#7: Beautiful Scenery

After a few months of nothing but snow, wind, gray skies and yucky inversion, a visit to the sandy beaches, blue waters, and tropical jungles of Roatan, Honduras, Belize City, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico was the perfect cure for the winter blues. Living in both the northwest and Hawaii, two places I consider to be exceptionally beautiful, lush, and green, I'm not easily impressed with scenery. Honduras, Belize, and Mexico did not disappoint. Each country felt like a sanctuary of undisturbed vegetation--I can imagine Heavenly Father saving some of His most masterful tricks for his creation of those places.

Roatan, Honduras:

The morning that we docked in Roatan, I woke up to the sound of a dock-worker attacking a pathway with a weed-wacker. I thought, "really?1" Is that not a little like rolling the stone to the top of the hill only to have it roll back to the bottom each time? The vegetation seems to have just taken over everywhere you look.

 

Roatan humor: the signs on the restroom doors read, "Mon" and "Womon." Haha.
 

 

 

A pinch-me-because-it-feels-so-surreal-moment: watching the colorful sunset over the ocean in Roatan, deckside from my cruiseship.

Belize City, Belize:

 

For all its beauty, Belize City felt a little....third world....to me. Driving through the city, we saw dozens of tiny, independent little lunch stands. The tour guide explained that, as public assistance doesn't exist in Belize, many of the unemployed attempt to earn a living by selling lunch on the street. While fruit grows wild, the guide said that a box of cereal costs $20! As we left the city and drove through the countryside, we passed by house after house that was unfinished, half-burnt down, or thatched with leaves. In the future, I'll try to complain a little less about how lonely I am when Aaron is working late, how monotonous cleaning my very comfortable house can be, and how challenging it is to prepare a meal to the liking of the boys' picky tastes.

 

 

 

 Cozumel, Mexico:

Cozumel is a place, so plentiful with sandy beaches and charming streetside eateries, that I could happily come back to and spend some more time getting to explore.

 

Is that not a frame-worthy photo? Yep, I was there.