Saturday, May 31, 2008

A trip up north of the island

I have some friends staying with me for a couple of weeks so we took the dogs for a run up north of San Pedro a couple of days ago. We took a few pictures along the way thanks to the loan of Cindys camera as mine is out of action.

A quick stop for the dogs to run around, this is Molly Cindy's dog with Rebecca from England.

Not sure why that sign is there as not exactly a busy spot but hey it's Belize!!

All the dogs running around in Tres Cocos which is such a pretty place with all the flowers right now. Please don't ask what they are as I have no clue and hate to lie!!

I love this sign as it makes me smile each and every time I see it, even you non-dog lovers out there have to admit you don't see signs like this every day, quite unbelizeable!!

Friday, May 30, 2008

Tropical storm Alma

Well two weeks are never the same and this one has been no exception. After many weeks of fantastic weather the end of this week has changed quite dramatically. We had alot of rain last night which was well needed but unfortuneately it continued throughout most of today.

Now as alot of you know I am 100% British and am so used to the rain, however I am now very used to sunny days and after a couple of hours of downpour I want the rain to go away and come again another day! Thank you so much to Len and Marilyn Mussack our new members from a couple of weeks ago who sent a concerned email about the storm earlier today. Even the dogs don't like the rain as you can see, my pot lickers Jacki and Lisbon were even in hiding last night!
Jackie in hiding!!!
Lisbon in her own dug out hole!
Tag team digging to China!

Week 21 cocktail party


Sharon with all the goodies thanks to the Hulses from last week, M an Ms. peanuts and a couple of bottles of vino that are the prizes for our brain teasing quiz-not!!! You can even win a prize for the cheekiest answer of the night or know all your dwarfs and win the bonus prize!


Some of the happy team here at Rico's restaurant lead by Manwuel.


Ummm scrummy nibbles, never the same two weeks running, a bit like the rum punch!


Kappelmann senior here with some faithful divers and very good friends! Alot of fun to be around, and they had so much fun they added to their inventory for next year.
The beautifull Haydel family, repeat Vacation Club visitors for many years who love it so much they bought a condo in Grand Colony phase two. Nearly the whole family are divers now, certified at ten and eleven years of age! Puts the rest of us to shame!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The lovely Jacqueline

Hello there faithful blog followers, still photos to come from last week's antics but this is just a quickie! I thought those of you out there that deal with the lovely girls in the reservations office should actually see what they look like, therefore I have posted this photo of Jacqueline Richardson who deals with the Vacation Club bookings.
She was here a while ago and we went out on a sunset cruise for research purposes only, the beers and the rum punch are worth the trip as are the boat captains!!! We go out with Seaduced and it's for about 2-2.5hrs inside the reef to Caye Caulker and back for $50.00usd per person. A lovely relaxing evening and great way to end a fab day in San Pedro.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Wk 21, May 24th - 31st 2008

Good afternoon and wow what a week that was. We had so much fun with everyone this week and it just went by in a nanosecond. We had Shelbie Hulse's birthday last night to round off a perfect time. We went to the new fantastic restaurant appropriately named Hidden Treasure and so it is. We had all the Hulses, the Phillip family and myself so a table for 9 and they did us proud. Their martinis are divine and a must, I had a watermelon one, Shelbie a mango one and Racquel a lemon drop and let's just say we all had to try them again to check that they were really that good! We finished off a fab night with a surprise cake for Shelbie from Tabu that just melted in your mouth it was so good and an impromtu happy birthday from all the staff, who needs TGIF?
A sad farewell to all our guests this week especially our RCI vacation club members, the Hulses, the Phillips and the Strong families and a very warm welcome to this weeks visitors old and new.

Shelbie and Marcus Hulse, what a fab hubby arranging the surprise birthday with cake and balloons!!!! Ummm Cheers Boydie!
All the family
Ummm Lemon Drop, Watermelon and Mango Martinis-awesome!
How many candles????? Who's counting!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Another week flying by!

I hate to tell those people here right now that it is Thursday tomorrow as they are all in complete holiday mode and having a great time. I know we say it week after week but I seriously have to ask where the heck do the days go?
We have a really good crowd of people right now with one group celebrating someones 40th birthday, another having a reunion of friends for many years! Then on Saturday we have a wedding to celebrate, look out for the photos of that occasion. All busy busy for the staff at the resort wanting to make it a fantastic trip for all of them.
I want to take this chance to say hello to all of our Vacation Club members at Banyan Bay and Grand Colony and to let you know if you don't already that our new email address is vc@banyanbay.com. We look forward to having you back here and being able to blog what goes on in San Pedro. I fear that there will be alot of repeat photos of guests drinking on their balconies! More photos in a day or two thanks to the lovely Cindy, cheers for now.

Racquel Phillips
George Phillips
Nurse shark
Eagle Ray
Turtle

Week 20's cocktail party and then some!!!

Here goes another welcome cocktail party in Rico's for our RCI members and then those lucky invited few! Everyone rushes to try our rum punch which is never the same two weeks running!




Erik and some crazy gate crashers I think! Return guests to Belize for many years now.


Some more return guests bringing new ones and glamour to the resort.


Our winners for the quiz H2 and H5 this week, they knew their stuff and won a bottle of Merlot.



Wecolme back to father and daughter Racquel and George Phillips, new owners since last year and back again in six weeks with the rest of the family-lucky devils!


Plenty of rum punch to go around for those thirsty Brits that just arrived! Totally mad bunch of 40 people that drive their vintage cars from Panama to Alaska on this trip no less!

Very keen to take two days away from the cars and chill at Banyan Bay.


One happy Sharon with the best fairy cakes ever! Part of our Sunday brunch, 8.30am-2.00pm for just 25bz a head. A must for everyone after a hard week in the sun!!


Do you see happy people? They are everywhere, may be something to do with that punch!


Our very own Francisco, one of the chefs at Rico's keeping us all way too well fed!

Week 20 at Banyan Bay but week 2 of the blog!

Here are some pictures courtesy of Dennus Baum from Washington who was here with lots of his family during last week . Thanks Dennus, that underwater camera was really excellent - and the photographer did an OK job too.......did I win the cheeky prize?

Connor
Bradley
Turtle at Hol Chan
Snorkel guide at Hol Chan




Southern Stingray


Nassau Grouper
"Dances with Sharks" - Kevin Kostner is set to play the lead role of Divemaster


Cooking your catch at Rico's, in many different ways!


Is that against the pool rules? Ummm love is in the air this week!!


Sunday, May 18, 2008

May 17th-24th 2008

Good morning, here goes another week! Wow last week flew way too quickly for the people that were here and there were many sad faces on Saturday when it was time to leave! However some very happy ones with the new arrivals ready for a great time to be had!
Lets see who we have and what they get up to this week, bottle of wine goes to the quirkiest photo of the week!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Hello London!

Hello to old and new friends out there who will be following our Banyan Bay Belize blog from myself Sharon and all the team here at Banyan Bay. It will be a mix of work and pleasure to show you what is going on here in and around our lovely island San Pedro.
We've been threatening to do it for a while now and thanks to Cindy, our newest recruit to the vacation club here it is! She is the IT support and you will be pleased to know another Brit!!
Don't worry, we won't charge very much to ensure those photos of you behaving badly don't get posted!
So, here is our first posting in May 2008......




Lovely Anatoli and Sima - having fun with us on the sunset cruise



Kat and Brian, this week's honeymooners - just how much fun did we have together!


The lovely Miriam at front desk , who welcomes you all with a beautifull smile!!


Our very own male model - Erik


Sharon asking all you owners if you want anything in your rooms - she's looking pretty serious!




Stumpy - the 3 footed green iguana. Look for him by the pool, unmistakable with his back right foot missing


Magdalena at Rico's


Who wants Punch?
A warm hello from the staff at Rico's Bar & Grill The new dive shop is well on it's way to completion


Bob and Cheryl Sefkow, return owners for many years now and still playing Gin rummy!



Around the grounds
Lee at front desk, always working hard at keeping our guests happy.


Our friend near the lobby, has both back legs!!!


Standing on Grand Colony dock


Returning from Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley


Our newest vacation club members, Len and Marilyn back from a fantastic snorkel trip



Here's Connor, our youngest guest this week, keeping us all on our toes around the resort!!