I've pretty much had a shark phobia since I was a kid. And then there are my ears- they hurt when I dive into a 6 foot pool. And then there's that part about breathing under water and what happens if you start coughing under water and then you panic and pretty much die?! What about that? But it was already set to go so I had to give it a try. We got certified here in Katy and our instructor was the best. We were also the only two in that particular session which is pretty rare but it was awesome! I was so nervous for our open water dive. We had to do it in this murky Texas lake that was 55 F! We wore 11mm of wetsuits, which was so uncomfortable- I was sore in weird places for days after. My ear hurt so bad on that dive and it was only 20 feet but in retrospect I think that was because we had been camping the day before and my allergies were going crazy.
Anyway, long story short, we passed our certification and headed off to Belize two weeks later. My mother-in-law and her sister flew down from Ontario to babysit and they were amazing but I'll post separately about that. :)
We were there for 5 days and it was honestly the perfect vacation. It was a brilliant combination of fun activities and relaxing down time. We actually stayed on Ambergris Caye, an island right off the mainland. It is pretty wild and doesn't have the pristine beaches like Mexico. Our hotel was called Victoria House and it was so beautiful. And very quiet- not a party resort at all. Since it gets dark at about 6pm there we pretty much went to bed by 10:30 every night. We got up for the sunrise a few times, which was before 6am and it was so peaceful.
We rented a golf cart to ride into town and eat, shop and just walk around. The weather was humid, warm and salty and we felt very safe hanging out there. Although I definitely felt like a tourist- no possible way to blend in. Ambergris Caye is probably not for someone who is looking to get dressed up and be seen.
So the scuba was fantastic. We did 3 dives and saw all kinds of cool creatures: rays, grouper, eels, a big sea turtle and lots of nurse sharks (which somehow I am no longer terrified of). Our last two dives were about 60 feet and my ears didn't bother me at all. In fact, Curtis actually had trouble with his (his allergies were acting up too so this definitely seems to be a factor). He had a whole new appreciation for how I had been feeling back in Texas. And funny story, on one of our dives he had to pee so bad once we were in the boat. We drank a ton of water to stay hydrated and he was dying! I mean I have never seen him so sad. At first I was all panicky, wondering how I could help and then I thought, "hey this is for all the times when we were on road trips and he was annoyed with me for wanting a potty break. And for all those times when I was pregnant and he didn't get the agony I was feeling." So then I just enjoyed the moment. :O
Speaking of Curtis, I just seriously loved every moment with him. I forgot how much I enjoy his company and conversation. We tried to not talk about the kids or anything stressful and just laughed a lot. My favorite moments were laying on the beach together with the warm breeze. I read a super girly novel while there("Edenbrooke"), bought some really cool artwork, ate such delicious food, slept plenty and of course enjoyed hanging out with my number one.
We also spent an afternoon fishing with a local fisherman. He was hilarious- clearly didn't like tourists. But I think he warmed up a bit to us. Curtis caught tons of Snapper (which we brought home and ate for dinner- SO good!) and I pretty much caught everything but snapper: a barracuda, a ray, a blowfish, a big piece of coral, a houndfish... I think thats it. Our boat trip was awesome too because we really had a chance to just enjoy that beautiful aqua water (that I have been been dreaming of my whole life!) and to look around. Belize it so beautiful- I would love to go back!
So overall it was a perfect 10. Now we are just wondering when we can go again!
