Arrived in Belize...Finally

OK, well we finally showed up after being delayed in Dallas...wow that duty free shop is fun. Anyway, the flights were actually pretty quick (2 hours from Phx to Dallas, and 2.5 from Dallas to Belize City), and upon our arrival we met Louis #1 (more to come on this later). OH...and just to make sure you know, if you ever arrive at the Belize city airport, don't run to the bathroom right away...go strait to customs...just trust me on this one. So anyway, Louis took us on the 2.5 hour, I think you could call it a drive...to Duplooy's. Unknown to us, Belize City is about 18" above sea level, making it and the area directly surrounding it very susceptible to massive flooding (like in Hurricane season). But that was just our first surprise. As we left the swamps/bogs around the airport (looked like jungle to me...:)) we made our way into the forest, which is actually a Pine rain forest...I know weird...but it was pretty neat...Oh and by pine rain forest I mean like one pine tree per acre...not that many really (but that is what they call it). Louis #1 convinced us to stop off at a local "establishment" to grab a quick "water" and use the restrooms...this turned into a hour affair and was incredibly fun...got to meet some locals and partake in our first Belizian beer...Belikin...oh yea it is pretty good. Once we got thru that, we drove another hour or so to the resort which is absolutely beautiful. It is located about 2 miles off the highway, and in Belize what that means is that it is in the middle of no where. The road from the highway is dirt and heavily rutted...a sign of recent rain and constant use, but none the less very passable. After that we arrived at our little piece of paradise and met Louis #2 (yup...count'em...#2). He was (and is) extremely helpful. He showed us to our room (oh yea, by now it was dark...funny thing about being at the equator...gets dark at 6:00pm, gets light at 6:ooam), down a long plank boardwalk that stretched forever into the jungle. But once we got there (and forgot about all of the sounds and sights) it was great. Two stories, looking out over a river gorge...well really looking into the jungle, but the river is down there...somewhere (more to come on that)...blah..blah...Ok from there we went to dinner and met...you guessed it Louis #3 our fearless waiter. He is great...just smiles and says "OK" to whatever your request is. So just to recap, that is 3 Louis's...all super fun as it turns out. But I am going to sign out on this note now, so just wait for more...oh yea, there was not much more after dinner...sooooo tired after traveling all day. Cheers! RB