With none of us having been motivated enough to contact Rudy about diving, Friday became a relaxation day by default. There was rain in the forecast, but the morning was sunny. I headed to the pool around 11AM to catch some rays before the inclement weather set in. Kristen was at the hardware store and the boys were watching TV, so I squeezed in some reading time while I was alone. The pool filled up as the afternoon approached, but it was still pretty sparse. I really wanted a drink, but I didn’t know which condo we were in. Fortunately Kristen returned just in time, and we enjoyed a couple rounds of frozen mojitos. We both agree that frozen is the way to go because the blender chops up the mint so there aren’t any leafy surprises while you’re trying to drink it.

After a while, Kristen and the boys went to visit the dive shop. I stayed poolside and got rained on. There are signs all over the grounds that say “slippery when wet.” I don’t quite think the signs serve the situation justice. They need to be more along the lines of “HOLY BAJEEBUS THIS SHIT IS SLIPPERY WHEN WET! NO SERIOUSLY BE CAREFUL.” I almost bit it no less than six times, and I was trying not to slip. My feet just kept flying out from beneath me. I even stubbed my foot. It hurt a lot. :(

With the rain coming down there wasn’t much to do, so I chilled in the condo and fiddled with my photos until everyone got back. Then we chilled together.

For dinner, BRK, Curtis, and I went to El Patio while Nick opted to work out (wtf?). They had a new upper level dining room. I ordered the spicy coconut snapper with coconut rice and a garden salad with ranch (why bother trying something new when you already know something is delicious? [2007/2010]), a banana colada, and blueberry cheesecake. Note to future-self: next time skip the cheesecake and get ice cream at Manelly’s instead.

It’s almost 9PM now, but it feels like the middle of the night. I’m going to read a bit and hit the hay so I’m nice and refreshed for diving tomorrow morning.

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We left for the MSP airport at 3AM. 3. AM.

Everything went smoothly at first. There was no traffic and a short line to check our bags. We had to wait for security to open, and all I could focus on was the fact that Caribou wasn’t opening for another hour.

As usual, Kristen held us up through the security line. This time she must have looked extra suspicious because they brought her in the little room and everything. They must have thought she looked tough too, because no less than six people were in that room with her. Too bad they didn’t know the muscles are all for show. Curtis and I had our hands swabbed for chemicals. Nick made it through with flying colors. He claims it was due to his douchey mustache.

The flight to Atlanta went smoothly. Once there we got breakfast, and I got my much awaited coffee from Caribou: Salted Caramel Mocha. It’s not something I would typically order, but people kept raving about it so I had to give it a try. It was delicious. I’m afraid I may get addicted to this high-calorie holiday beverages.

The flight to Belize City was a little turbulent at times. I slept through most of it though. Before we even took off I slapped the lady next to me in a sleep induced haze. I apologized. She asked me if it’d been a long day.

The entire customs process went quicker than it ever had for us before. The lines were short, and before we knew it we were ready to catch our connecting flight to Ambergris Caye. As a pleasant surprise, we stopped at Caye Caulker to drop off some passengers. Best. Airstrip. Ever. I don’t even recall seeing any sort of actual building representing the airport. After that we arrived in San Pedro. All of our luggage made it on our flight, so that was good. Also, I love how they load the luggage onto carts to bring it less than 50 feet to the baggage claim, when we are literally standing right next to it when we get off the plane.

We are staying at The Phoenix, and it is awesome. We were welcomed with damp towels, ginger rum punch (souvenir glasses!), and a tour of the grounds. The condo and views from it are fabulous.

Our first official act once we got settled was to get food, of course. For the first time, we are staying in the heart of the city, so we walked aimlessly until we came to Fido’s. I ordered the fish sandwich, and because Nick’s a big softy, we made a couple of friends.

It started pouring during lunch, so we were trapped for a bit until it let up enough to walk back to the condo. After naps, BRK and I went grocery shopping, and then we all ate dinner at the Red Ginger. OMG so delicious! I had ceviche and grouper and coconut rice and beans and plantain chips and molten lava cake. And wine. I mean, most of it was shared. Except the wine. Never the wine.

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I woke up at 5:01 and was miserable. I was sore from trying to lie in a position that didn’t cause my knee to touch the blankets or the bed. My legs hadn’t been covered and I had a couple bad bug bites. One was on the back of my heal and it burned like a mother fucker (I don’t swear often in my blog, but there is no other way to describe it). I was itching it by rubbing it on the bed. It woke up Nick and he was all disgruntled. After that I was all hooty eyed and couldn’t fall asleep. Eventually I did, though, and I woke up again at 7:14, right on schedule for the trip.

I decided not to dive with everyone else. I wanted to have an additional way to unwind. It was the first time in nine days I was completely alone, and it was kind of nice. I hung out in the room awhile before lubing up with sunscreen and heading down to the pool to catch some rays. The temperature was perfect. Hot with a nice breeze to keep me cool. It made the pool feel like ice water, though, so I opted to walk to the bar instead of swim there. I ordered a piña colada and quesadillas, and by the time my food arrived, the others returned from their dives.

In the evening we headed to the dive shop. Rudy was barbecuing for everyone. The meal was delicious—fish, lobster, potatoes, and onions all in a pan together and grilled. Loidy, Martín, and some of the other guys from the dive shop were there, along with two of Rudy’s sons. Some of the others who dove throughout the week were there as well, and it was fun to be able to meet a few new people.

While we were in town, I headed to the pharmacy for some Neosporin and bandages for my knee. The lady working there said it looked infected, which only fed my paranoia that my leg will have to be amputated and fed to the sharks. Nick and Kristen both assured me that it looks fine to them. The skin around the wound is red and puffy, but I think that might just be irritation from the impact. I hope that’s the case, anyway. It’s right on top of my knee, too, so every time I move it gets more irritated.

Kristen, Crispine (one of the divers we met who is from LA), and I went to Manely’s for ice cream, then we stopped and looked at some jewelry. I ended up buying a couple things. We went back to the dive shop, but our husbands and the Hintze’s weren’t there. Rudy told us they went to catch the water taxi, so we said a quick goodbye and joined them.