Punta Gorda, BELIZE: June 2012

Last weekend, we had an overnight staff retreat in Placencia, which is on the coast of Southern Belize. It was a two-hour drive south from the clinic here in Punta Gorda. Last Friday, the entire Belizean staff and I packed into two mobiles. The mobiles we have here at the clinic are usually used to travel to various villages to provide medical care. This time the mobiles were taking a different route! We arrived in Placencia and relaxed a bit before dinner. A few of us took a walk down the beach. At dinner, we all welcomed the two physicians from the U.S. who will be the new directors here at Hillside. They will be taking the place of Dan and Maria. Dan and Maria have been working as FNP with Hillside for three years now. They are now ready to hand things over to Dr. Bill and Dr. Angelia. I will be working closely with both of them. I am always asking questions and like to discuss my patients so they will be getting to know me really well soon!

In Placencia, it happened to be the weekend of Lobsterfest. Placencia Lobsterfest is held the last full weekend in June every year. The festival lasts three days which celebrates the opening of lobster season. During Lobsterfest, restaurants will have lots of tasty lobster dishes from which to choose, musical entertainment, fishing tournaments, games, and local artwork for sale. We followed the loud music and hung out for a bit wandering around and looking at the various arts and crafts for sale. Most of us went to bed early because we had to wake up early for our snorkel trip!

Our snorkel boat was amazing! I enjoyed the two-hour boat ride until we reached an island called Salt Water Caye. It was a beautiful island. The water was so clear. I have snorkeled many times but snorkeling in Belize was one of my favorite times. Some things I saw were an octopus, a scorpion fish (you should search it on Google), and stingray. After snorkeling, we ate lunch then I headed toward to hammock. I watched some of the staff members played volleyball while I ate a coconut in the shade.

Overall, the staff retreat was a blast. It was fun to spend time with my coworkers. Placencia is a great getaway. The beach is so peaceful and there are so many hotels from which to choose, which are RIGHT on the beach. This staff retreat was one of a kind!