West Bay Food Festival

Who could imagine going to a beautiful beach island and finding amazing cupcakes and specialty cakes? Usually, there are beach burgers and fries, nachos, quesadillas, and beach side food.  It was my lucky day as I came on the 5th annual West Bay food festival.  This was some of the best food I had on the island and it was a great way to taste specialty dishes.  For example, the conch soup is a specialty soup on the island with conchs(a type of fish), lobster, and broth. Each person makes it their own way and adds what they want according to my local BFF. 

From the infinity hotel to the other side of the beach, they had booths with different selections.  All you had to do was buy 20 tickets for $20. With the prices in West Bay, I'm surprised it was not higher. In the name of seafood, it really didn't matter to me.

                           

Off I went first trying Coconut shrimp, Conch soup, lobster tails, crab cake-ran out of tickets-refill, crab ceviche, carrot cake cupcake desert, and slice of banana bread(for later).  Please keep in mind these are not full servings and are portioned out according to type of item and price.  All of it was great, but that Carrot cupcake threw it all over the top.  After this food explosion in my stomach, I went to play volleyball in an attempt to work it off. That lasted for five minutes and then I sat on the beach chair like a beach whale. I needed to let my stomach rest. That lasted for 5 minutes and then we all went for a swim.  And that was what I needed to cool down and feel better. 

                             

Thank you nice people for the amazing seafood and hope this festival keeps going for the sake of the hungry tourists;)

West Bay Beach & Church

Sunday was fun filled with some of the best things: church, snorkeling, amazing seafood and deserts, volleyball, and swimming. It was how every summer day should be.

It all started with church. Sunday is a great day for beach, but a necessary day for church no matter what country I am in.  It is actually best getting to know a new church community, seeing how they interact, how the service goes, and the unity between others.  This church was actually suggested by my wonderful hostel owner who attends every Sunday.  With her lovely two boys 9 and 11, we all hopped into the back of a pick-up truck together and headed out. 

In Honduras, it is common for people to stack into the back of a pick up truck. They casually sit on the edges with fearless faces.  I made an attempt to sit on the edge and got down immediately as I had practically no stability.

In the pickup truck sits a local born in Miami( Ray), a North Carolina medical student volunteering at the clinic, a couple girls from Arizona also volunteering at the clinic, and the driver Roy, a local man from Florida who has lived in Roatan for 8 years.  It was quite an interesting group and when we arrived at the Infinity resort where service was held, things got even better with God’s spirit present.  

Everyone was so kind and welcoming.  They had cookies and refreshments and we started off singing a few songs. The Pastor, from North Carolina, reads the scripture and offers some great analogies and confirmations to keep the faith.  Even when things are rough, we need to pray and praise.  A couple stands with their hands praising the lord and their beautiful 6 month old son sitting in their arms.  It was mainly Americans that now live in the West bay area.  But it was definitely a room full of believers. 

After, there was a ladies lunch inn that Mel and I stayed for, which was even better.  We just had moments sharing our faith, our challenges, our experiences, the moments of God’s faith, and the importance of growth. The lunch in was lead by the lovely, lovely wife of the Pastor.  She was such a real woman who shed tears of joy and tears of sadness. She has 4 kids while doing amazing missionary work. She cooked this amazing lunch with salad, bean salad, fruit salad, and pasta salad.  It was so good.

I spent sometime talking to her after and I felt so connected to her words. I wished I could have her closer to me like in Chicago, but that’s the beauty of email.   She and her husband are both a gift to Roatan Island.



After this we hung out by the Infinity hotel, at the beach, sipping on virgin pina coladas, snorkeling, playing volleyball, eating, and enjoying the day. 







                                

                                

                                            Decisions, Decisions

                              

                                

                                   Infinity Pool

                  

 An adorable local kid adopted by an American family living on the island- a success story

                              

 Always someone to sing Bob Marley

                  

If Santa Claus was on a diet, it could be this man. The banana donuts he was selling were huge and amazing. My friend gave me a piece and I had to just get up and walk away-addicting.....

                      

           

                                          

                                       

                            

Snorkeling Sting

After a day of snorkeling, the young German couple came back to our hostel sharing all their underwater finds. It was time for me do some underwater exploring myself. Sunday I had sometime before volleyball started, therefore I decided to jump in the water and get started. The German couples and others said the best place to snorkel is around Cliff side around the rocks.  Locals did not fully recommend this place, but there goes Priscilla not listening.

Underwater is truly a whole new world, you find all kinds of fish, stingrays, different colors of coral, and the best find would be the sea turtles.  The schools of fish consist of different colors-blue, neon yellow, orange, black and yellow, and even neon pink. The beauty was mesmerizing, so mesmerizing that you might lose track of where you are headed! I was snorkeling in between all the coral. This would lead you to big holes in between, but sometimes it was difficult to get to those holes because the tide was pretty low, which left me swimming on top of the coral. I had forgot my water shoes and didn't want to rent fins so I just went barefoot-something I almost never would do.  
Clearly, this was not my best idea with all the sharp coral and the second biggest reef in the world. I ended up flopping on top of the water and trying to make it into the big hole ahead. Suddenly, I felt a big sharp pain in my stomach. "Ouch."  
With my OCD, I was in a panic thinking I was stung by a sting ray.  One really can't blame them when I am swimming on top of their house with my big body and bare feet. I swam quickly back to shore and had it checked by my friend working on the beach.

"Hey Chicago girl, what's wrong?" Staff 

"I think something bit me. What if its poisonous." Pris 

 He starts laughing, "You left the water around the cliff for that?" Staff 

"Well yes."Pris 

"That's just from the coral, it will go away in 15 minutes."Staff 
 "So I left the water for a fake sting."Pris 

 "That's what it appears to be." Staff

While he told me not to touch it, I was touching it five minutes after wondering if there was a piece of coral stuck inside. Also, I was asking for second and third opinions. My buddy at the hotel, Puma, was concerned and asked if I wanted to send first aid to get antibiotic cream. Love the caring and respect from people-my family abroad. He got me some antibiotic cream and I rubbed it on a couple times.  the next day there was no sting and it was completely gone. 

Moral to Story:  Stop being an OCD concerned American and Man  Up....well Woman Up!

Something small does not have to be catastrophized into something big. 

Last Supper by Asha

It was my last official night in Belize and I was ready to eat. All I could think about was eating an amazing piece of Creole style fish.  Did I already mention how amazing the food in Guatemala?

Well, I must mention it again.  It's amazing, especially if you like some spice and creativity in your food. 

My new friend, Roger, from my guesthouse recommended this place calling it the best place to eat in Punta Gorda. He said it's sort of expensive for Belize standards, which meant it was probably a tourist destination.  It is not common for a tourist destination to have the best food, as it is usually expensive and average tasting. 

Walking amongst darkness and some huge rain puddles, I found it located at the end of the dirt road.  I walked in to find all tourists, which met my expectation.  I was welcomed by a friendly man named Ashton-it was his restaurant that he opened with his wife. He was sharing his cooking style with me and how he likes his cooking to fully represent his cultural upbringing. He said that his Mother's cooking style had a large influence on his own. 

His passion for cooking at great hospitality was clear and I was definitely interested.  The ambiance was casual-kind of like an upscale shack floating in the water.  Outside, they had a nice balcony where people could have a drink, chill out, and just listen to the waves. The restaurant had these small windows on both sides so you could always see the water and hear the waves crash in the water. They had a live stage with a woman singing some traditional songs. The service was fanastic and the food was even better.  In the picture below, it does not look appealing at all, but this local fish similar to a grouper with garlic marinade, mashed potatoes, and cole-slaw was amazing. 

Unfortunately, I can not describe very well the different flavors of Creole cooking, but it was garlic mixed with incredible spice and flavor explosions. Of course, I had to investigate the desert and had a phenomenal piece of carrot cake(desserts are also amazing in Belize, especially Carrrot cake, Red velvet, and Banana cake).

Thank you Asha for making my last supper

an unforgettable one=)   

                           

                      

            MY AMAZING FOOD

                     

                                        

                                        LIVE MUSIC

                  

Punta Gorda

And there I went off to Punta Gorda. I was the only tourist on the bus and the backpack gave it away.  The backpacker's traditional bag will always give away your tourist identity.  I did not look extra special that day so I could of just blended in with the locals.

One of the greatest things about traveling is when you think it's over. I thought that this trip had pretty much ended in Placencia, but it continues and so does the beauty. 

Belize is one of the worlds last unspoiled destinations. Sometimes it's beauty is incredibly shown and other times you just look at it very puzzled.  

This last bus ride demonstrated the beauty of the Southern coastline. The bus was peaceful and I was able to stare out into the crystal clear waters.

Along the coast were vacation rentals and mansions-this was a beautiful place to live. The beauty is clear.

Arriving in Punta Gorda center, just confused again. 

The driver recommend a Green environmental guest house down the road so I went to check it out. It just started to rain and I had no energy to go searching for something. 

This was on the beach and 5 minutes from the boat terminal in the morning. 

Conversations with God:

"I can't do the walking with the bag and my extra stuff." 

Lets strike a good deal over here.