Goodbye Cayo. I had a fantastic time. But it's time for part two of the adventure vacation, San Pedro on Ambergis Caye (pronounced key). We drove to the airport outside San Ignacio which consisted of one plane, my plane, a single engine 3-passenger plane. And I was the only passenger! I sat in the co-pilot seat next to a very military-like pilot, though friendly. This is actually my favorite photo.
We made two stops, one in Belmopan, the capital and then Belize City, the former capital. I took a slightly larger plane from Belize City to San Pedro. One hour total time on planes.
Given my not so great experience from Newark to Belize, you would think the trip would be a necessary evil. On the contrary, it was incredible. We flew low and slow with an incredible aerial view of the country.
We arrived in San Pedro mid-afternoon and a golf cart from Ramon's, the hotel was waiting for me. Hey, that's the most popular means of transportation, particularly for the hordes of tourists. It was only a 5 minute walk to the hotel from the airport, but Ramon's insisted on picking me up.
Ramon's Resort is a neat place. I found the description on their website to be accurate:
"Styled after the Tahitian cottages on the Polynesian island of Bora Bora, our cabanas are built from native materials by craftsmen utilizing the same skill and techniques the islanders used in the days of the great sailing ships."
Ramon's has the nicest stretch of beach in the area. Most of the beach in San Pedro is not conducive to swimming. Because of the caye's unique ecology, there's lots of weeds which is caused by the reefs protecting the island. That's as technical as I can get, haha. However, one can simply go to the end of the pier at Ramon's and hop into the Caribbean and go swimming and snorkeling. Ramon's has their own dive shop and provides excursions for competitive prices. Very convenient.
Mr. Ramon, or at least that's how he introduced himself, came to chat with me my first morning at breakfast, my only breakfast at the hotel. [Breakfast was good and offered Belizean dishes, however, there were better options on the beach and in town.] I thought it was a nice touch. The guy is probably a jazillionaire having opened Ramon's before San Pedro became touristy. I subsequently saw him on the premises now and then and we always exchanged some words.
I had a private porch with an ocean view, OUTSTANDING.
It's also strategically located at the edge of town. The town is entirely walkable. Those not so close to town or for whatever reason, rent golf carts. Some rent bicycles. There are golf cart jams throughout town driven by maniacs, at least some of them. They compete with bicycle riders and pedestrians. Guess who wins? Pedestrians fall a distant third in the pecking order. There are only a few sidewalks.
I rented a bike on my first day while I was waiting for my room to be ready. I rented it for my stay. I didn't know better at the time. There's lots of bike rental places (but more golf cart rental stores) and the bikes are all cruisers. Cruisers are fine as the island is flat and they're okay to ride on the beach. However, I was accustomed to hand brakes and that got me in trouble sometimes, particularly on the crowded roads. I only used the bike one more time as will be discussed later. I walked everywhere and found no need for any other transportation.
I'm probably one of the few people who wasn't crazy about San Pedro, although I still enjoyed myself. The town was extremely touristy and the stores were mostly alike. As mentioned, just walking was dangerous. It's a small town consisting of 3 major streets, one by the ocean, one by the leeward side and one in the middle. And cross streets of course. I kept thinking that I wished I stayed in Cayo. But then again, the snorkeling was absolutely unbelievable. I read somewhere it's considered the number 2 diving location in the world next to Australia. I believe it. The corals are incredible and the variety of fish make it amazing. [I retired from diving some years ago after my regulator malfunctioned in Venezuela.]
We made two stops, one in Belmopan, the capital and then Belize City, the former capital. I took a slightly larger plane from Belize City to San Pedro. One hour total time on planes.
Given my not so great experience from Newark to Belize, you would think the trip would be a necessary evil. On the contrary, it was incredible. We flew low and slow with an incredible aerial view of the country.
We arrived in San Pedro mid-afternoon and a golf cart from Ramon's, the hotel was waiting for me. Hey, that's the most popular means of transportation, particularly for the hordes of tourists. It was only a 5 minute walk to the hotel from the airport, but Ramon's insisted on picking me up.
Ramon's Resort is a neat place. I found the description on their website to be accurate:
"Styled after the Tahitian cottages on the Polynesian island of Bora Bora, our cabanas are built from native materials by craftsmen utilizing the same skill and techniques the islanders used in the days of the great sailing ships."
Ramon's has the nicest stretch of beach in the area. Most of the beach in San Pedro is not conducive to swimming. Because of the caye's unique ecology, there's lots of weeds which is caused by the reefs protecting the island. That's as technical as I can get, haha. However, one can simply go to the end of the pier at Ramon's and hop into the Caribbean and go swimming and snorkeling. Ramon's has their own dive shop and provides excursions for competitive prices. Very convenient.
Mr. Ramon, or at least that's how he introduced himself, came to chat with me my first morning at breakfast, my only breakfast at the hotel. [Breakfast was good and offered Belizean dishes, however, there were better options on the beach and in town.] I thought it was a nice touch. The guy is probably a jazillionaire having opened Ramon's before San Pedro became touristy. I subsequently saw him on the premises now and then and we always exchanged some words.
I had a private porch with an ocean view, OUTSTANDING.
It's also strategically located at the edge of town. The town is entirely walkable. Those not so close to town or for whatever reason, rent golf carts. Some rent bicycles. There are golf cart jams throughout town driven by maniacs, at least some of them. They compete with bicycle riders and pedestrians. Guess who wins? Pedestrians fall a distant third in the pecking order. There are only a few sidewalks.
I rented a bike on my first day while I was waiting for my room to be ready. I rented it for my stay. I didn't know better at the time. There's lots of bike rental places (but more golf cart rental stores) and the bikes are all cruisers. Cruisers are fine as the island is flat and they're okay to ride on the beach. However, I was accustomed to hand brakes and that got me in trouble sometimes, particularly on the crowded roads. I only used the bike one more time as will be discussed later. I walked everywhere and found no need for any other transportation.
I'm probably one of the few people who wasn't crazy about San Pedro, although I still enjoyed myself. The town was extremely touristy and the stores were mostly alike. As mentioned, just walking was dangerous. It's a small town consisting of 3 major streets, one by the ocean, one by the leeward side and one in the middle. And cross streets of course. I kept thinking that I wished I stayed in Cayo. But then again, the snorkeling was absolutely unbelievable. I read somewhere it's considered the number 2 diving location in the world next to Australia. I believe it. The corals are incredible and the variety of fish make it amazing. [I retired from diving some years ago after my regulator malfunctioned in Venezuela.]
I doubt I would visit San Pedro again. It's just not my thing except for the snorkeling.
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