By: Hev Nguyen

This is the third post in a series of four, detailing a recent trip to Belize.

On our third day in Placencia, Belize, we decided to take it easy. I was feeling a bit sick and the previous day was a great adventure, so some much needed rest and relaxation was due. After breakfast, we walked down to the Belize Ocean Club Resort. One of the tourists on our snorkeling trip had mentioned the hotel had a great pool area and as long as you purchased food or drinks from their bar, then you were welcomed to their pool. Although both our hotel and the Ocean Club are located right on the beach, we were told the pool was something to check out.

My husband and I walked along the beach going north for about 15 minutes to reach the Belize Ocean Club Resort. It is quite a sight compared to the smaller, more rustic hotels we had seen previously. Maya Beach is located along a very narrow peninsula in Southern Belize with their main street in the center of the land mass. The Belize Ocean Club is a large resort located on both the beach side and lagoon side.

Perfect day! #Belize #Placencia #placenciabeach #beachday #poolside #resortlife #bucketlist #paradise #adventure #telax

A post shared by Belize Ocean Club (@belizeoceanclub) on Sep 15, 2015 at 4:27pm PDT

We sat the bar pictured in the Belize Ocean Club’s Instagram post above. It was only 10:30 am, so the beach and pool area were mostly empty. We ordered drinks and chatted with several of the bartenders. Perhaps it is because they are in the hospitality industry, but everyone we encountered during our stay in Placencia was extremely welcoming and made us feel comfortable and at ease.

After enjoying our morning beverage, we decided to walk down to the closest store in Maya Beach. Our taxi driver pointed it out to us when we first arrived in Placencia. The store is located just south of our hotel, so we walked along the beach again. It was interesting to see the various hotels and vacation homes as we walked. Eventually, we moved to the roadside since we were not sure of the exact location of the store and it is not visible from the beach. This is where I messed up! I had been barefoot all day and the road is full of small rocks and burning hot asphalt. We were very close to the store though, so I suffered through it.

Our initial thought was to purchase some food since we had a full kitchen in our hotel room, but when we arrived at the store we changed our minds and just bought a bottle of wine, water and Belikins to bring back.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying small plates at the Maya Beach Bistro and hanging out at the beach of our hotel. After a restful day, we decided to book another excursion for the following day and sought the advice of the hotel front desk. We ended up booking a hike in the Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve. Stay tuned for this adventure and my final post for our trip to Belize.

Happy travels!

Check out my previous posts in this series:

• Belize, Day 2: Silk Cayes
• Belize, Day One