From slarson@shaw.ca Wed May 14 20:22:17 2003 Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 05:58:41 -0600 From: slarson To: Jason O'Rourke Subject: Re: Jason, I'll email you soon about your post [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ] [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] Banana Bank is actually a reasonably nice place, especially if you have an ocean view room. Definitely try for one of those. They are a bit more but worth it. It has two pools, both courtyard. It is very well maintained and has a great staff and management. There is a seawall, immediately in front and the depth of the beach from front of the building to the wall, is not that great and filled with very comfy lounging chairs. You can swim off of the pier or wander just a tad to your left and then be able to walk in. There really isn't a lot of walk in type swimming done in San Pedro in any event, due to the turtle grass and slightly soft bottom. While the colors of the sea here are amazing, due to the reef breaking just off shore, there is no cleansing wave action like you'd get on the Riviera Maya. This turtle grass is really no big deal to me but it bothers some people. If you can't get an oceanfront room, try at least for the second floor. The other rooms open out on to the courtyard pool and on the main, everyone can see your business. Now having said that, there is a new building on the north that is part of the "complex". I thought it was all hotel rooms as opposed to kitchenette suites but could be wrong. That part of the resort is north facing but many rooms probably still have a view of the sea, and the construction next door. :^) There is a chance that the construction will be complete when you arrive. LOL A new restaurant has just been added to the premises and apparently, is quite good. There are many, many places that serve good decent fare for less and I can point you in some directions. For myself, Banana Beach is too far south for the action. I like to be near town, but my friends that have stayed there just love it. It is a farther distance to town than you have perceived but it can be walked. Most would take bikes or golf carts. I don't know how much you two like to party of an evening but a cab ride back is only $5 BZ. This is not a great destination for opportunities to have the snorkeler above the diver. There are a few snorkel sites but they are all reached by boat and while two of them can be dived, it is rare to my experience that this occurs at the same time as the snorkeler is in the water. The other sites are just too deep to be of any enjoyment for a snorkeler. I'm definitely in favor of you spending more dive time out at the Atolls, how your girlfriend will handle that, is anybody's guess. I haven't actually stayed out there myself but You will definitely be closer to the better diving by being located there. There is also some fairly good snorkelling out there but I don't know what is offered and can't advise. Sorry. There are many different restaurants scattered all over town. I have my favorites, none of which are very expensive or fancy in the slightest regard. My favorite is Jambel's Jerk Pit, right in town across from the vendors. You can also get some pretty good fare from the vendors and safe a pile of money, if interested and I recommend you grab something to eat there at least once anyway. I also like Ambergris Delight on Middle Street and Papi's which is way up in Boca del Rio, a long way from Banana Bank. I haven't eaten at Langianappe(sp?) because it is new since I was there, but I ate at their prior restaurant and the food is awesome. They are on front street, just a tad north of Fido's (pronounced Fee doze) where I do not recommend that you eat though it can be a fun place to hang out of an evening, if they have a live band. There are a couple of great later evening dance places and few places that you should go anyway just to hear the local bands. Let me know what you guys are into and I'll have more advice. Do you know who you will dive with yet? As for inland activities, you might very well want to situate yourself in land for a couple of days. If you do, my recommendation is do the inland portion first and then head to the Caye to chill. I'm afraid I don't have much experience or advice concerning your white rapid kayaking question. I can't remember anyone ever talking bout it but there are some amazing hikes into caves and such. I highly recommend Actun Tunichal Muknal and can tell you more about it if you like but it gets pretty decent coverage on the web too. I'm not a big fan of the cave tubing, especially if done out of Ambergris Caye, I thought it was a ridiculous amount of money just to lay on my back in an inner tube and paddle along with a light on my head. Don't get me wrong, it was an OK experience but my heart didn't race, especially not after having hiked into Tunichal. It is cheaper to cave tube from the mainland however. Many people have a good experience staying at the Aquada which is near San Ignacio. Another place that I thought beautiful but did not stay and wear the cave tubing takes place, is Jaquar's Paw. They also have decent web coverage and you may get better idea of what else they offer other than tubing from their website. Hmm, I can't think of too much else right now. Why not ask me some questions and we'll go from there. I'm excited for you. I just love that place. It really gets under some people's skin for some reason. Others . . . they don't catch it. So ya just never know. best regards, chilly ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jason O'Rourke" To: "slarson" Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2003 1:11 AM Subject: Re: Jason, I'll email you soon about your post > > > Why did you pick Banana Beach? > > > > And I'll need some more info from you to help you best but we'll get to > > that. > > thanks, cutie. > > Banana has been picked almost by circumstance - it is a step above bad, it > has a beach, kitchen. I could be open to something else - as I alluded, I > think all that really matters is the private bath. I saw your suggestions > of mayan princess, blue tang, paradise villas - hadn't checked em out yet. > We're probably going to wing it, but it's nice to have a starting point. > > J From slarson@shaw.ca Wed May 14 20:22:25 2003 Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 07:12:37 -0600 From: slarson To: Jason O'Rourke Subject: Fw: Jason, I'll email you soon about your post #2 [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ] [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] More info on Aguada: http://www.ivaccommodations.com/belize1.html and/or http://www.belizenownetwork.com/refpage/aguadahotel/ Banana Beach: http://www.bananabeach.com/rates.html From slarson@shaw.ca Wed May 14 20:22:32 2003 Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 07:34:05 -0600 From: slarson To: Jason O'Rourke Subject: Here's something else to look at [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ] [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] I'm sure it could be booked out of Aguada http://www.belizex.com/river_trips.htm From slarson@shaw.ca Wed May 14 20:22:42 2003 Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 14:30:53 -0600 From: slarson To: Jason O'Rourke Subject: Re: belize [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ] [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] >Ok, a few more Qs before I run off next week. >1) No-see-ums: are they on the islands like Honduras? How are all the bugs in general? Keep the deet flowing? Do you worry about malaria at all? Like just about everywhere on the planet, Belize is on the CDC's list for antimalaria meds, but I'm reluctant to go near them. I've not been to Roatan, but I'd say not as bad. Still and all they are there. I always liberally DEET my feet, ankles and lower legs when going out for an evening, especially when I know I'll be having my feet in the sand or on a sand floor in a restaurant. I love Jambel's Jerk Pit and eat there quite often, but if I end up on the front porch instead of upstairs, I can get chewed up pretty good. I don't worry about the malaria while I am on the island. If I was going to spend a bunch of time inland, I might. Where are you going to be inland? >2) Water critters - jellies and sea lice - big concern to watch, or the usual for the Caribbean? Usual for Caribbean. Haven't heard too many complaints lately, but there were people being stung a week or two ago. >Fire coral? Yes, but it is generally deep enough not to be a problem for snorkellers, so unless your girlfriend freedives while snorkelling she should be OK. >Is the water surgy for a snorkeler - higher chance of being pushed into something bad? Certainly at Hol Chan there is a chance. There can be a ripping current there. That said, I rarely hear any reports of anyone getting hurt there. A guy did drown in the past month or so but he was older and may have had some other health issues. >3) Credit cards - I've seen on a couple spots notes about high surcharges for using the visa. Is it pretty much a realm of cash and traveler's checks? I hate to carry that much money. I rarely use a credit card there myself. Visa is accepted most places and fewer and fewer are charging the service fee. As I understand it, some will take it off if you ask them to do so. I know Jambel's used to have a 5% or so fee, I don't know if he still does, but if he does, I doubt he'd be one to take it off just cuz you asked. :^) Myself, I just take about $500 cash to get me started and a bunch of traveller's cheques for the rest. (Fitz @ Jambel's doesn't like them much) I can cash the traveller's cheques with my passport at most any store or bar and there is always Milo's the moneychanger place, on Front Street, a tad north of Cholo's and on the way the Paradise Resort. Don't try to change them at the bank or the Western Union. Certainly you can, but you get a better rate at Milos. I most often change mine when I buy groceries at the Pink Supermarket and now, since they know me, I don't even have to carry my passport. Heck, most places I didn't have to show my passport anyway whether they know me or not, I just had to say that I know my number and I'd write it on the back. Sometimes they also want you to write where you are staying. >San Pedro 4) Dive boats - are canopies common? I'm going to be hiding from the sun whenever I can. Esp big concern with a trek to the atolls. Depends on who you are diving with. Yes, with the larger operators. For the trip to the Blue Hole, I highly recommend that you go with Amigos del Mar. They have a beautiful new Pro 48, no worries with sun there. It's the absolute best transportation out to the Atolls going for day trips. (of course, I recommend them for all your diving, but you might want to look at Protech too) Hmm, wait though, didn't you say you wanted to do a couple of days on one of the liveaboards that go out of San Pedro? I'm not as familiar with them but suspect they are a bit like camping at sea. I do know that they do not go out unless there are enough people to make it worth their while so make sure you check in early if that's what you want to do. I think it is Coral and Barefoot that have the overnight boats. As far as I know, Barefoot is going down to Placencia around May 13th or so to look for whale sharks. >5) Is the kitchen option worth it? I get the sense that this country really isn't about eating out. Depends on what kind of people you guys are. Me, I like to have the kitchenette for fixing my brekkies before diving. I don't have to get up so early or be at the whim of a Belizean server and chef. :^) It is Caribbean time, you know? I also like to have fruit snacks, soda and beers in my fridge. I'll often fix myself something for lunch, if I'm feeling thrifty and occasionally I get tired of going out for dinner. Now consider that I stay for 10-23 days at a time and that might make more sense to you. However, even the first couple of times I was there, I really enjoyed having my own kitchen. There are lots of places to eat and many are quite good and some of the new ones are supposed to be outstanding. I'm hearing some pretty awesome stuff about a place called Casa Picasso, El Divino at Banana Beach and while I haven't eaten at Lagnianappe(sp?), I have eaten at their former establishment and it was delicious. I generally hang at my favorites though . . .Jambel's, Papi's, Ambergris Delight (not upscale). My friends loved the Blue Water Grill at Sunbreeze but the service was terrible, even worse than most places, oddly enough for one of the upscale restaurants. LOL >6) Maya Princess and Banana both look to run about 100/night. Are there good cheap options out there, or would that be bad economy? You can't really compare the two properties. I quite like the Mayan Princess and every room is a suite and has fabulous private balcony's overlooking the beautiful sea and reef. The decorating is cute. I wouldn't want a ground floor room and the rooms on the far southside are a bit noisy for many people due to the proximity to Fido's and there being a bit of an alleyway on that side. Myself, while I loved the positioning of my room in the middle of the building on the second floor, the ice machine was just outside and kept me awake. So I was much, much happier on the third floor. OK, more about the Mayan. The Mayan is right in the thick of things, center of town. Amigo's del Mar is practically right in front of them. The beach in front is a public walkway and so there is no real privacy at all, worse than normal. If your girl is into sunbathing, then I highly recommend that she go out onto their little dock, there's a few loungers set up on it and she will not be disturbed by the tourists and locals passing by. Banana Beach is much much further south of town. It is a different flavor down there than being right up in town. You can walk into town from there but are more likely to grab a cab, a bike or a golf cart. It's 1 ½ to 2 miles from town proper. Banana Beach has two pools, whereas Mayan has none. Banana Beach has lovely gardens and grounds but the pools are in courtyard areas. The problem with Banana Beach, is that it is now becoming a larger facility (it has mixture of suites and rooms) and so popular that more and more people are staying there as well. If you get one of the ocean front rooms, then you will probably be very happy, but if you get one of the courtyard rooms, especially on the mainfloor, I don't think you will be as pleased. I met one couple that said people kept walking into their suite thinking it was the lobby or a hallway or something. Since I damn near walked in myself, I knew exactly what they were talking about. Banana Beach, has it's own beach area, though no beach in San Pedro is actually private. They have lovely loungers set up with padded cushions on them. The beach isn't that deep from hotel front to the seawall but just a bit to your left, is a walkin beach and it is all in the Mara de Tumba(sp?) beach area, which is one of the nicer beaches in San Pedro. Not that that is saying all that much. This place is not known for it's fabulous beaches. >I was going to plan to just show up there and play on the fly - do you think reserving in advance is necessary anywhere? I'd make a reservation just for a night or two somewhere so that you can dump your bags and take the time to find just what you want. Depending on when you go, it may not be a problem. When are you going by the way? -- >6) Getting around - buses? You can take the bus on the mainland quite easily if you intend to do some touring around inland. >fly to San Pedro from the muni airport? If you are going direct from the international airport upon your arrival in the country to San Pedro, then fly direct from there. If you are touring around first, then fly from the muni to San Pedro, it's quite a bit less expensive. You could also take the water taxi, even cheaper, since you might have the time. >Thanks! You are most welcome. When are you going again? And I'm still here if you have any more questions. Chilly