Like many of our vacation destinations, Placencia has been a mixed experience and we are on the fence about whether coming back at a different time of the year would be better. It’s very quiet and laid back. The location is beautiful. Sunday, Bill had a pretty big gash in his foot because he has bad sandals, so we didn’t schedule any activities. I went for a walk in the morning, took a shuttle to town for lunch and booked a snorkel trip, then late in the afternoon, I went for a lovely walk on the beach. I got rained on while I was out for the walk, so I decided to swim in my clothes since I was already wet. I floated in the ocean while the sun was setting and there was a partial rainbow. It was lovely, and overall, it was a very pleasant day. I ate at Omars again and got more blackened fish. They really have delicious seafood. I would like to try their blackened shrimp before I leave.
Yesterday, we did a snorkel trip. It was okay. The weather has not been great for water activities. It’s windy all the time and the water is choppy and not super clear. We had an hour boat ride out on really choppy water, then some rough swimming during our snorkel trip. I also don’t love guided snorkel trips. We were in a pretty big group and a lot of people were not good swimmers. It’s hard to see much that way and it’s a good way to get smacked in the face with someone’s fin. The tour gave us a pretty good lunch on the tiny island where we snorkeled, then we docked beside a fishing boat where sharks, rays, and turtles come because they get fed the remains of fish. One the one hand, it’s a great way to see sea creatures up close. There were three big spotted eagle rays, which I love to watch! They are beautiful! Two of the biggest sea turtles I’ve ever seen, several small sharks, and a variety of other stingrays. That said, it’s not exactly natural to have those animals clustered together eating fishing leftovers. The rays are also really accustomed to humans so they swim close. They aren’t aggressive, but there were a lot of people in the group clumped in a small area. Many of them swim badly with a life vest and don’t pay attention to what’s under them. The rays don’t have a reason to sting anyone on purpose, but if you accidentally swiped one with your leg, that would be a painful accident and it’s an hour boat ride back to town.
Last night, after our snorkel adventure, I was craving dessert but our hotel does not have good dessert. So, I left Bill to make our spaghetti while I went to a neighboring resort to get some of their dessert. I seemed like a good plan, but the other hotel only had chocolate soufflé and crème brûlée, both of which I like, but the soufflé takes 20 minutes to make and comes with ice cream. It took forever to get everything and I had a 10 minute walk back with potentially melting ice cream. Half way back to the apartment, the restaurant called to tell me that I left the crime brûlée. I thought they had put everything in the same bag, so I had taken the bag they gave me and left but the crème brûlée was separate so I had to go back to get it. It was a very complicated excursion to get fairly simple dessert. I really just wanted a brownie or piece of chocolate cake. There is a chocolate shop in town that I want to visit, probably tomorrow when I go in for lunch. There’s a bakery down the street a little ways. Overall, I’m not impressed with their food, but they do have decent chocolate cup cakes so I may walk there in a few minutes to see if I can get some.
This is not our most exciting vacation, but it’s a very pleasant location. It’s a great place to read books and enjoy being outside. I understand why people retire here.
Traveling with Emily! 