journalman's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unbelizeable Bliss, Followed By a NY Craving to Sustain It Hands down, my visit to Belize was the absolute best 10-day trip I've ever taken. I kept a handwritten daily journal of my time on the water, though I still find the need to write this out and give my post-vacation impressions. I'm sure they will flow long after this entry is published. I convened with members of our party at JFK at 3AM, and flew into Belize City, and then to San Pedro where we met the rest of our 15-member group. All of them are friends with my buddy, we'll call him Brian, though we had ever all hung out as a group before. THE CREW The group, roughly is as follows (names have been changed to protect the seafaring): Brian, an officer in the US Merchant Marines. Nowadays he's a god of hedge fund technology, and is woefully employed in that regard. Close friend of mine. Dating roommate. Frank, another officer, and his wife Jo. Both live in Chicago with their MBAs and 2 bedroom apartment. Jake the biggest landscaper in the hamptons. He has long hair, a tatooed body, works only 3 months a year, travels the world the rest of the time, is probably worth a few million bucks, and is an incredible fisherman. Jerry the Dartmouth grad, chef, and beach lifeguard. Funny mothafukka... new best friend material. My roommate in hotels on this trip. Roommate the classic pinup/dancin girl coupled with a 'black-belt' status in financial analysis. Julie the quintessential beautiful, sweet, demure, genteel, polite southern gal. Owns her own business, has a captain's license, and is also a rescue diver... all at the age of 27. Brian's dorky sister, and her very-cool new husband named Joe. Hamptons folk (year-round), and enjoyed this trip as their wedding gift from Brian. Betty the SF-based financial analyst in the Real Estate sector. Henrietta the NY-based hedge fund consultant and all-out sweetheart. 'Love lobster'. Jay the classic southern fan of Bush and energy companies, a Duke grad, and who was shushhed quickly by my sharp counterargument to any of his pro-administration hintings. Susan the 'indoor girl'. Little rich girl who spends daddy's money and works for a high-end clothing brand. She was plagued by mosquito bites and her desire to sleep with Jerry more than just once, got bit by a strange jungle animal she was petting, and could very well pose for Hawaiian Tr0pic. Jason the McGuyver of the trip... a professional engineer, an electronics wizard, and vegan-man all wrapped in one.
We sailed 2 separate 43' catamarans... named Belizian Bliss and Sol Mate... for 7 days from San Pedro down to Caulker Cay, to South Water Caye, to Rendezvous Caye, to Tobacco Caye, to Lagoon Caye, and finally to Placentia. On the boat, we caught fish, chef cooked for us every night, and we dined on the Bliss at sundown each night. Brian, in his tech-godliness coupled with a dumdum's forgetfulness, only ended up having 23 songs on his Ipod. At first it seemed like a bad thing, and indeed it was for much of the trip, but now, there are 23 songs that will INSTANTLY remind me of this week in paradise. That's not so bad. In my every day life, I take for granted things like fresh bathing water and clean clothes while craving things like crystal clear caribbean water and unadulterated sunshine. On the boat, we had all the sea and sun we could dream of, and basic-necessity items became increasingly hard to come by. Changing everything... flipping inventories for paucities is a wonderful way to settle into a vacation mindset. At one point, a barracuda in the water completely and totally freaked me out. It followed me to 3 locations, bumped into me on purpose, and sent me flailing and screaming like a little bitch. I don't care. They freak me out and I'm ok with that. After returning the boats in Placentia then flew up to Belize City, rented cars, and stayed at Jagu@r P@w resort for 3 nights where we explored Mayan ruins, caves, and our own limits of alcohol and yummy food consumption. In the end, I felt as if I made 14 best friends. We all have reunions planned, and I am even taking sweet Julie to a wedding in SC that I have to attend on Labor Day weekend. The trip was a slam-dunk. Unbelieveable. And I'm so glad I went. 4:49 p.m. - 2006-03-09 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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