Marriage is Paradise, 50% of the time – 5/28/07

One thing we’ve learned about living in Belize is that time seems to move faster here than anywhere else we’ve been. It seems like back home, the weeks moved slowly; we were always saying, “Great, it’s Monday … again.”

Strangely, in Belize we’ve noticed the opposite. The weeks fly by, and it seems we’re always saying, “Wow, it’s Friday again!” In the blink of an eye a year has gone by – school is over, we’re getting ready to move back to the States, and our 2nd year anniversary came and went. Two years already! We celebrated our anniversary this week in Hopkins, a Garifuna village down South in the Stann Creek district. Fitting, considering we spent our honeymoon in Placencia – by another Garifuna village in Stann Creek.

Hopkins isn’t as well known as Placencia, but Belizeans seem to prefer it. It’s no wonder. Most of the mainland in Belize has no beach along the coast, only mangroves. Hopkins and Placencia are the main exceptions. Lucky for us, low season in Hopkins (when the rates drop) starts at the beginning of May rather than the beginning of June. And, you get the best deal if you just show up. Without a reservation, you usually get a 20% discount, though I wouldn’t attempt that during the busy season.

So, we drove down the scenic Humminbird highway that snakes through the Maya Mountains from the capital of Belmopan to the coast. Those mountains are as lush and green as the Cascades, but tropical. Giant Cohune Palms (which look like up-side down feather dusters) pierce the rainforest canopy covering the narrow, towering peaks. It’s a sight I’m glad we were able to appreciate before leaving.

Once in Hopkins, you basically have 3 choices for fancy resorts. Belizean Dreams, Jaguar Reef, and Parrot Cove. Belizean Dreams was both fancy-shmancy and hoity-toity. Parrot Cove was nice, but for our anniversary we wanted a bit more. Jaguar Reef was juuuust right. It’s the choice Goldilocks would have made. The beach at the resort was beautiful, and it was close enough to the village center to bicycle in. They had a nice restaurant, friendly staff who insist on memorizing your name when you check in, AC, kayaks, bikes, and snorkels to use, two pools, wireless internet, massages under the cabana on the dock, and most amazing of all – a remote-controlled ceiling fan. I mean, let’s get serious here folks – that is pretty awesome.

The people at the resort and in the village itself were unbelievably friendly. They certainly make a tourist feel welcome. We biked into the village to look at the gift shop and get some exercise. We stopped at the local market, and while waiting in line the woman in front of us turned and began talking to Melissa. She asked if Melissa wanted to hear the music she was listening to, then put her headphones to Melissa’s ears. She then mentioned that if we liked it, she would burn us a copy and gave us her phone number. That’s not really the typical mindset in most resort towns.

Most of the time though we spent at the resort, swimming in the pool or on the beach. Even though there were not many people staying at the resort, the guests we did meet were also celebrating marriage. Most were on their honeymoon, with one or two other couples celebrating an anniversary. It was then that I realized Melissa and I have spent half of our marriage living in paradise. Half in the States, half in Belize. How cool is that! Though, many of the honeymooning couples we met were able to say they’ve spent almost 100% of their marriage in Belize. Oh well. On a side note, a shout-out to Miller’s Pub in downtown Chicago. Hope you enjoyed your trip. Melissa and I met the owner and his new wife at the poolside bar. Thanks for the T Shirt!

Though we realize marriage isn’t always going to involve glamorous locations, it has still been an amazing first two years. Our cup has been filled to overflowing and we are both ready to start the next chapter in our life. It was obvious from the beginning that marriage isn’t easy, but we’ve learned that at least half the time it is paradise…