It was an early wake-up call today. Our flight was scheduled to leave Minneapolis at 7:00 a.m. Deb Ode kindly offered to chauffeur us to the airport, so she sent a wake-up text at 4:00 a.m. saying that our limo would be there at 4:15. We were pretty much ready to go, and we got out the door around 4:30 a.m. There was no traffic, of course, and luckily, this was the only day there wasn’t snow or other precipitation. So it looked like we were all set to take off on time and make all our connecting flights. Airport security was slow, as usual. It’s amazing how many people are at the airport at 5:30 a.m.!
Once on the plane, we did have to de-ice, which took about 15 minutes. During that process, I noticed that a woman about four rows in front of us had turned on her call button. When the flight attendants went to her, they stayed there for a long time. I saw one of them place some towels on the woman’s forehead. Then a man sitting a row in front of us got up and went over to help. She was obviously having a medical issue. They got the person sitting next to her to move so they could lie her down. The doctor held her feet up so they extended into the aisle. All I could see were her feet. I saw them move every once in a while, so I thought she was okay. But then I would see her feet shake. It was scary to watch.
They taxied us back to the terminal, and an ambulance arrived. I was trying to figure out how they would get her off the plane. A team of paramedics boarded with a wheelchair that just fit down the aisle. Two of them picked her up and placed her in the wheelchair. They gathered all the belongings from her seat area and proceeded to take her off the plane. I saw the woman sitting next to her return to her seat. I thought, “Gosh, I hope they didn’t take her stuff.” Sure enough, the woman looked around and realized they had taken her purse. She had to run after them to get it. Before we could take off, they had to refuel. Finally, about 50 minutes later, we left.
While all this commotion was taking place, I turned on my phone to inform our fellow travelers that we would be late getting to Dallas. The trip had been arranged for our friends, the Harmons, to fly from Cedar Rapids; Jim’s sister, Christine, and her husband, John, to fly from Albuquerque; and us to fly from Minneapolis. We were meeting in Dallas and taking the same plane from Dallas to Belize City. When I turned on my phone, I learned that the Harmons’ plane was having mechanical problems, so they were delayed as well. So, this trip was not starting out very smoothly!
We got to Dallas about an hour late, but fortunately, we had plenty of time to make our connecting flight. We learned that the Harmons were still in Cedar Rapids and would have no way to make the flight. They ended up having to fly to Miami and stay there overnight. They would arrive the next day.
Christine and John were right on time, and the four of us proceeded to our flight to Belize City. That flight actually left on time and arrived in Belize City early! We went through immigration first. It was very similar to Mexico, but they had more technology. They scanned our left and right index fingers. They said they only do that the first time you enter the country and will keep the scans on file in case we ever come back. Customs was relatively easy as well.
Next, we had to take the puddle jumper from the Belize City airport to the island of Ambergris Caye. Here is a little video:
Once on the island, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Banana Beach Resort, which took us through much of the town of San Pedro. There aren’t many cars on the streets, but there are a lot of golf carts! After getting settled in, we walked back into town, which took about 20 minutes. You do kind of take your life into your own hands because half the time you have to walk in the street, and the golf carts drive pretty fast!
We went to a place called Elvi’s. Here are some shots from inside the restaurant, followed by a few shots of the great food. Jim had Fish Elvi, and I had Margarita Shrimp.
After that it was a long walk back to the hotel. I was exhausted and slept great!!