We love to hear from you, our readers, when you have a Tropical, Trop Rockin’ or Parrot Head Event you attend!
Pam Hausle gives a complete run down on the inaugural Belize Parrot Head Club Event…….
First reaction when we landed in Placencia, was wow it’s hot. You forget how close to the equator you really are. Only had to wait about 15 min for the hotel shuttle…then 20 minute ride to the Belize Ocean Club resort. The first thing I noticed about the host hotel was how well the grounds were kept, very inviting. We never had to touch our bags from the time we got on the shuttle to the time we got into our room.
The hotel welcomed us with a rum punch which was quite tasty and refreshing. Checking in was a breeze and each person checking in received a reusable water bottle. The water is not safe to drink, so they put a 5 gallon water container in your room. They are very environmentally conscious with limited availability to plastic items like cups or straws.
The lobby was open and airy with a restaurant and bar. The view from there was the lagoon side of the hotel and you could see mountains in the distance. Had dinner in the restaurant and it was delicious.
To get to our room, we had to cross the road. It was a pretty walk to the room; lots of plants and bright flowers. The room was the biggest surprise; it was more like a condo then a hotel room. We had a full kitchen with granite counter tops, large living/dining area and the bedroom, with a king size bed and bath off to the side. Off the living room area through French doors was our patio with chairs.
What a view! Just steps from the beach and close to the pool and pool bar. Each morning, a Basilisk lizard would come by to say hi. On our final morning, a humming bird came by drawn by the hibiscus plants.
Thursday started the Belize Parrot Head Club Beach Bash weekend. Attendees could either stay at the hotel or enjoy an excursion. The Parrot Head Club of Belize set up an excursion to Ranguana Caye to go snorkeling, have lunch and listen to Bill Cockrell and John Beck.
Ranguana is about 12 miles from Placencia by boat. The island was beautiful! Turquoise blue water and clear for snorkeling. There is nothing like snorkeling to music! We saw a 3-4 ft diameter beautiful Caribbean Stingray, which is rare for Belize, there were Rainbow Parrot Fish, Angel Fish and many others. We were swimming with almost translucent white jelly fish that are called Sea Walnuts, they don’t sting. Near the shore, there were starfish and conch.
They treated us to refreshing drinks and a grilled chicken dinner with rice and beans and watermelon for dessert. Just like the hotel, they do not use plastic; real plates and silverware. Sunny Jim White and Kelly McGuire entertained us as well as Bill and John. They have 6 cottages on the island that you can rent.
On the way back to the hotel, we were treated to a “show” by a pod of dolphins. The boat that we rode on was called the Ranguana. Whitey (Belize PHC Prez) told me the boat was originally a 40’ Colombian custom drug boat named Primal Scream equipped with twin Yamaha 2 stroke engines. The story goes that the boat was loaded with bricks of coke and 55 gal drums of gas and was beached north of the hotel.
By the time the authorities arrived, the only thing left on the boat was one open brick of coke. Whitey got possession of the boat and renamed it. He managed Ranguana for several years. There is a sign in the bar area that says “Edge of Paradise.” I looked at the sign as Kelly was singing “I don’t want to leave, I don’t want to go home.” Everyone kept saying these words over and over.
Thursday evening, we were entertained by Belizian colorfully dress musicians. By this time, most of the attendees have arrived. There were 10+ clubs represented. A funny/strange thing happened to me on Thursday, I came face to face with a member of the Virtual PHC that looked like me! We had lots of fun all weekend. People thought we were sisters.
Friday greeted us with another day of sunshine and music. It started with John Beck on his steel pans and then later joined by Bill Cockrell. In the afternoon, the Tres Amigos (Sunny Jim, Kelly McGuire & Mark Mulligan) were on stage with Bill & John joining them.
Attendees were able to listen to the music from the pool, pool bar or the sand. In the evening, all the musicians were on stage doing a jam session. They were throwing out songs like Pink Floyd. Crowd had a blast watching and listening to them.
A shout out to LandShark Beer, they provided the club with many, many cases of beer that the club could sell and keep all the proceeds. Shout out to Belize Ocean Club for letting them sell the beer. The club also raffled off several items.
Once again, we woke to a beautiful day on Saturday with the same schedule as Friday. On Saturday night, they had an auction for a very old Kelly McGuire album (vinyl) and autographed picture.
My “sister” Kimmy donated the album for the auction and we schemed to bid against each other. When I bid $400, I thought my husband Rich was going to pass out. He didn’t know about the plan. She won the auction and bought her album back. The musicians also signed the event banner and it too was auctioned off.
The farewell brunch was on Sunday at The Flying Pig. What an interesting place; Lots of sports memorabilia and shirts from many different sports teams. We made our own bloody mary’s and enjoyed a large breakfast.
After breakfast, several of us went into the town. Very narrow streets lined with houses and little stores along with bars/restaurants. We did a little walk around and found pretty flowers and lots of brightly colored buildings.
Then we made our way to the Tipsy Tuna to see Bill and John. The Tipsy Tuna welcomed us with a free local rum drink. It is an open air bar with bright colors right on the ocean. Staff was friendly and welcoming; lots of fun watching Bill and John on stage.
Overall, the Belize Parrot Head Club did a good job considering they are barely 1 year old. The officers and members worked hard to make sure everyone had fun. The Belize Ocean Club was probably the nicest place we have ever stayed. Grounds, staff, food, drinks, welcoming pool area and killer view made the stay a pleasure. I really did feel like I was at the Edge of Paradise.
Will I attend it again? Absolutely!
Tips:
- If you plan to go to Belize and are planning to do any water sports, get a light weight shirt like the Reel Legends shirts. They work wonderful. I only wish that I had gotten the leggings as my thighs fried while I was snorkeling. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen – the sun is very strong.
- Belize has lots of mosquitoes that come out for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. The hotel has cans of repellent all over the place; use it!
- Download on your phone Mobile Passport. It makes coming back into the country a lot easier when it comes to immigration and customs. Right now it can only be used at a few airports; it’s free.
- Belize is a poor county, so if you go, spend a little extra money. Exchange is 2 US dollars equals 1 Belizian dollar. Most places take credit cards, many don’t; make sure you have cash.