Keith and I were celebrating our Ruby Wedding Anniversary and decided to visit Belize where I could fish and he could see the wonders of the Maya, something that he has always wanted to do.
Belize makes me think of... hot sun, white fluffy clouds, warm turquoise sea lapping gently on white sandy beaches, softly swaying palm trees, steamy jungles and sparkling flats where Bonefish, Permit and Tarpon are just waiting to be caught.
Hmmm. Not so. After all this is our annual trip to "somewhere" and as per usual bad weather followed us!
We knew when we left Jamaica (complete with fly rods this time! ) that there was a front heading towards Belize, and sure enough it hit the day after we got there and turned all our plans completely upside down!
We flew into Belize city from Miami, and then one more flight to San Pedro but this time in a little 14 seater plane. I got to sit in the co-pilot's seat which was pretty cool. We did however wonder what would happen if the pilot was ill enroute though?!
We were met at San Pedro airport by Ricardo, the hotel's head of transport, and were whisked off by speed boat to the El Pescado Lodge which is situated on Ambergris Caye and can only be reached by plane or boat. We were greeted on the dock by the owner Steve, and within minutes we were checked in and made to feel very much at home.
The Lodge has 13 rooms and 4 villas that can sleep up to 6 people. It caters for fishing & diving people, and has a brilliant reputation. There are 3 swimming pools, a bar, restaurant, shop, & outdoor restaurant area. There are bikes and kayaks for guests' use.
The lodge was built in the old colonial style and is extremely comfortable. Every single member of staff are 5* and cannot be faulted in any way. As for the food and drink, well it has to be some of the best we have ever been served.
Keith and I were pretty tired as we had been traveling for nearly 14 hours, but I made the effort and went to the fishing orientation with the fishing director Lorri-Anne Murphy. There were 22 other fishermen staying at the hotel and most of them were due to fish in pairs with their guides. I was going to be on my own though.
After meeting me and having a talk to gauge my experience, temperament and expectations, Lori-Anne paired me with Raton. El Pescador has 13 fishing guides and they are all very good, but I was to find out that Raton was brilliant!
Our plans were... Relax and visit San Pedro day one. Catamaran and snorkeling trip so that Keith could swim with sharks on day three and do a trip via air to the New river and see the Mayan temples of Lamanai on day five. I would fish three times on alternate days. I was hoping to catch Bonefish but my aim was to catch a Permit. With luck I might even get to "jump" a Tarpon?
Day one... Dawned grey and quite windy. We collected two bikes and cycled into San Pedro. The road is a stretch of hard packed sand that runs along the edge of the sea in front of the hotels and villas. Different! It started to rain on our way there and quite frankly we were like a couple of drowned rats 35 minutes later when we reached the town.
Even in the rain though the little town is very pretty. All the houses are painted in very bright colours. There are three main roads in town. Front street, middle street and back street, so not much chance of getting lost!
We went to the local supermarket and I stocked up on spices. Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Allspice etc. On the way back we were aware that the sea inside the reef was getting rougher, the wind was increasing in strength, and we could hear the roar of the sea out on the reef that is about 400 yards away. The rest of the day was spent mooching and chatting to fishermen who had to come back early from their fishing because of the weather.
Normally a day's fishing with the guides is from 7 am until 3 pm. but this day all the boats were back by midday.
Every day at 4.30pm Lori-Anne held an hour's session of casting practice out on the casting platform and I joined in. Boy is she good. She can cast further and more accurately than most men!
Day 2... I awoke at 5.15 am and was greeted by palm trees being bent double by a howling gale, rain like stair rods and a sea whipped up into a fury. Raton, me, boat, fishing? I don't think so.
One by one the guides turned up and a meeting was held. No one wanted to go out. Lori-Anne duly called off the day's fishing for all concerned.
This meant that our plans were really, really messed up, but we cancelled the catamaran trip, moved the Lamani trip to the following day and put my three fishing days to the end of the week. The forecast for the next five days was that it would remain windy but the rain would gradually move away. Hey ho. We can't control nature!
The rest of the day was spent reading, playing cards and finding out all about Belize, it's history, culture and customs. The barman Mariano was a mine of information, and a superb cocktail maker. Several rum based cocktails were partaken, but I still managed to tie a couple of fairly good Crazy Charlies at the fly tying table in the bar!
Casting practice was a bit iffy as by then the rum had kicked in and the wind was vicious!
Day 3... At 7.15am We set off on our trip to the Laminai Temples. Ricardo took us into San Pedro on the boat and as we left the dock several dolphins came alongside and swam with us for a while, We then had a 40 minute flight on a 12 seater plane across miles of jungle and lots of cane fields to Orange Walk. A five minute mini bus ride to the river and we hopped onto the boat along with eight other people and were greeted by our guide for the day, Carlos.
He was brilliant. He knows just about everything there is to know about "his" river. The trip up the river was 25 miles and took one and a half hours. On the way Carlos found and showed us, spider monkeys, turtles, crocodiles, iguanas, bats and numerous birds. Also we heard the call of a male howler monkey.
We then had a couple of hours hiking through the jungle, where we got soaked in a downpour, but soon dried out in the steamy heat.
Carlos pointed out many more birds and plants, and we were lucky enough to see a huge male howler monkey and his harem and babies, before we reached the first of the Maya ruins. The Temple of The Mask. It was a remarkable sight to say the least. The next one, The High Temple or El Castillo, was considerably larger and higher. I climbed the first set of steps but they are huge and very slippery, so I stopped on the first level. Keith climbed right to the top, to 115 feet above the jungle floor, and the photos he took are amazing. Even he had to come back down sitting on his bottom and holding onto the rope that stops you from falling!
We visited several more ruins until we reached the most impressive of all, the Jaguar Temple. The site here is protected and you are not allowed to climb it.
Carlos escorted us back to the boat dock where we had lunch and then he had fun with us on the boat by going full throttle round all the bends. The journey back only took 40 minutes.
Back on the mini bus, then the plane and at the airport Ricardo was once again waiting to take us "home". On the way back he took us out to the reef so that we could see the waves beyond it. They were at least 30 feet high!
Day 4... I met Raton on the jetty at 6.55 am. It was still very windy and cloudy/sunny periods. Raton decided that it was best to try to find fish in the lagoon behind Ambergris Caye. It took an hour to get to where I would fish. He didn't hold out any hope of seeing Permit as they don't like the weather and it would have pushed them down. We would aim for Bones. It was difficult as the clouds kept scudding across the sky but he found them. He looks for the silver flash as the sun catches them, for the muddying in the water where they are feeding, and for the tailing fish in the very shallow places. As with my previous trips bone fishing, I couldn't spot a thing, at least not for several hours, then gradually I began to see the signs too. I missed several fish, and also lost a couple. There wasn't even a sign of a Permit, but I was really chuffed to end the day with an official count of 7 bonefish landed. The bonefish in Belize are all fairly small, averaging about 12" but as with all bones, fight like hell. My best fly was a pink Crazy Charlie.
During the day we saw several pelicans, my old foe the southern Atlantic ray, and a three foot green turtle that came up to breathe right by the side of the boat and then jumped three times as it swam away. Wow!
On the whole my casting was fairly accurate even in the strong windy conditions. I only wrapped the fly and line around Raton's head once!
Day 5... On the jetty at 6.50 am with Raton raring to go so we left early. The weather had improved. Sunny and hot, but still very windy. Raton decided we would try fishing in Bacalar Chico the National Marine Reserve. It costs $10 a day to fish there and from the lodge it takes one and a half hours of high speed motoring to get there.
At the top end of the reserve is Mexico. There is a narrow channel from the reserve that was dug by hand hundreds of years ago by the Maya, that leads through several lagoons and eventually out to the sea. The channel is the border that separates Belize from Mexico.
I had another good day and caught 12 bones. The largest were two 16" fish which both put up a brilliant fight. The pink Crazy Charlie was again the best fly of the day. Once again there wasn't even a sniff of a Permit.
I saw S.A. rays again today, also an eagle ray and a sea eagle. Beautiful.
Keith spent the day reading, swimming, sunbathing and being spoilt rotten by the staff back at the lodge!
One by one as the boats came home we all compared notes. Still no one had caught the elusive Permit or Tarpon.
Day 6... My last chance to catch that Permit. Raton thought that our best bet was Bacalar Chico again as it was still very windy but the reserve would be slightly calmer than elsewhere. The sun shone all day and it was incredibly hot. The long sleeved shirt, long trousers, sun hat, buff and factor 50 sun cream were certainly required. Raton took me right up to and through the channel to a small lagoon. Going through the channel there are several places where you can reach out and touch the mangroves on either side of the boat, thereby holding Mexico in one hand and Belize in the other.
Raton spotted bones as we entered the lagoon and I was soon casting and catching. I hooked one fish that for a few seconds we both thought was a Permit as it had the same shape and behaviour but it turned out to be a 10" Jack Crevalle. They are great to play though as they dive down and really pull like mad. During the afternoon I hooked another one quite a bit larger which put up a great fight. Raton said that catching the Jacks was a good sign as they swim with Permit. Great. I go home tomorrow!
One bonefish that I caught gave Raton a bit of a fright. He was just about to lift it from the water when a 4 foot barracuda shot out from no where and grabbed the fish right off the line. That was a bit close for comfort.
I finished the day on 14 bonefish. Excellent. A total of 33 in the three days. A few missed and about four dropped. Pretty good I think. Best fly today was a Clouser and the faithful Crazy Charlie.
Keith had a good day too as he did an afternoon snorkeling trip out to the reef where he duly swam with sharks. In fact he came face to nose with a 12 foot bull shark. Rather him than me!
Later in the evening at dinner back at the lodge those of us who had been fishing discussed our day and bored the pants of my husband and their wives!
During the seven days that we were at El Pescador, only two Permit were caught, both of these on the last day, but no Tarpon at all. It was a pity that the weather was not too good but even so Keith and I had a wonderful time.
Belize is a beautiful country and the Belezian people are warm and friendly. We hope someday to go back and maybe I might land that Permit Raton and I were searching for!
Janet Till