Louisiana - Mom 75th Birthday - Jan 2016

Shawna and Her Mom (Honney)

We went to Louisiana over MLK weekend to celebrate Shawna's mother's (Honney) 75th birthday.  We flew into New Orleans on Friday night and got in very late - while the drive is longer, it was a direct flight from Baltimore and much cheaper than the other flights.  Over the weekend, we relaxed, got some work done and went for walks in town.  Honney had made a pineapple cake which we nibbled on all weekend (it was our breakfast every morning) - needless to say we probably gained a couple of pounds.

Nicole and Shawna

On Saturday night, we celebrated at Red River Grill by inviting 22 of Honney's friends.  A few people didn't show up so we ended up with 18 people for dinner.  We got there early and had a few drinks at the bar and then sat down for dinner.  Keith and Shawna shared the crawfish beignet appetizer and the venison loin for dinner - very tasty.  Nicole bought a red velvet cake which we all had for dessert after signing Happy Birthday.  Shawna ran into one of her high school friends that she had not seen in over 20 years so they reminisced over old memories.  It was a very nice evening to share it with Honney and her friends.

Honney's Friends at Dinner

Keith left on Sunday afternoon to fly out of New Orleans (he did not have MLK off) and Shawna stayed one more night to spend more time with her mom.  On Monday, Shawna and her mom had lunch at Copeland's and did some shopping in Alexandria before Shawna was dropped off at the airport to fly home.

Nicole and Keith

Belize and Guatemala - Dec 2015

Keith, Shawna, Simran, Ria and Rakesh

We traveled to Belize and Guatemala (only the Western part of Guatemala in order to see Tikal) for two weeks over the Christmas holidays with Rakesh, Simran and Ria. This is now our second year traveling with them over the holidays - last year we went to Bali with them. Originally, Rak and Sim were going to travel to Western Australia but decided they couldn't be without us (or rather, they didn't want to fly as far) and so they joined us on this trip. We had an amazing time - both countries are quite beautiful with lots of activities. Belize seemed easier and friendlier to us but that was mainly because everyone spoke English very well (they were owned by the British until 1981) and they have more of a relaxed, laid-back Caribbean vibe. We had a great time on this trip and would definitely return.

On top of a ruin at Tikal

Accommodations:

Belize:
Ka'ana Resort - A beautiful boutique resort located a few miles outside of San Ignacio. The rooms were nice (ours had an outdoor shower), the pool was small but nice and the food was very good. The best part was that the staff was excellent - they were very helpful and had a great sense of humor. All of our transfers into town were included (which we didn't know) so it was great to not be nickel and dimed. For Christmas Eve, they hosted a cocktail reception where our drinks were free for an hour and then Santa came out (who looked a lot like the Operations Manager, Javier) and gave presents to the kids. We of course had to take photos with Santa.

Room at Ka'ana Resort

Las Terrazas - A decent hotel located a few miles north of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. The pool was very nice and it had a decent beach (most of the beaches on the island are very small and most are not clean - this one was clean). We had a three bedroom with a kitchen and large dining/living room area - the best part is that we had a washer and dryer which we used quite a bit. The staff was not very helpful (in fact, the service was poor) - although there was one person who was attentive and hooked us up with a captain so we could have a few private boat trips. We had most of our breakfast meals in the room since we had the kitchen.

Las Terrazas

Guatemala:
Las Lagunas - An amazing boutique resort located on a lagoon and just a few miles from the cute town of Flores. The rooms were very nice - each room is a separate bungalow overlooking the lagoon with a large bedroom and screened in porch that has a jacuzzi. The main building where the restaurant is has a large window that overlooks the lagoon as well - the food was quite good. The pool is also very nice - infinity pool with views of the lagoon. On the property is a small animal preserve that has a jaguar and the hotel owns a nearby island called Monkey Island where they provide tours via boats to see the monkeys. The only downside to this hotel was "Guatemala Gate" - the manager contacted me the week before we left for our trip to let me know that the person who booked our room put the wrong dates into the system and they were overbooked for the actual dates we were supposed to be there. They moved us to another hotel (Villa Maya) for one night and we had to share a room at this hotel with Rak and Sim for two nights. They comped us two nights and a couple of the tours.

Pool Area at Las Lagunas

Villa Maya - Located 1 km away from Las Lagunas. We stayed here one night because of "Guatemala Gate". The hotel is not great but probably was a nice place at one time. They had a large pool but we really limited our time here to just sleeping.

Activities:
Belize:
We spent most of our time in Belize with six nights in the mountain/jungle area basing out of a hotel near San Ignacio and five nights on the beach on Ambergris Caye. We learned that most of the grocery stores are owned by Chinese so we had fun visiting a few of them in San Ignacio - our favorite being Chen's Supermarket where we stopped a few times for snacks - it is here that were first (and hopefully last) introduced by Simran to cheese in a can!

New Year's Eve

While in the mountain/jungle area, we did the following activities:

• Farmers Market San Ignacio - We walked around and saw all of the goods that the local people were selling from produce to clothes and household goods. We had lunch here a couple of times, eating some of the local dishes.

Lunch at the Farmers Market

• Hopkins - We rented a car and drove to Hopkins which is a small, rustic backpacker beach town. The drive there was an adventure as we experienced 'poop gate' where someone who shall remain nameless desperately needed to go and we could not find a bathroom that met this person's standards. Out of desperation, we had to stop at a gas station so needless to say, lots of sanitizer was used after. The roads were a bit shoddy with potholes along the way. The town of Hopkins is quite small with only two dirt/sand roads and several small hostel/hotels and restaurants dotting along the road. We walked around the town, went inside a church that was very basic but cute, had lunch and walked along the beach.

Church in Hopkins

• Caracol - We visited this amazing Mayan ruin that is about a two hour drive from our hotel (most of the roads were ridiculously bumpy - the driver joked several times about the 'free massage' we were getting). This complex was quite large and there were not many people so it was great to explore it. Our guide took us around and told us about the history and each of the structures. We climbed every pyramid that we could with Shawna, Simran and Ria climbing up on all fours and climbing down sideways - the steps were quite steep. Before visiting the ruins, we went to see the Rio Frio Cave and then after visiting the ruins, we stopped to take a dip in some nearby pools.

Caracol

• Xunantunich (or as the locals say "Tuna Sandwich" because that's what it sounds like) - This is a small but very interesting ruin near the town of San Ignacio. To get to it, we crossed a river on a hand cranked ferry which was quite cool. We toured around the ruins (again climbing what we could) and saw a spider monkey and a few iguanas.

Xunantunich

• Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave - This was the highlight of our trip! Simran did not join us as she was worried about claustrophobia - we joked that she would not have made it past the parking lot as we had to wear helmets and she would worry about lice! This is an ancient cave where the Mayans performed rituals and human sacrifices. To get to the cave, we hiked for about 40 minutes crossing three rivers - there are no bridges so you have to cross in the water. The water is cold and swift but manageable. Once there, we swam into the cave and then walked/scrambled over the rocks inside the cave, most of the time in water. At the end, you have to climb up some rocks - not too difficult but a little tricky - to get to the main part where the rituals were performed. We did see lots of pottery remains, burnt areas where fires had been lit and a few human remains - one of which was a complete skeleton of a young girl. There were a few tight spots as well so Ria's job was to talk to Uncle Keith to keep his mind off of getting claustrophobic - her idea of doing that was asking questions like "what's the color of your eyes" - while not the most engaging topics, she managed to accomplish the task and Keith never wigged out. We hiked back out the same way we came in. 
• Cave Tubing - We took Ria on this adventure (Simran and Rakesh stayed back at the hotel to relax). It's a tame float along the river and through a 1.5km cave but also fun and interesting. We had to hike about 30 minutes along the river before we got into the tubes to float. In the cave, we got out once to walk around and Keith and Ria jumped off a rock in the dark into the river - Ria was nervous at first as the jump was a bit high but she finally did it and then of course wanted to do it again!

Cave Tubing

Keeping with tradition, we gave each other the following names for this portion of the trip:

• Keith - Pupusa - for the yummy food we had at the market. 
• Ria - Horchata - which is a tasty drink made of milk and cinnamon.

Horchata

• Simran - Cheese in a Can - it's literally what it says. She made us try this one night - tasted like Velveeta. 

Cheese in a Can

• Rak - Sweet Ting - named after a bakery in town. 
• Shawna - Xunantunich - named after a cool ruin that we visited.

Christmas Eve at Ka'ana

Guatemala:

In the middle of the trip, we went to the Western part of Guatemala, the Peten region, for four nights in order to explore that area and to visit Tikal.  Ka'ana arranged for a driver to take us to the border (we could not rent our own car as they do not allow Belizean cars to drive over the boarder) where we were transferred to another driver who then drove us to our hotel.  The border crossing was quite easy as it was Christmas day.  Overall, it only took us about 1.5 hours door to door.  

"Lazy Iguana"

While here, we did the following activities:

• Monkey Island Tour - The hotel provides this tour via boat over to Monkey Island where we say many spider monkeys and watched the tour guide feed the monkeys from the boat. One of the monkeys came on the boat and ate most of the food out of the bucket. The monkeys were very cute!

Monkey Island

• Flores - This is a very cute town located on a island in Lake Peten Itza and accessible via a bridge.  Part of the streets on one side of the island were flooded from rains over the last few years.  We walked around the town and saw all of the colorful homes and the church.  There are lots of small hotels and restaurants here.

Flores

• Farmers Market St Elena - We drove around the market to see the local fare.  We stopped to watch the local woman making fresh corn tortillas and bought a few to try - very fresh!

• Tikal - The mother of all Mayan ruins.  We spent a whole day here with a guide exploring the ruins and climbing the temples - the tallest being Temple IV which is 70 meters high.  There were lots of people here but it didn't ruin the experience - very cool place.

Tikal

• Lake Tour - We went on a boat tour of Lake Peten Itza. The lake itself is quite large and pretty.  We stopped at a small animal preserve where we say a tigrillo with a baby (very cute), a puma and a jaguar.  We also saw spider monkeys and watched one who had just (literally) given birth - it was very interesting! We stopped at another spot along the lake to hike up a hill where there used to be an old temple to see a view of the lake.  Lastly, our guide took us to one of the caves where we walked around inside (Simran waited outside as she didn't like the darkness inside the cave) - the cave was interesting but after seeing ATM any cave pales in comparison.

Lake Peten Itza

In Guatemala, we started to play Monopoly (Simran bought the game at one of the Chinese supermarkets) in the evenings.  It was the Singh/Mehta family vs the Dodds family.  Rak, Sim and Ria crushed us as they knew more of the strategy than we did (they had recently played earlier this year on other trips) so Keith and I went online to brush up!  At one game, we were destroyed by a Chance card that said "Proceed to Boardwalk" which of course is where they had built hotels.  The funny party is that as we picked the card, Rak called out "Proceed to Boardwalk" and in fact that is what we had picked.  Since that bankrupted us, the game was over.  Keith then got up and walked over to what he thought was going to be our table (we played in the lobby at the hotel) and the staff quickly ran after him to direct him to another table away from the window - Keith pretended to be offended that we did not get 'front row' seating by the window and joked that we were being discriminated against by the 'brown people' - the hole in the argument is that we were with 'brown people'.  For some reason, we thought this whole intervention was hilarious - maybe due to the wine we had over the game!  While we were playing one of the games, a guest came over to us and handed us the card version of Monopoly called Monopoly Deal, which goes much faster and is portable for travel - turns out the guy is the head of Operations for Hasbro!

The card that destroyed the Dodds empire!

For this part of the trip, we gave each other the following names:

• Keith - Chilupa y Taco - One night at dinner, we were joking about how terrible we were at speaking foreign languages and Keith went on a rant of saying every Spanish word he knew with a terrible Texas accent. He ended on this one with the 'y' pronounced as 'why' instead of 'e'. Needless to say we laughed until we were in tears. 
• Shawna - Smoking Gun - When Shawna found out about 'Guatemala Gate', she was determined to win and get our original reservations in order. She thought she found the 'smoking gun' with an email from the manager who had indicated the dates we wanted were available; however, she was not successful because the person who actually booked our rooms, entered them for the wrong dates. 
• Rak - Gordo 
• Ria - Flores - named after the cute town. 
• Sim - Howler - named after the howler monkeys who make a loud sound.

Boat ride to Caye Caulker

Belize:
After our few days in Guatemala, we returned to Belize to spend five nights on the beach on Ambergris Caye which is the largest island off the coast of Belize. To get here from Belize, the hotel arranged for a driver to take us back to the border and transfer us to another driver. We were hesitant at first as the Guatemalan driver wanted us to pay him all of the money and it appeared he just walked up to someone he had just met at the border to hand us over but after a call back to the hotel, we found out it was all legit and we paid the Guatemalan driver. This time the border crossing took longer (about 45 minutes) to get through. We then were taken to a very small but very tranquil airport near San Ignacio where we caught a quick direct flight on a small (12 passenger) plane to Ambergris. We arrived a bit early so we relaxed on the porch at the airport and read. We had stopped at a nearby supermarket to get some snacks so our lunch consisted of chips, nuts and granola bars as there was no food option at the airport!

Dock by Las Terrazas

While on Ambergris, we did the following activities:

• Biking - The hotel offers bike rentals for free so we took some bikes and rode north to check out the island. The road is not paved and is a bit bumpy in spots. There is not a lot to see along the way as there is heavy shrubbery that hides the hotels that are dotted along the beach along the way. We stopped at one hotel on the beach and had a few drinks and admired the ocean. After this, we turned around and rode our bikes back stopping at one other hotel for lunch. After lunch, Shawna had to go to the bathroom quite urgently so she biked ahead of everyone else to rush back to the hotel.

Stopped to have a drink

• Mexico Rocks Snorkeling Trip - We booked a half day snorkeling trip to Mexico Rocks with Searious Adventures.  We saw lots of fish and manta rays.  We were not a big fan of the guides and there were too many people on the boat which prompted us to get our own boat for the next couple of days.  

• Fishing, Beach B-B-Q, Snorkeling - We rented a private boat with a captain (Captain Vince) to take us out for the day.  In the morning, Rak, Ria and Keith went fishing and caught a little over a dozen fish while Simran and Shawna hung out at the beach at the hotel.  After fishing, they picked us up and we drove over to a quiet beach south of town where the captain grilled the fish and some potatoes for us - the food was very good!  We then snorkeled the two most famous areas - Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley.  The fish were amazing - we saw tons of coral, colorful fish, nurse sharks (of course) and rays.  The sharks come to the boat as the captain threw our leftover fish heads out to feed them.  

Fresh grilled fish - beach BBQ

Snorkeling at Shark Ray Alley

• Caye Caulker - We hired Captain Vince for a second day to take us to Caye Caulker which is another cute island nearby that caters more to backpackers.  The island has several hotels/hostels and restaurants but has not been fully developed yet so it's even more laid back.  We walked around the island and mostly spent our time grazing at the different restaurants, playing Monopoly cards and drinking.  We had a great time.  It started to rain in the afternoon so then took the boat back to our hotel.

Caye Caulker

We continued our Monopoly tournament, playing a few games in the room before dinner each night.  We had switched to the card game which is much faster and more fun than regular Monopoly.  We were quite hooked.  Simran definitely carried the title as she won most of the games.

Monopoly Shark

Also keeping with tradition, on New Year's Eve, we performed songs.  Rak and Ria were one team and Shawna, Simran and Keith were on another team.  Earlier in the trip we sang the song "Rumors" because we saw that name on a hotel sign - the tune stuck in our heads so not surprisingly both teams sang songs to the tune of Rumors.  Both teams did better than last year in Bali but Rak and Ria's song was definitely funnier.  You can see the lyrics below.

A day of grazing and drinking on Caye Caulker

Our names on Ambergris were:

• Ria - Sour Ting - She was a really good kid for most of the trip but had a bad moment (driven by being tired) at the hotel so we named her this.

• Shawna - Lazy Iguana - A name of one of the bars and how she began to feel towards the end of the trip.

• Simran - Lazy Lizard - Similar to Shawna's name, this is the name of the bar where we hung out while we visited Caye Caulker.

• Keith - Hey Sexy - As overhead by one of the locals on Caye Caulker.

• Rak - Hot Cakes and Hula - Was on the back of his t-shirt and we thought it funny.

Hot Cakes and Hula

A few funny quotes from the trip:

• Mr Gusman / Bonito: He was our tax driver in San Ignacio. When we first got in his car he said to us "I may not be the best but I'm fast" - we thought that was a great quality for a taxi driver so we used him a few times. 
• Captain Vince: He was our boat captain on Ambergris. One our way back from Caye Caulker, Keith was dancing his usual moves on the boat when we heard Vince says "Who said Michael died? I hear he's white". 
• Rakesh: Given that we had to share our room at Las Lagunas, it was quite cozy with five people and all of our bags. One night at dinner, Rakesh remarked that "it's like Calcutta in that room".

New Year's Eve Songs:

Shawna, Keith and Simran:
Look at all these monkeys
They really like to play
Swinging on those vines
In order to get away from

Rakesh and Ria
Can't take it no more
The monkeys say
We don't want to see you anymore

His name is Rakesh
He thinks he's cool as a fox
He can't be a tour guide
As he can only point out rocks

Her name is Ria
Some say she's like a monkey
She wants to be an archiloligist
Which is good cause she can't play monopoly

Look at all these monkeys
They really like to play
Swinging on those vines
In order to get away from

Rakesh and Ria
Can't take it no more
The monkeys say
We don't want to see you anymore

Stop stop hanging with Rakesh and Ria
Stop stop swinging on vines
Stop stop hanging with Rakesh and Ria
Stop stop swinging on vines

Rakesh and Ria:
Papa: wait Ria! What's that smell!!
Ria: I don't know papa! But I smell it too!
Papa: Ria, I'm afraid to say this, but I think there's some poopers around! (Point to audience jump around)
Ria: you better belize it papa! I think you're right! I see them! (Point to audience jump around)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you look at all these poopers surrounding
Me every day I just need some time, some time
To get away from from all these poopers
I can't take it no more, my best friend said
You're regular, but these poopers smell dead
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|~~~
How do poopers get started,
They're started by the guppy people,
And they get mad, seeing someone,
Being regular like we're holdin (point back and fourth)
-------------------------------------------------------------
They tell me being regular, is very hard to resist,
But for these haters, gado tummy just persists
Starts by eating somethin, eatin somethin goose,
Then their buttholes, start running loose. (Step side to side snapping)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Some say uncle Keith, he really, really is the best
But after breakfast, on the loo he needs to rest (start doing uncle Keith dance)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Simran sees the food, sez nothing could be fowler,
Turns into a monkey, that is a howler (act throwing up)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shawna tells her don't worry, just eat the tuna sandwich
Cause my name is, xunnuntunich (climbing up pyramid)
--------------------------------------------------------------
On the monkey tour, one was greedy,
Spider monkey said, I eat fast like kiethie (imitate kiethie eating)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Auntie Shawna went biking, she really really was cool,
Had to ride home early, powered by her poop (bike pooping dance)
--------------------------------------------------------------
What's mine is mine, I ain't got time for poopers
In my life I'm a man who thinks, not a man who drinks
So please let me live my life, what's mine is mine
I ain't got time for poopers in my life( nod heads up and down)
--------------------------------------------------------------
I'll bet there'll even be poopers floating around on
Judgment Day I'll think I'll write my congressman
And tell him to pass a bill, so the next time they catch
Some o these poopers, shoot to kill. ( shoulders up and down)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Stop, stop spreading those poopers around
Stop, stop spreading the flies
Stop, stop spreading those poopers around
Stop, stop spreading the flies

Restaurants/Bars:
Belize:
Farmers Market San Ignacio - Had lunch here a couple of times so we could really eat with the locals. Ate papusas, quesadillas,and empanadas. Food was quite tasty.

La Ceiba (at Ka'ana Resort) - Had breakfast here every morning (continental breakfast was included in our room rate) - the oatmeal and the yogurt parfait were both very good. We had most of our dinner meals here as well. The restaurant is very nice and the food is very good. We particularly enjoyed the corn polenta appetizer, lamb shank, and grilled fish. We also had Christmas Eve dinner here where they served a four course meal. We had the chilled lobster and pork belly for appetizers, snapper and beef for entrees, cheese plate and the banoffee pie and warm pound cake for dessert.

La Ceiba

Thong's Cafe (Hopkins) - Had lunch here and shared the chicken fajitas. The restaurant is small but cute. Menu options were not plenty and food was OK.

Thong's Cafe

Xo-Ox Han-nah (San Ignacio) - This restaurants is small and basic but came highly recommended as making tasty local dishes. We shared several dishes among all of us including chicken stew, lamb curry, eggplant and veggie curry. The food was quite tasty.

Guava Limb Cafe (San Ignacio) - This is a newer restaurant that is very cute inside - menu is not extensive but food was tasty. We shared the Mediterranean platter as an appetizer, fish stew and gado gado with chicken sate. We also all shared the red velvet cheesecake which was amazing.

Blue Water Grill (San Pedro, Ambergris) - This restaurant is on the beach and is part of one of the hotels in town. We had dinner here and shared the mixed seafood plate. Food was OK.

DandE Frozen Custard (San Pedro, Ambergris) - A very tiny shop in town that sells frozen custard - stopped here for dessert one night - very good.

Wild Mango (San Pedro, Ambergris) - This restaurant has outdoor seating on the beach. We had dinner here and shared the shrimp jalapeño appetizer and mango snapper entree. Food was OK.

Mambo (Ambergris, Matachica Hotel) - This is a nice restaurant on the beach at a hotel where we had wanted to stay but they don't allow kids. We had lunch here and shared a yummy salad and fish tacos.

Robin's Kitchen (San Pedro, Ambergris) - This is a small 'shack' a couple of miles south of town where the owner only serves one dish - jerk chicken with rice and beans. It was highly recommended on Trip Advisor so we had to check it out. We walked there from town which took a while and since it was the middle of the day, it was also quite hot. However, it was worth it - the food was very tasty and we were serenaded by a guy from Jamaica who played a guitar and sang some songs (mostly Marley of course).

Robin's Kitchen

Truck Stop (Ambergris) - This is a new place that had recently opened with a few 'shipping containers' that served food - one was a bar, one served ice cream, one served Asian and the last one served Latin food. There are picnic tables in the middle and you order the food from the different places. We had dinner here two nights and had the Masi Goreng, steak Latin dish with rice and beans, shrimp Latin dish and cassava fries. We also had the ice cream for dessert. The food was very good and Simran was happy since the kitchens looked clean!

Truck Stop

O Restaurant (Ambergris, Las Terrazas Hotel) - The restaurant is nicely decorated; however, the food was not impressive. We had dinner one night and breakfast one morning. For dinner we shared the pork tenderloin.

Terry's Grill (Caye Caulker) - Another small shack on the beach that is known for it's grilled lobster. When we stopped by, he only had two lobsters left so we ordered both and shared it among all of us. Lobster was pretty good.

Terry's Grill

Pizza al Taglio (Caye Caulker) - Brightly painted building on the beach. We had a few slices of pizza which were pretty good.

Pizza al Taglio

Lazy Lizard (Caye Caulker) - This is a large bar located on the beach right where most of the boats dock. We mostly had drinks here (rum punch was potent) and shared some nachos while we played Monopoly cards.

Guatemala:
Raices Grill (Flores) - This restaurant is located on the water with nice views of the lake. We had lunch here and shared the taco sampler - pretty good.

Terrazzo Restaurante (Flores) - This is a cute Italian restaurant along the water. We had lunch here and shared an avocado salad and a pasta dish - food was tasty.

Las Lagunas Hotel Restaurant - We had breakfast here every morning and most of our lunch and dinner meals as well. The restaurant is very nice with a huge window overlooking the lagoon. The food was also very good. We particularly enjoyed the salads, tortilla soup, local grilled white fish, and the pork loin.

For additional photos of this trip: