Destination: The Victoria House, Belize

Only a month ago I was sitting on the front porch of Casita #2 in 80-degree weather, drinking an amazing cup of coffee, scrolling through pictures and planning how I was going to relax for the day. We started out our year on the remote island of Ambergris Caye, right off the coast of Belize City in the little town of San Pedro and it was in every way, shape and form paradise.

It wasn’t long after landing that the “we’re not in Kansas anymore” feeling set in. From the one-room airport where we touched down, we sped off to The Victoria House, our home for the next week, on one of three cobblestone streets that covered the entire island. Golf carts and scooters were clearly the transportation of choice here – riding in a taxi felt almost sacrilegious. My dear friend, Kate (as in cocktails with Kate), had invited us on this amazing trip, to a place where she grew up as a kid. She had spoken so highly of the resort, the people, and the coconut mojitos that not going was simply not an option. The first thing that struck me, immediately upon arrival to the resort, beyond the STUNNING landscape, five-star accommodations or beachfront property was how unbelievably kind everyone was. It felt like we were immediately welcomed as part of the family and it didn’t end until we had been dropped off at the airport the following week.

The air was hot and sticky with humidity when we settled into our casita which luckily came equipped with a small AC unit which was warmly welcomed and promptly turned on. The bed was surrounded with gauze-like netting while chocolate, little cards, and bright red flowers were added around as accents to the neutral beachy feel. At the bar, we got to know the group, ordered basically everything off of the cocktail menu, because when in Belize (and when Tony is making them) you try all of the options. The best part of the vacation was that we were with people that all had their own agenda, i.e. when they woke up, ate, went to the pool and then we all got together to do fun events. It was the perfect blend of being with a larger group (9 of us) and feeling like I was on a romantic tropical vacation with my boyfriend.

I am going to do a separate post on fishing because it was SUCH an amazing experience and I have way too many photos to do it justice all in one post.

Highlight of the trip: Toss up between fishing, waking up early to ride bikes into town and our massage over the water (HEAVEN)
One thing I would have changed: LEAVING!!! No seriously – I would have stayed for at least another week if I could have. Next time we go (yes we have decided going back is a must) we need to go snorkeling, we just didn’t have enough time!

Trip Tips:
BUG SPRAY – I got annihilated and I don’t mean like five bad bites, no I walked through the grass at dusk without bug spray and got probably 40 (not kidding) bites in a matter of three minutes.
SUNSCREEN – this is kind of a given as it is a warm and tropical climate but we had SPF 35-50 on at all times and remarkably I did not burn once! I used SuperGoop Daily Sunscreen and their Lip Sunscreen and absolutely loved it.
CHEAP SUNGLASSES – I am really trying to be better at this when I go somewhere that might involve the water. Take a pair of nicer lenses and a cheap pair that you won’t cry over if they end up at the bottom of the ocean. I took these.
RELAX – also might be a given but this was the first trip in a long time that I felt completely at ease with anything we were or weren’t doing. It was so nice to just let go and clear my mind – I should really do this more often (maybe find a different way than flying to Belize…even though that would be ideal)