Riding down bumpy sand roads in an open air golf cart.

Stephanie was kind enough to ask me to write in the blog on my experiences in Belize. Her reporting thus far has been so spot on that I think I will write something a little more esoteric.
When Stephanie, Julia, Sam, and Iris came and picked me up from the airport, the first things I noticed were their slight tans and happy demeanors.  We had lunch and they happily filled me in on all that I had missed since their arrival predated mine by one week. After lunch we piled into our two golf carts and headed home to paradise, or so I thought. What we got was 3 ½ miles of a sandy, bumpy road. By the time we arrived at our condo I was ready to throw myself on Stephanie’s mercy because we were going to have to do that trip a minimum of twice a day and the average time it takes to get to school, town, etc. is about 25 minutes, 25 minutes of bumps and dust. And I was the one who chose Hol Chan Reef resort as the Yates residence while in Belize. Instead of recriminations, in Stephanie’s own inimitable way, she just said that she had gotten used to the trip the first day and didn’t mind it at all. I love my wife.
On to esoteric…now I ride that trip on average of twice a day with half of that time being by myself. There are many things to see on the road – from the multimillion dollar mansion “Whataview” (why do people feel compelled to name their large possessions?), to literal one room plywood shanties – we see it all. There are a couple of fruit and vegetable stands along the way and many different levels of dining options. Because the mode of transportation is a souped up open air club car I also see all of the people; in other golf carts, walking down the side of the road, and in the occasional taxi. I see all of them and interact with many, whether it is giving a hitchhiker a ride for a mile, or stopping at the MULTIPLE speedbumps, I see, wave, and converse with people in a manner that is impossible in Atlanta. In Atlanta, I go from my covered garage at home to a covered garage at work in my climate controlled vehicle and never have to or get to interact with anyone.
I also get to think about and miss my sister when I’m riding in the golf cart alone, down the semi deserted sandy road looking out at the beautiful water. Living here is so different from Atlanta, but I for one, love it.