![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
May. 9th, 2007
This is a good news and disaster news post. It's one of the few times in my life where everything has gone wrong and one end and everything right on the other.
You have to understand that two years ago my nana died while we were in the Bahamas and it took us two days to get home. I hoped to any god that would listen that it wouldn't happen again. Clearly, the gods think I'm not worth the trouble.
We left on Tuesday. On Wednesday my mother's first cousin died of a sudden stroke. We'd seen him ten days before at a party. The same day my cousin's aunt died after a ten year battle with cancer. A day later my cousin's step-father died (her mother died two months ago). The same day my cousin (the one who's aunt died) had a friend die quite suddenly. I have returned to Canada to find that grandmother not only has cancer again, but is scheduled for surgery on the 28th, when I am in Greece. She will be going from the hospital to a nursing home afterwards. The doctors have clearly stated that since this is the second time in six months she's developed a tumor, it will probably happen a third time within the year. And probably be much, much worse.
My cousin is about to declare bankrupcy from paying her husband's hospital bills for the last two years. Her sister, who's husband died last Wed. (see above) will likely be following suit as they are broke and were only getting by because they both worked.
And I had the best fucking holiday of my life. (See next post)
You have to understand that two years ago my nana died while we were in the Bahamas and it took us two days to get home. I hoped to any god that would listen that it wouldn't happen again. Clearly, the gods think I'm not worth the trouble.
We left on Tuesday. On Wednesday my mother's first cousin died of a sudden stroke. We'd seen him ten days before at a party. The same day my cousin's aunt died after a ten year battle with cancer. A day later my cousin's step-father died (her mother died two months ago). The same day my cousin (the one who's aunt died) had a friend die quite suddenly. I have returned to Canada to find that grandmother not only has cancer again, but is scheduled for surgery on the 28th, when I am in Greece. She will be going from the hospital to a nursing home afterwards. The doctors have clearly stated that since this is the second time in six months she's developed a tumor, it will probably happen a third time within the year. And probably be much, much worse.
My cousin is about to declare bankrupcy from paying her husband's hospital bills for the last two years. Her sister, who's husband died last Wed. (see above) will likely be following suit as they are broke and were only getting by because they both worked.
And I had the best fucking holiday of my life. (See next post)
Nothing went wrong. You have to understand that this is never happened to me on a holiday before. Everything went wrong at home instead and we didn't find out about it until we got back.
Diving with the Whale Sharks on the Great Barrier Reef in Belize is the trip of a diver's lifetime. It ranks up there with diving the Australian Reef and the Truk Lagoon. There are only 20 days of the year when this dive is possible. 5 days at each other the four spring full moons. But the full moon at the beginning of May is the best time to go.
It takes three flights from Toronto to get to Placencia, a small resort town about 3/4 of the way down Belize, right at the end of a peninsula that at it's widest is 2000ft across and its narrowest 20ft. This means a very early call and an entire day travelling with a two hour time change (coming from EST).
The hotel was the kind of place you hope you're going to end up and then never do. The staff bent their bloody backs to do anything for us. We (Edie, Todd and I) had the best suite at the hotel. It was 7 feet from the pool, 30ft from the ocean (which was 83*F at it's coldest) and 30ft from the bar/food. We were right beside Robert's Grove Inn, which someone may have heard of. It's 4.5 stars and is absolutely gorgeous. And the food is fucking spectacular. Our's was 3 stars and the food was alright. I couldn't have cared less.
Sunrise is 5am. Sunset is 6pm. Moonrise is 7pm. Wake-up was 5am. Bedtime was 9pm.
Day 2:
5am: Wake up. Kill myself because it is 5 IN THE MORNING. Stumble upstairs to eat breakfast. Down my first cup of coffee in two years. Catch the taxi at 8:30am to the dive shop. Leave on the boat at 9am. Reach the reef at 10am. Dive. Eat lunch. Swim. Dive. Go back to hotel. Arrive 5pm. Eat dinner at Robert's Grove.
Day 3:
5am: Wake up. Decide not to kill myself today. Make breakfast in our own kitchen. Down two cups of coffee. Boat arrives at the beach at 9:30am. Arrive at Gladden Spit at 11am. Snorkel. Dive. Almost get killed by 30ft shark. Eat lunch. Swim. Dive. See nothing. Return to hotel 6pm. Eat dinner at La Dolce Vita.
Day 4:
5am: Wake up. Drink coffee. Swim. Depart 9am. Arrive 10:30am. Dive. Eat lunch. Swim. Dive. Managed to escape getting rammed by shark by 20ft. See life flash before my eyes. Get great pictures. Return 6pm. No idea where we had dinner.
Day 5:
5am: Wake up. Coffee. Swim. Leave 10am. Dive. Eat Lunch. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Swim. Sleep. Sleep. Return 6pm. Have dinner at Turtle Inn (owned by Frances Ford Coppola).
Day 6:
5am: Wake up.
5:05am: go back to sleep.
9am: eat breakfast
12pm: eat lunch
1pm: go to town
2pm: come back from town
7pm: have lovely wine and cheese party with Italian Dinner served by Terry and George. Get very drunk on red wine while viewing pictures and video.
10pm: go to bed
Day 7:
5am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. Leave by van 7:30am. Arrive at border to Guatamala 12pm. Tour Xanantunich ruins. Climb 150ft to top of pyramid. Die of heat stroke. Eat lunch at 2pm in San Ignacio. Swim in Blue Hole at 4pm. See biggest fucking spider EVER. Swear never to come back. Return to hotel at 7:15pm. Have dinner at Robert's.
Day 8:
6am: Relize I have slept in. Drink Tea. Have best waffles EVER. Leave 9am. Arrive Toronto 11:30pm.
Day 9:
10am: Realize I have slept in till 8am Belize time. Thank the gods.
Miles flown: c. 6000
Pages read: c. 400
Hours in a car: 8
Hours in a boat: 10
Whale Sharks: 4
Pictures taken: 1100
Memories: Priceless
Time: 11:23pm and going to bed.
Diving with the Whale Sharks on the Great Barrier Reef in Belize is the trip of a diver's lifetime. It ranks up there with diving the Australian Reef and the Truk Lagoon. There are only 20 days of the year when this dive is possible. 5 days at each other the four spring full moons. But the full moon at the beginning of May is the best time to go.
It takes three flights from Toronto to get to Placencia, a small resort town about 3/4 of the way down Belize, right at the end of a peninsula that at it's widest is 2000ft across and its narrowest 20ft. This means a very early call and an entire day travelling with a two hour time change (coming from EST).
The hotel was the kind of place you hope you're going to end up and then never do. The staff bent their bloody backs to do anything for us. We (Edie, Todd and I) had the best suite at the hotel. It was 7 feet from the pool, 30ft from the ocean (which was 83*F at it's coldest) and 30ft from the bar/food. We were right beside Robert's Grove Inn, which someone may have heard of. It's 4.5 stars and is absolutely gorgeous. And the food is fucking spectacular. Our's was 3 stars and the food was alright. I couldn't have cared less.
Sunrise is 5am. Sunset is 6pm. Moonrise is 7pm. Wake-up was 5am. Bedtime was 9pm.
Day 2:
5am: Wake up. Kill myself because it is 5 IN THE MORNING. Stumble upstairs to eat breakfast. Down my first cup of coffee in two years. Catch the taxi at 8:30am to the dive shop. Leave on the boat at 9am. Reach the reef at 10am. Dive. Eat lunch. Swim. Dive. Go back to hotel. Arrive 5pm. Eat dinner at Robert's Grove.
Day 3:
5am: Wake up. Decide not to kill myself today. Make breakfast in our own kitchen. Down two cups of coffee. Boat arrives at the beach at 9:30am. Arrive at Gladden Spit at 11am. Snorkel. Dive. Almost get killed by 30ft shark. Eat lunch. Swim. Dive. See nothing. Return to hotel 6pm. Eat dinner at La Dolce Vita.
Day 4:
5am: Wake up. Drink coffee. Swim. Depart 9am. Arrive 10:30am. Dive. Eat lunch. Swim. Dive. Managed to escape getting rammed by shark by 20ft. See life flash before my eyes. Get great pictures. Return 6pm. No idea where we had dinner.
Day 5:
5am: Wake up. Coffee. Swim. Leave 10am. Dive. Eat Lunch. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Swim. Sleep. Sleep. Return 6pm. Have dinner at Turtle Inn (owned by Frances Ford Coppola).
Day 6:
5am: Wake up.
5:05am: go back to sleep.
9am: eat breakfast
12pm: eat lunch
1pm: go to town
2pm: come back from town
7pm: have lovely wine and cheese party with Italian Dinner served by Terry and George. Get very drunk on red wine while viewing pictures and video.
10pm: go to bed
Day 7:
5am: Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. Leave by van 7:30am. Arrive at border to Guatamala 12pm. Tour Xanantunich ruins. Climb 150ft to top of pyramid. Die of heat stroke. Eat lunch at 2pm in San Ignacio. Swim in Blue Hole at 4pm. See biggest fucking spider EVER. Swear never to come back. Return to hotel at 7:15pm. Have dinner at Robert's.
Day 8:
6am: Relize I have slept in. Drink Tea. Have best waffles EVER. Leave 9am. Arrive Toronto 11:30pm.
Day 9:
10am: Realize I have slept in till 8am Belize time. Thank the gods.
Miles flown: c. 6000
Pages read: c. 400
Hours in a car: 8
Hours in a boat: 10
Whale Sharks: 4
Pictures taken: 1100
Memories: Priceless
Time: 11:23pm and going to bed.