Day 5 - Happy birthday, Anthony!

Hey Anthony.  Happy birthday from Belize.  We had a good dinner, and I lit a candle for you :)  Sorry we aren't there to help celebrate, we'll take you out for a burger when we get back!

Today was a pretty low key day in San Ignacio.  We slept in until almost noon, and then made the short journey between the Midas Resort and the San Ingnacio Hotel.  It was almost like stepping from the Best Western to the Davenport.  The room is gorgeous, the hotel is located on top of the hill overlooking the rainforest.  We are staying in a Regal Room, known that way as the Queen of England staying in this flat on her visit in the 1980's.

We did some swimming today (I swam, Allysha watched, but I was sure to splash her), enjoyed a walk into town to shop, and we walked on a trail taking off from the hotel, through the jungle and into the rainforest.  The hotel here also runs an Iguana rescue program, and provides tours of the habitat.  Allysha and I might have accidentally ignored the sign that said we needed a hotel guide (sorry Dona) and went for a walk down the trail.  We encountered a really big spider, Allysha knocked down a few webs with her face, and we finally (okay, she finally) found our way to the habitat.  There were about 30 iguanas in the enclosure, most of them mean and dinosaur looking.  Yuck. 

We return to a very nice dinner (Allysha had the t-bone steak and I had some variation of a fajita).  Many of the places are decorated with Valentine's Day stuff, which surprised us both as we thought it was a more American holiday.  There is a tour of about 25 60+ American's here, so Allysha and I fit right in.  Well, at least we're comfortable :)

We have arranged for a day of zip lining tomorrow, which we would not have been able to do on the island as we weren't there on the days they went.  We'll take off at 8 am on a shuttle, and should be back by early afternoon.  We also arranged for the private shuttle into Belize City for Monday morning at 10:00 am.

This evening after dinner, we went next door to the casino, and I can now say that I successfully played blackjack (my favorite game) in a foreign country.  Although some differences exist, it was fun to play a familiar game in a foreign country and Allysha and I picked up on it quickly.  And, yes, for those of you wondering, we did walk away with some extra Belizian spending money! 

I will say that I've found the people of Belize to be very, very friendly.  We've wandered through a lot of the town and through big groups of people (not always in the nice parts), and have never once been concerned.  They people seem to be used to American travelers, and don't give us a second thought.  It's very nice to feel comfortable, even welcomed, in such a remote place.