Planning our last two weeks in Belize…Today’s photos…

A walk along the beach this morning on a cloudy cool day.

Man-made breakwater we encountered, rocks wrapped in mesh casings about 75′ from shore, utilized to protect the shoreline from the crashing waves.

The next two weeks will fly by. I can feel it whirring by already as we’ve begun counting how many days of groceries, we’ll need to get us through. With the hope to use as much as possible of our food on hand. We speculate that we won’t be dining out again.

The bar at the end of the long dock at Robert’s Grove Resort.

Tomorrow, Wednesday will be our last trip to the village with Estevan, our cab driver. Going through the freezer and refrigerator, we’ve counted that we currently have almost enough meat to go the duration. With a few trips to the vegetable stand, we’ve got it covered.

With Easter on the horizon this Sunday, we’re planning a special dinner inviting our yet-to-remain-in-Belize, Minn Roger, our friends who returned to Minnesota last Friday, left us a good-sized package of grouper they’d caught while fishing here. 

Local carving popular in Belize.

Safely tucked away in the freezer, I’ve looked forward to serving the prized fillets one night soon, and
alas, the time has arrived, Easter dinner.  With Tom diligently back on our stringent way of eating until we’ board ship on April 9th, all of our remaining meals will be low carb, grain-free, starch-free, and sugar-free including the Easter dinner.

The traditional Easter dinner as we knew it, is a thing of the past both health-wise and, due to the lack of
availability of the many ingredients necessary to make the ham and many side dishes. Our lives are different now.

This style of carving is frequently seen in Belize.

Tom will be able to indulge a little on the ship, although we don’t eat more than twice a day. Many cruise passengers live for the lavish multiple meals and decadent desserts available at all hours. We’ve chosen a more modest approach with so many cruises ahead of us. 
 
It would make no sense for Tom to outgrow his new slimmer wardrobe.  We’ve already replaced all his clothes for many sizes smaller while in Scottsdale in December.

An abandoned building, part of a resort that most likely failed due to poor economic conditions.

I strictly adhere to our way of eating at all times while Tom occasionally tries some bread and desserts which don’t appear to present any ill effects for him when consumed in moderation.

Together, today, we’ll plan the meals for our next two weeks, grocery shop accordingly taking the one mile each way walk to Seine Bight to buy additional fresh vegetables again in another week.

This little abandoned shack may have been a food stand or dive shack years ago.

Once the food situation is resolved, we’ll begin the process of making to-do lists for our departure from Belize City on April 9th.  Booked on two back to back cruises with the partial day layover in Miami on April 13th, we’ll take care of the tasks we have planned as described here, in prior posts: go to the bank, ship three of our large suitcases to LA while picking up an awaiting box with supplies at UPS and stop at a drugstore for miscellaneous toiletries.

When we disembark the ship, we’ll have to go through customs with the three bags.  When we return to the ship a few hours later, we’ll have to check in on the second cruise as would any passenger with the box of supplies we picked up at UPS. 

Another abandoned resort.  Someday these properties will be sold and brought to life again, as the economy in Belize hopefully recovers along with the remainder of the world. It’s sad to see the loss of local employment and potential generated revenues in the many abandoned resorts throughout the country.  Luckily, many well managed and funded resorts continue to thrive today.

This morning, while writing this, I suggested to Tom that we bring one empty suitcase with us.  This way, we can open the box at UPS, place everything in the suitcase, ditch the box, and check-in for the second cruise.  Once aboard the ship, we’ll return to our awaiting cabin (same cabin as a prior cruise) where our remaining luggage is already unpacked and put away.
 
Gosh!  Writing this down adds clarify to these multiple steps, a necessary reality we’ll always face, getting to and from our various destinations. In actuality, it’s the only part we don’t like. In time, it may be our undoing. 

We met this fun-loving group of travelers (one wasn’t in the pool) that had just come off a one week charter on a giant catamaran with a private gourmet chef and full crew. They were all from Chicago with one, a former native of Minnesota. We enjoyed chatting with them. Unfortunately, they all left the next day. Yes, those are my feet in the photo! The sun was so bright, I could see to take the photo. Glad my toes were polished!

For now, the excitement of our next adventure drives us on with a fervor and passion neither of us has
ever known.  The inconveniences occur in only several hour segments, leaving us days, weeks, and months to revel in the rich experiences.  Life is good.