Look what I found. While packing for LA, I discovered the Polaroids I took on our honeymoon, stashed in between the pages of a book. Fitting, since this day last year, we had just come home from our epic travels. It was the first time using my land camera and I hadn't mastered the ancient focusing levers. But I don't mind the blurr. They look more like memories.
By the time you read this, we'll be in Cali. So please have a beautiful weekend. The blog will be silent next week, since I didn't have time to schedule posts in advance. But I promise to come back with a full report (and perhaps a few Polaroids) of our anniversary road trip up the west coast.
I've never been in a physical magazine before, let alone a national one. Let alone the queen of bridal mags, as my friend puts it. I'm so excited. Cartwheels excited. I raced into the bookstore newsstand yesterday and nervously leafed through the pages, fully expecting a sad little blurb in the corner. But it's a full blown 8x10 page spread!
When I initially told Hal the news, the second thing he said was, "man, I wish I got in better shape. At least a few push-ups or something." Thankfully, he can rest easy, since our bathing suit photos didn't make the cut. He's being a very good sport about the press (some men may not), and I smile inside when I overhear him telling his friends.
Thanks friends, for letting me share my enthusiasm!
Thank you for following along. I didn't realize we took so many photos. I was either going to share brief highlights or the whole shebang. And the whole shebang you got. It definitely goes down in the books as best trip ever. Our ultra unrealistic goal is to take one of those every anniversary. But with Hal starting a new job, I'm 99% sure that won't happen. Hey, dreams keep us alive.
So now. I'm relishing a slower normal life again. With the exception of our thank you cards, there's no more wedding chaos or anxiety. Nothing urgent needs to be done by a certain date. I never realized how good that feels. I love being home, cozying up with the season. Doing everyday things, like colorful autumn walks. Cuddling up with my kitty. Cooking my favorite comfort foods. And I can't forget another very necessary October activity, Halloween costume hunting!
Guess what we did on our last full day in Belize? As you can see from our extra awesome outfits, yep. That's right. SCUBA!! We upgraded our packaged snorkel tour to an intro dive. We've been dying to learn how. Especially Hal, who could spend all day every day in an underwater aquarium.
We took a speed boat to Laughingbird Caye, the southern most island in the central lagoon of the Belize Barrier Reef. It's one of the world's greatest scuba destinations.
This is Bertrand, our scuba instructor. And this is where my heart stops. He quickly flips through flash cards about breathing and what happens if you don't. Then we immediately strap on our gear and practice hand signals and other basics in shallow water. But I don't retain a thing he said on land! I fail the mask clearing numerous times. So Bertrand says screw it. Let's just dive. Sometimes you have to learn by doing. As soon as I went under, it was easy breezy. Kind of. Once you get the hang of breathing solely through your mouth with a strange apparatus.
We were down for 45 minutes on our first dive! We saw schools of fish and critters in conch shells and a barracuda. After lunch, we went down again. Via boat back flip! (That took some convincing). This time, reaching 70 feet when we're only supposed to go 40. We saw a lobster and a humongous ray.
Sadly, we have no underwater photos of the brilliant things we saw on the bottom of the sea. Just our memories. But we surfaced with ear to ear grins. We're officially hooked and would love to get certified. Do any of you scuba?
Once we got back to Turtle Inn, we took advantage of the complimentary massages for honeymooners. We've decided that here on out, all future trips will be honeymoons. Shhh, no one needs to know.
We hit up the oceanfront bar for pre-dinner drinks and toasted to our final evening with mini Sofia champagne.
"What should we toast to?" I asked.
He raised his can.
"To you. The best thing about me."
See why I keep him around? :)
After a farewell breakfast with friends, we packed our bags and left for the airport. But in order for us to get there, we had to fly a tiny plane from a tiny airport. Just us and the pilot. Hal even got to sit up front! This was an adventure in itself. It was the perfect way to end a trip of a lifetime.
In the middle of the flight, we hit a stormy patch of weather. Raindrops hit the windshield and I braced myself during the turbulence. I immediately thought of JFK Jr., John Denver, Aliyah, and the long list of celebrities who died in small plane crashes. Great, this is how my life will end. On the last day of my honeymoon. But Hal gave me a reassuring hand squeeze and our pilot expertly guided us out of the dark clouds, bringing us down with the smoothest of landings.
From the little plane, we boarded the big plane. And 3 hours, a layover, and another 5 hours later, we were home.
On the morning on Belize's Independence Day, we woke up the heaviest thunderstorm I've ever experienced. It was thrilling! The rain pounded, the wind roared, and our cabana roof started to leak on my side of the bed. But I didn't even care. I actually watched the storm unfold as I showered. With floor-to-ceiling glass walls, the bathroom looked out to the private patio. It felt like I was outside, but with hot water raining down on me.
After the storm passed, we walked out to the main road to watch the local parade, which pretty much consisted of townsfolk crammed in the back of trucks dancing to music from their boomboxes. Love it. Can you believe that Belize only became an independent nation in 1981?
Afterwards, it was time for our Monkey River wildlife adventure tour. We were so happy to share it with our honeymooner friends, Jeff & Steph.
Meet Terry, our expert guide for the day. He actually grew up in the tiny Monkey River fishing village. We ate a traditional Creole lunch cooked by his mother, while his pops was sound asleep on the porch rocking chair.
It was such a beautiful ride.
After some quality river time, we parked the boat to explore the jungle.
We learned that breadfruit leaves have have a fuzzy back and they stick to any type of clothing. Terry and his friends used to play in these woods as a child. During team games, one team would cover themselves in the leaves in order to distinguish themselves from the other team. So I placed the leaf on my back and left it there for the rest of the day. My little leaf friend.
At last, we came upon a family of howler monkeys high in the trees. We heard them from the moment we entered the jungle. They make the most frigentening sounds imaginable, similar to the smoke monster from LOST. Or dying beasts with breathing problems. If I heard this sound without knowing what it was, I would have ran for my life.
I took a video so you could hear them too. Creepy, right?
On our way home, we hung out for a bit in shallow waters to try and spot a manatee. And we actually saw a few! Every once in awhile, they'd surface to breathe. Terry has eyes like a hawk.
Another day, another incredible tour in Belize. And tomorrow... possibly our favorite one yet.
After three days in the jungle, Blancaneaux arranged for us a private transfer to Turtle Inn, Francis Ford Coppola's charming ocean resort in Placencia. Our fourth and final destination.
We got settled into our beautifully decorated Balinesisan style cabana and set off to tour the grounds.
That fancy coconut drink? I'd been waiting for one all honeymoon. Hal surprised me with it. Good hubs.
Borrowing Turtle Inn's wheels, we biked into town. Placencia is small, super quaint and 100% authentic. We really dug the non-touristy laid back island vibe.
We made it to the crooked dock and bought a few homemade coconut macaroons from Brenda's Caribbean Kitchen. As we left, Brenda shouted after us in her Creole accent, "See you 'round like a donut!" Needless to say, that became our phrase for the rest of the trip.
When we got back to the resort, we noticed that the bridge leading to the entrance was built over a pond full of turtles. I couldn't get enough of them. Aren't they the cutest little guys ever?
For dinner, not only was it Indonesian night, it was silent movie night. Score. Our entire table was filled with about 30 small plates of tasty morsels, no kidding. We stuffed ourselves silly while watching Buster Keaton on the big screen.
But this night was far from over. Lucky us, it just happened to be the eve of Belize's Independence Day. The entire village, including the Turtle Inn staff, met at the Barefoot Bar for drinks and dancing. It was pretty awesome seeing the front desk and concierge gals letting loose in normal street clothes. Apparently, we left before the party really started. But we wanted to get back - a storm was brewing overhead...
The next day, we had a tour to Caracol, the most extensive Mayan site in Belize. The adventure began with a brief visit to Rio Frio Cave, the largest cave system in Central America with a massive 65-foot entrance.
And then, the main attraction. Geronimo was our knowledgeable guide. He informed us that Caracol took 600 years to build and was only recently discovered in 1936 by lumberjacks. Situated 1600 feet above sea level with no body of water nearby, it remains a mystery how more than 150,000 people were able to survive there.
It's almost fully restored, but I was still surprised we were allowed to climb up the 135 foot pyramid of Caana (Sky Palace) where royalty lived.
The gal in pink and the guy in white were our tour buddies, Jeff and Steph, also on their honeymoon. We became fast friends.
Just when we thought we made it to the top, we were fooled. There was another plateau with an even higher structure to climb. Every generation built on top of the last.
That's a tomb. Looking in and looking out.
Kicking it with the Sun God, Kinich Ahau.
I like to take pictures of Hal taking pictures.
And finally. Finally we get to the top.
But now the fun part. Going down.
On the ground again, we came upon the ball court. I had a giggle thinking about ancient Mayans playing ball.
And then Geronimo picked up a tarantula!
It was a scorcher of a day, so on our way home, we stopped by Rio On Pools, to swim and cool off. Jeff & Steph got some great shots of us under the falls with their waterproof camera. I'll make sure to share them when I get the photos.
On September 20-21, a few days after we left Caracol, they held a huge Equinox celebration with a traditional fire ceremony performed by a native Maya shaman. 100 people gathered there to camp overnight underneath the stars and watch the rising sun over the temples. We were kicking ourselves for leaving too early. How amazing would that have been?
Our local guide, Jorge, met us in the lobby to take us on our tour to Barton Creek Cave. During the 45-minute bumpy jeep ride, rain came down in sheets. This made for an adventurous drive. But thankfully it let up as soon as we arrived.
Jorge stopped the car, pulled down an overhanging branch, and picked a few berries for us to taste. The leaves smelled so familiar, yet I couldn't place what it was. As we nibbled into them, the tips of our tongues became numb! They were from an Allspice tree.
We strapped on our spiffy blue life jackets and got cozy in the canoe. Me in front on flashlight duty, Hal in the middle on photo duty, and Jorge expertly steering from the back.
Jorge told us that the cave was a spiritual place for the ancient Mayans, used mostly for ceremonies and sacrifices. It was the gateway to the underworld. If a water droplet fell from a stalactite upon your head, it was considered a blessing.
That's a skull, people. A human skull! The remains of 28 humans have been found in this cave. Most of them teenage girls.
And those are bats! It was hard to capture their detail in the photo, but there are hundreds of them all huddled together. Creepy cool. They were right overhead and I was worried one would fall on me.
About a mile in, the stalactites hung so low that we had to stop. Jorge said this is where he usually turns around, but since he liked us, he let us bend down to go a little further. And bend down we did. Our heads were between our knees. Not for the claustrophobic!
On our way out, Jorge shut down the lights so we could get a feel for how dark it really was. After a few moments, our eyes didn't adjust. That's how dark it was. Jorge stopped paddling and we were perfectly still. The blindness was powerful. All we could see was black. All we could hear were drops of water.
We slowly made our way back toward the entrance. It started with a tiny speck of light. It grew and grew until I could no longer tell what was moving, us or the light. It was breathtaking. So beautiful, I was moved to tears.
Hal and I were almost at a lost for words. I asked Jorge about something I heard in the cave. It sounded like children laughing. Perhaps up above the cave or in a nearby town. He said no, they must have been ghosts. I'm sure he was joking, but the little girl in me believed it.
We climbed back into the jeep and bounced our way back to Blancaneaux in the pouring rain. That was by far one of the coolest things we've ever done.
We don't get ocean sunrises on the West Coast. So Hal and I set our alarms to rise with the sun before meeting our van transfer to Belize. And we actually woke up. That's a first and probably a last. To be honest, I think it was my first sunrise ever!
One 5-hour car ride, two tortas, a relatively painless border crossing, roadside dried plantains, a van switch, and 2-hours of bumpy off-roading later, we reached our first destination in Belize: Blancaneaux Lodge, a 20-room luxury eco-resort near San Ignacio, deep in the Maya Mountains. Francis Ford Coppola bought it while abandoned in the early 80's, fixed it up, turned it into a personal family retreat, then opened it for public in 1993.
Fun fact: Only wealthy Belizians have thatched roofs, when you'd think otherwise. That's because it takes a very skilled and knowledgable craftsman to build them. The palm fronds must be picked during the right cycle of the moon!
To ring the front desk, we used the conch shell-phone.
We were greeted by friendly faces and received a complimentary upgrade to the riverfront honeymoon suite! Complete with a heart-shaped lawn. The cabana itself was relatively small, but it felt very cozy. We could pick coconuts from our deck.
Exhausted from our early morning drive, we watched a fascinating educational presentation on the elusive jaguar (nerds!), devoured a homegrown meal at their Guatemalan restaurant, and hit the sack.
The next morning, we sipped our coffee and tea from our deck. For breakfast, they served fruit, fresh squeezed juice and a basket of fry jacks. What are fry jack, you ask? They taste like a donut. Deep fried doughy goodness.
Hal wanted to make sure we got some pool time. Here he is beach whaling again. He's the cutest.
We were dying to explore the grounds by horseback before our scheduled tour later that afternoon, but we were short on time. So we set off on foot, discovering acres upon acres of pine jungle, rivers and streams, fruit and nut orchards, organic gardens, and pristine natural beauty. Blancaneaux is truly a magical place.
On fire from our ruins exploration, we decided to cool off at Gran Cenote, one of the largest underground freshwater caverns in the Riviera Maya.
We strapped on our snorkel gear and discovered an underwater wonderland.
After a delicious meal in town at El Asadero, we got back to Coqui Coqui and booked a massage to relax from the day's adventues. Above is the view from the spa. I made the mistake of requesting deep tissue. The lady literally beat me up. I had bruises for days!
We loved La Zebra so much, we went back again for salsa night! I wore my 60's orange day-glo dress that I forgot I had packed. The color really popped at dusk. We showed up late for the lesson, but watched others dance while we dined. Too shy to salsa on stage, we stole a few moments away from the crowd to shimmy in the dark. It was the perfect last evening in Tulum.
We woke up at the crack of dawn to visit the Tulum Mayan ruins. We were told to get there right when it opens to avoid the heat and the crowds. This gorgeous sunrise made us forget what time it was.
A little kitty greeted us at the entrance.
Check out the iguana admiring the view in the lower right hand corner of the photo above (click on the photo to blow it up). Since he blends into the rock, I just spotted him now! And doesn't the lone palm tree reminds you of Dr. Suess?
Tulum's ruins are the most picturesque Mayan archaeological site, perched on a cliff above the Caribbean. As recently as the 1960's, the site was accessible only by sea.
As we were leaving, the tour buses were just arriving. Getting there bright and early was the best thing we could have done. It was quiet and peaceful and almost mystical. We practically had the entire ruins to ourselves.
On our last day at Viceroy, the breakfast servers sent us off in style.
A taxi drove us to our next destination, Tulum. Our sexy ocean-front suite at Coqui Coqui took our breath away. We received a lovely welcome bag full of sweet-smelling perfumes, soaps and lotions.
The view from our balcony! Front, left and right.
Naturally, it was time for a nap. Noticing a trend?
We took a walk along the beach to explore. The sand here miraculously never gets hot. Yes, those are band-aids on the sides of my feet. This trip confirmed what I already guessed: I am the mosquito's favorite food.
We walked to Lina’s Mexican Cantina at the La Zebra for dinner. While I was munching on what could quite possibly be the best veggie tacos of my life, Hal excitedly points to the ground. It was a baby turtle! The waiter scooped him up and let us hold him. His little fins were going a mile an minute. We were told to take him to the sea. We temporarily abandoned our meal to save him and heard a commotion on the beach. Baby turtles were everywhere! There must have been hundreds attracted to the lights of the restaurant. It was so special to see a large community of people picking them up and steering them in the right direction. When we later told our story to Coqui Coqui's management, they said we were very lucky to experience the endangered sea turtle quest. It happens only a few days a year.
We were itching to hit the town and experience real Mexico outside of the Viceroy bliss bubble. So we took a cab to Playa Del Carmen. There's one long strip of shops, bars and restaurants and we sat down at the first place with a "cheap cerveza" sign. The waiter took the photo above and I'm not sure why we're laughing. But I'm pretty sure it's because he told us to say something stupid to get us to smile, like "guacamoleeeee".
I had to get my 'chos fix! In this part of Mexico, I noticed they use this particular mild white gooey cheese. I'm pretty good with cheese, but I couldn't figure out what it was and forgot to ask. We gobbled it right up. Loved those huge pickled jalapeno slices piled on top.
We walked towards the ocean. The light was beautiful out by the cruise ship dock, so we snapped a few. Are you tired of our mugs, yet? Clearly, we enjoy the self-portrait. This skill comes in handy on two-person vacations.
Back at the main strip, we searched for a restaurant to eat dinner. I spotted this place with swings around the bar. Done! As we were seated, our waiter took our photo with his camera. Before we could question why, he came back to sell us a bottle of tequila with our photo on it. We bought it because we were sucker gringos. While enjoying our burritos, an old man approached us with a guitar. Cancion de amor? Si senior.
This little man wanted to be in the mariachi band.
Since we were in the birthplace of chocolate, it was time for Ah Cacao, a chain in Mexico on every corner like Starbucks. Hal tried the super thick sipping chocolate. He couldn't get enough. And thanks to the hysterical Portlandia skit, we kept blurting out "cacao" for the rest of the night.
Our night ended with a bang. The weather had been perfect since we arrived. It averaged 85 degrees during the day, maybe 70 at night. As we were sitting at a table, the wind picked up. Fast. We noticed shop owners rushing about, moving their items inside. Strange, we thought. Rain began to fall. Fast. In a matter of seconds, it was a torrential downpour! We raced to an undercover table and witnessed our first tropical rain storm. It was hurricane season, after all. Ten minutes later, it was over. Shop owners moved their things back outside and people resumed the streets like it never even happened.
We woke up early the next day to something trampling on our roof. "What on earth is that?" I groggily asked Hal. "I think it's the monkeys", he replied. "They've been running back and forth overhead for the past hour." If it was anything other than monkeys, I would have given them a piece of my mind. But monkeys are forgivable. I imagined them playing a lively game of duck duck goose.
After a breakfast of fresh fruit and mexcian pastries, we parked ourselves on the beach to chill, read, nap, sip, dip, repeat.
Then it was time for a couple's massage. We chose the Poesia Del Mar (Poetry from the Ocean) treatment that takes place at the end of the dock. Heavenly. And the jet skiers got a nice peep show. The breeze kept blowing our towels off!
Later we migrated over to the pool. Happy man. If left to his own devices, he'd live in a pool.
We emerged from the jungle and a private palapa was set up for us on the beach.
We sat down with smiles, dug our toes in the sand, and drooled over the menu. It had our name printed right on it! Props to Chef Jetzabel Rojas, our meal was out of this world. I had the best jicama salad and chile relleno of my life. It was also the most expensive meal of my life, but you try to ignore those sorts of things on your honeymoon. The food, service, ambiance, and company were worth the price, one hundred percent.
After the meal, we took our bottle of red and moved from the table to a pair of chairs facing the surf. We sat there, not wanting the evening to end. We relived the wedding and laughed. We reflected upon each and every moment. Each and every guest. Never have we felt so much love.
It was now dark, so we walked back through the winding jungle path to find our room, but got lost along the way. We found the outdoor lobby instead, with its stunning light fixture. I took a photo. Hal took a photo of me taking a photo.
Inside our villa, was another glorious surprise. The floor was littered with flickering candles and a heart of rose petals on the bed.
Okay sunshines, here we go! Part 1 of our honeymoon journey begins in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. After getting hitched, we boarded a red-eye the very next day. To say we were exhausted would be an understatement. Since I didn't have time to pack before the wedding, I had a mini panic attack. Okay, a full on breakdown. All the stress of the prior days came out in the 5 minutes before we were supposed to leave for the airport. Poor Hal. He just married a crazy woman! Like a good husband, he calmed me down and we thankfully made our flight. I only left a few major items at home.
Once we arrived in Cancun, Hal found his name in the crowd. I've always wondered who those people are who get greeted with a sign. Cool people like us apparently.
We were shuttled to the Viceroy, welcomed with cool wet towels and milky lemongrass drinks, then escorted to our villa. It was divine. A private pool, an outdoor shower, and a hammock. What more could you ask for? Hal carried me over the threshhold. We were giddy. And sleepy. So we both passed out.
After nap time, we showered and set off to explore. Along the jungle path, we spotted our first iguana. The peaceful smell of incense led us onward. We reached the spa and were asked to face each other and close our eyes while a shaman blessed our marriage.
We meandered down the path to the beach and found a special surprise waiting for us there.
While I organize our photos from Mexico and Belize, I'd like to provide my future brides and newlyweds with a little honeymoon planning tip... GET HELP! Unless you have super human powers, it is incredibly difficult to plan a wedding and a 2-week long vacation at the same time. Especially if your future spouse isn't a planner and you've been dreaming about your honeymoon since your very first plane ride.
So I reached out to Teresa of Honeymoon Islands. And I'm so glad I did. My initial research got us to the Riviera Maya. But Teresa got us to our accommodations. She gave us a list of special spots according to our personalities and travel desires. For instance, she knew that first thing after the wedding, we'd love The Viceroy in Playa Del Carmen due to its luxurious vibe and romantic seclusion. She was right. She knew we'd enjoy Blancaneaux Lodge and Turtle Inn, the two Coppola resorts in Belize because of their boutique feel and rustic charm. She was right.
Before we set off, she made us a detailed personalized itinerary with all of our confirmation numbers, contact information, and maps. This handy guide was a life saver. And with her connections in the industry, we got some perks! Special honeymoon treatment we wouldn't have gotten otherwise: rose petals and candles, a room upgrade, and complimentary massages.
But I have to say, the best part about working with her was the assurance that she had my back. Some billing problems came up a week before the wedding. She stepped in and took care of it. I sent her a frantic email from Tulum with worries about the Belize-to-Mexico transfer company not confirming our pick-up. She immediately called them from the States and within a few hours, they emailed me with an apology and and ended up arriving 15 minutes early.
Thank you again, Teresa, for all your advice and guidance. With your help, our honeymoon was just as we had dreamed.
My loves, I completely forgot to update you on our honeymoon destination! Originally, we were looking at Bali, Thailand or the Philippines. But flights to Asia got to be too expensive. So we switched gears entirely and chose a place closer to home. We've always had a soft spot for Mexico. The food, the beaches, the food. We've vacationed together in Baja and Mazatlan in the past, so we decided to hit up the Caribbean side and travel along the Riviera Maya coastline down into Belize.
2012 is an especially unique time to visit the Yucatan Peninsula. As you know, it was the Mayans who predicted the "end of the world" and all. We're excited to visit the ancient ruins and learn about the area's fascinating historical and spiritual significance. We're planning to stop in Playa Del Carmen & Tulum in Mexico and the Cayo District jungle & Placencia seaside in Belize. Here's the draft itinerary. Has anyone made this trip before? Do you have any sight-seeing suggestions?
In order to afford this dream excursion, we decided to register for our honeymoon. I did a lot of research on which online registry to use. There's a dizzying amount of choices out there. But my favorite, by far, was SimpleRegistry. They have a lovely minimalist design, the lowest fees around, and you can use it for life. The best part is, you're not limited to honeymoons. You can add anything you'd like from any store. For instance, I listed cheese. Hal listed tools. You can get creative.
Would you like to see our registry? We had so much fun creating it. I got very detailed and specific so our friends and family would be able to connect with the gift and feel as though they're contributing to something special, as opposed to money in a pot. We've gotten a few gifts so far and SimpleRegistry sends you sweet little cards in the mail with each purchase. They keep track of your gifts, which makes writing thank-you notes a snap. We're really loving the whole process.
Did you register for your honeymoon? Or are you planning to?
