My Summer To-Do List in Belize: 14 Different Activities

June 20th was the first official day of summer – the longest day of the year.  Here in Belize, the HOT season tends to start a bit earlier.  *Stats at the end of the post

All weather data talk aside, it’s SUMMER!  The kids are out of school which means you’ll find many of them playing on the beach and on docks and the traffic in town will be down…no more rides to and from school.

Temperatures will be warm, we will probably have rain some nights and a few days and the “tourist season” is slowing a bit.  The visitors tend to be younger – college kids, families and many who are budgeting and taking advantage of the “slow season” prices.

I am one of those budget travelers so I am a woman with a plan.  Here are the 8 things I would like to do this summer.

 1. Travel Belize:  Take advantage of the lower prices and travel!  I plan to visit Corozal (the one major area of Belize where I have NEVER overnighted) and Cayo by the end of the summer.

• Cayo:  Visit at least one cave, swim in the river in San Ignacio (for the first time!) and spend the night both in town and out at a jungle lodge

• Corozal:  It’s a very popular spot for those searching for retirement homes.  It’s both close to Mexico and all of the convenience (and beauty) that entails (think Lake Bacalar just over the border!) and it’s one of the cheaper areas in the country.  I want to visit the Maya sites, the sea and the once a month Art in the Park weekend event.

I love the idea that you can visit both a Mayan site with some great carvings AND the sea at Cerros.

2.  Purge!  After 9 years in Belize, you’d be surprised to see how much I’ve accumulated.  I finally bought a replacement Kindle Fire (only $40US!) and can access books again.  Time to get rid of the serious SERIOUS pile that I have all over the house.  Keep those that you will read again (probably 1 in 10) and donate or give to friends the others.  Donate clothes that I will never fit in again.  TIME TO BE SERIOUS.  Sheets with giant rips, towels with huge bleach stains…time to let it go.

For some reason, I’ve become more clingy with items in Belize…a therapist might be need to find out why I can’t throw out that Neosporin that expired in 2007.

3.  Stand Up Paddle Board 3x a week:  I am now fortunate enough to have access to some AMAZING paddleboards.  (If you haven’t seen Boteboard’s video, you must!)  I want to take them out and get a bit of exercise.  Fighting against high winds?  Super tough…but on nice days…this should be super fun.  Plus, Elsie can join along.

4.  Attend LobsterFest in Two Locations without Getting Sick!  No, sickness is not a usual thing at LobsterFest in Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker or Placencia.  But for the last few years, I’ve been a judge at the biggest of them all.  And MAN…when you have eaten 20 lobster dishes, you start to see stars.

This year, I attend as a civilian!  Hurray!  And I plan to hit Ambergris Caye’s block party on June 25th and Caye Caulker’s festival on either July 2nd or 3rd….see you there.

5.  Start Reading Again  I love reading.  Love.  Novels are my thing…but I like a good biography now and again.  My Kindle is back…and now I don’t need to Crush Candies to fall asleep!  Hurray.  My IQ just might start moving up again…

6.  Test out Selfies  I admire the bloggers that are pictured in each and every blog post – looking carelessly glamorous.  It is nice to see who is actually talking to you.  But I have never liked being photographed.  Ever.  So, I will TRY to see how selfies work for me this summer – groan – and I’m guessing they don’t.  But it can’t hurt to try, right?

Maybe Finn can give me some tips.   But let’s not get crazy…NO SELFIE STICKS.

7.  Swim with the Manatee near Caye Caulker  There is a manatee now on the leeward side of the island that is under the supervision of a research center in Chetumal, Mexico.  Our own local program for manatee rehabilitation, WildTracks, advises all to steer clear and DO NOT FEED HER!  Good advice – we want this manatee kid to manage on her own.  Plus, it is illegal to touch manatees in Belize.

BUT I do want to swim with a manatee again.  No feeding.  DEFINITELY NOT TOUCHING.

Just loving from afar.

8.  Eat as Many Paletas As I Possibly Can  One of my favorite topics…but there is really nothing more cooling than frozen watermelon juice or lime juice or any of the mixtures of fresh fruit and cream.  It’s summer on a stick.  And you can get them all over town.

9.  Buy a Laundry Folding Robot – Okay clearly just a joking/dream world scenario but sigh…how much better would this be than storing my clean clothes in the dryer?  A bit out of my budget but I wonder if Castillo’s Hardware will stack spare parts?

Perhaps I should just wait until this is a full housekeeper robot.  Like Rosie from the Jetsons’.

10.  Attend at Least Three Kids Summer Camps – There are so many amazing summer camps going on around Belize – from Mito Paz’ Camp Basil Jones…

We are currently working with Finn & Martini Restaurant to raise money for these kids – I might personally harass you at LobsterFest for a few bucks.

…to Camp Starfish for kids with special needs – starting July 18th…

…to the FANTASTIC camp at Chaa Creek…

…to my alma mater Smith College’s program that focuses on the sea and the coral reef…

…to…

There are probably 100s that I don’t know about.  If you have a tip, please tell me.  I’d love to join in for a day or two…and report back on the fun the kids are having AND the amazing work of the organizers and counselors.

11.  Spend two Nights in Caye Caulker – Caye Caulker, so cute and charming, with it’s N
EW FABULOUS BEACH and tons of new restaurants that I haven’t tried.  Time to spend the night!  I haven’t done it in ages!  See the beautiful sunset…walk around in the evening.  A few hours in the afternoon is fun but I want the full Caye Caulker experience.

12.  Attend the Costa Maya Beauty Pagaent – I have been in San Pedro for 9 summers and have never attended the pageant of our biggest festival, The International Costa Maya Festival.

It’s not cheap but this year I will splurge for the pageant – it’s a big production and features ladies from all over Central America.

13.  Eat More Fruit.  We have tons of it in the summer here in Belize – from mangoes to soursop.  Try something new.  May I suggest the mildly delicious dragon fruit?

14.  Attend Wednesday Movie Night at The Truck Stop.  Last night, they were showing JAWS..over the water…and I can not think of something more fun (well maybe watching it IN inner tubes) but then?  I fell asleep.

What a beautiful spot to watch a movie while sipping some cocktails, eating and enjoying free popcorn.  All under the stars.  I REALLY must do this more often.

For the schedule, keep on eye on The Truck Stop’s facebook page.

So that’s that.  A check list.  I can do it.  I know I can 🙂

*Here is the average temperature for the country as a whole.  (25C is 77 degrees F.)

And the average rainfall for the country as a whole.  (150mm is about 6 inches)

In general, the north is dryer and the south is a bit wetter…but in the tropics?  Generalizations are for naught.