Day 5: Travel Day to Isla Bonita

Back when I was a kid, my brother Phil and I could never remember the actual words to a popular song by Madonna.  The song was Isla Bonita.  There was a line in the song that said "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro."  We truly thought she was saying, "Last night I dreamt of potatoes."  Little did I know that many years later, I'd be making my way to the actual San Pedro...also known as La Isla Bonita.  I wish I could say that I had dreamt of San Pedro, or potatoes, last night...but all I dreamt about was an internet connection that met my needs.

The Cahal Pech resort lived up to its reputation with breakfast again.  Today's feast included French Toast, breakfast quesadillas, and Plantains.  It also contained spicy potatoes.  They were good and Madonna surely would be dreaming of them if she had eaten them as well.

My first plate.  My diet is suffering this week, lol.

I ate way too much and I am not the only one.  Many of us were commenting about how full we were on the way to the Zoo.  That's right, the zoo.

The Belize Zoo was created in 1982 because of an animal research project.  The founder of the Zoo is Sharon Matola.  When she finished her research, she decided to devote her efforts to helping local animals and creating the nation's first zoo.  Her efforts surely paid off.  The zoo is now dedicated to helping protect the animals of Belize and assisting those animals who have been injured or who have had their homes destroyed by man.  There are a ton of different animals in the Zoo and we had quite the show.  The design of the zoo is different than those that we are used too. We are used to seeing animals in cages or in pens that are designed to look natural but are far from it. At the Belize Zoo, the habitat of the animals is all natural.  It is possible to look for an animal and not see it because it is camouflaged among the vegetation of Belize.  Here are a collection of photos:

A hurricane hit Belize in 2010 and much of the Zoo was damaged.  They built the destruction into the Zoo to show how it could interfere with the animals in real life.

A Tapir allowing the kids to pet it.

Toucans are the national bird of Belize.

A crocodile they call Alligata.

The Jaguar.  This is the Zoo's prized possession.  

After the Zoo, we headed across the street to the Tropical Education Center.  In this facility students can walk along nature trails and learn about the Savannah eco-system of Belize.  We had lunch there.  It was Rice and Beans...with beef.  It was good.  I was still full from breakfast, but still had my fair share.  We had planed to walk a 20 minute path, but found out that recent rains had washed the path away.  Albert took us on a much shorter path where the vegetation had kind of grown over the walkway.  Some people got to calling it tickle grass.

More of us walking along the trail.

Walking along the trail.

After our nature walk, we boarded our bus and headed back to Belize City.  We said a temporary good bye to Warrior and boarded our ferry.  As we launched, I grabbed a quick photo of the lighthouse.  Just next to the lighthouse is the tomb I referenced earlier about the man who assisted Belize after a devastating hurricane.  He loved the country and the sea and wanted to be buried near it.  The Belizean government granted his request.

Our boat landed at San Perdo without much fanfare.  We grabbed our luggage and boarded our taxis.  We had a slight change of plans and our hotel was switched to the Banana Beach Resort.  The new hotel, according to Albert, has better accommodations and works better with groups.  Once we arrived, we weren't complaining.

In the Taxi on the way to the hotel.

 The Banana Beach Resort is right on the water.  We decided to take a quick dip before it got too late.

Our view.

The swimmers.

Travel days can be exhausting.  This one was no exception.  We did a lot.  We traveled across the country.  We traveled over 1.5 hours on boat.  We walked all around the zoo and saw so many different animals.  We laughed and played and napped. We ate.  We swam.  We napped again.  Tomorrow, we will snorkel.  This week has flown by and we still have a lot of excitement ahead of us.  We also know that the end is approaching.  I was talking to a couple of the kids about that today and they just want to keep doing new things.  I am excited for what the next few days will bring...and for what interesting way we will decide to spend the 4th of July.

Well, I am in the middle of a Jaws marathon and should consider turning in for the night.  I am not sure if I'll dream of potatoes, San Pedro, or La Isla Bonita...but I'm hoping my dreams aren't related to the movies I am watching.

Good night all.

Mr. Lavoie, currently trying to figure out who thought Jaws 3 would be a good idea and finding the odd connections between it and Jurassic World.