I don't know if it'll get cold at night. What if I get caught in the rain? How bad are the mosquitoes? I was full of questions that affected my packing. In the end, I got all my clothes, snacks, and miscellaneous other things into one bag, and my snorkel, fins, and wet suit into another. It was still too much, but I didn't know what else I could do without.

I left in the morning. I kissed my loving wife goodbye at the airport and stepped inside bound for Central America. "Where are you off to today?" asked the counter person. "Belize City" was my reply. Without batting an eyelash, she punched some buttons on her terminal, printed out my e-ticket and baggage claim tickets and checked me onto my flight to Houston-the first leg of my trip to Belize.

I arrived in Houston with about an hour before my flight to Belize City. I spent most of that time trying to find and mail a postcard to my wife. I figured it'd be some time before I was able to give her a call, and the postcard arriving in the middle of the week would make for a nice surprise.

The other nice surprise was meeting Debbie in Houston. She had just flown in from Toronto and would be one of my companions for the next 2 weeks. Debbie, named for Debbie Boone, is a legal assistant. We'd been communicating by e-mail for a few weeks, hoping to meet up with each other before we arrived in Belize. True to her word, I found her by the Canadian flag on her shirt and bag.       -- More --