Click here to see pictures from our trip!

June 18, 2005
I will have to say that Belize was once again just as awesome as it ever was. Me and my family had a great time, saw old friends and met some new ones. We always however, are always glad to be back home.

We flew out of Houston at 3:15 P.M. We arrived almost three hours in advance. This was not a minute too soon either. Between keeping the kids under control and being in line with all these people was a chore. Kim forgot that her scissors were in her carry on and they confiscated them. I'll have to say that making you take your shoes off really sucks and I feel it's such a damned imposition. Caleb was wearing his orthotics and this was a real pain in the ass to have to take off and put back on. After all the fiasco was over with, we were in the air to Belize. Upon arrival, we hopped aboard the Tropic Air prop job and headed for Ambergris Caye. The kids absolutely loved flying. We checked into the Spindrift Hotel and saw our friend Diana who has worked there since Kim and I were there back in 1994 during our honeymoon. Diana treated us first class and was very accommodating to us and an absolute sweetheart as always. We also had the privilege of meeting Yamileth Silva who also works here. These are two classy ladies and I highly recommend staying at this hotel. The hotel is fun and they treat you well. We miss you guys!!!!! We even stayed in rm. #25 on the second floor overlooking the ocean. What a view! We love that room. One more thing I would like to point out, Diana and Yamelith arranged to have a refrigerator put into our room as to keep the milk and drinks cold for Weston as well as stuff for the whole family. This was a very nice plus! Thanks again ladies. You both are not only beautiful but terrific ladies as well.

We ate dinner downstairs in front of the hotel looking at the ocean. The sand is nice and white and felt good on the feet. I treated myself to some seafood and Belikin beer that I had long awaited for. Kim had a craving for the same. (Belikin that is!) We hung out and visited until 11:00 or so then retired to the room where low and behold, they now have cable TV. Caleb and Weston enjoyed watching cartoon network, which by the way, they watched every night we were there except for 2 nights! AAAAAAAAARRRGGGGGG!!! Can't seem to get away form that!!! L. So,…..Belize, we are back so hide your valuables!!!!!!!

June 19, 2005
I'll have to say, I hung out all day eating and drinking! The kids spent most of their day playing in the shallows of the water and giving the locals a hard time. I discovered that there were several Internet café's on the island and to make a long story short, I kept up with the e-mails and the news around the world. Ain't nothing sacred anymore???? Can't escape the Internet!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!J We were going to go on a glass bottom boat to shark and ray alley but storms moved in and screwed that up for us. We delayed this until the 20th, hoping the rain would stop and the sun would come out. Today had been a big "unwind" day for us. We would eat breakfast just about every day we were on the island next door at Estelle's, which serves good food at a reasonable price, and yes, they too also have the Internet!

June 20, 2005
We had breakfast at Estelle's again this morning. The kids played in the water once again. We planned to go out on a glass bottom boat this morning but the weather was still not right. We hung out and drank some Belikins and were hoping that the weather would get clear and sunny. So far, it has rained every day. After we grabbed a quick bite for lunch we got our wish, or at least somewhat. The sun came out for the most part but the clouds were still abundant. We took out on a glass bottom boat and headed for shark and ray alley, and also the national underwater park where all the cool coral is. I had asked Kim 5 friggin times "do you have the camera's" referring to THE UNDERWATER cameras that we bought especially for the trip. She replied yes all times. I asked her one more time as we were a mile or so off shore and headed out. She gasped and all of a sudden said "oh no,……I forgot the underwater cameras. I thought you meant the video camera and the digital camera." Now, …………….I am certainly not a scholar and graduate of Rice University, but why the hell would I be concerned with those cameras when we are going out snorkeling????????? We have had our little talk, so I will move on. Needless to say I was more than unhappy. All we have are the memories in our minds from this little excursion.

After we cleaned up and rested, we went out to eat at a restaurant called Carambas. This place was very nice and equivalent to a restaurant in H-town. The place was loaded with Americans. I thought I was back in Houston! The food was great and the seafood as well. I of course had to get my nightly fix of the Internet at the "café" before I retired for the night. It was a very tiresome day and it didn't take us long to crash.

June 21, 2005
You know, the funny thing about today was,………………well, let me back up. Yesterday when we were driving around in the golf cart rented from Cholos, we drove by the Ambergris Caye Police Station, and Kim said, "that's one place you haven't visited yet". I kinda blew it off and checked a bit. You know how I always seem to get into some kind of trouble. Well, about 9:30 this morning, there was a knock on the door and when I opened it, there was a policeman standing there asking if I was Wayne Howell. I said,…………Y E A H HHHHHHH. And? It's like what the fu** did I do now? I swear I was only driving by! He proceeded to inform me that my gold cart had been stolen and taken for a joy ride around the island. I never knew it was missing because I had not been outside yet. He asked me if I wanted to press charges. I said HELL YEAH!!! How many times do I, Wayne Howell, get to actually press charges against someone? I can tell you,……..NEVER!!! But I was going to do it today. I drove down in that same golf cart with the officer and went down to the jailhouse to fill out some paperwork, something that I am very familiar with, but usually on the other side of the counter, if ya know what I mean. This kid and his accomplice got 2 months in jail for theft, driving without a license, theft of a motor vehicle (gas powered cart), damage to property, and driving recklessly. He is still sitting in the poky as far as I know, So,………Kim sweet darling,………quit putting that stuff out there!!! We proceeded down to the ferry on the North side of the island, or at least as far as we could go before we had to take the ferry. We proceeded up to Captain Morgan's resort about five miles up. I had never been that far up by land. Property there is going for one thousand to fifteen hundred a square foot. Is that ridiculous or what??? My original plan was to have some brewskies at Captain Morgan's resort, and hit the mangroves and try and find some caye boas. Well, that fell through when I realized I was having such a damned good time hanging out at this lovely resort,………..I thought screw this. I ain't going out there in the mangroves and getting eaten alive by mosquito's. I feel right at home with a rum punch in my hand. The kids hung out in the pool for most of the day and ended up being "taken in" by some cutie pies, three being sisters and one being a friend that was with the family all the way from California. This family had purchases a beach house about a mile down the road and were staying for 7 weeks on vacation. These girls were 12, 13 and 14 years of age and you should have seen the way Caleb and Weston warmed up to these girls. The girls took them out "swimming" and befriended them the whole time we were there, (which ended up being ALL day!) THAT'S ME BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could have had that kind of luck when I was that age. We all had a blast visiting with this family and we all had a lot of fun. Guys, I hope you read this and hope you all made it back safely. Thanks to your girls for making this day great for the boys. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
We are not out of the woods yet. We ended up staying so long at this resort, we ended up buying into it. We are now the owners of a time share condo there on the beach at Captain Morgan's. We will be able to go for one week every other year, but have lot's of other trips included in the package through out the year. We also get a free week as well. I would not usually do something like this but Kim and myself enjoyed it sooooooooooooo much, that well,………. You only live once. There is never a good time financially to do something like this, so why the hell not just go for it. It is safe to say that we will be frequenting Ambergris Caye and Belize a lot more often! Yeehaw!! Now it's time for the mainland!

June 22, 2005
We left Ambergris Caye at 10:00 a.m. The kids really enjoyed flying in the small prop job and looking down at the crystal clear water and the islands. We grabbed our rental vehicle which was a 4 wheel drive Isuzu Trooper and it was maroon no less. I can't think of a better color for a vehicle. J We took on out the highway, destination Belmopan & San Ignacio. We stopped at a bush bar along the way and had lunch along the Western Highway. After lunch I spent 2.5 hours seeking out the Ministry of Forestry. This is where I was supposed to pick up my collection permit and licenses etc. This dept. has moved since back in 2001 when I went with a friend of mine. It seemed no one knew what the hell was going on and as I said, I wasted (and I do mean W A S T E D a lot of time. There is a man in the forestry dept. who is responsible for issuing permits for collection of fauna in Belize and I had to wait about one hour or longer for this joker to show up. I had already faxed my permits to the fax number that was pertinent to these permits, but guess what? Being that Belize is so screwed up right now politically, they never received the paperwork we sent to obtain the permits. I could have guessed as much. This persons name is Lizandro Quiroz. Now that I know why he would not issue me permits, I feel at lib to express my verbal and most heart felt opinion about this asshole. This ass clown would not issue permits because he did not think that the research permits that Dr. Nordyke from the University of St. Thomas was valid in respect to collecting live wildlife form Belize. I have collected there three times in the past and every time have brought animals back under the same research papers. He did not see how the research that Dr. Nordyke is doing warranted collation of live snakes. This guy would not grant me collection permits in any way, shape or form for collection of live snakes. I found out later from a good friend of mine who lives over there and actually knows this clown and his family, I found that he is a Cuban National and very sympathetic to Cubans and their cause which we all know is communism. He also hates Americans with a passion and, well you get my drift. I understand that before we went on this vacation, there had been rioting looting and strikes going on in revolt of the way the government of Belize is being run. The Prime Minister of Belize is also sympathetic to Cuba's cause and also Saudi Arabia according to the people who live there. This country is going down the toilet so to speak as a result of who is in power. Within 2 years there will be others in office and hopefully the house will be cleaned so to speak and I can obtain permits at that time. Lizandro, enjoy being in power in your little world. It ain't gonna last long you communist shit head. May a boa constrictor shit in your soup!

We finally made it to Eva's in San Ignacio and low and behold our ol' friend Thomas Caratela (A.K.A. Quash) was waiting in front of Eva's for us. He had seen no snakes since he had been looking a few days before we got there. This didn't seem to matter to me much since I would not be able to bring the snakes back. I vowed to have fun anyway.

We drank and ate at Eva's talking about good old times back in 1994 and 1998 and Kim expressed how she was happy to be back. Quash including myself, had gained about 15 pounds since last visit. We checked in to the Venus hotel across the street and down from Eva's. This hotel had air conditioning in the rooms up stairs which entails the 3rd floor. I was not real excited with the fact we had to lug all of our luggage and stuff up three flights of stairs. I was especially concerned because they were steep and considering Caleb's issues with his low muscle tone, I knew he would have a hard time and I was worried about him falling. To key in on that, when we got back his physical therapist said he was very stretched out and very limber. Considering all the hiking that we would be doing and stairs we were to climb, this worked out well for everyone. It's not like we don't need the exercise.

I was able to go down to the Internet café across the street in back of the hotel to communicate with my friends back home. 5cents a minute is very cheap. That is Belize money too. In fact there would be only 2 nights I did not use a computer while in Belize.

June 23, 2005
We checked out of the Venus Hotel this morning and headed to Black Rock Resort. I always wanted to stay here and Kim wanted to as well. We were only 2 of three couples\families that were there. Being this is the "down" season, we got better rates. We checked into cabana #8 at the top of the road which gave us easy access out. This place is pretty awesome and I highly recommend it. It is far far back in a gorge and is surrounded by jungle and mountains. The river runs wild below the lodge. This place is similar to Duplooy's but there is a better view of the river from here. We packed our back packs up with water and some snacks and began hiking to Vaca Falls by way of the trail along side the river. It was very hot and humid. Much more that Houston. When you go, just plan on wearing shorts the whole time and just succumb to the fact you will be dripping with sweat the entire time you are there. Get used to it. The kids did great hiking and seemed to enjoy it but were 100% worn out when we returned. We just beat a major down pour when we got back to the lodge. We downed about three soft drinks each when we got back. Damn they were good! We also grabbed lunch here at the lodge. The only thing I do not like is the amount per serving they give you. I always could have downed another plate of whatever I was eating.

After we had rested up a bit, we met Quash in Eva's again. We were waiting to see what they weather was going to do and Quash said we may as well go tomorrow because the forecast said heavy rains were near. To make a long story short, we drank ourselves silly until closing time. The kids were running wild all over the place. We couldn't keep them down so we let them run off their abundant energy. Me and Quash watched the San Antonio Spurs defeat the Detroit Pistons! YEAH! Rock N Roll San Antonio!!! We would hit Quashes local bar after Eva's closed. We then made the long journey back to Black Rock Resort. The kids were all but wiped out.

June 24, 2005
We got up at 7:00 a.m. and had breakfast at the lodge, then cruised into town to meet Quash at the Macal River at the put in. We set out and started searching for snakes. About a mile and a half up river Quash spotted a green headed tree snake on the bank in a bush chasing an iguana. We paddled the canoe over to it and I got out. When I reached the snake, he had it in his mouth and began to devour the little iggy. If I would have realized sooner what was happening, I would have video taped it. I saved the iguana to it's delight and captured the snake. I snapped a few shots off and off we went. About another 2 miles up river, Quash spotted a snake swimming from the other side right toward the canoe. We waited until it got close then I reached out with the tongs. It dove under the water and resurfaced on the other side of us. We paddled as fast as we could and I snagged him right out of the water. I have identified this snake as being a Tropical Whip Snake (Masticophis mentovarius) It was a juvenile about 1.5 feet in length and not real attractive. I have no pictures of this animal because I could not get my camera to focus on the snake. I took multiple shots of this snake, but none were good enough to post. I guess the camera even knows an ugly snake when it sees one! J

After all this excitement, it was time for lunch and some drink at Sandals bush bar off the river. This is a place Kim and I frequent during the river trips. It is also a friend of Quashes. We ended up getting a lesson on how bad the Belizean government is screwed up by some people on the forestry dept. who were also there having lunch. That was a fun experience let me tell you. Let's drink some beer and talk politics! That's always a great combination. We were so ready to get back on the river.

We headed out on our second leg of the journey. Destination- Duplooy's. Quash had to get out of the canoe 7 times to push us past the rapids. The river was a lot higher form the past trips we had made in previous years. This was the first time we had ever gone during the rainy season. We were parched by the time we got to Duplooy's. We all downed some Belikins and soft drinks and the kids had a blast running up and down the elevated walkway through the jungle. I remember back in 1998 when Kim and I were there, the deck was brand new and that smell of new wood. Now the deck has worn quite a bit and is all brown. What the years will do!!!!

We made the long ride back but at least this time, we were riding with the current. When we got back at dusk, we went to the store and picked up some groceries and headed back to Black Rock Lodge. The kids once again were sleeping a couple of minutes of getting into the car. We would only catch 2 snakes during this whole time on the river. Just like Alterna collecting, I am sure we passed up a bunch hiding out in the weeds and trees.

June 25, 2005
We checked out at noon from Black Rock, then hiked the bike trail so they call it, back around to Vaca Falls. We picked back up on the trail that we hiked a few days earlier. This hiked proved to be fairly difficult for both kids because of steepness for Caleb, and Weston was whining the whole time about something or another. This gave me the chance to really look over the area quite well to make sure I was not missing anything. Today was even hotter and less windy than the day before and yes, we had lunch once again before we departed the lodge. We drove on over to Chee-chum Ha which is at Vaca Falls. The trail is much too steep by way of hiking for the kids so we had to drive over there. We met Antonio Morales on the way in. He was heading out somewhere in his pickup. He came back and visited with us. He remembered us well. I hope not because that girl we called Frenchie, back in '94 smashed once of the Mayan pots in his cave that had been sitting undisturbed since the Mayan era. That's another story all in itself! We had a good visit and he enjoyed meeting the kids. He told us stories of why he only had one dog. Kim was almost attacked by one of his dogs last visit until someone called the dog off. Kim was shaking and crying with nervousness when that happened. A jaguar had killed off all of his dogs until a local in town tracked down and killed him. This happened about a month before we were there. What a shame.

We met Quash at dusk at the river put in again, and headed out with a car battery for some night hunting. We would only be out for 2 hours, which is about the longest a car battery will last while spotlighting. On the return trip, I was able to spot a three foot female Central American Boa Constrictor hanging just in reach of my pair of tongs I had in the canoe. Kim got this on video and did a great job as well. The snake did not strike and appeared to be extremely healthy. I found out later that when you yourself were the one holding the snake, she would strike out at anyone else that would be moving in front of her. She was pretty strikey!! She was actually washed out but very pretty. I wished so much I could have brought her back, but as you read, you know the story on that. The monsoons hit us before we got back to the put in. We were all soaked to the brim. We left the canoe behind and I took Quash back home after dropping the kids off at the Venus Hotel where we had checked back in.

June 26, 2005
Quash woke us up about 7:00 a.m. and returned the 20 pillow cases that I had shipped (spending $48.00) to him before we left hoping he would have some all ready captured. That of course turned out to be a waste of time. Oh well, live and learn. We actually got a late start this morning as we slept in. The room got a little toasty though when the power went out during an early morning storm. That got us up right there. Breathing is important and it was getting stifling hot! We ate lunch after I paid Quash for his services. We shook hands and hugged and cruised out to the Belize Zoo. Once again, we visited the Tapirs and yes, low and behold Kim and Weston got it this time. Weston distracted Kim as the tapir turned his back and started walking away, he "whipped it" backwards and sprayed urine all over both of them. To answer your question, yes, I have this on video! I may submit it to Americas funniest home videos! I love it!!!! We bought some trinkets and snack and soft drinks afterward then headed out the Coastal Highway to Dangriga. We checked in to the Chaleanor Hotel. Room #1 right inside the lobby. This is a coastal town, and not real attractive, but surrounding the other side of this town is lush jungle and I would love to own about 1,000 acres. We ate at the local restaurant across from you guessed it, the laundry mat\Internet café! We not only able to wash our clothes but I could send e-mail out and checked it as well! Gotta love technology, and yes, I do! The water on the ocean here is comparable to Galveston. It is nothing like Ambergris Caye. I would not live here if I had the choice of places here in Belize. I will however, recommend this hotel if you are in Dangriga. The hotel is nice and clean and the people are friendly, plus everything you need is very much in walking distance. This night would be to regroup and take a little rest from all the activities we had been enjoying.

June 27, 2005
We left Dangriga after lunch and the last load of Laundry was done. We headed back to the Hummingbird Highway and headed for San Pedro Columbia, a little community where we had visited back in 98. We saw a new facility that was not there when we had been here, and it was an astounding new lodge that we looked in to. We wanted to stay here, but we ended up going into town. We stopped at the Oh's where we had stayed once before. It is a bed and breakfast and is run by a family and their three daughters. Only one daughter, the oldest was there with two of her kids. We would not be staying here this time as the father had contracted tetanus and was headed to Punta Gorda with his wife and another family member. The place did not even look the same as the weeds had taken over and the area was no longer manicured. The father had fell on hard times and could not keep the place up any more. Since this family is on our X-mas card list, she remembered us and got to meet Caleb and Weston. We were not faced with where we were going to stay. We went on the road to the local Mayan ruins which now by means of the Gov't, were charging quite a bit (U.S. dollars) to see. We decided we did not want to spend that kind of money so we were turning around when some local women and girls stopped us to show us their crafts. One woman, Ophelia, promptly asked if we wanted to stay with their family. Kim agreed and very much wanted to, so we met all the locals in the immediate vicinity who were all very friendly and kim purchased several weaved baskets and trinkets from them. The kids went absolutely nuts chasing the chickens all around screaming to the top of their lungs. The locals were dying with laughter. Here are two little white kids that think this is the greatest thing since sliced butter. Caleb attempted to play some soccer with some kids and fell on his but, but laughed it off. The kids had a marvelous time and we experienced living directly with a local family to get real live Belizean experience. This is not for the weary. If you are a person who needs certain amenities as well as air conditioning, DO NOT GO! Kim and Weston slept in the hammock, and Caleb and I slept on one of their beds. Ophelia, her mother and two children slept on the other bed. They would fix dinner and lunch for us. We had fried chicken, and tortillas, both corn and flour fresh made right in front of us. I found out that the man living behind Ophelia killed a large adult female Fer-de-Lance full of babies three days before we got there. That in itself is a shame! I wish I could have been there. He was working his banana plantation on was cutting weeds. I can understand why they would kill something like this. If they are bitten, they are pretty much screwed.

June 28, 2005
We dropped a small amount of cash for the hospitality and said our goodbyes to the locals in town. We video taped some of the drive out. We did stop and tour this new lodge that was on the way into town. We found out that some European investors own about 15,000 acres out here and is an eco tourism facility. This place is called Belize Lodge & Excursions. Walk-ins is $50.00 per person but they have packages to purchase which are quite expensive. We were able to see two captive born male jaguars, one being black, and several other local animals. The facility is awesome and we had some Belikins at other drinks while at the bar. The kids loved it as well. I will have to say those Jaguars are about as impressive as you can get! I enjoyed seeing that a great deal. I hope the kids will remember this. I know Caleb will for sure!

We thanked the people at the lodge for the tour and headed out the Hummingbird Highway toward Belmopan. We would check into the Bullfrog Inn, the most expensive hotel in Belmopan (or at least that we know of). I figured we owed it to ourselves to live "high on the hog" considering our previous escapades. We ate dinner on the patio which was really cool. The food was good as well as the drinks. If you want to spend the money, go here! Our room was very nice and a great location as well. We did not have to drag our bags through the hotel, we just lifted them up and over the railing and they were inside the room. Caleb and Weston enjoyed watching Cartoon Network. We grabbed a few sodas and ice for the room and ate snacks late at night and just relaxed. We discussed the trip and all that we had done. I asked the kids what their favorite part of the trip had been. Caleb said he liked driving around in the gold cart back on the island. Weston said the glass bottom boat, which were both on Ambergris Caye. They both still talk about this. I was really glad that all had gone well with the exception of obtaining permits.

June 29, 2005
We got up at 6:00 a.m. which is usually difficult for us, but we had to today. Our flight was due to take off for Houston at 10:00. We had to return the rental car at 8:00. I was all excited about buying 2 cases of Belikin beer and taking it home, but that was shot down when I went in to the duty free shop and they told me they were out of Belikin. Now, after they told me this, I hit the ceiling. "How can you be out of beer when the damned brewery is across the tarmac"? All they could tell me is they were out. I asked them if they could go get some being as local of a brewery as you can get. They said no. I did not hesitate to give them a piece of my mind on that one. That is really piss poor!!! No excuse! Then I had an idea. It would turn out to be an expensive idea but it worked! I went to Jets bar there in the airport and the owner of the bar was so very kind to pack up 24 Belikins and put them on the plane for me. Not only that, but I came up $25.00 short and he trusted me enough to pay him when I got back home. The cost of this was $72.00 for a case of beer. $3.00 a beer. I guess he charged me bar prices. Well, I got what I needed accomplished. I would later have a Belize viewing party with a few of my closest friends and had burgers and drank Belikins! Our flight was delayed about 45 minutes due to a communications problem. The kids kept asking why the plane was broke. You know, when they put it in that perspective, it makes you want to catch another plane. The flight did go smoothly though when we finally took off and we arrived safely in Houston around 2:30 P.M.

I was flagged by U.S. Fish and Wildlife when going through Customs as I told them I would be bringing snakes back with permits. We went down to Agriculture and my "ol' buddy" Tom Lane special investigator with Fish and Wildlife was there to meet me with Kim Osbourne and another co-worker who seemed to be young and inexperienced. You would think I was trying to smuggle something into the country the way they were going through my bags. They searched every bag from head to toe just hoping to find something. Hope you guys enjoyed smelling the dirty socks and underwear in some of the bags! Sorry Tom, maybe next time! After that was all over with, I was rushing to the van to meet Meridith who was nice enough to pick us up in order to saw a few bucks for 11 days of parking. I later found that Kim was no longer behind me. About 2 minutes later, there was Kim with a Houston Police officer in tow carrying one of my bags which had a broken zipper. All my clothes had dumped all over the ground without my knowledge. OOOOOOOOPS! That's what I get for being in a hurry. Well, all was fine after that and it was good to get back home.

The trip was great but expensive, but then again, we saved up for it. I guess since we will be going back more often now, we better start saving up some more!!!!

Rock on Herpers!

Wayne Howell

Return to Weekly Updates