Belize -- Paradise or Devil's Island? Need advice

"Curacao Sunshine" <curacaosunshine@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1193660216.242401.110050@o80g2000hse.googlegr oups.com...
>
> For what it's worth check out Ian Anderson's at Caves Branch. We spent
> a couple days in the jungle and never had any complaints about the
> bugs. There was a few on my snoring though. We slept in the mouth of a
> cave and it echoed a bit! The thought of swimming with Whale Sharks
> should leave the ones of insects far behind. I highly recommend a day
> trip to Tikal as well. I will plug Roatan as a great place to visit
> despite mention of bugs. My wife and I don't sit in the sun on the
> beach so we don't have many bug problems. There are a couple Italian
> lawyers on Roatan that have a cool shark dive. The white water just
> outside La Ceba on the main land is great too.
> Look around and you may find some cool things!!!!

Just for the record . . I would never discourage anyone from going to
Roatan! Only encourage in spite of the bugs. As for you two not having any
bug problems whilst on Roatan, it may have been more a factor of time of
year.

I've been there a number of different times, different months and the bug
situation varied.

On Oct 29, 1:36 pm, "chilly" <slar...@shaw.canada> wrote:

> Just for the record . . I would never discourage anyone from going to
> Roatan! Only encourage in spite of the bugs. As for you two not having any
> bug problems whilst on Roatan, it may have been more a factor of time of
> year.

I wouldn't discourage people from going to Belize and Roatan either.
The more suckers that put up with the wind and the bugs, the fewer
that invade my paradise.

"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
news:KO6Vi.158166$th2.135581@pd7urf3no...
<snip>

> I don't get seasick. OK, on very, very rare occasion, I may feel mild
> nausea. I'm sorry for your girlfriend, but if you don't have it, you
don't
> have it. Get her some ginger, get her some wrist straps and get her some
> dramamine, behind the ear patches and/or some gravol. Whatever it takes.
> :^) Just make sure she takes her preventative prior to boarding the boat.
> Once she starts to feel sick, it is too late.

Do you think that wearing the banana helps?

"Chris Guynn" <chris.guynn@gamil.com> wrote in message
news:skGVi.12896$4V6.8947@newssvr14.news.prodigy.n et...
>
> "chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
> news:KO6Vi.158166$th2.135581@pd7urf3no...
> <snip>
>
> > I don't get seasick. OK, on very, very rare occasion, I may feel mild
> > nausea. I'm sorry for your girlfriend, but if you don't have it, you
> don't
> > have it. Get her some ginger, get her some wrist straps and get her
some
> > dramamine, behind the ear patches and/or some gravol. Whatever it
takes.
> > :^) Just make sure she takes her preventative prior to boarding the
boat.
> > Once she starts to feel sick, it is too late.
>
> Do you think that wearing the banana helps?

No. The banana is only for keeping your head warm and/or keeping your hair
out of your eyes.

OK you know to check out the CDC web site for where in Belize you're
going. Some places have an issue with malaria, others don't. There are
good meds to prevent that. If you're at 8000 feet, your doctor may not
be familiar with all the issues. Consider DAN.

Are you doing a land based trip or a live aboard?

I get sick looking at the ocean...sometimes. Transdermal scopalmine
patch. Put it behind my ear and I'm good for three days. But if you're
on a caye and diving from shore, that might be overkill. On my last
trip off Maryland I used it and only woke up from my post dive nap in
midair as we bounced along. An alternative is a pill called scopace,
but a lot of doctors don't know anything about it. Google it and ask
your girlfriend what she thinks would work better.

The diving off Ambergris Caye in Belize is wonderful. It takes about a
10 minute ride on an outboard to get to the dive site. Back to the dock
for a surface interval and out for the second dive.

Sheldon wrote:
> Okay, my girlfriend wants to go to Belize. Not a problem, except that now
> she's telling me that if we go to be prepared to be bit by every bug known
> to mankind, and some that aren't. She's telling me I'm going to get bit by
> thousands of these little mites that you can't do anything about.
>
> I already know that I need to take precautions against malaria and
> mosquitoes, but I don't want to pay for a vacation that leaves me itching
> and scratching the entire trip. What's with these mites she's talking
> about?
>
> She already gets seasick, and is trying to convince me I will, too. I've
> never been seasick in my life, and got her seasick last night just by
> talking about the boat going up and down, up and down, up and down. I will
> admit it was kind off funny, but I just wanted to see how bad she was.
>
> Anyway, what kind of horrors am I in for, or is she mostly full of it? She
> was there 10 years ago.
>
> Thanks, and getting a new girlfriend is not an option, however I will
> reexamine the situation after the trip.
>
> Sheldon
>
>

"Dr Yak" <Dr.Yak@NoSpam.Com> wrote in message
news:h8uWi.155$Gy4.99@newsfe24.lga...
> OK you know to check out the CDC web site for where in Belize you're
> going. Some places have an issue with malaria, others don't. There are
> good meds to prevent that. If you're at 8000 feet, your doctor may not be
> familiar with all the issues. Consider DAN.
>
> Are you doing a land based trip or a live aboard?

Mostly land based. Not planning a live-aboard.

>
> I get sick looking at the ocean...sometimes. Transdermal scopalmine
> patch. Put it behind my ear and I'm good for three days. But if you're
> on a caye and diving from shore, that might be overkill. On my last trip
> off Maryland I used it and only woke up from my post dive nap in midair as
> we bounced along. An alternative is a pill called scopace, but a lot of
> doctors don't know anything about it. Google it and ask your girlfriend
> what she thinks would work better.

I'll check it out. Thanks.

>
> The diving off Ambergris Caye in Belize is wonderful. It takes about a 10
> minute ride on an outboard to get to the dive site. Back to the dock for
> a surface interval and out for the second dive.

Sounds great, but my girlfriend won't go there. Claims it's too buggy
there. Personally, the idea of a 10 minute boat ride to get to a dive site
sounds great. So does coming back to the dock for a rest between dives.

>
> Sheldon wrote:
>> Okay, my girlfriend wants to go to Belize. Not a problem, except that
>> now she's telling me that if we go to be prepared to be bit by every bug
>> known to mankind, and some that aren't. She's telling me I'm going to
>> get bit by thousands of these little mites that you can't do anything
>> about.
>>
>> I already know that I need to take precautions against malaria and
>> mosquitoes, but I don't want to pay for a vacation that leaves me itching
>> and scratching the entire trip. What's with these mites she's talking
>> about?
>>
>> She already gets seasick, and is trying to convince me I will, too. I've
>> never been seasick in my life, and got her seasick last night just by
>> talking about the boat going up and down, up and down, up and down. I
>> will admit it was kind off funny, but I just wanted to see how bad she
>> was.
>>
>> Anyway, what kind of horrors am I in for, or is she mostly full of it?
>> She was there 10 years ago.
>>
>> Thanks, and getting a new girlfriend is not an option, however I will
>> reexamine the situation after the trip.
>>
>> Sheldon

(snip)> > The diving off Ambergris Caye in Belize is wonderful. It takes
about a 10
> > minute ride on an outboard to get to the dive site. Back to the dock
for
> > a surface interval and out for the second dive.
>
> Sounds great, but my girlfriend won't go there. Claims it's too buggy
> there.

Where is she comparing it to? Also, the "bugginess" depends on a number of
factors and perhaps when she was there, all of the factors were in play.
I've been there many times, and have suffered a few times but usually when
it was a rainy time. When the weather has been pretty good and there's a
breeze blowing, sometimes I get almost no bites at all and as long as I
remember to keep my DEET applied, the buggy problem is minimal. Now, that's
in town. Up island and on the west side of the island, that's another story
all together.

My first couple of times there, I did think it was pretty buggy, but that
was before I went to Roatan . .now I know what "buggy" is. LOL. OK, having
said that, the same thing applies in Roatan to a degree, as it does in San
Pedro. Weather conditions, time of year, time of month, time of day,
location, etc. all dictate. If you go and stand on a wooden floor, over
sand near a bunch of washed up seaweed at sundown . .yer just asking for it.
;^)

> Personally, the idea of a 10 minute boat ride to get to a dive site
> sounds great. So does coming back to the dock for a rest between dives.

Yep, it's da bomb. I can't believe she's not going to let you give it a
try. Maybe you should extend your stay a bit, send her home early.

(snip)

See if Glover's Reef is still in operation. If so, book it. Nice little
island right off the Belize coast. Constant breeze means no bugs. Last
time I was there visibility was unlimited, and the diving was awesome.