fishingbuddha

Day five was kind of a free day. We had no real plans so decided to explore the north and venture out on the golf cart about one hour north through jungle and dirt and beach roads. This adventure took us to Tranquility Bay which was a super pleasant surprise. On the way there we watched fly fishing guides fishing the flats and was very disappointed with the amount of garbage, mostly plastics, washed up on the beach. Arriving at Tranquility beach was like no other beach I have seen. Palm trees lining the shoreline, reef break off shore and crystal clear waters in turquoise for as far as the eye can see.

As we get off the cart and head to the beach I am immediately shocked as I see a school of bone fish swimming in the shallows. As I frantically put my rod together I slap on a white crazy Charlie and start casting. It does t take me long to hook into one but after a bit it manages to unbutton.

Stepping into the flats is like nothing I have ever experienced before. The sand is very fine and the water is like bath water. You also have to be very careful not to spook the fish as they are super sensitive to movement in the air and in the water. After fishing the one spot I decided to move only to find a huge school of bones. In this second spot I managed to land six and loses a few more over a period of a few hours. Bones are like nothing I have ever caught. Pound for pound these feisty bullets pull and strip line like crazy and at times had me twisted up in my fly line because they moved all over the place very quickly. When u land them they feel like just one big muscle kinda of like whitefish for those of you who have landed and handled BC mountain Whitefish.

Rebeca was also able to land her first bone fish which is also pretty cool.

After my fishing experience and Rebeca’s walk along the beach we decided to get some fresh ceviche at the local restaurant and celebrate the day.

Now that we have some wheels we decided to check out Secret Beach who’s is on the west side of Ambergris Caye.

I did try fly fishing at secret beach but the weather was so calm and clear the fish were easily spooked plus there were not a lot around. After a few hours we decided to go to lunch at the Blue Bayou.

This is a cool place because u get to eat while in the water. Aside from this cool factor the food was amazing and there were fish swimming u set our table while we ate.

One of the coolest things I saw today was a couple eating in the restaurant beside us. The boyfriend was standing on the table while fly fishing. Although I didn’t see him land anything I will give him cool factor points for attempting such a feat!

Only in Belize.

After Secret Beach we decided to hit the In D Wild restaurant again for some snapper and conche and shrimp ceviche.

Later that night as I was opening the door to the hut, just as I turned the door handle, Rebeca screams out like she had been shot. As she stumbles into the hut I notice a winged bug or small bat coming in with her. As she takes cover in the bed I grabbed my food rod case and immediately started using my kendo skills to kill whatever was in our room. I also realize that Rebeca had been stung and this monster three inch black winged thing was a huge wasp. Seriously after three good strikes I was able to somewhat stun it but only stun it as it was still alive. Worried it was poisonous I ran to the front desk to get help.

Meanwhile Rebeca was in a lot of pain and we were not reassured by staff when we heard “we don’t know what that is” and “do u want to go to the hospital” and we will go look this bug up”. In the meantime I figure out it is a giant three inch black wasp and there was no worry about anything other than a nasty sting. But let me tell you…that really freaked me out. As well Rebeca was a champ as she didn’t panic and sucked it up. Bonus points to her for her toughness!

Needless to say, regardless how hot it was that night I covered up big time under the sheets!

On our second full day we decided to take advantage of the resort bikes and ride to San Pedro which was just over a ten km ride. In most hot places this would be torture but Belize has a instant wind which kept us somewhat cooler but I won’t lie….my 54 year old body felt it. Arriving in San Pedro we immediately found a cool bar called Palapa which was situated on the water. As we walk up to the bar my eyes bug wide open as I see some fish under the pier and then start to freak out as I realize they are tarpon!

I have to say I do love the beer in Belize. Both the Beliken and Landshark beer and alcohol seltzers are so good.

After walking around San Pedro we ended up checking out a market, got a massage on the beach and then rented a golf cart and trucked our bikes back to the resort. On the way back we found a cool Bolivian/Belize/Mexican restaurant and had some amazing tacos and snapper.

After lunch I had to go try some coconut rum off a guy on the side of the road which was a cool experience….and got both Rebeca and I very tipsy.

Oh yeah I almost forgot while we were in San Pedro I also tried to hit the local fly shop but only to find it was closed…very sad!

Later that night we had dinner at The Tipsy Lobster followed by checking out a place called the Truck Stop.

The truck stop was cool because there were food trucks, live bands, a pool, an outdoor movie, games area as well as a dock overlooking a lagoon. Will come back for sure to check out more action here.

So grateful to be able to experience a bucket list trip with my Rebeca. It’s only been four days and so much has happened.

First of all, Rebeca almost didn’t make it through the smal plane we took to get to this Caye. It was windy and I admit windy enough that our plane was sideways at one point taking off….but we survived!

Arriving in San Pedro at night we were picked up by our resort in a golf cart which apparently is the main mode of transportation here .

Not only was our resort amazing but our grass roof hut was also large beautiful and had the best view of the pool and beachside.

The next day we went out on a bike ride and found a cool little local restaurant called In D Wild where we had amazing cerviche and fresh snapper.

Following the bike ride I decided to make a few casts with my fly rod. The first few casts I attracted some permit but couldn’t get them to take the fly. I also saw some bones. One cast attracted something big out of the grass but it didn’t take. As I cast in front of the fish I just attracted I was able to hook into it only to find out it was a decent barracuda. Almost taking all my line twice including backing I was able to land this beauty which I ended up giving to a local. After the fact found out the bar down the road will cook it up for me.

All I can say is what a fight. My 8wgt rod was almost to small.

Got to say ….I have been on a few travel fishing trips but I have a feeling Belize is going to be like no other! This is our first full day!