SUSAN: 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.
JAMES: Deb got us to the airport in plenty of time for us to stand in line with hundreds of other tropical escapees. Funny to see the varieties and combinations of attire: full-fledged Minnesota winter gear, shorts and flip-flops and everything in between. We were a few minutes late leaving our gate. The weather was decent, even warm. I was just praying that we would get off the ground and get on our way. We stopped for de-icing and were almost ready to go when a stewardess came down the aisle with a handful of paper towels to apply a cold compress to the forehead of a passenger a few rows in front of us. This preceded some more frantic activity and then the call, over the intercom, for a doctor.
SUSAN: 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.
JAMES: We had to refuel before we finally got to take off, about an hour and 15 minutes late. If the other passengers were like me, I could hear them thinking, "Why couldn't she have had the heart attack before she got on the plane?!" But she seemed fine and we finally lifted off so all is forgiven...Of course a mere heart attack is nothing compared to what the Harmons are still going through.
SUSAN: 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.
JAMES: In Belize City we hopped on a small Tropic Air plane for the flight to Ambergris Caye. It's a quick maybe 40-minute flight from the mainland. It's cool to see the beautiful colors of the water and the reef as you come in. Here's a few shots of our plane outside and in. A very nice flight but not unlike riding in a van with a low ceiling. It was kind of cool looking over the pilot's shoulder.
We took a taxi through San Pedro to our hotel. There aren’t many cars on the streets, but there are a lot of golf carts! By the time we got settled in at the Banana Beach, it was getting late and we were hungry. We decided, based on reviews and recommendations from our taxi driver, to try Elvi's. It's not a bad walk, it's just that there are not clearly defined sidewalks and the streets are narrow and busy with cabs, golf carts and bicyclists. I had several near misses when bikers came whipping out of the dark and almost ran me over.
It was worth the walk. Elvi's has an interesting decor and features paintings by a talented but down and out Belizean artist. They display and sell his paintings to help him out. We went for the gusto: Mango Margaritas and Belikin Beer along with terrific fish, seafood and ceviche. Best meal we had all week!
Almost all Belizean meals come with rice and beans and/or plantains. After the big meal we walked back and hit the sack.