all broken a little when we were told the burritos were only on the lunch menu, and we had to order dinner from the dinner menu. Good thing their dinner options were all delicious.

We strolled the streets of San Pedro and settled into a local hotel’s nook of plush, red couches. Exhausted but happy, we waited, yet again, for our water taxi to return us to Coco Beach.

I think it’s safe to say that we all slept peacefully that night. With a day filled with sunshine and beautiful people, I know that my heart rested happily.

 Read about Tuesday here!