Year 6: Belize

This is currently the sixth and final installment of my annual trip series: Year 6! I’ve spent this week in Belize with my brother Jake on our sixth annual trip. In 2016, we started the tradition of traveling to a new country together once a year. Each year since we’ve upheld the tradition. To recap, here’s where we’ve been so far:

Year 6 (2021): Belize

Here’s what happened on our trip to Belize this past week.

Our Itinerary

December 4

Flew from Phoenix to Belize City via Houston
Headed to San Ignacio from the airport
Checked into Yellow Belly Hostel where we had a private room
Got dinner at Lola’s, which was a festive spot within walking distance

December 5

Ate breakfast at Pop’s
Went to Mayan Ruins at Cahal Pech and Xuantunich
- Cahal Pech was incredibly peaceful, quiet, and close to our hostel
- Xuantunich was larger and more impressive with perfect weather
- On the way, we met an American girl and her Belizean boyfriend in the taxi. She was living in Belize while working remotely
Ate dinner at Guava Limp including highlights of shrimp fettuccine, focaccia sandwich, and flourless chocolate cake

December 6

Transited to Caye Caulker with William from Belize Shuttle
Took the 60-minute ferry ride and went straight to Jan’s hotel
Learned of the flight cancellation for our Great Blue Hole tour on Wednesday morning
- Ended up adjusting this trip and went Tuesday morning instead, which was great
- Instead of going to San Pedro for the flight, we left from the airstrip on Caye Caulker
Went to the Lazy Lizard on the Split for drinks and snacks
Ate dinner at Steve’s where Kelsey got the last fresh lobster

December 7

Took a 1-hour scenic flight with Tsunami over the Great Blue Hole
Got acai bowls before snorkeling with Tsunami in the afternoon
Snorkeled on a fabulous, inexpensive, high-quality tour with three stops
- Stop 1: Guided snorkel where we got to see a shark in the distance and an eel in action as well as snap our fingers to see the creature react — essentially a SCUBA diving experience
- Stop 2: “Shark and ray alley” to see nurse sharks and rays in abundance and swim with them
- Stop 3: A basic reef which we both thought would be the entire experience
- As bonus experiences, we drove through the Split and saw tarpon fish and seahorses
Ate at Maggie’s for dinner — whole fresh lobsters once again for a great price!

December 8

Traveled to San Pedro on the ferry
Went to the Belize Chocolate Company where we got incredible peanut butter truffles for a snack
Checked into the Alaia Hotel, an absolutely gorgeous resort, which will be seeing us again!
Took care of COVID-19 tests for our return travel
Enjoyed the rooftop pool and dinner at the hotel for the evening

December 9

Ate an amazing sit-down continental breakfast and relaxed by the pool in the morning
Had a long day of travel with a 1.5-hour ferry ride, 30-minute trip to the airport, 30-minute delayed flight to Dallas, slightly delayed flight to Phoenix…all followed by an Uber trip home
Jake got Kelsey upgraded on the flight from Belize City to Dallas, which was a big treat!

Memorable Moments

Year 6 was a simple trip compared to others that we’ve taken together. It didn’t have the inexperience of Year 1, the stress of Year 2, the physical challenges of Year 4, or the hustle and bustle of Years 3 and 5. However, it was just a nice trip. Point blank, when I think of Year 6, it’ll be a place I want to return to.

I left Belize thinking that it’ll be a place I’ll want to go for vacation and take children in the future. Jake left saying he was going to buy a vacation house (all the better for me and my future family to use!).

At the beginning of the trip, I told Jake, “This is a trip that I want to get a lot of sleep on.”

And so, we did. We saw Mayan ruins, we enjoyed the beach, we went snorkeling, we saw the Great Blue Hole, and we slept a lot. It was the ideal trip to throw us back into the fold of our annual adventures after 18 months of no international travel due to COVID-19.

A Year 6 Anecdote: Snorkeling with Sharks

Upon reflection, I often think my favorite elements of our annual trips are those that surprise me. It’s not necessarily what we’ve been hyping up or researching the most. For example, during year 5, I didn’t realize that the dolphin tour was going to be incredible. It was just something I booked last minute as a birthday surprise for Jake, and it ended up one of the highlights (if not the highlight) of our trip.

Similarly, we had no real plans to snorkel during our time in Belize. We knew that snorkeling would be available, and we had talked about maybe taking time to do it, but we hadn’t outlined it in the itinerary. Mayan ruins? Yes. Great Blue Hole? Yes. Snorkeling? No.

So, after our Great Blue Hole flight had been such a success with Tsunami, Jake suggested that we do another experience in their brochure. We thought Heather, the owner, would be great to work with once again. The snorkeling excursion was only $45/person, and they even offered us a discount if we paid in cash. Count us in!

This three-stop tour ended up being the biggest hit. Our captain (and guide) who took us out was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and its inhabitants. While we’re both SCUBA certified, we were more than satisfied with our experience after the 30 minutes in the water snorkeling around and seeing all the wildlife.

And then we came to stop 2 where we could get in the water with sharks and rays. As our guide was feeding them off the side of the boat, they were all but swarming. He assured us we were quite safe, and we just believed him, getting in without a second thought. The nurse sharks and rays didn’t give us a second glance as we snapped photos and took video.

The third stop was exactly what we thought the rest of the tour was going to be. At that point, I was tired from all the swimming and content with our experience, but it was great to see what the reefs looked like in Belize, nonetheless.

Another great natural wildlife experience in another new country. Oh, and did I mention this was Jake’s birthday present once again? I’m on a roll!

Final Thoughts

Belize was nothing but blissful for us despite traveling under less-than-ideal circumstances. As much of their economy relies on tourism, I’d recommend this location and all the businesses mentioned above to anyone looking to travel to this beautiful country.

While still in the works, we’re currently planning Year 7 for May 2022. Come back then to see more of our sibling adventures.

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO