Telpner Family Adventure
This week has been quite the Telpner adventure. Instead of their annual stay in Jamaica, Patsy, Ronnie and Meghan came out to Belize to see Michael and I. We started off in Belize city so the Telpners and Stuart, Meghan's friend, could see our surroundings and daily lives. The real family fun began when we headed off to Altun Ha, some Mayan ruins, with Captain Sanchez our knowledgeable and memorable tour guide. Belize is covered in Mayan ruins, so naturally we had to visit at least one. With Altun Ha's close proximity to Belize City these ruins made for an easy trip. Captain Sanchez took us for the bumpy drive north of the city for our little adventure into ancient Central America. 
Looking beyond the stands set up with tacky nik-naks for tourists the ruins were pretty amazing. In order for people to get an idea of how the ruins looked back in the day they reconstructed parts of the temples. Most are still covered and look like grassy mounds. We had a great time at Altun Ha. With loads of pictures taken it was time to move on.
We headed back to Belize City to catch the 15 minute flight to the town San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. The plane holds about ten passengers and they even seat someone in the co-pilot seat. Guess what, the lucky co-pilot for the flight was me. It was very cool to see the control panel and to look out the front of the plane. The only thing that made me a little nervous was when the pilot looked at me seriously, played with the controls and with a straight face said "if I pass out this is left, right, up and down, it'll be up to you".
Upon arrival at San Pedro we headed to our villa at El Pescador on the north end of the caye. The north end is much quieter than the golf cart infested streets of San Pedro. The boat ride whisked us off on turquoise waters to the picturesque setting of beaches dotted with palms. The villa was beautiful and came complete with a
salt water pool within steps. The sun was shining and the temperature read 'hot', the only thing the Telpner's forgot to pray for was calm winds. After the first day the winds picked up. Gusty would be a understatement. This didn't hamper the Telpner spirit. There was still lots of spontaneous silly dancing, reminiscing coupled with laughter and seriously tanned skin.
My favourite part of the caye was the public path up and down the beach. On the north end of the caye the path was great for walks and bike rides. Of course I managed to mangle my knee during a ride with Michael ending my bike adventures. Ronnie, Patsy, Michael and I went kayaking through mangroves. It was one of the scariest things I've ever done. While in the small tunnel of branches over the water I had the chance to know what it feels like to have a very scary palm size spider within a few inches of my face.
Other than a some dinners in town and the couple of Belize Telpner Adventures most of our time was spent reading, relaxing and laughing. We got to celebrate Ronnie's birthday with him on March 12th. We went for dinner at the nearby resort Captain Morgan's and lavished him with some Belizean gifts and a cake. In anticipation of my birthday, this coming Friday, Meghan brought one of her great bead necklaces. It was great to have the Telpners, plus Stuart, here for the week. Michael got to take a break from work, I got to take a vacation from my vacation and we got to spend time with family. What more could you ask for?
Looking beyond the stands set up with tacky nik-naks for tourists the ruins were pretty amazing. In order for people to get an idea of how the ruins looked back in the day they reconstructed parts of the temples. Most are still covered and look like grassy mounds. We had a great time at Altun Ha. With loads of pictures taken it was time to move on.
We headed back to Belize City to catch the 15 minute flight to the town San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. The plane holds about ten passengers and they even seat someone in the co-pilot seat. Guess what, the lucky co-pilot for the flight was me. It was very cool to see the control panel and to look out the front of the plane. The only thing that made me a little nervous was when the pilot looked at me seriously, played with the controls and with a straight face said "if I pass out this is left, right, up and down, it'll be up to you".Upon arrival at San Pedro we headed to our villa at El Pescador on the north end of the caye. The north end is much quieter than the golf cart infested streets of San Pedro. The boat ride whisked us off on turquoise waters to the picturesque setting of beaches dotted with palms. The villa was beautiful and came complete with a
salt water pool within steps. The sun was shining and the temperature read 'hot', the only thing the Telpner's forgot to pray for was calm winds. After the first day the winds picked up. Gusty would be a understatement. This didn't hamper the Telpner spirit. There was still lots of spontaneous silly dancing, reminiscing coupled with laughter and seriously tanned skin.My favourite part of the caye was the public path up and down the beach. On the north end of the caye the path was great for walks and bike rides. Of course I managed to mangle my knee during a ride with Michael ending my bike adventures. Ronnie, Patsy, Michael and I went kayaking through mangroves. It was one of the scariest things I've ever done. While in the small tunnel of branches over the water I had the chance to know what it feels like to have a very scary palm size spider within a few inches of my face.
Other than a some dinners in town and the couple of Belize Telpner Adventures most of our time was spent reading, relaxing and laughing. We got to celebrate Ronnie's birthday with him on March 12th. We went for dinner at the nearby resort Captain Morgan's and lavished him with some Belizean gifts and a cake. In anticipation of my birthday, this coming Friday, Meghan brought one of her great bead necklaces. It was great to have the Telpners, plus Stuart, here for the week. Michael got to take a break from work, I got to take a vacation from my vacation and we got to spend time with family. What more could you ask for?
The group at Altun Ha.
Michael and I on top of one of the temples.
Being our silly selves.
Michael the Mayan Ruler of All!
A beautiful villa, just like ours, at El Pescador and the salt water pool.
Taking a bike ride along the beach.
I think this is officially Michael's favourite t-shirt.
Nice shirt, Bite Me!
That is one ridiculously huge chair.
Patsy and Ronnie enjoying dinner with the family.
Stuart and Meghan posing in similar t-shirts, again.
Michael and I enjoying the night.
Ronnie showing off his birthday gifts. Now he's a memeber of the 'Bite Me' team.
I'm sporting my new 'Meghan Made' necklace.
Father and son saying goodbyes on our way to the water taxi.
While waiting for our long, 15 minute, flight home we visited Scotiabank San Pedro.
Seriously, these are our boarding passes for the flight home.
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