Days of Rest
Days Seven and Eight in Belize

Day Seven- 12/28/02 [massage]
8:30 AM Hmm. I guess we must have had enough sleep because we're surprisingly awake. Another cloudy day. The masseuse is setting up in Tim's room. I should want to relax but I'm restless after one day of inactivity. I don't feel like I need a massage and I'm almost rather wait until after diving or something. Justin goes downstairs to look into diving. The masseuse OKs me for now or later. Whenever, she says. We decide we'll try to dive the local reef today. The dive site is supposedly close in. The crowd on the boat is sparse after the last few days and the weather looks iffy. My stomach suddenly decides it hasn't quite recovered so I have to make a dive for the bathroom. I guess my body remembers the queasiness of the days before. UGH. I'm only half-sure I want to go but I almost do just to make the massage more rewarding. In the end, Justin decides his stomach is nervous, too, and we pull out of the dive at the last second. We eat cake for breakfast and have already taken a drammamine. Snorkeling later, maybe.
10:30 AM I opt for the massage. Tim says I can use his room b/c it has large windows for light and a cd player for the masseuse's kooky island music. Tim says she has light hands but I like her. She's a really little woman and doesn't have a very "warm" aura. I almost don't like her so it takes me a while to relax... perhaps it's just the novelty of the situation. Eventually I do relax and fall into a sort of drooling stupor. Ahh, drammamine and reiki, the perfect combination. Suddenly, I'm brought back from my reverie by a sharp, shooting pain in my left shoulder. She's discovered knots I didn't know I had. It's a great sensation. Ow and Yum. An hour and a half and over too soon. Alas.
12 PM I'm super-groggy and oily all over. Tim and Justin want lunch but we know nothing will be open right now. Tim says he's scheduled us to snorkel at 1:30 with Carlos so we have to run out to get a bite to eat before we get on the boat. We go to the greasy-spoon Chinese place again. Not bad... but greasy. I'm beginning to suspect all the oil, protein, and starch is what's upsetting my stomach, not some weird bacteria.
1:30 PM Carlos says they're cancelling the snorkeling trip. The wind has picked up. It won't be any fun, he says, but he can hire someone else to take us out if we want. We decline and grumble about it for a while. We're just glad to be here. Back to the hotel to read again. We learn from the people at the dive shop that yesterday would not have been a good day to dive. It rained like hell and the one good motor on the boat gave out. Oops. We decide to have dinner at Habaneros, the restaurant at which we had lunch and I had a Mai Tai on our first day.
4:30 PM Justin and I settle in the bar with chips, salsa, and pina coladas. We move to the beach for sunset. A pleasant evening.
7:30 PM Habaneros is slow as hell but I love it. Of all the places on this island, I like the food and atmosphere here the best. We have a waiter named Matt from canada. He's really cute, charismatic, and pleasant. Like someone who would work at Red Robin or something in the states. He makes killer drinks. I order some house drink and nurse it before appetizers. We're starved. I get two appetizer plates as an entree, seafood canneloni and veggie platter w/ cream cheese. With dinner, I get another drink, the "Long Caye Iced Tea," Matt's version of the Long Island. I swear it's like 90 percent alcohol. It's got a pretty big punch and I'm half-drunk by dessert. Dessert, by the way, is amazing. We decide to come back for their special New Year's dinner two nights from now. We make reservations to be in Matt's section.
9:45 PM We don't hurry in leaving. Good thing, too, cos I'm half-drunk and quite cheerful. Tim stops to check his email again (read: have Justin open hotmail so he can send love notes to his new sweetie). Justin and I can't decide whether it's cute or aggrivating that Tim seems to be in a "phase one" relationship.
10:30 Ahh, alcohol. We return to the room and promptly screw each other's brains out. I love vacation! But wait, what's this...? A knock on the door? ACKKGGGHHH.... I said no... knocking.... There's much confusion and throwing about of clothes before someone mumbles "coming, hold on," and I get the door to reluctantly accept the novels we left earlier in Tim's room (I finished one book and started another). It's obvious I'm a bit flustered. Oh well, c'est la vie! Back to business. I do love vacation!
Zonk.

Day Eight- 12/29/02 [half sun]
8:30 AM It looks like it might be sunny. Yes? .... No.... Yes! .... Sort of... We decide to try the dive shop again. They're diving Sergeant's Caye, a place we'd like to do. Huzzah!!! But... DAMNATION... there's only ONE spot on the boat. Well, fuck that. What to do but lay in the sun and read? A terrible shame. (note the sarcasm) But not a day that makes for a terribly eventful adventure. Here's how it went:
9 AM Read until 11:15. Turned over.
11:30 AM Read until 12:30. Ate chips and salsa for brunch.
12:30 PM Got up. Bough dove bars and hot sauce at grocery (not for eating together). Ate melty delicousness and made everyone jealous. Dropped a large chunk of my chocolate in the sand. Ate it anyway.
1:30 PM Came home to change and go for a walk. Before we change, we collapse on the bed to read for a bit. It starts to rain. We stay indoors and read. Finish third book. Hungry, want lunch.
3:30 PM Get lunch at Rasta Pasta, veggie burrito to split with Justin. Tim is right, the most important part of the day here is deciding which restaurant to eat at. That's a real vacation for you. There's a downpour while we're in the restaurant. I almost buy necklaces from One Love Jewelry but the lady is bitchy.
4 PM Come home, write in this journal. Tomorrow we're going to the mainland on a river trip to the Lamanai ruins in the Orange Walk district. We're taking the water taxi first thing in the morning and going by van to the river. I'm excited. I'm also thinking about having my hair braided.
7:30 PM Dinner at Sobre las Olas. Instead of the fabulous kebobs, I have a seafood medley stew with shrimp, lobster, and crab claw. Very good but a bit salty. Fresh orange juice here is amazing.
8:30 PM Buy more hot sauce. It's the best souvenir I can think of. Tim checks his email again. >.< We come home to shower and read (again). An early start tomorrow so early to bed tonight! It'll be a welcome adventure after some uneventful days. It feels good to have a purpose and something to look forward to!

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