Laughingbird Caye

There Was Not Much to Laugh About on Laughingbird Caye
By Sharon Miller

November 2004

The Miller Family trips always strive to venture off the beaten path. Although we enjoy visiting the local tourist spots, we never fail to find ourselves on what we call a “great explore” in some unknown part of whatever country we happen to be touring. Our trip to Belize was no exception.

The first part of our journey was to be spent in Placencia, a very small village on the southern tip of the Placencia Peninsula. We had arranged to be picked up at the airport, and driven down to Zeboz, the resort we were staying at for the first part of our trip. As we left the surrounding areas of Belize City, the landscape proved to be magnificent. Heading west on the Western Highway the landscape changed from the flat and dry area of the coast to the lush jungles of inland Belize. Eventually, we turned to the South, passing through the capital, Belmopan, on our way to Placencia. The mountains surrounded us on all sides, broken only by the extensive orange groves and small villages we passed along the way. The roads were surprisingly good until we turned back towards the coast onto the only road leading to our destination. It was not paved (and probably will not be for an extremely long time) and was riddled with what felt like potholes the size of the Grand Canyon.

As darkness descended like a thick blanket over the countryside, we finally pulled up to Zeboz. At first, it was hard to see what the resort looked like, but even in the dark, it was obvious it was still under construction. We soon found out that we were the first guests ever to stay there, and along with that As our little boat waits just offshore, a beautiful rainbow stretches across the island. honor came some inconveniences as well. After being greeted by Henri and Basilio, we were led through the dining area where a magnificent turkey dinner (it was Thanksgiving in America) buffet awaited our arrival, and finally to our respective rooms.

After settling in, we all descended on the restaurant like a pack of wolves. The day had been long and hard, as traveling always seems to be and we were all intrigued by the idea of actually getting to eat a Belizean turkey dinner. Despite the fact that we were the only guests at the resort, the chefs left nothing to be desired in any of the meals they prepared.

Once we had filled our bellies with the festive feast, the more adventuresome of the group headed to a local bar called Mangos, about a ten-minute drive from Zeboz, in order to get a taste of the nightlife. While there, they learned a valuable lesson that benefited the rest of us for the rest of the trip: ALWAYS WHERE EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF INSECT REPELLANT! Unfortunately, after having a few too many cocktails, Wade decided against using bug spray and literally suffered for the rest of the trip. The next morning, he discovered his legs had been the Thanksgiving buffet for an army of sand fleas and who knows what other type of insects.

Alas, Wade’s injuries and a threatening storm did not affect our plans to go scuba diving the next day. Our scuba diving trip was supposed to leave from the dock at 9 a.m., however, the actual time of departure was more like 10. Rain started to fall as we headed out to our small, fishing type boat that was to be the ride for the day, and as we headed towards the dive shop in Placencia, we had our first taste of the fear and chaos that was about to ensue. The seemingly soft rain turned into a hard downpour as the unprotected boat glided across the water, soaking and freezing most of us. Nevertheless, when we arrived at the dive shop, to pick up our equipment, the sun broke through the clouds and gave us all a false sense of security that was to be our downfall. As the divers of the group prepared their BC’s and tanks, the snorkelers had a chance to wander the streets of the thriving Soaking wet and windblown, the group was thankful to be back on dry land. metropolis that is Placencia. Literally, a one street town, Placencia’s main attraction was the new sidewalk that had recently been completed. Running parallel to the road, the sidewalk meandered along the beach past several small hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops.

Finally, after about an hour and a half, we all had our equipment, which I must say left a lot to be desired, and we were on our way. Our first stop was Laughingbird Caye, an extremely small island about an hour or so off the coast. It is designated as a World Heritage Site, as it is completely surrounded by its own coral reef. The island itself is about an eighth of a mile long and about 500 feet wide and did not provide much shelter from the ever-increasing winds. It was here that the three snorkelers stayed, while the divers continued out to sea for another thirty minutes or so to get to their dive site. To be brief, due to the bad weather, the dives were only okay, culminating in the exciting experience of touching a sea cucumber. The snorkeling, on the other hand was good, however, the wind and the cold were unbearable, which resulted in us crouching in the one windless spot we could find, and staying there. To be fair, there were other things that happened throughout the day, like the discovery of a colony of hermit crabs, and the wondrous sight of a rainbow stretching across the island, nevertheless, the cold, rain and wind stick in the mind the most.

Finally, the divers completed their last dive and we were ready to leave the little island. The rainbow, which had blessed us with its presence for about an hour, suddenly disappeared behind extremely dark thunderclouds and as we boarded the little boat, the winds whipped the sea up into a fury. Seven to eight foot swells greeted our boat as we headed back towards the mainland, oftentimes sending us airborne for several seconds. The poor souls in the bow were forced to wear their scuba masks, due to the quantities of water splashing in their faces, and those in the back were unfortunate enough to bear witness to the fact that the boat was taking on obscene amounts of water. The question on everyone’s mind was not, when are we going to get to shore, but rather, to which little island are we going to swim when this boat capsizes? Luckily, we did not capsize and we eventually made it back to the mainland, where we all had a good laugh and toasted the fact that we were alive, while we awaited our ride, on land, back to Zeboz.