Belize Blog – Belizeadventure.com

In late October of 1998 Hurricane Mitch sat out in the middle of the Bay of Honduras and churned for almost a week. Cully and I were in Moab, watching it on the internet in horror.

This storm acted in ways storms don’t usually act, and at the time it was the 5^th largest storm on record. Because we were far from the storm (about 100-125 miles), but there were no obstacles between us and it, huge waves built up and slammed into our island over a period of several days. For a period of 9 days we didn’t know if we had an island in Belize anymore or not.

As the days progressed we started to hear of a lost ship. We were so consumed with our own worries (and subsequent relief that we did, indeed, survive this storm) that we didn’t think much about that ship at the time. Years later I learned of the book, The Ship and the Storm by Jim Carrier. What a page turner! I can’t recommend this book enough, especially to those who are contemplating a visit to our island, Long Caye at Glover’s Reef.

This book explores the story of the Fantome and Hurricane Mitch from every angle. From the deck of the ship, to the research planes flying into the eye of the hurricane, to islanders and coastal villagers in  nearby Honduras, The Ship and the Storm is the horrifying story of the most destructive hurricane in Western Hemisphere history.

We have several copies on the island if you want to read it there! Read more about this deadly storm in an earlier blog post: http://belizeadventure.com/2011/06/memories-of-hurricane-mitch/

Usually, the only time a tropical island in Belize makes the news is when a hurricane hits (a rare event) but last week, when Discovery Channel’s new series, Alone In The Wild, featured TV celeb Jason Gardiner stranded alone on a Belize island for 5 days, it became a news story. Apparently, a highlight of his experience was finally catching and eating a fish after failing to do so for five days. Happily, you will experience no such deprivations on Adventure Island as our kitchen features a down-home, made-from-scratch cuisine that our guests rave about.

We watch Belize fares, and this week they dropped in 15 cities that we watch.

If you fly out of Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Manchester, Miami, Minneapolis, NYC Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City or St. Louis, your fare dropped from a week ago for dates in mid December.

Check our website to see actual rates: Belize flights.

Last December Meg Griffiths, our kitesurf and advanced windsurfing instructor, kept track of wind speeds through the month of December. Sailors visiting us this December will be glad to see it’s a windy month! (photo above by Pete McDermott)

We have been watching Wunderground closely and we are in the clear! Hurricane Rina is bypassing Belize, the 2011 Belize hurricane season has been OK so far! http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at201118.html

Today would be a great day to surf there, we talked to the dive shop and they report 10 foot waves!

Every fall my partner Cully drives all of our new gear down to Belize. He has been doing this since 1977, and has only missed 2 years in all of that time. He left Monday morning and is now in Texas, he’ll cross over into Mexico tomorrow.

It is our custom to take a picture right as he leaves Moab. I wish I had all of these pictures, in order! Our vehicles have gotten much nicer, and our sports gear has gotten more interesting. This year he is driving down sea kayaks, racing paddleboards, a regular paddleboard, and surf and whitewater kayaks.

I am back from MY vacation (backpacking in Utah), and I’m back just in time to see the van loaded to the gills for Cully’s annual drive south. He’s not taking a trailer this year, just a new van, so the load is particularly creatively packed.

Victor's van. This is a vegetable-oil-powered diesel. Note tank on back

Cully drives to Belize every year. That is the only way to get all of our kayaks, boards, generators, etc. down to Belize and out to the island.

Victor Myers, one of our Belize trip managers, showed up from Boise last week with most of the boats and boards Cully will be driving down.

Victor attended the Outdoor Retailer trade show for us in July and bought a lot of new equipment for us there, and this was the delivery of the new loot!

New gear clockwise from upper left: two Versa Boards, one new Current Design sea kayak, cruiser paddleboard, two race-style cruiser board, another Current Design sea kayak, expert-level paddleboard.

So it was basically a van swap. Victor pulled up to my house in Moab, unloaded everything, and then they loaded it all onto our new Belize Adventure Week van.

Every year we have other lodges in Belize wanting to buy our used equipment. Fat chance! We take very good care of our gear and use it for years. Some of our favorite sea kayaks go back to the old days on Northeast Caye, or even before when we used to kayak island-to-island out of Placencia, Belize.

This is why we have the best sport gear in the country of Belize. Each piece is hand-picked by Cully, driven down, and repaired onsite with parts we also drive down.

Every single life jacket, paddle, rudder cable, and surfboard fin is hand-carried by us to Belize.

Cully leaves on Monday! I’ll be posted more photos of the big departure.

And just what did he fit inside? A whitewater kayak for rolling lessons, another surf kayak, paddles, lifejackets, solar equipment, a new generator, more sails, booms and mast, kitchen utensils, office equipment, and lots of tools!

The completed load.

I grew up in a large family, and we went on lots of adventures together. Mostly we camped in the national parks of the west coast where we lived, and I remember all of those trips with a clarity far beyond most of my other childhood memories. But one trip stands out in particular, largely because of its location — the enchanted deserts of Joshua Tree National Monument.

The environment was so unlike any I’d ever encountered, everything seem touched by mystery and magic. Almost fifty years later, that one trip to the desert has left a deep, warm memory, my favorite of all my childhood memories.

So for any parents out there, consider the possibilities of a week with your kids on Adventure Island, one of the most unique and magical places they’re likely to encounter their entire life.

Our private island in Belize is the perfect family vacation destination for multisport tours. We offer special rates for kids 11 and under and we also have specialdiscount vacation packages for groups of 4 or more. If you would like to charter a trip (reserved only for your group of 18+) please request our charter policy.

Please note: kids are welcome on any trip we offer! There are no special “kids dates”.

Slickrock has just received a supply of new maps of Belize by National Geographic. These maps are a significant upgrade from our previous edition of maps we have for sale, and show great detail of many aspects of the country. In addition to all the latest upgrades to roads and towns, there are new locations pinpointed for archeological sites, caves, recreation sites (diving, windsurfing, fishing, etc), and regional boundaries. But perhaps the best upgrades seen on this map are delineations for all the Marine and Ecologic Reserves throughout the country. This map can be purchased through our Slickrock office.

The other day someone at the office mentioned the term “ecotourism” and a debate ensued as to what exactly that term means now-a-days. So I decided to look it up on Wikipedia and was surprised to find that the description fit Adventure Island to a “T”.

Ecotourism is responsible travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strive to be low impact and (often) small scale (as an alternative to mass tourism).

Fragile, pristine, protected: The government of Belize protects Glover’s Reef as a national Marine Reserve and World Heritage Site because it “is considered the prototypic atoll of the Caribbean. It is not only the best developed biologically, but also possesses the greatest diversity of reef types.”

Low impact: The facilities at Adventure Island are as green as they get. Everything is solar and wind powered, and water is supplied by rainwater catchments. Where most resorts use motorboats to take guests out to reefs for snorkeling, we use self-propelled kayaks.

Small scale: Our maximum capacity is 34 guests.

Adventure Island is the epitome of ecotourism.