The Boating Mamas Waiting for the water taxi (and enjoying chicken tacos) at the Marine Terminal building in Belize City

Hi all:

I'm sitting at the computer in Dolphin Bay Travel (owner: Diane Auxillou) on Caye Caulker waiting for Marioli to finish something for me and decided to take 10 minutes to share my trip so far with the list.

HURRICANE MITCH - 1 YEAR LATER - A CAYE CAULKER LOCAL'S PERSPECTIVE

Belize City Taco Vendor

Well, the Take A Chance Airlines commuter flight from San Pedro Sula (Tropic Air has nicer planes) landed at the Belize Airport at approximately 5:25. I was tired from the approximately four hours of travel (because of the stop in San Pedro Sula) and my anxiety level was slightly compounded by the fact that I am traveling with children. However, as soon as the commuter flight flew over Punta Gorda, and I could make out Carrie Bow Caye, South Water Caye and Tobacco Caye down yonder in the shimmering crystal clear blues and greens, all anxiety and unpleasantness went away. A peacefulness started to descend upon me,one that words cannot describe. I am coming home. HOME! Words cannot describe the euphoria.

Enjoying the "nice and nasty"

The flight arrived without incident. As had been arranged before, the father of my children was at the airport to greet and pick them up and take them to Orange Walk.

I, on the other hand, had previously arranged with Tina and Charlie to meet at 6:30 at the Fort George. With keen anticipation, I took in the ride down the Belize City, sad that I would not be able (because of time constraints) to make it out to my beloved island today.

Manuelito - Cousin of the Auxillou kids

All I wanted at this point was to have my little Caye Caulker toes touch Caye Caulker soil. However, that would have to be tomorrow. Slowly, the vehicle pulled into a parking spot near the Fort George pool. I walked into the bar area and sure enough, Tina and Charlier were there. AND MARIOLI too!!! My goodness! I was delighted that my sister and some of my friends had thought enough of my company to have a greeting committee waiting for me upon my arrival.

We checked into the hotel, took shower and headed out for the night. Of the four of us, none of us had actually spent a night of partying in Belize City in maybe ten years. And this was to be girls' night out. I was excited. We donned our animal print outfits (yaw, we're still trendy, no matter the age :-) and headed out wherever the road takes us. First stop, Bellevue. Boring. Apparently, Bellevue is a Friday night place.

Orlando and the gang, right after my arrival

Next stop Calypso. Calypso, for those of you that may not be aware, is an over-the-water bar / restaurant housed in the (original) Ramada hotel. I had read from Lan's reports that this hotel had changed hands and was being renovated to be converted into a casino. But I was not prepared for the war zone this hotel has become.

It is a construction area , alright. It is no longer a hotel. All the windows of all the rooms are gutted out and it is a major demolition zone, with literally zillions of dollars of construction and renovations taking place! In fact, the place is downright unhabitable. Calypso, however, was still open (since, I assume, it is detached from the main hotel). We had a pleasant dinner there and caught up on girl talk. That was really pleasant.

Wendy de la Fuente Phone: +501-226-0011 Fax: +501-226-0311 Email belizeanthings@yahoo.com