ruthkennedysretirementblog

We arrived Sunday evening and it is fun setting up home in a different country. It is going to take a while getting organized.

It is hot, hot, hot. 30C in the day time and 27C….or thereabouts…. during the night.
Amazing how the heat makes one tired.

The house is adequate, we have the bottom and there are two apartments upstairs. Each has a single lady living there.  

We are a short five minutes walk to the beach, the road is max one car width…. we just move to the side if a car comes by.

It is just a little town, the Main Street is adjacent to the water. Not high season yet so kind of quiet.

The beach is just as I remember and sure did not disappoint. We stopped here to have an ice cream.

Beautiful vegetation.
Have no idea what the berries on the palm tree are, have to find out.

The gas station is on the right, that is where we go to get cash. The turtle on top of the building next door is a new addition… sure hard to miss. Looks like a lot of money, but only worth about $27 Canadian.

Our home for the next six months looks like we are going to be able to tolerate it…lol

Cheers!
Ruth

Our last full day in the jungles of Belize was November 4.

Ian Anderson’s place is very organized, with friendly, efficient staff.
Would highly recommend it.

We crossed the Belize River in a tiny boat with no seats and arrived at a magnificent resort called the Banana Bank.

Daryl was a natural, saddled his own horse…. me I didn’t have a clue, thankfully we had good guides.

And then we went through the jungle, muddy and hilly in places. Nobody fell off their horse…lol
I had hoped to take more pictures of the beautiful surroundings but was too busy hanging on!

After two hours riding we had lunch. Two days later my hips and thighs are still hurting….guess I was   gripping that poor horse very tightly!!

Two unwanted guests came back to the lodge firmly attached to my ankles. Freaked me out.

Who would believe having fun can be so tiring. Thanks Daryl, that was a pretty amazing early birthday present.

Yesterday, November 5 we came to Roatan. It will take us a while to settle into our winter home….and to get caught up on sleep.

Cheers
Ruth

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Day 3 At Ian Anderson’s resort we went to the zoo and saw an angry  jaguar when a bunch of little kids got close to his enclosure.

And other animals too…..

A tapir…

  And of course monkeys.

 

And of course friendly snakes!!

Then zip lining  

Another successful day!!

Our second day at Ian Anderson’s Cave Branch Jungle Lodge was packed full of adventure.
We went cave tubing, a first for both of us. 

Yes, we went into the cave about 300 feet under a mountain. It was spectacular. Thank goodness for headlamps.

The stalagmites and stalactites were impressive.

Awesome colours and shapes.

And of course we had to have a bit of fun painting each others faces…..sometimes you just gotta be a kid!

And then my camera died.

We came home happy and tired.

Ruth

Time to shed the winter clothes. And have or first meal of stew pork….for airport food not bad at all.

Another quick flight to Belmopan, 17 minutes from start to finish, in the smallest plane I have ever been in. We had to hold our carry on luggage on our laps. Belmopan is the capital of Belize, the airport is the size of a small bedroom. Super friendly and helpful people.

Tiny plane

This side trip to Belize was an early surprise birthday present from Daryl. I had no idea what to expect. It has been amazing. We were picked up for about a 45 minute drive into the jungle. Sweet place. Our “house” has three screened walls in each room totally surrounded by jungle, such a cacophony of sound No night pollution in the sky…..totally black!

So that is our first day of our mini vacation in this retirement trip. First time in a long time we arrived at our destination with luggage!!!

We have very limited internet service, only in the dining area. That feels kind of weird.

A New Stage in Life

Who would have thought the time would come when wintering in a warm climate would be, not only a thought, but a reality. In just a few short days Daryl and I will be spending the winter in Roatan, Honduras.

Will I miss that 6 AM alarm….. not for a minute.

However a walk on the local beach to watch the sunset could become the new normal!

Stay tuned for retirement adventures.

Ruth