Guest post by Joe....
When I was invited to join Anne and Steve on Fine Line in Belize a few thoughts went through my head. Either I was being invited because I'm a fine young man that they're proud their daughter is dating or I'm walking a fine line and they had other intentions for me out in the middle of the the sea. Nonetheless, Meghan and I boarded the boat and began our adventure.
First things first. We had to prepare ourselves for my week long vacation and Meghan's month long sabbatical. This was my first time sailing and visiting the Caribbean; I was delighted and relieved that Steve didn't even put me through any hazing rituals or training programs.
We got right down to the activity we'd spend a lot of our time doing...floating behind the boat in the 80 + degree water. Of course, Steve and Anne were great hosts and we embarked on many other activities to enjoy all that Belize had to offer....
First, they accustomed me to the Island food. The local man above spent his day roasting this pig...I liked the steering wheel he attached to the rotating post, myself.
As we were floating, Meghan nabbed a coconut drifting in the sea and opened it up for all to taste. It was sweet and warm...not the ideal refreshing beverage.
We took a snorkeling tour to Hol Chan Marine Park. This was my first time snorkeling with any real views. I quickly realized that I didn't need to take a deep breath every time I ducked my head and we swam with a huge variety of fish, sharks and rays.
To top off the tour, we swam with a manatee that can be seen above barreling toward Steve. It was a day long tour and Anne said we saw more than she can typically see in a full month of snorkeling elsewhere. Don't worry, Steve didn't incur any manatee related injuries in a sacrifice to get this shot.
As part of the adventure we sailed to many different islands around Belize including Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, and St. George's Caye. As you can see above, I figured I'd direct Steve where to sail and give him a few pointers.
That didn't work out so well....so he put me to work, instead. Who knew there was physical labor involved in this deal? In the end, though, most of the sailing consisted of us relaxing on the trampoline and watching the waves go by.
Once we got to the mainland, we ziplined through the jungle of Belize (as you can see, they didn't dump me at Sea!)
And took a relaxing tube ride through the Mayan Caves. It's very interesting to see and think about how the Mayans must have viewed their surroundings and used the resources they had at hand.
Lastly, I was told it's tradition to jump off the bow of the vessel. So, naturally I did a full out belly flop to take full advantage of the tradition. I'm starting to think maybe there was a hazing ritual involved here, because Anne conveniently didn't get the shot the first time I jumped and made me complete the painful flop twice.
We had a wonderful vacation and it's sad to leave. Now I wish I could be a fly on the wall after I depart to see if they'll even consider inviting me back! Thanks to the Fine Line crew for an amazing vacation and wonderful hospitality..... until next time!
