Today was to be the third (last) day of my three day sailing trip along the Belize Barrier Reef with Raggamuffin Tours.
***Here’s a little funny…I was afraid to say Placencia out loud because it was just too close to the word placenta. We had a chuckle when we realized that many of us were thinking the same thing. The crew said it happened all the time.***
I was up early and was hoping to catch another amazing Belizean sunrise, but it wasn’t to be. Again, the crew took care of us by making a great breakfast while we broke down our tents. I think the crew was moving a bit slower than usual because they joined us in the dancing and drinking the night before. We were getting into a routine already after just two days, so camp tear down and boat loading went very quickly.
Our first stop was for snorkeling at South Water Caye. For some reason I wasn’t much interested in jumping in that day, so I just hung out on the boat and soaked up some more of the sunshine. The same was true at our second stop, for swimming, at Pelican Cayes. It was beautiful and as usual the crew gave a quick briefing for everyone before they jumped in. They said to feel free to swim to the shallow areas near the beach, but didn’t recommend actually going to the beach otherwise someone may show up to charge you for its use. I’m guessing some resort must own the island, but none of us asked. Nobody stayed in the water too long.
At last we were headed to our final destination, Placencia. The water got a little rough and all but two of us escaped to the back of the boat. I actually enjoyed the small swells, but others were quickly downing motion-sickness pills. Fortunately nobody got sick, or at least not that I saw (thank goodness).
We pulled into Placencia at the point at what I’ll call ‘early sunset’. It was very pretty to see other boats and sailboats sitting in the bay with the sun beginning to set behind them. This was the last scheduled stop of the tour. Here is where everyone departs and heads on their merry way. I on the other hand (along with one other passenger) had decided to take the sailboat back to Caye Caulker with the crew. This was to be an overnight motor back (more on that in a later post). We all said our good-byes and exchanged some email addresses. I met two gals from the US, Deanna (PA) and Lakha (CA). I hope that the three of us will be able to connect and travel to again sometime in the future. They were so much fun.
Keith and I went to the bar right near the dock for a drink while the crew gassed up. Ramsey joined us a bit later. The bartender (owner?) was originally from the US. She was very, very chatty about an upcoming Christmas party that she had planned. She had even made a bunch of gifts to give everyone and she was very proud of them.
Leon and Kimani joined us when they were done and we all headed to Wendy’s (not the US brand) for dinner. I was brave and took a sip of Leon’s seaweed shake…it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good enough for me to order one for myself. At around 6pm, we were off and headed back to Caye Caulker.
I can’t say this enough…I LOVE BELIZE and the BELIZEAN PEOPLE!!!