Lagoon to Rojo Relaxation

Rob and I made ourselves take last Wednesday off, as we skipped our day off the previous week to run a private party at The Snack Shack. So with going two weeks without a day off, we were clawing our way through the week to make it to Wednesday. And it was well worth the wait!

I am sure some of you are getting sick of hearing about Lynn and Carl, but we went out with Lynn and Carl again on The Newt. Ha ha.

We had plans to go scuba diving, however the waters were way too rough. It is hard to believe we have lived here for four months now and have yet to put on the scuba gear!  That is one of the main reasons we picked Belize, as it is home to the second largest barrier reef in the world. I guess when you have your mind set on something and you are focused, you forget to try to enjoy the things that make you happy at times. Well, I promise, we will get out and scuba pretty quickly, as the waters have calmed down and it is almost like glass in the mornings.

So....back to our Wednesday with Lynn and Carl. We headed out for a relaxation day on the boat. We have not been to quite a few resorts and bars up north, so Carl took us to Rojo Lounge. Now if you are a big Bachelor fan, you know that Ben took the final four women to Rojo Lounge for their final rose ceremony when they were in Belize. So I was amped to see this place. 

Rob and Lynn enjoying our ride.

Captain Carl.

Because the waters were extremely rough, Carl took the "back way" to the north end of the island.  We went lagoon side, which I was very excited to do.  It gave us a chance to see the other side of the island and also for me to get some great pictures.



Since Carl is Belizean, he has obviously been here his entire life. He has so much information to share with us and I absolutely love that.



He tells us about who owns what properties, what the bars and restaurants used to do, where people place their boats for the hurricane season, how the locals get across the lagoon, where the crocodiles live. The list goes on and on. It is awesome to go out with him and learn something new every time.

Riding through the lagoon.

So as we headed through the lagoon, we saw a few boats fishing and then a spotted eagle ray jumped out of the water right in front of our boat. I was looking the other way, unfortunately, so I did not get to see this amazing species.  But according to Lynn, it was huge and she has never seen one jump out of the water like that.  Spotted eagle rays have been reported as having jumped into boats and even killing one women.  Boy....am I glad that didn't happen to us! They are also hunted by various sharks.  But what a gorgeous species!



Spotted Eagle Ray

As we made our way north in the lagoon, we passed the main barge on the island.  This is where everything is stored that is brought from the mainland and then is distributed throughout the island. I have heard about the barge numerous times throughout our four months here, but have yet made it back to see it. As we passed in the boat, we saw a load of sofas and chairs being brought in.



The Barge.

We also headed past DFC.  This is one of the "neighborhoods" located in San Pedro. The backside of DFC is located on the lagoon and this is also where Lynn and Carl live. They have a cute house that is waterfront and are looking forward to building a dock that will allow them to tie their boat to, rather than renting a dock that is oceanside.  It is a great little neighborhood that we actually looked at living when we first moved here.

Lagoon view of DFC.

As we continued to head north, we began to see a ton of boats that were capsized or looked like they were left to fend for themselves.  I was amazed at the amount of boats throughout the lagoon.  However, Rob and I looked at each other and said, "This is a place we need to come to get some decorations for our next adventure." That story will be later in our blogs in the coming months.

Carl said this is a great place for the crocodiles to live.

Not quite capsized, but it is on it's way.

Even Winston got some great views.

After we made it through the lagoon, we hit the bridge. The bridge is the landmark that distinguishes whether you live "north of the bridge" or "south of the bridge". If you are walking or biking, it is free to cross the bridge, however, if you are on a golf cart, you have to pay each time you cross the bridge. If you live here permanently, you can buy a bridge pass that will save you money throughout the month.

At the bridge, on the north end, is the big movie theatre here on the island.  To be honest, I do not know much about the theatre. I do know they show a few movies now and then and do some special features, but other than that, I am not sure the hours or how often the movies are shown.  But it is a pretty theatre.

Movie Theatre.

Heading under the bridge.

And when we hit the other side of the bridge, there is a big public park on the right. The kids were outside playing and looking like they were having a blast. However, this kid looked like he might have been in a little bit of trouble.......

And.......then........we.........came........to........Rojo.......Lounge.........

I felt like I was at a five star resort in Miami. They had the lounge chairs with big fluffy cushions, little hideaways for couples looking to get romantic, and a cool infinity dipping pool that was relaxing.

Our little hideaway for the afternoon.

The infinity pool.

This screams relaxation! (minus the winds-check out the palm trees)

Total relaxation for the day...and a few "fu-fu" drinks (Rob).

We relaxed on the cushions, dipped our feet in the pool, walked the beach, ordered some lunch, had a few amazing drinks. I had a ginger mojito and Rob ordered some rum concoctions that were out of this world. It was a little pricey, but well worth it on this day. We had needed a relaxing day like this for quite awhile.

Even Winston had a fun day.......chasing coconuts in the water and then ripping them to shreds.  Absolutely hilarious to see in person.

Winstonian! Our second favorite dog on the island...only to Jager.

After a few wonderful hours at Rojo Lounge, we headed back south and stopped at Captain Morgan's.  For those of you that don't remember from my previous blog, Captain Morgan's was home to the reality show, Temptation Island, that was filmed back in 2001. This is a timeshare resort and is massive in size. There are numerous restaurants and even a coffee shop on site.  We made it to the older pool, but I hear the newer pool has a poolside bar and it seemed to be more crowded...which makes sense.  It seems like a great place to spend the day also.  They have a casino on site, but it was not open when we arrived....too bad.....I wanted to sweep their slot machines clean!

Carl headed to the pool.

The groundskeepers at Captain Morgan's were doing some "coconut cleaning." I found this very inventive and a safe way to keep tourists from getting their coconuts knocked with a coconut. Ha ha.

Groundskeepers pulling down coconuts. Yes,
that is a guy sitting in the bulldozer.

Wow.....what a long blog today! I didn't realize I took so many awesome pictures on this day. I hate to not share them with everyone, as I think we have seen so many neat things.  This was another amazing day to put in the books for us. I know we will be back to Rojo Lounge for those special occasions and I will make it to Captain Morgan's to hit their slot machines.

It is another beautiful day here in San Pedro and it is time for us to head to work.

Keep smiling!