Last Thursday, we arrived in San Pedro on the island of Amgergris Caye, a 40 minute water taxi ride from Belize City. San Pedro is a small but very developed town, with lots of beachfront resorts and restaurants. It is hard to grow tired of staring out into the Caribbean.
Kate, a friend from architecture school, very generously offered us a place to stay at her beautiful, beachfront home. She lives here with her sister, Jennifer, while she is single handedly designing a boutique hotel and villas across the road, on the lagoon side. (This part of the island is only wide enough for a string of properties on the lagoon side, a string on the beach side, and a dirt road in the middle). Jennifer handles marketing and accounting. The hotel is still over a year from completion, but Kate took me through it and showed me the plans and it looks like it is going to be amazing: 30 suites, each with a bathtub on the balcony, a rooftop pool and bar with a 360 degree view of the water, a spa and restaurant on-site, plus 24 villas, each with their own pool. It has been very interesting to hear Kate and Jennifer's stories about how they have managed this project as two foreign women who continuously have to remind the men that are working for them that they are in charge. They are smart and tough though, and handle it all brilliantly. It is all being done through their uncle Tony's firm, based in Long Branch, NJ.
Annie and I couldn't believe it when we rolled up to the house. It is stunning from any perspective, but especially from a "I've been staying in hostels for four weeks" perspective. We have our own studio apartment, with our own bathroom, television and fridge, plus access to the beautiful main part of the house with a big comfy living room and fully stocked kitchen. We were so thankful for the opportunity to cook for ourselves again. Kate and Jennifer have helped us with everything, from setting us up with bicycles to recommending places to eat and things to do, and helping us find the best deals. We have even used their golf cart a couple of times (the golf cart is the standard vehicle on the island; it is just too small to accomodate cars.)
The Caribbean Sea is beautiful. We still can't get over watching the sting rays glide by under the docks so close to shore. The smallest one we have seen was over 2 feet across. They're our favorite. When they aren't around, we lay on the dock and watch hundreds of tropical fish swim by, turquoise and purple and yellow and green. Tomorrow we are arranging for a half day fishing and snorkelling trip. Annie is going to catch our dinner!
We had a bad couple of days beginning on Saturday, we think because of the Chloroquine anti-malaria tablets. Saturday was our second time taking them, and we both had acute physical and emotional reactions that lasted until Monday afternoon. We will not be taking them again, as we are apparently in the small minority of people who have these kind of reactions. None of the locals take any kind of anti-malarial, of course, and we have actually heard that the disease is very rare around here. We will rely on diligent bug spray application and our dear friend mosquito net from now on.
Yesterday, we decided to volunteer at SAGA, the local animal welfare organization. We showed up at 8:30, expecting to be cleaning cages but instead we spent three hours just walking puppies and playing with kittens. Not a bad gig. They are doing great work, though it must be hard to feel like it is not just a drop in the bucket on an island with so many strays. We passed more homeless dogs on our bike ride there than they actually had at the shelter. It is a sad thing, but we are very thankful for the organization's work. They are having a benefit party on Sunday with a Halloween theme, including a pet costume contest.
Today we are getting ready to go to the baboon sanctuary. The baboons are actually not babboons but howler monkeys, which are called baboons in Creole.
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