Bella Goes Jet Skiing

At Caramba's

Yesterday, the teenagers wanted to go jet skiing, but, first, we wanted to get something to eat, and the teens opted to stay at the condo. Off we went to "Wild Mango" which features the amazing cuisine of Amy Knox,  twice winner of Belize Chef of the Year. Unfortunately, Wild Mango's was closed for "Baron Bliss Day." What? All my faithful followers know that Baron Bliss Day is celebrated on March 9th, not March 11th. 

That's okay. Holly and Honey had never been to Caramba's, my favorite restaurant, and, sure enough, the food, drink, and service were superb. Plus, Holly was able to negotiate for hundreds of Belikan Beer caps to use as raw material for her jewelry line. Oh, well, the girls will just have to catch Wild Mango on the next visit.

Taylor jet skiing. (Yeah, right!)

San Pedro Water Sports, located on the pier directly in front of the Spindrift Hotel, is the only company on the island licensed to rent jet skis, so that's where we went. I thought it was a little pricey at $80 USD an hour, but that seems to be about average. Plus, they delivered the jet ski directly to the dock in front of our house. The "hour" turned out to be about two hours, and that was more than enough.

Gotta be prepared.

The real excitement began when a heavy rainstorm blew in out of nowhere. Shelley, always the perfect hostess, began calling masses of people outside huddling against the elements: "Y'all come inside out of the rain!" Sure enough, they did! Lots of people! And that's when the party began. All former plans for the evening were changed, and the girls entertained friends and strangers alike way into the night. What a great place this island is!  (I'll tell you more another time about new out-of-the rain friends Patrick and Jerome, two master divers with Hugh Parkey's Belize Dive Connection.)

I passed by a sign for a fishing guide the other day listing different kinds of fishing: tarpon, bonefish, sailfish, permit, tuna, etc. Permit? Are those fish you have to have a license to catch. Huh? 

Yep, that's a "permit."

Well, it turns out a permit really is a kind of fish. Who knew?  My intrepid research reveals that permit are by far the most difficult, picky, frustrating fish you'll ever encounter. They have superb eyesight and a well-developed sense of smell that allows them to totally ignore perfectly good bait. Some fanatical anglers rumor them to be a higher life form in a fish's body. Sounds like way too much work for me. I'll stick with the fish at Caramba's.

Here's a hearty bow-wow to faithful follower Sandra H. who has just returned from a dream vacation in Vail, Colorado. Somebody has to stay at the Ritz-Carlton!

Y'all come visit. We'll eat and ski and fish for permit. You're gonna love Belize!