Belize April 19-26/28, 2008 Travel Plan Notes

To become part of this planning group you should join the private 2008belize Yahoo! Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/2008belize/ 
(which is the same as the older 2007 Costa Rica group, being modified for the new vacation).  Apply at the group page or send an e-mail to mike at mikebaird.com stating your name and e-mail address.

This trip is now firm for April 19-26, 2008 - sponsored by the Oceanic Society

Here is the latest message dated 5/22/07: (also posted at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/2008belize/ )

ACTION ITEMS BELOW:
Dear Belize 2008 travel partners - I just talked to our coordinator Marcy Englund at the Oceanic Society regarding our snorkel trip (see http://www.oceanic-society.org/pages/alltrips/trip4.html ) to Belize in April 2008.  I last talked to Marcy May 9, 2007.  She had immediately e-mailed me additional information but I missed receiving it.  We had as a group decided on April 12-19, 2008, which was available then, but has since been booked by another group.  I thus have reserved April 19-26, 2008 for our group.  We will need to firm up commitments and get applications and deposits in within three weeks or before June 15, 2007... sooner if possible.

Regarding travel and air  logistics  ... we are to arrive in Belize City on Saturday April 19, 2008 before 3 PM.  The group departs for the island at 4PM.
We will terminate the main part of the trip on Sat. April 26, 2008, and people returning home will schedule flights for anytime after NOON.
For those of us (Norma, Peter, Mike, Ron for sure) taking the optional Belize Ruins tour, we will be transported to Paradise Resort on that Sat. April 26, 2008, and return to the airport by Noon Monday April 28, 2008. <= note an earlier error said 29th sorry!

A $400 deposit is required now, then another $400 five months before the trip (November 19, 2007) , then the balance due three months before the trip (January 2008).  If we can assemble 10 participants we will then each receive a $100 reduction in costs.  Ten is the maximum size of the snorkeling group.  If we get 10 people then for sure no other parties will be assigned to the 6 cabanas available (4 doubles, 2 w/ 2 single rooms).

So, those of us going should make a firm commitment to the group for the stated date April 19-26, 2008 (and if applicable, the optional Belize Ruin trip April 26-28, 2008).  We will then  fill out the applications, and get our deposits in.  We can then invite other compatible associates to complete the group.

11/06/07 Here are the latest commitments (we have 8 of the 10 slots filled now)
* N & P OK
* M & R OK
* K & D OK
* J & J  OK

Recently invited:
 NOTE group size limit of 10!

 11/9/07 update
THERE ARE TWO OPEN SLOTS
Members of the trip - please consider inviting compatible friends

Attached are three Word documents describing the trip:
* Blackbird Caye & Lighthouse Reef Snorkeling & Coral Reef Ecology (13 pages)
* Mayan Ruins and Paradise Resort optional tour April 26-28, 2007 (Marcie is checking to be sure there are accommodations available for us on this date)
* Application form ( 3 pages)

I have also posted these documents below in both Word and .pdf formats for your convenience -
Yahoo! Groups will probably pass these attachments to you in this message but will not archive attachments on  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/2008belize/   

6/5/07 Clarification on accommodations:  Marcy says "We have 6 cabanas.  4 are doubles (with 2 double beds) and 2 are singles (with 2 rooms with 1 bed in each cabana) so we hold 12 persons total. The snorkel trip will be full with 10 persons (but we could take 2 more persons on a coral reef research program or a dolphin program). I will try and NOT fill the other 2 spots on another program so your group will have the field station to yourselves."

Mike Baird  mike at mikebaird dot com  (805) 704-2064
Our Belize 2008 planning page is  http://mikebaird.com/belize2008/
Our Belize 2008 Yahoo! Group is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/2008belize/ 
To send a message to all potential tour attendees e-mail 2008belize@yahoogroups.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Marcy Englund [mailto:menglund@oceanic-society.org]
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 10:47 AM
To: Baird, Michael
Subject: Belize Snorkel 2008/ ignorefilters

Dear Mike, Thank you for your interest in our Belize Snorkel program for your group.  I have enclosed, as an attachment, our Detailed Trip Description along with our Terms & Conditions for booking and an Application form.  The dates available in April of 2008 would be April 19-26 or April 26 -May 3.  (April 12-19 is already full with a
group.)  We can offer a discount for your group of 10 or more persons.  The discount would be a $100 deduction per person.  Regarding kayaks, there is a dive resort that is a 10 minute walk from our field station that may have kayaks available for rent.  We can check on that when you know which date you would like to come.  Again, thank you for your interest.  If I can be of additional assistance, please let me know.  Sincerely, Marcy Englund

ACTION ITEM
Download and complete these forms:
* Application (3 pages)   Word format     .pdf format
* Blackbird snorkel trip (13 pages)    Word format     .pdf format
* Belize Ruin extension (1 page)   Word format     .pdf format

Background on Belize from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belize  this is a very good introduction with history, politics, culture, map, etc.

Recommended Books on Belize from Amazon.com

Climate and time of visit:
Subtropical, with prevailing north-easterly Trade winds from the sea. Temperatures range from 60 degrees Farenheit (16 Celsius) to 95 degrees Farenheit (32 celsius). Belize is marked by a wet season from June to November and a dry season from December to May. Northern Belize which may receive as little as 50 inches of rainfall is considerably drier than the far south, which can receive upwards of 180 inches of rainfall annually. There is also a distinct hurricane season that generally starts in late June and continues into early November.

The current thinking is in flux, please see the 2008belize Yahoo! Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/2008belize/  posts for the latest information.

The archives hold earlier notes that are now obsolete.