On a scuba dive trip a long time ago

Belize offers some of the finest scuba diving anywhere. Fly into Belize City, then take a very old, rickety plane overloaded with four divers and their scuba gear to the barrier island of Ambergris Caye. A ring of white sand beaches, a center of mangrove swamps. You have to take a water taxi to get anywhere.

This is our cabin from the beach. No electricity except for overhead lights and a single outlet. No radio, no TV, no Internet, no email, no texting, no clock. And no newspaper. For a week. Enjoy!

We are right on the beach! To the right. This is the view from our cabin!

To the left. This is our view of the beach …

The white line of surf at the horizon is the barrier reef. Calm inside, wild outside. After a dive, we return to our resort. We now have all afternoon. Want some excitement? Our only choice is to head into the town of San Pedro. In 2002, the population was about 10,000 people – San Pedro was the fifth largest town in the entire country of Belize. This is our water taxi driver.

These are our fellow passengers.

Off the taxi, onto the dock, then onto the beach. Walking off, this shack greets us.

Oooops! We walked the wrong way. We want to walk into San Pedro, not out of it. Here is Main Street. Feet or golf carts are the main modes of transportation.

Could this be a normal house? I think about living here – in this house.

We saw small clusters of people talking everywhere. Everyone completely ignored the camera. Workmen talking – they had one of the very few automotive vehicles we saw.

The sand streets and the bright colors everywhere provide spectacular backdrops for the conversations.

Even in the welding shop many people went barefoot.

The clerk where we bought our souvenirs – also barefoot!

An in-town hotel for tourists, mostly divers.

Another conversation.

The sand streets of San Pedro are not an easy place to ride a bicycle …

Lots of smiles – these men saw me with my camera, smiled at me, and went back to their conversation.

Things were very peaceful so I never saw any need for security. Perhaps it was needed at night, but long before dark we will be back in our peaceful cabin – there would be more diving tomorrow.

San Pedro was a small town full of visual delights.

Sometimes I was surprised – the town cemetery seemed less formal than I expected.

I call this a playground! Kids can busy themselves anywhere.

San Pedro is a very sleepy tourist town where real people live.

The taxi takes us back. Our dive master holds court in the small outdoor bar.

Our dive companions join us for drinks.

Barbara relaxes – the Washington, DC lifestyle seems far, far away.

And tomorrow the four of us will join our boat captain and the dive master in one of these boats. Dive boats used to leave from the old dock because we’d took so much time dockside getting ready. Once we cross the reef the waves will get high, we’ll do backrolls off the sides of the boat, and dive into the beauty of the reef.

I want to go back!