50+ Lifestyles

PUBLISHER’S CORNER

By Eloise Graham

I Was a Snowbird for a Week

I have many friends that are Snowbirds for 3 or 4 months or longer. They go to the southern climes of Florida, Texas or Arizona. I became a snowbird for only a week, but I went a lot farther south – Belize, Central America.

Belize, a small country on the east coast of Central America, is just south of Mexico, east of Guatemala and near Honduras. Belize, the last British colony on the Americas mainland, achieved independence on September 21, 1981. It was formerly known as British Honduras until 1973. For that reason, it is English speaking – well, with some Spanish and Creole-like dialog thrown in. It’s currency has an English flair.

My visit to this tropical paradise was with my son, his two children, one of my daughters and her three children. We had a fabulous week there. We stayed at a resort retreat on Ambergris Caye near San Pedro.

Transportation was with golf carts. We rented two carts for the eight of us. There were a few vehicles on the Caye, but very few. Almost everyone traveled by golf carts or on bikes. Our accommodations were a fourth story penthouse time share for four and a beach front cabana for the other four. The cabana was called a casita (little house), hence the Spanish language influence. Very nice!

It was very relaxing to wake up early in the morning, sit on the porch sipping a cup of coffee, feeling gentle ocean breezes and watching the sun come up over the ocean. The sound of the breeze rustling through the palm trees had a melodic sound to it. The fronds on the stems almost sounded like music. So relaxing.

Some of the sightseeing and excursions included a full morning of snorkeling at the coral reef. The reef at Belize is in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. The weather was great, water nice and warm and very clear. We saw many varieties of brightly colored fish, some in schools and others of only one or two. Big ones, little ones all up close to use. We also saw a green sea turtle, a couple of sting rays and lots of brightly colored coral formations.

At another spot, we saw nurse sharks. We even “chummed” for them. Then we went swimming with the manatees and later to a protected area for the sea horse. So much to see and experience. It was lovely. Here is a picture of the eight of us with our marine guide and boat captain.

Another excursion was to the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich. So much history here. The guide had a family history on Mayan genealogy. Then it was off to do some tubing in rivers that flowed through caves. This was followed by zip lining high in the tree tops of the jungle and rain forest. I didn’t do all of this. I opted to stay at the resort and be
pampered at the spa.

Way too soon it was time to leave the tropical paradise of sparkling sun off the water, the birds and gentle breezes. The people of Belize are extremely friendly.