To Belize
Benque Viejo Del Carmen, Belize
1:30 AM - My Alarm goes off, start getting ready
2:30 AM - Drag Katie out of bed
3:30 AM - Bill and Annette pull into the driveway to pick us up
4:30 AM - Park in MCI Economy parking and wait for a shuttle....
4:50 AM - Where the hell is the shuttle??? Shorts were a bad choice...5:10 AM - Start going through baggage check and security
6:40 AM - Fly out of MCI
8:40 AM - Touch down in Houston Airport, grab a tasty "breakfast" burger
10:50 AM - Fly out of Houston Airport
1:00 PM - Touch down in Belize!!
This is a very special trip for Katie and I because we are not just traveling as a our tried and true, trusty duo, but with her whole family and her sister's partners (Annette [Katie's mom], Bill [Katie's dad], Jenna [Katie's sister], Douglas [Jenna's boyfriend], Sarah [Katie's sister], Derek [Sarah's boyfriend]). I wish I could say the first thing we did on this trip was smooth (or the second...third..forth...), but we had a bit of trouble with border security. You'd think having gone through border security and customs so many times we would know what to do, but really the only thing we have learned from all those experiences is that every one is different. This one for instance was REAL strict with where you were going to stay, which we weren't so much prepared for. For instance, on AirBnB I believe the place is just called "Jim's Place", but just saying AirBnB or "Jim's Place" or the town was not sufficient, they wanted us to specify the address where we were staying. Which is funny because not only did we not get a real address to this place, but we didn't even get GPS coordinates, only step by step directions on how to get there ("look for the sign with the donkey" is literally one of those steps). We weren't all seated together on the plane, so we all went through immigration at different times. Even though it was a bit of a struggle (and a few of us 'renamed' the accommodation...) we made it through and didn't have any further issue with customs.Next, we headed to pick up our cars. I had rented through Budget (my personal favorite rental company) and Jenna and Doug had rented through Avis. Soon I had the keys to a beat up, but strong hearted Renault. Unfortunately there was an issue over at the Avis booth. Even though Jenna and Doug has reserved a car and paid a deposit, Avis didn't have a car for them. I believe Avis then worked through Crystal (local car rental company) to get them a vehicle. At this point it was already past 2 PM, we still had a three hour car ride, and the sunset was supposed to be around 5:30 PM. We all hung around for a bit longer, but at about 2:30 PM we decided Katie, Sarah, Derek, and myself would head out, pick up some supplies on the way, and the rest of our kin would head straight to the lodge when they could. Just like that we were off...no wait. Back to those driving instructions (glorious in all of its two pages, front and back, single spaced directions). These directions were based of mileage and funny story...our Renault had a "check airbag" warning the was over the odometer that I could not figure out how to clear. After a bit more time fiddling with that, we also decided to give up on that and WE WERE OFF. Directions be damned!The drive itself wasn't bad at all (99.99% at least...). The majority of which was a fairly nicely paved, two lane highway. There were a few police checkpoints (only one of which was staffed) and a lot of those charming central/south American speed bumps. We passed through several small towns before stocking up in Benque Viejo Del Carmen where we bought only the essentials: about 30 beers, some water, and a pack of Cheetos (Poffs). After packing our loot away in the car, we hit the road on the last leg of our journey. The sun had set at this point, and we had to do the rest in the dark. Venturing off the paved roads, we had about 10 miles left of dirt/gravel roads which wound side to side, up and down into the jungle. This road wasn't bad for the most part, but the last mile or two was intense. Sarah likened the experience to something similar to The Indiana Jones ride at Disney Land. Team Renault (AKA Team Full Coverage) was taking it nice and slow and the second half of our party actually caught up and passed us while we were 'admiring' a sign.It was about 6:30 PM when we all pulled up to the jungle lodge. Lucy, Marcus, and their daughters Chloe and adorable baby Isabella where there to greet us. They helped us get settled and then served us a delicious dinner of salad, potato, and fillet of fish with a banana bread dessert. As you can imagine, not too long after dinner most of us went right to sleep.
