Toes in the sand

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This was it.  This was the place for me!  I thought I would miss the jungle.  The zillion stars in the sky at night.  The music of the cicadas as soon as the sun set.  The giant bamboo trees.  Sure, I missed it until I woke up and stepped out of our little thatched roof cottage and my toes hit the sand.  This would be a relax and do nothing day.  Could this vacation get any better?  It seems we planned the perfect combination of busy days, travel days and activity days.  Today was a relaxation day.  Although to me, even the activity days were more relaxing than any day not on vacation!

We walked, barefooted as everyone seemed to be most of the time, up the steps to our outdoor dining for breakfast.  Portofino is a small resort so there were never too many people around at one time.  Also, people leaving for the day or for the morning on their excursions would eat earlier - not that we slept in.  It was a bit hot in the room, even with the air conditioner.  The rooms here are air conditioned, and we have a ceiling fan.  But with a thatched roof, it's hard to keep cool!

So, our view every morning at breakfast couldn't be beat....



My breakfast of choice quickly became toast with peanut butter and fruit jelly, and a fresh fruit plate - no papaya.  For some reason, I just can't get into papaya! 

After breakfast, we went out to the beach.  We spent the day back and forth between the beach and the beautiful pool at Portofino.  As with many of the beaches in Ambergris Caye, the beaches aren't really ones you can just wade into and swim.  This is beacuse there is an abundance of turtle grass right off the beach.  We were told they do not clear it out for swimming because it's an important part of the ecosystem.  It's a nesting area for fish and other marine life.

I spend a good part of the day just walking around snapping pictures which I'll share here.  When my camera wasn't in hand, we were in the pool, relaxing in the sun or reading. 

Our first full day at Portofino was a day without shoes, a day with our toes in the sand and day with not a care in the world.  That's vacation as it's meant to be.

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