Once a year, we like to plan an adventure to a far away land we’ve never visited. Costa Rica, the Amalfi Coast in Italy, Ireland and Vieques have been years past destinations and this year we decided on Belize. And my mom is coming with us!

It all started around Christmas, when we thought instead of presents we’d go on an adventure together. Who needs gifts when you can have an adventure!

The day started early (3:30 am to catch a 6 am out of Denver International) but we made it to the long term parking in quite enough time (unlike the trip we took to Vieques where we were extremely late, thanks to Mike, and had to park in short term, which was a small fortune!)

First to Houston (2 hours), then onto Belize! Our first leg of the journey took us deep into the jungle, southwest of Belize city, to an eco village, in which we had rented Casa Santa Maria. The manager Lucy got rave reviews for her cooking (breakfast was included in the stay but we purchased her chef skills for our dinners too). Beyond excitement best describes the vibe!

We landed on Belize soil, picked up the rental Jeep (so fun!) and we’re off! Sunsets at 6pm in Belize, so we were in a hurry to arrive before dark. Later we would realize how serious that warning to get to the Casa before dark really was! After about 2 1/2 hours (and some SKETCH directions) we pulled down a dirt road with armed guards….10 extremely bumpy miles later we pulled into the Better in Belize Eco village and wound our way down to Casa Santa Maria. We made it! Lucy came out to greet us and I had never been so happy to see a stranger!

Placing our suitcases in our respected rooms (Mike and I took the gorgeous master, with our own porch complete with a hammock!) and mom had the downstairs queen bedroom. The house smelled wonderful and I immediately appreciated the fact we opted for built in dinners!

Exhausted as we were, we marveled at the gorgeous structure we were going to call home for the next four nights. Nestled into the jungle, Casa Santa Maria didn’t seem to have disturbed the jungle surrounding, more gave you a front row seat to the show. The main decks view couldn’t have been more spectacular and with the little light that was left gave us quite a show. Giant date palm trees and lush greenery surrounded us and the cicadas whistled so loudly it sounded as though they were everywhere!

Coconut curry shrimp, mashed potatoes, salad with a homemade dressing and Belizean ice tea followed by a delicious brownie. Scrumptious doesn’t begin to describe it after a long day of travel, so we thanked her graciously before she left for the evening and headed to bed. The adventure was delicious already!