Belize 2013: Tuesday - Finding Romance in Bonefish

As planned, Garrett and I stayed back as the rest of the group headed out on a day excursion to the Mayan Ruins. Instead of waking up for a 6 a.m. departure to the ruins, we woke in time for an 8:00 a.m. date with Nester, the fishing guide we met the day before.

I had a slight freak out on Monday night—we knew nothing about this Nester character, after all. Would he even show? If he did, would he bring us somewhere horrible? Would Garrett and I ourselves become a new addition to the Belizean Mayan Ruins? Garrett wasn’t fazed, though, so I drew comfort from his calm and fell asleep.

Anyway. Back to Tuesday morning. We approached the dock and, as planned, Nester was there waiting for us in his boat. We hopped in and sped away in the direction of the bridge. It was an uncommonly windy week in Ambergris Caye, so the boat ride was extra choppy. Garrett and I smiled at each other and our surroundings as the warm water splashed up over the bow and onto our faces.

Once we crossed under the bridge, the water became instantly smoother. Nester weaved our boat slowly through the mangroves, which reminded me a bit of the Florida Everglades, but cooler because, well, we were in Belize. Toward the end of the mangroves, Nester said we had to take a tiny detour—he had to stop at his house to pick up an extra pole. My heart palpitated for a moment as my fears from the night before circled around in my head. But then I figured I was being ridiculous. And if I wasn’t, well, Garrett’s a pretty big and strong guy.

Nester secured us to a dock and was gone for no more than five minutes. In that five minutes, Garrett and I got to see a small piece of coastal Belizean life. One man was gutting and salting a hanging barracuda, another was packing his boat for a day on the water, and a woman was hanging out laundry to dry in the distance. Tarpon, which are protected in Belize, swam around our boat, as curious about us as we were our surroundings. As to not seem too curious, to the point of rude, I diverted my attention into taking pictures of Garrett and, of course, making sure he took pictures of me.

Nester returned, extra fishing pole in tow, and we set off to do some bone fishing in the flats.

Garrett was in heaven. (When you ask him, “what was your favorite part about Belize?” he will instantly reply, “bone fishing,” so quickly, it will sound like one word.) I’m not one for fishing, but I am one for being outdoors. So, while Garrett “hunted” for bonefish, I read, soaked up sun, and swam in the crystal clear water.

After 5 hours of a what-should-have-been 4 hour trip, I started to grow weary. I covered myself with towels (this ginger skin can only take so much sun) and willed Garrett and Nester to return. I got the gist that the trip wouldn’t end until Garrett hooked and caught a fish, so I said my prayers.

Luckily, Garrett returned and caught his very own bonefish just as I was reaching my limit.

“That’s it? THAT is what you’ve been fishing for?” I asked. As aforementioned, I’m not one for fishing. Garrett, on the other hand, was ecstatic.

“Did you see that fight!?” Ut oh, I thought, he's caught the bonefishing fever. I let him cast a couple more times before breaking his heart and telling him I needed to go home.

After we returned (again, all in one piece! Yay! Thank you, Nester!), we scarfed down some bar food and then did MY part of the day—couples massages on Lizzie’s veranda, steps away from the beach. I smiled to myself as I listened to the ebb and flow of the ocean, thinking of all the recordings I had heard in spas before of just that. The massage was amazing, the location was amazing, and the day was amazing. We were in pure bliss.

Tuesday was exactly what we needed--time together, just the two of us. Once we got our fill, we were ready for the group to return. I spent the remainder of my afternoon reading on the beach as Garrett fished off of the docks, both of us waiting to reconnect with everyone that had left for the day.

When the group returned, everyone jumped in the back pool. The back pool had a structure in the middle of it that, were we in the States, would have been forbidden to climb and jump off of. But we weren't in the States. We quickly came to realize the Coco Beach had very few rules, if any rules at all.

Kevin's parents, brother, and sister-in-law got in on Tuesday. We had a relaxing night, as all of us were exhausted from the day’s activities. The evening closed with a game of Apples to Apples, which Kevin’s brother Bob and sister-in-law Dana dominated. The Munhalls, if you didn’t know, have quite the knack for board games.

Heavy-lidded and lighthearted, we parted ways and went to bed. Wednesday was going to be a big day, as it was when most of the remaining wedding party would be coming in. Happy to have a few quiet days, we readied ourselves for the exciting chaos that was about to ensue by taking advantage of a good night’s sleep. Lizzie and Kevin's wedding week was about to come in full force, and we had to be ready to take it by storm!


Read about Wednesday here!