[Roar for the Anarchy Island!]
Once again folks, this is again going to be one hell of a long post with even more pictures than before so be prepared!
Nevertheless, we took the opportunity to look around what the hotel has to offer.
[Our little porch verandah]
[We were fortunate enough to get the chalet right in front of the pool]
[Our deep pool and wading pool]
One thing that I feel the organizers got it right was to decide to have our activities to start only at 1pm every day which means that by that time, everyone would be awake and for those who are up early would be able to do whatever they want until then. With that in mind, I took some time to work out for about a couple of hours (training never stops!) and did my swim cardio instead of my runs. Ave joined in later in the pool to do her bit of swimming as well so that worked out perfectly for us!
After that, off we went for our hearty breakfast!
[We have our meals here!]
[Selection of food wasn't much but was good enough for me to munch!]
[Cornflakes + Toast = Breakfast for champions!]
So as we lazed about on the porch side of the restaurant with the rest who are up, we talked on what we were about to expect to do for the day. David and I were busy chatting on what we heard to expect from our activities for the day as well as something rather big planned for the night but at the moment we were still pretty much guessing what was going to happen.
Soon enough we were joined by the Axe officials and they pretty much briefed us on what was happening.
[Three activities organized for us!]
[Photo courtesy of Fay. Do check out her write up on the trip HERE]
When we arrived here in the island, we were told to sign up for one of three activities they have prepared for us. All three activities will be done simultaneously so we would have to choose which of them that we would really like to do. Fortunately for this blog, the Malaysian team were separated into all three of the activities, Shen Thuu doing the River Tubing activity, David and Fay we Zip Lining, while the two of us were all set and geared for snorkeling. This was going to be a fun day!
Then again we were not up for the activities til after lunch so I decided to laze about and later on, enjoy lunch! Unfortunately for us, as the morning went by the weather didn't really held up well for us as it started to pour again which was a huge bummer for us. Curse this tropical weather...
[Uh oh, dark clouds coming...]
[After a day of not doing anything, we had lunch!]
Interestingly enough we had a largest group that was going for the snorkeling so we were the first to assemble for our departure. We were held up a little bit since that my stomach decided to play up right before we left so I had to run back to the hotel room to sort out my business...
Together with the resort, they also own the shipping cruise that actually takes us about an hour and half to the open sea to get to our snorkeling destination, somewhat similar to how we do it here in Malaysia. This was slightly worrying because of the open sea, Ave does have the tendency to get seasick quite easily from rides like this.
However we were very prepared for this eventuality especially from our trip to Gold Coast so we took our necessary medications for this. A few safety briefing from the ship's crew and we were off to the sea!
[This was going to be our ship for the trip!]
[The very large banana that you see on the side is actually our 6'9" security who was using a raincoat which is obviously too small for him!]
[Leaving the resort!]
As we set sail to the open sea, the weather was still not holding up well for us which is a bummer because that would mean that we would not be able to get a clear water snorkeling session as we hope for but we were not going to let that stop us. I took the opportunity to climb on the deck of the ship to get a better view of where we were going.
What seem liked an endless journey on the open sea, we did make up for with chit chatting with the people on board and of course some picture time!
[People chillaxing while enjoying the ride]
[the rest managed to squeeze in a group photo while we were making our way there]
As we approached the one hour mark, the boat started to slow down and we were approaching the shores of another private island that was pretty much deserted except for the a few structures there for emergencies. We were told that we are going to anchor here and this would be the place where most of the coral and fishes can be seen without being too deep in the water. The depth of the water itself was roughly around 12 feet which means with the clarity of the water we could actually see all the way down!
[The little private island we were going to swim around in]
Once again we were given a little briefing with how we are going to work this. Basically we were expected to see a lot of the small fishes swimming around as well as a great deal of jelly fishes as well floating around us so we were told to be careful. Our group was then divided into 3 main groups, the non swimmers who were going to be using the floats, English speaking swimmers and Spanish speaking swimmers. All of us were designated with our guides for the groups, suited up and we were off!
[We were told to use flippers which I really had a hard time getting used to]
[The non swimmers were the first to jump off]
[The boys could still pull out a gangsta pose with the snorkels!]
[Boat jump off = SUCCESS!]
As I jumped off the boat into the sea, the water was thankfully warmer than I thought which means that I would be able to escape any possibility of cramps. The only problem I was having was swimming with the damned flippers which really was giving me a hard time. Then again I managed to use it to float myself and basically paddled around using my arms.
Ave however was having a horrid time as everything went absolutely wrong for her. Firstly the minute she jumped into the water, the floatation device that she was using started to leak which led to a brief panic moment on her end. Then her snorkels would not tighten no matter how she tried so she kept having water coming up her nose constantly. And of course, the flippers which was also giving her problems.
Thankfully the guide manage to get her to cling on the float indicator that they usually put on top of the water surface for people to know that we were in the water and so she still managed to check out what was going as well. I in the mean time got used to the water and was busy checking out the tiny fishes that was moving around me.
Unfortunately no pictures were taken from my side during this time because I did not have a water proof camera with me. I saw some who were happily snapping away with their GoPro camera underwater. Suddenly thought I should invest on one too in the future...
Interesting story about this fish which was the Lionfish (Pterois) is the only fish in Belize that is allowed to be speared on sight by the government. A predator aquarium fish by nature, we were told that this fish was unintentionally introduced in the Caribbean water in the early 90's and because there are no natural predators to control them, their population bloomed over the years and started to disrupt the balance of the rest of the fishes in the area. So in order to control its population, divers and fishermen were instructed to spear the fish on sight because of the venomous and dangerous spikes it has on its body.
[Closer look at the fish]
It was a shame because in the water, it really a gorgeous looking fish that floats with its spines out. Real beauty. So we gutted the fish open, threw it back in the water for the other fishes to eat on and then, it was time for lunch!
[Yummy sandwiches prepared by the ship crew]
As we were happily splashing around in the sea, it was a different experience for both Fay and David as they head over to one of the dense Belizian forest parks for a really thrilling ride. Both of them signed up for Zip-Lining, which is basically you blitzing through the forest in high speed while being attached to a rope that is tied from one to another.
[Axe Anarchy Zip Line Crew!]
As they left the hotel, they were heading to the Mayflower Bocawina National Park which is home to the longest canopy zipline in the country. 8 different zip lines were used that spans to a total of 2,300 feet in distance and basically hangs on trees that is about 500 feet off the ground! So you can pretty much imagine the speed that you can get sliding at the kind of distance.
This was an activity not for the faint hearted!
[The guys setting up to launch from one of the platforms]
[David zip lining his way through the forest laika baus]
Check out Fay's video of jumping off the platform. And yup, she hasn't stop screaming yet. :D
One of the most interesting thing about this zipline activity is that you can not only enjoy the speed of the ride itself but also at the same time you get to enjoy a great deal of the flora and fauna of Belize while you are there. Imagine while you are whizzing by the trees you would be hearing a lot of the birds and insects buzzing around you in the forest. Thats as close as you can get from either being Tarzan or George of the Jungle. Bliss!
[the crew were seriously enjoying the ride a lot!]
While the rest of us were doing activities with a little bit of extreme value to it, Shen Thuu decided to take a much milder activity, although he did have to do more work then us in order to get to his activity. He joined in with the Thai boys to a session of River Tubing, which basically puts you on a tube that generally floats on a river that brings you around for a tour of the jungle via the river.
[Jungle trekking with the tube]
Each of the people there were given a tube and they had to carry that tube through a 20 minute hike into the woods to reach the river itself. The funny part was before they went, I was basically scaring and laughing at Shen Thuu and the Thai boys because most of them are city folks and are not used to outdoor activities like this. So I started telling them to be careful of blood sucking insects, leeches and worst of them all, insects that live in the river and climb up your "Pichu" if you pee in the river.
Shen Thuu spend most of his time walking while looking downwards for those things the whole time.
[Apparently they even found a carcass of a dead deer while hiking]
[They also had security. Who was on a leopard. That was too small for him. Badass.]
[Crew reaching their launching point]
Once they reached the river, they then place themselves inside their respective tube and basically let the river take them to their destination. In the end, it was actually an extremely relaxing journey bobbling through the interior of the jungle from the safety of the river. Of course my stories were still haunting the boys so there were still extremely cautious of anything popping around them.
[Everyone else had quite a standard way of sitting on the raft...]
[...however Michael had a different idea. I guess no one told him about the Pichu climbing insect]
As the day went by, we all had an extreme adventure of fun filled for the entire day and as we returned to the resort, we were so poofed from all the activities that most of us just basically crashed for a quick nap the minute we reached the bed. Ave and I didn't even make it to the room as we basically passed out inside the boat itself to the point I didn't even realized that we were already in the hotel.
As night fall, we were told to gather again at the hotel dining area for a bit of a feast to sooth our tired bodies. The Axe girls did not join us for our activities unfortunately but somehow when we had dinner that night, all of them were dressed to kill in their bikinis. Something suss...
[Sugary Axe cake!]
We all had something to eat which was normal but once we were done, we were then told to quickly assemble for a group photo and the "surprise" for the night. We obliged quickly.
We were all so busy posing for the group picture that halfway through, we didn't even realized the two lighted aliens posing the picture with us!
Of course when we realized them being there, they starting to escort people and get us to follow them to the pool area in front of our room. It was then we realized what they had plan for us which is...
AXE ANARCHY POOL PARTY!
this is the part where I would shut up and you guys would enjoy the pictures! :D
[Following the alien]
[To which the proceeded to dance their way to the party!]
At first of course, people were a little shy to jump around and start dancing so it was pretty much people standing around in a circle cheering. This is where the dancing aliens took control of the situation.
[Mind my face in the end. I was too excited!]
[Dancing aliens in a pool party. Simply genius!]
[We were still quite reserved with our party mode]
[Took some photo op with the people there!]
[Another photo op with the ladies!]
[Ave with the super hot Nicole who have been extremely friendly with us since day 1!]
As the night progress, everyone started to warm up to the idea of partying and dancing the night away. Our designated DJ for the night, Freddy, was seriously rocking tunes not only from the present but also from the past which was friggin awesome!
But it was not enough. So the Axe Girls took action!
[Water guns were brought out!]
I realized that this party was about to get wet so immediately I ran back and changed to some swimming clothes and kept my camera. The Axe girls also had the same idea, stripping down to their bikinis for this pool party. I'll shut up now.
[Ave and David partying the night away!]
[Them aliens were with us the whole night!]
[Ave and Victoria dressed for the night. More on her in a minute]
[I don't know how but all of a sudden we were doing the "To Di World" pose]
[I think I lost count how many times I got dunked in the pool by this point]
[Even the aliens decided to battle it out! Awesome!]
[Of course I had to add this picture. :D]
This is Anil and Victoria, who Ave and I got really close with during the trip. We were the few couples that were at the event itself so a lot of people would expect us to be a little bit mellow with our party mode. Especially for these two who just got married 4 days before the trip.
Boy we were wrong.
They were dancing and grinding harder than anyone else at that party, putting to shame even to rest of us dancing in the party. Lesson learn, do not underestimate married couples. :)
For those who were there, almost everyone knew about how I won the competition to get here, including the "infamous" video that I created featuring the ever crazy Gangnam Style song. For most of the time, I would just dismiss that issue and put it in the back of my head.
Until of course Freddy decided to play Gangnam Style during the party. -.-'
Everyone started to pull me in the middle of the group and told me to start dancing. I was so disorientated of what the heck was going on but everything went so fast. The next thing you know, I was doing the horsey dance with everyone else following suit behind me!
[Me leading the Gangnam charge!]
[...the boys were doing the dance...]
[...even Shen Thuu was teaching the Axe girls how to do the dance!]
[Me with the crazy Brits!]
[We even had an impromptu limbo competition going on!]
As the boys we rocking as hard as we could dancing and enjoying ourselves, I realized that the girls there did not want to get themselves outplayed and stepped up their game. Even the Axe Girls were going nuts as well and the party went crazy because of that!
[I have no idea how he manage to pull this face in the midst of the craziness...]
[DJ Tony Toni is in the house and he is loving it!]
[Shen Thuu was smiling so much that night I was convinced he was going to be the next Joker!]
[Santiago was truly enjoying his company for the night. I don't blame him. :D]
[I was set to make sure that these boys were going to have fun tonight. Mission accomplished me thinks...]
So as the night faded away, not a single person in that party would disagree that this was one of the greatest party we had in our lives so far and we really did enjoy ourselves. The very fact that everyone was really being themselves and there was not even a single problem that happened throughout the night despite all the craziness truly made everything exceptionally great.
And as the party subsided, we went back to bed to rest and we were told before leaving that its going to be another big day out tomorrow and something planned for the night as well. I doubt they can top this one to be honest...
[Anarchy has been served that night and it was awesome!]
See you on Wednesday! :)