Trip and Arrival
Belize, May 2005
Doreen and I took a trip to Belize this past weekend to attend the wedding of two very dear friends. Now, you may ask who in the world is worth a trip to Belize when I don’t dive, sail, snorkel, parasail, or even necessarily like the clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. Suffice it to say that the list of folks who would qualify is very, very short. And now that he is married (and unless someone in the family gets married) I don’t need to worry about trips like this anymore.
Let me get this straight from the get-go here: This is my story here, not his. I am sure that both David and Lisa will have a much different opinion of the trip (the parts that they can remember, anyway) and I will let them tell there story when and where they may want to do so.
The trip started out as most trips do, with me being a bit nervous about the flight, getting to the airport, making sure our seats have been reserved correctly, and all the general foolishness of travel these days. We had splurged and got first class ticked using frequent flier miles, even thought it was a very short (two hour) flight. I hate travel enough that I told Doreen that if I could figure out a way to get on a “no fly” list I would do so. It would sure reduce the pressure to travel, anyway.
We both had to work the morning of the flight – I had a breakfast meeting with John Gibson, a former peer of mine at Landmark who rose to great heights, eventually being the COO of Halliburton (and being quoted on the front page of the Wall Street Journal) who is now a partner at Fox Paine, a large private equity firm, and also a board member of Paradigm, one of the companies that I want to get as a client. John is nothing if not entertaining, so we had a good time. He told me exactly what he thought of David Lesar (the CEO of HAL), but those comments will remain between him and I. John raises zebras. I don’t know much about that, and I hope to get to his ranch someday. Also Clydesdales, Belgians, geese, ducks, and swans.
Doreen had a meeting with her novelty vendors from the park. I will leave all that unsaid. All I knew is that she was going to be later than she said she was going to be (we wanted to leave the house at 11:00 AM), but she got home right on time and we drove to the airport with no problem.
For Continental Airlines international flights you now leave out of a new terminal at the George H. W. Bush Intercontinental Airport. (IAH, to those of you in the know). It is Terminal E, and is really a great place to wait for a flight. We did that, and then got on the plane. Because it was about 1:30 by now, we had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the flight. We finally got to the Belize City airport, and walked easily through customs.
We then had to take the small prop plane to the airport in Ambergris Cay. We checked in, and were able to get on an earlier flight than we had planned (we were very lucky fliers this trip) and had to pay $1.50 for the security check. You may very well ask, “What sort of security do you get for $1.50?” ($0.75 per person) and the answer is, of course, none.
But we walked to the little (Cessna Caravan, seats 11 passengers) single prop plane and jumped in happily. It bumped and grinded bounced and slide throughout the 15 minute flight. We could see the perfectly clear water than is the appeal of this part of the world (I kept looking for whales, but saw none)
We landed without incident and waited to be collected by the hotel – in a golf cart. We had met Lisa’s maid of honor on the plane, so there were three of us (with luggage) that had to fit on the cart.
Golf carts. Yes, as you walk around Ambergris Cay, you see plenty of golf carts. Big ones. Little ones, short ones, tall ones. You put the lime in the coconut. I am not sure why golf carts became the premier means of transportation on Ambergris Cay, but I can see why. Quiet, small, cheap, no pollution (at least at the source of transportation. Nothing like exporting your gaseous emissions) They do cause little mini traffic jams, though. It was an adventure.
We finally got to the hotel, and checked into our room.
Doreen and I took a trip to Belize this past weekend to attend the wedding of two very dear friends. Now, you may ask who in the world is worth a trip to Belize when I don’t dive, sail, snorkel, parasail, or even necessarily like the clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. Suffice it to say that the list of folks who would qualify is very, very short. And now that he is married (and unless someone in the family gets married) I don’t need to worry about trips like this anymore.
Let me get this straight from the get-go here: This is my story here, not his. I am sure that both David and Lisa will have a much different opinion of the trip (the parts that they can remember, anyway) and I will let them tell there story when and where they may want to do so.
The trip started out as most trips do, with me being a bit nervous about the flight, getting to the airport, making sure our seats have been reserved correctly, and all the general foolishness of travel these days. We had splurged and got first class ticked using frequent flier miles, even thought it was a very short (two hour) flight. I hate travel enough that I told Doreen that if I could figure out a way to get on a “no fly” list I would do so. It would sure reduce the pressure to travel, anyway.
We both had to work the morning of the flight – I had a breakfast meeting with John Gibson, a former peer of mine at Landmark who rose to great heights, eventually being the COO of Halliburton (and being quoted on the front page of the Wall Street Journal) who is now a partner at Fox Paine, a large private equity firm, and also a board member of Paradigm, one of the companies that I want to get as a client. John is nothing if not entertaining, so we had a good time. He told me exactly what he thought of David Lesar (the CEO of HAL), but those comments will remain between him and I. John raises zebras. I don’t know much about that, and I hope to get to his ranch someday. Also Clydesdales, Belgians, geese, ducks, and swans.
Doreen had a meeting with her novelty vendors from the park. I will leave all that unsaid. All I knew is that she was going to be later than she said she was going to be (we wanted to leave the house at 11:00 AM), but she got home right on time and we drove to the airport with no problem.
For Continental Airlines international flights you now leave out of a new terminal at the George H. W. Bush Intercontinental Airport. (IAH, to those of you in the know). It is Terminal E, and is really a great place to wait for a flight. We did that, and then got on the plane. Because it was about 1:30 by now, we had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the flight. We finally got to the Belize City airport, and walked easily through customs.
We then had to take the small prop plane to the airport in Ambergris Cay. We checked in, and were able to get on an earlier flight than we had planned (we were very lucky fliers this trip) and had to pay $1.50 for the security check. You may very well ask, “What sort of security do you get for $1.50?” ($0.75 per person) and the answer is, of course, none.
But we walked to the little (Cessna Caravan, seats 11 passengers) single prop plane and jumped in happily. It bumped and grinded bounced and slide throughout the 15 minute flight. We could see the perfectly clear water than is the appeal of this part of the world (I kept looking for whales, but saw none)
We landed without incident and waited to be collected by the hotel – in a golf cart. We had met Lisa’s maid of honor on the plane, so there were three of us (with luggage) that had to fit on the cart.
Golf carts. Yes, as you walk around Ambergris Cay, you see plenty of golf carts. Big ones. Little ones, short ones, tall ones. You put the lime in the coconut. I am not sure why golf carts became the premier means of transportation on Ambergris Cay, but I can see why. Quiet, small, cheap, no pollution (at least at the source of transportation. Nothing like exporting your gaseous emissions) They do cause little mini traffic jams, though. It was an adventure.
We finally got to the hotel, and checked into our room.
posted by Dan Piette at 7:47 AM
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