AND... IT'S GONE. I MEAN, AND...IT'S DONE

POST # 278

What just happened?  It seemed like I was just getting ready for my second trip to Belize, and now it's already history.  Time is going by way too fast these days.
As mentioned in the previous blog, my original plan had to be adjusted due to Hurricane Harvey, and so after a delayed departure from Vancouver, I travelled via Toronto and Miami to my final destination of Belize.

 SMOKE OVER BC EN ROUTE TO TORONTO

 I arrived just after midnight in Toronto, and our flight from there to Miami was the very first cab off the rank at 6am local time the next morning.  We left the gate right on schedule and began the long roll down the taxiway to the runway threshold, arriving there at 6:15am.  At that point the captain came on the intercom, and said, "Ladies and gentleman, I've got good news and bad news.  The good news is that we are at the head of the line for departure, but the bad news is that Toronto airport has a curfew, and we cannot depart until 6:30am."  Well, I've never experienced that one before.  One might ask the Toronto airport authorities why they would schedule a 6am departure, if you can't take off until 6:30am, but whatever.  So we sat there idling the engines for 15 minutes and then we were on our way.
I enjoyed some pretty spectacular cloud formations on the journey south, as can be seen below.

Our route even took us over Melbourne, and even though I was thousands of miles away from the Melbourne that I am familiar with in Australia, just seeing the name brought back many pleasant memories of my years spent there.

Just prior to touchdown in Miami the captain mentioned that there was the potential for a rain shower upon arrival.  We landed on a dry tarmac, and a few moments later after arriving in the terminal, the skies opened up, and the visibility went to virtually zero.  It shut the airport down for more than an hour, so we lucked out with our arrival time.

THE SKIES OPEN UP

Eventually we were back on board and on our way to Belize.  As I gazed down at Miami, I pondered what the future would hold in store, now that Hurricane Irma was threatening the area.

I opted to take the local bus from the airport out to San Ignacio which all went according to plan, albeit with some help from one of the locals, and soon after I was greeted by my friends for the final journey to their place.

The time there went way, way too fast, but it was time well spent in my humble opinion, and I made some new friends as well, which is always a good thing.

Here are a few photos taken by Pauline while I was there.

 A SCARY LOOKING FROG

TWO SCARY LOOKING HUMANS

L-R Pauline, Guy, Me, Sara, and Glen at the Maya Mountain Lodge, after the most recent Nature Bats Last radio show.

A NEW BATCH OF CHICKS

Plus a view from their deck, while Guy was getting ready to tape an interview for a journalist in Australia.

But before I knew it, September 11th had arrived, and it was time to say goodbye.  Guy, Pauline and Sara headed to New York, and I headed back to Canada, via Houston and Calgary.  Houston airport was like a ghost town. Plus, it was strange to be spending a night at the airport in Calgary.  I haven't been to Calgary for a decade. 

FLYING ON SEPT. 11TH.  WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

MY ONGOING SEARCH FOR THE BEST AIRPORT "BED"

And so ends the story of round two of Belize. I am extremely grateful for being able to spend time with my friends there.  Only 6 more visits to Belize, and I'll break my record for visits to the Mud Hut in New Mexico.  The odds of that happening are about as good as the odds of ever being born.  Very slim indeed, but it's nice to dream.


And it's GONE link.  Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGwZVGKG30s

living a life of simple acceptance,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer