Captain Rick

Argg Matey, this here be a swarthy boat captain. His name is Captain Rick. He's the captain from the boat in Belize. He was a pretty cool guy to have as a captain. Very laid back, especially about having six crazy people running wild on his boat. This picture is the first day of sailing when we caught this big'ol Mahi-Mahi to eat. Very tastey. Those are my legs sticking out of the fishing spot. My big claim to fame was being the last guy on the fishing pole before we hauled it out of the water. Everyone helped, but I was last so I "caught" that huge fish!

Rick lives in San Pedro island, where we met up with him when we got to Belize. San Psdro is a 15 minute puddle hopper ride from the Belize City airport. The kind of flight where one passenger sits in the co-pilot's seat and the other 11 passengers all have window seats. One propeller to keep you all in the air.

So, on the first day we met up with Rick at a beach front bar and saw the boat. Three of us went on our first SCUBA certification dive. The others stayed around the bar and the boat and got into whatever booze/trouble they could find. The first dive was pretty basic: down to 35 feet, try not to die.

Our first night was pretty funny. Ryan and I went looking for the hotel and were walking through the tiny town. Around a street corner came a golf cart (the most popular mode of transport on the island) driven by a wickedly smiling, recklessly driving Ali. He rented it at the hotel. The rest of the night was filled with mud puddles and more reckless driving on a golf cart filled with 6 full grown (though very juvenile) men.

The real price of a vaction

You know what doesn't make sense? People who say, "I had so much work when I got back to the office, that vacation was not worth it." Sure. My vacation was worth it's weight in Diamonds..... literally. The wifey was not happy with my taking a trip with the boys, so I had to pay the piper. Before I left I made sure to appease her with a gift equal in value to the entire cost of the trip. The entire cost being:

SCUBA lessons (here and a set of four certification dives in Belize)
Scuba gear (Snorkle, Fins, Mask, Full Wet-Suit)
Airfare (Atlanta to Belize round trip, Belize city to San Pedro round trip)
My soul
Boat charter
Food
Beer

The total cost summing up to: One pair of diamond stud earings, 1 CT T.W.

Was it worth it? TOTALLY!!!!!

You betta BELIZE it!!

I just got back from Belize.... After a week away from the office, I realized how much I shouldn't be a lawyer, and how much I should be a bartender at a beach-side bar. Here's the boat we stayed on for most of the week. I got certified as a scuba diver, and I got to pet a shark. It was awesome. I will post more pics as soon as I have time.