Our Own Island Paradise

Early this spring, The Boy made his vacation preferences very clear:

Somewhere quiet.

Somewhere private.

Somewhere all-inclusive.

Somewhere that requires a passport.

With those marching orders, I started looking for a good deal. I found one through Living Social - a seven-night stay at an all-inclusive resort, Yok Ha, located on a private island off the coast of Belize.

Booked.

This is also when I learned that our passports are dangerously close to expiring (so much for being observant!). I guess that meets our goal of taking one more international trip before our passports need renewing.

From that point, it was a matter of waiting several months for our much-needed get-away.

Belize is super-easy to get to from Dallas - a three-hour, non-stop flight.

To get to the resort, we had two options: Take a 20-minute commuter flight or a two-hour drive. We opted for the drive because it was cheaper for our group of four, plus it allowed us to see more of the countryside.

What we didn't expect was that our van would be quite as small as it was:

But we managed to easily fit in all of our luggage and ourselves. The loaded-down car complained a bit on the way out - the tires were a bit too big for the wheel well, causing the body to rub against the tire.

Four stops to manually bend the metal away from the wheel and we were off!

The drive down the Hummingbird Highway (there are four paved highways in Belize) was gorgeous. After leaving the flat lands surrounding Belize City, we wound our way through lush mountains and citrus plantations.

And waited our turn at the many one-lane bridges.

Until we arrived in Dangriga, our stopping point to board a transport boat to Waterfoot Caye (pronounced "key"), our island.

Yes, this trip did involve Planes, Cars and Boats. Fun!!

And just as a side note, if your driver and boat captain both mention that a recent tropical depression have left the water "a bit choppy," take them seriously.

This is the only photo that we have of me not laugh-crying hysterically - an unfortunate by-product of nervous fear when I'm on a huge roller coaster or in open water that's "a bit choppy."

It took a while to get to the island because of the ocean's choppy water.

Don't ask me how I felt about riding in an open boat through water that's "a bit choppy" in the dark.

But this was what we saw as we pulled up at Waterfoot Caye:

And this is what they gave us as we walked in:

Pineapple, cherry and orange juice

We unpacked in our cabana, enjoyed a late dinner and collapsed into bed. So much for wild vacation party animals, huh?