2015 - Real Life Recess

Free and feel-good activity in San Pedro

Saga Humane Society Ambergris Caye- Real Life Recess

May 05 2015

Have some free time and a soft spot for furry friends? Head over to the Saga Humane Society (a block from Pedro’s Hotel) and volunteer to walk a dog or two. Face it- you’d probably be meandering around town or down the beach any way; why not bring a little buddy along with you? The Humane Society on Ambergris Caye is doing a great job of keeping the island’s dogs and cats healthy and getting them adopted to forever homes. If you’re just on vacation and can’t commit…

Apr 18 2015

We had taken a day trip to Caye Caulker a year ago, so we had a general idea of what the island was like. But this time we were staying for three nights, so we had a lot more time to explore this laid-back island. Our lodging at Costa Maya Beach Cabanas offered free use of their bikes, so on our last full day on the island we took a leisurely ride around the island. The island is small so its easily explored on bike or foot and there’s…

Caye Caulker Beer Delivery - Real Life Recess

Apr 05 2015

Caye Caulker is tiny. Its 5 miles long (but “Split” in two) and less than a mile wide; easily explored on foot or bicycle. We had popped over on the water taxi from San Pedro to Caulker last year for a look around and loved the beauty and laid back vibe of the island. We decided Caulker warranted a second look this year and we were mainly curious of what the minuscule island had to offer besides the stunning sea and some cheap seafood. The main draws to…

Cool Runnings Spearfishing Tour Caye Caulker - Real Life Recess

Mar 29 2015

The ocean is my hunting ground. A rubber band powered spear gun my instrument of death. My flippers sleekly propel me through the sea with the stealth of a mako shark.This is what I imagine spearfishing to be like. It was my most anticipated vacation activity. I told Phil for months that I wanted to learn how to spearfish- Survivor style. In my fantasies I envision myself free diving down to coral outcrops and hitting medium sized grouper with a Hawaiian Sling. We spent our first afternoon on…

Costa Maya rooftop hammock- Real Life Recess

Mar 22 2015

This year we wanted to stay on Caye Caulker for a few days to really get a feel for the place. We’d day tripped to the tiny island from Ambergris Caye last year and loved it but wondered if it was too small to entertain us for an extended time (we’re looking for potential places to live after all). Would we get bored? Is there enough to do on such a small swath of land? We were going to find out but first we had to get there…

I broke a bike on Phil’s birthday

Mar 15 2015

I was cruisin’. I was feeling good. Confident. Bad ass. All that changed in a moment, with the drop of a bike. It was our second day on motorcycles rented from Alternate Adventures in Hopkins. We cut our teeth the first day with a leisurely ride down the Placencia Peninsula (check out our post about that ride here). As a result I felt pretty good about a little longer ride inland to check out St. Herman’s Blue Hole Park. I really wanted to make this ride. I’d spent…

St Hermans Blue Hole Belize- Real Life Recess

Mar 06 2015

On the second day with our rented motorcycles we planned to ride out towards Belmopan from Hopkins to visit St. Herman’s Blue Hole Park. We skipped the complementary breakfast at Hopkins Inn cabana and decided to try out Thongs Cafe across from Alternate Adventures. From Hopkins Village to St. Herman’s Blue Hole park is a LONG ride. Much longer than we anticipated and more challenging than we expected (hills, one-lane bridges, oh my). But definitely worth it. The Hummingbird Highway is known for the beautiful landscapes and picturesque mountain views…

Pickled Parrot Placencia Village- Real Life Recess

Feb 27 2015

We rented motorcycles from Alternate Adventures in Hopkins and took the easy ride down the Placencia Peninsula via the Southern Highway. We learned the nightclub, Street Feet, opened nearly a year now is doing a lively business. We also asked about the big construction happening just next door and learned it was going to be a mixed-use space of offices, maybe some residential units, and a bonafide movie theater- whoa! Eugene was nice enough to store our helmets for us so we could enjoy a walk…

Feb 22 2015

One of the things I was most excited to do on this year’s trip to Belize was renting motorbikes from Motorbike Rentals and Alternate Adventures in Hopkins Village, Belize. We got our motorcycle licenses back in the fall in preparation for the trip. We figure this is a good investment in our future because when we move we will likely NOT be getting a car and if we did splurge on motorized transportation it would be in the form of a motorcycle. Gas is very expensive (more than…

Hopkins Inn view from the beach - Real Life Recess

Feb 15 2015

For our four nights in Hopkins Village we stayed at the Hopkins Inn, which is basically in the heart of the village. Its not so much an inn, but rather three concrete cabanas situated right on the beach. The owners of the inn, Rita and Greg, have their own larger home right on the grounds next to the cabanas. We weren’t overly impressed with the beaches in Hopkins compared to Placencia, however Rita and Greg kept the property and our section of the beach raked every morning and free of…