No Whale Sharks but Still a Good Couple of Dives
Thursday afternoon we went to meet the dive master who we had booked our whale shark tour with for the following day. His name was Warren and he operates Sunny Side Tours, a relatively new company based in Placencia. Warren was friendly and helpful and gave us a good vibe - something you want in a dive master. We went that evening just to get sized for gear, which was a great idea as we didn't have to do that task early the next morning.
An impromptu jump in the ocean and a few cheap beverage purchases from the store later, we were back at the apartment to chill out some more. Placencia has a very nice, albeit small beach and swimming area. For all we've heard about seaweed up to the shore everywhere, it was great that we could jump in and swim around without getting caught up in the stuff. Oh how I get freaked out when I touch seaweed under the water!
We ventured off to a place called Wendy's for dinner (nope, definitely not the chain), but found it closed that night. A little disappointing because we'd been told how great the food was there. However, we found another restaurant a few steps up the road called Rumfish, and there we had another amazing meal.
Run by a couple from California who purchased the restaurant on their honeymoon 7 years ago, Rumfish offers a variety of seafood and local fare in a wonderful second story open-air dining room. The owner, John, made it his mission to great each and every party as well as spend a few minutes with people to get to know a bit about them. He said he's been pretty successful with Rumfish, realizing the seasonal highs and lows along the way. I don't think he regrets coming down to Belize and starting the restaurant.
The specials at Rumfish all sounded so good but I couldn't have them all. It was a tough choice between lion fish sashimi or beet salad but since we were sharing, I figured lion fish would go over well. I can always get beets at home. We also ordered spicy plantain chips and a fish spread with crusty bread, all so tasty that even Bryan liked the plantains!!!
Their dinner special was snook in a creole-style sauce along with lentils and vegetables - so yummy! I don't think I've had snook before, but it's a little lighter than halibut, so still very flaky and soft. Bryan really liked his lasagna, made with real braised beef (and it was something he could fairly easily eat left handed, and that didn't require a knife too often). Scott's pork chop was huge, both in surface area and in thickness and he thoroughly seemed to love every minute of eating that!
After dinner, we tried to stay up on the back deck but everyone was pretty tired. An early night but it was also an early morning. Our landlady so very kindly allowed us to store our luggage at the apartments all day so we had to get packed and meet with her before breakfast.
Angie had pointed out another restaurant owned by Canadians, a place called Friends just steps down the boardwalk from our apartment. We had walked by the place a few times but it seemed like that were only open for breakfast so we thought we would check them out. As the only customers, the owners came to chat with us fairly often. We found out that they are from St. Albert and the parents came down with their daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren and purchased the restaurant. Their story wasn't as positive as others' with problems getting financing and work visas and such. It was kind of the opposite story to what so many others have told us and to the information I have read. Interesting. With expats coming to Belize, it seems like those who offer work to locals have great experiences while the owners of a Friends didn't seem to employ anyone outside their family, so I wonder if some of their struggles have to do with that.
Anyway, they were very friendly people and the breakfasts were awesome. I'm glad we had the opportunity to chat with them and try their food.
Our dive trip was pretty fun. It began a bit late because the company was having trouble with their larger dive boat. They got it up and running, thank goodness, because there were some crazy waves and the little boat might not have been too much fun. As it was, three people became quite ill on the large boat. Not the three is us!
Our first and second dives were very much the same for me. My regulator made weird noises so I got a bit nervous, my mask completely fogged up so I couldn't see a thing, and we dove in blue water where we saw a couple of schools of fish on each and that's it. No whale sharks. Some people saw a bull shark in the distance but since I could barely see three feet in front of me, I saw nothing. It was good to dive and kind of get used to it again. Hopefully it helps for the next dives in reducing my nervousness so I can just enjoy the diving. I think the Blue Hole will be very similar, though, as it's blue water and not a lot to see. Oh well, it's cool to say I've dove it, once I do! Scott and I dove while Bryan managed to snorkel one-armed. Getting back into that boat with 6-8 foot waves was a challenge for us all but he did well.
Finding dinner at 8:30 last night was a bit tough. After walking around we eventually heard music and found a little place called Tina's Kitchen. A local garifuna joint, they had some guys playing drums for people, traditional songs from the looks of everyone's reaction to the music. The band was amazing, that's for sure! That late at night, food choices were limited but the chicken quesadillas the guys had and the creole shrimp with rice and beans I had were all delicious. The guys kept raving about the homemade salsa too.
With all of us tired from the day spent on the water and not a lot going on here, it was a early night. I managed to get up early today and go for a run. We woke at 5:30 to a rainstorm but by 6:30 the rain had stopped and the sun was out. It still made for a very hot and muggy run that early but it was nice to get out. It's another good way to explore the town too.
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