Ronaldo's Big Adventure: January 24, 2011 (San Pedro Town: Day 4)

Monday morning. Wow! As of today I have been out of the U.S. for a full week! I was sure that at any point now I was sure to turn into a pumpkin! I "slept in" this morning - until about 8:00 AM - and decided to go for another run right away before it got too hot. This time I decided to try heading SOUTH and see what I would find. I knew it was a long way to the southern tip of Ambergris Caye - which is 24 miles long - and right near the bottom of the island there is an ancient Maya ruins site. I figured I would just start running south on the beach and see how far I could get in a half hour before I thought I had better turn around and head back. I was able to stay on the beach for the entire run -- and I found a lot of nice (and relatively flat) sand to run on. I ran until my watch told me I had reached the half hour point and turned around to head back to the starting point. There was still quite a bit of island left to the south that I didn't get to see (maybe I will try bicycling down the next time to see if I can find the Maya ruins).

During my "cool down" walk back to Pedro's Inn I stopped briefly at Cindy's Spa and chatted with Cindy (the Canadian and friend of Kirby). Cindy does a great job of giving you a more "realisic" view of actually living in Belize- which is a nice balance to all the books and articles on the Internet which I believe over-romanticize all these places. I am including a photo of Cindy with Kirby and her daughter at the bottom of this post. I got back to Pedro's Inn about 9:45 AM, and I apparently missed both Kirby and Danielle. I had thought Danielle was finally heading off to Nicaragua today, and I had no idea where Kirby had gone. Since I was "flying solo", I headed back to Estel's for my fourth breakfast (actually it was "brunch" this time since it was about noon before I ate) in a row at that place. For the afternoon I just chilled by the Pedro's pool again and spent a couple mid-afternoon hours reading and writing on my laptop and iPAD. When evening rolled around I ran into Mike and Amy who had been (once again) diving all day. We were all starving, and I suggested trying a nearby place for lobster someone had recommended called Micky's. We headed over to the restaurant on Mike and Amy's golf cart and we all had a fabulous lobster dinner for about $ 40 BZ (US$20.00). Another crazy thing that happened that night was that - out of the blue - Kirby found us at Micky's -- and nobody had previously said anything about eating dinner there. Kirby's ESP must have been operating at full strength that night!

Since Mike and Amy were diving (again) early in the morning and Kirby and I had decided to try to get out on a boat in the morning for some reef snorkeling, we decided to make it an early night and refrain from getting bombed for what would have been our FOURTH night in a row! I have to remember I am not a college kid anymore.... We all have our limits. As a prelude to tomorrow's big snorkeling adventure, you need to know that Belize is the mecca of diving, snorkeling and many other water sports. Two world class venues- Shark Ray Alley and the Hol Chan Marine Reserve - are both within four miles of San Pedro Town, and can be reached by boat in about a half hour. UNESCO has awarded World Heritage status to the entire 185-mile barrier reef running alongside pretty much the entire length of Belize, which features over 100 kinds of coral, vibrant sponges, over five hundred species of fish, and an abundant variety of marine life including sea turtles, rays and "gentle" (supposedly) nurse sharks. With crystal clear turquoise blue water everywhere, snorkelers and divers routinely experience visibility extending to 200 feet. I had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a GREAT day!