Belize Week 2, AKA Survival Training Camp

Contrary to what the title of this post may lead you to believe, I really did have a good time at Glover's Reef Resort - it was just a very different experience than Off the Wall.  My home for the week was an over-water hut, which was quite picturesque, and even featured a deck out back for sunning.  On the plus side, there was a fantastic breeze, even on those very warm, sweaty tropical afternoons.  Not so great when meal time rolled around, and I sat there attempting to light an open gas burner for a good half hour.  Wind gusted through the hut as I tried in vain to construct a makeshift shelter out of dishes, pans, and whatever else I could find.  Fortunately, there was a separate outdoor kitchen area in a slightly more protected area of the island, to which I ended up resigning my cooking efforts.  In my humble opinion, gnocchi with pesto sauce was a major accomplishment!

Other major differences included a plethora of mosquitoes & "no-see-ums"/sand flies since there was no chemical treatment on the island; well water in the outdoor showers & sinks, which had a distinctive odor; and less overall sense of community among the staff and guests.  I would recommend this particular spot for a family or large group traveling together, or a couple wanting a great deal of privacy; however, the setup was less than ideal for a single (sociable) traveler.  After a week on the island, I was going a little stir-crazy.  This is not to say that the other guests were not friendly - I met two gentlemen from Mexico who were very pleasant and shared several meals with them as we faced a common battle with the kitchen.  Many of the guests simply chose to keep to themselves outside of diving excursions etc.

To give a fair overall picture, meals could be purchased as a package for the week or individually in the island "restaurant," but with a family-style set meal and no other options, I opted to feed myself.  I did supplement my rations with fresh baked bread which could be purchased from the kitchen twice during the week.

Fishing excursions were an option as the resort's boat went out twice daily to catch fish both to sell and for meals in the restaurant.  I decided to join the sunrise outing one morning, which certainly made for an exhilarating start to my day!  As the only guest in the boat, I had the privilege of trawling for barracuda on my own.  While this was an exciting prospect, it was also slightly terrifying once the toothy fish made it into the boat.  My native guide had brought a club resembling a small baseball bat, with which he whacked the flopping, writhing, angry barracuda on the head - several times.  Now covered in barracuda blood splatter, I thought we were in the clear, but the damn thing started moving again, sliding around the boat, those jagged nasty teeth coming a little too near my feet for comfort.  I fought to haul in a total of four of the fearsome fish, including one really big guy, and when we made it back to shore, most were still struggling.  They do not mess around, but I ultimately emerged both unscathed and victorious.