I truly believe that traveling is medicine for the soul.  And I needed my medicine more than ever.  The day before I left for this trip I found myself realizing how lucky I was with the timing of it.  Originally, when I saw the cheap airfares to Belize, my best friend, Adrienne, and I were thinking of going in May.  However, the least expensive flight was for this weekend, so we went with it and thankfully upon reflection we did!

I have wanted to travel to Belize for quite some time now, as I have been dreaming of diving the Blue Hole in the Belize Great Barrier Reef.  Before the economy crashed though, flights to Belize were always costly.  Can you believe it; we found a direct flight for $200!

I have known Adrienne for 4 years and we have yet to travel together.  It almost seemed like a sin.  Thus, imagine our excitement as the plane took off carrying us on our first journey together.  We also received a first class upgrade, which of course added to the excitement.  Unfortunately, there were some creepy older men (with wedding bands on their fingers) sitting near us and they took it upon themselves to overtly flirt the entire flight.  I think they both finally got the hint when Adrienne took out her book and began to read while one of them was mid-sentence.

The views from the plane of ocean as we approached Belize were breathtaking.  I know that word is often overused, but I believe you will agree with me once you view the following pictures.

After we landed at the Belize City International Airport, we quickly headed to catch our domestic flight.  The heat that greeted us felt so good compared to cold Charlotte we had left 3 hours ago. 

Me stopping for a quick photo-op at the airport.

Since we had arrived ahead of schedule (how often does that happen these days?), we were put on an earlier flight to San Pedro.  We ran to catch the plane, simply to discover we were the ONLY passengers on it!  Poor Adrienne, she was absolutely terrified, as it was a 5-seater.  However, the whole process was so rushed that she did not even have a moment to think about it and before we knew it we were in the air.  The pilot let me sit up front with him and it was quite an experience to see the world from that perspective.  It made me want to get my pilot's licence in the future!

Me "acting" as the co-pilot.

I thought that the views from the 1st plane ride were unbeatable, but was I proven wrong!  I could not take my eyes off of the ocean during the 15 minute flight--it was just stunning, extraordinary, gorgeous...I think you get the point.

Once we landed in San Pedro, we were picked up by a taxi, which then took us to a marina where we boarded a boat.  The boat ride was another 15 minutes and it brought us to our hotel, Journey's End Resort.  In booking our accomodations we had decided that we preferred seclusion over proximity to the center of the city and this hotel certainly provided us with our desire.

It definitely felt like we had escaped life and all of its stresses.  Everything about this resort screamed exotic destination get-a-way.  We were smitten!  My only complaint was the service.  I know that people who live in the Caribbean have a much slower lifestyle, so we kept reminding ourselves of that fact when we would get frustrated with their lack of urgency regarding anything.

Our room was in a casita, or little house.  Surrounding it were tropical flowers, huge iguanas, and palm trees galore! 

Oh, and I cannot forget to mention the welcoming hammock that I took refuge in.  It was about a 2 minute walk from our room!

Adrienne and I chillaxed at the beach for as long as the sun stayed out and then headed to dinner at the hotel's restaurant, Luna.  The food was mediocre, although I think the taste of the food is irrelevant when a restaurant has the view like this one did.  It overlooked the white sands of the beach with the moon's reflection illuminating its great vastness.  We had the best conversation with the sound of the waves in the background.

We called it an early night, as the daqueri's and the 2 hour time difference were starting to take effect.  Plus, we had a 5Am wakeup call.  As we drifted off to sleep we both agreed that we had found paradise.