Birds, Cold Pressed Juices, Fancy Yachts and More Birds: January Beauty on Ambergris Caye

Yesterday we set off for town with a long list of errands – guests are arriving at Cayo Frances Farm & Fly today and since there is no road up there AND it’s a 30 minute boat ride from town, careful provisioning must be done.  Or at the very least, attempted.

I wanted to peek into the new juice shop/health food eatery, we needed to pay bills but as always, a trip to San Pedro town takes many twists and turns.

Yesterday I ended up

• seeing a rare bird and photographing a bunch of others
• gawking at the beautiful day
• wondering about some new construction by the lagoon
• eating tofu!
• wondering WHO rents a charter boat for $42,000US a week
• thinking hard about changes in the island and changes in tourism on the island – the visitor who is barking loudly about how they can’t find their football game on TV “in this country” or how they can’t get Heinz ketchup or a burger to their exact liking “anywhere in this country” seems to be coming here in greater number.  Is that what happens when a country become more accessible and more popular?  Are we all selling Belize as something it is not?  Are Americans, as a whole, just infrequent and uninquisitive travelers?

That last one will have me thinking for a while…and will not be addressed further in this post. 🙂  Let’s stick to the first few bullet points.

The January weather is at her most gorgeous.  Warm but not too warm (highs at 81…82 at the most), not too humid, a light breeze.  Just right.

First bird spotted, a gorgeous roseate spoonbill.  Often mistaken for a flamingo while flying, this guy has a very different bill.

A great egret doing some fishing on a dock…

Scratching his ear…birds have ears, right?

Beautiful Boca del Rio Drive…where two over the water bars are being added and the discussion to make this “pedestrian only” is always happening.

We stopped in at the tour guide shop along this way – I jumped out to take a photo of the pelicans eating fish scraps.

And saw this scared bird coming off a boat.  She had been found in the water – in the sea- floating and struggling with other birds of prey circling above her.

I’ve never seen one like her – a juvenile hooked-bill kite – called here a relatively uncommon resident of Belize.  It also sounds like she was way off course.

I just sent a quick note to the AMAZING Belize Bird Rescue (my visit a few years ago) and this kite is on her way there.  Nikki says that these guys are snail eaters – which makes them hard to rehab so hopefully the bird is injury free.  And can be rejoined with a migrating flock very very soon.

My fingers are crossed for this beautiful kid.

On Middle Street, we stopped into the brand new Juice Dive shop.

I’ll fill you in next week – it’s a story unto itself – but this place is so beautifully done.  And the Asian wrap was DELICIOUS.  Honestly, really really really great.  But the thing that will insure success is the owner Justin…charismatic and full of energy (perhaps the juice thing works?)…his dad is Belizean and he just moved down from San Francisco where he was working at a tech company.

Really good.

But wait…there’s more!

I saw this sad Christmas elf near the park and went over to take a picture…

Reminded me of that CREEPY holiday special about Rudolf and the misfit elf.  You know the one.

SPOTTED:   crazy gorgeous and strangely menacing boat just off shore.

Some information on the 26 meter beauty.

Let me wrap this up with some pictures of construction going on in town.

The HUGE gilded build-out of SuperBuy (from Back to Middle Street) is almost at completion.

There is building going on at the old Sunset Grill.  It is on the lagoon side and used to be well known for the good food and large tarpon feeding.

Here is what is happening now.

There’s my day in a nutshell…plans RARELY turn out as you planned in San Pedro.  If you are craving even MORE San Pedro “out and about” (is that possible?), tune into my Instagram Stories.