Belize Barefoot Luxury At Naia Spa And Resort

In a plane made in Brazil, used by an American airline, weaving between grey rain showers, with vivid greenery beneath patches of blue sky, we touch down in Philip S.W. Goldson International airport....

- Andrew Innerarity

Popping gave away our descent to Belize City, and wanting to maximize my time at Naia Resort and Spa, as the pilots ran through their cockpit checklist, I ran through my vacation checklist.

In a plane made in Brazil, used by an American airline, weaving between grey rain showers, with vivid greenery beneath patches of blue sky, we touch down in Philip S.W. Goldson International airport.

With customs forms already filled out and double checked (I hate leaving information then being told by the official, step to the side to fix your error) I am ready to spring from seat 4F and be the 12th person through the airplane door. I cruise through Customs and Immigration, and while walking to the commuter side of the airport for my connector flight to the final destination, I don’t realize a T-Shirt’s one liner “You’d Better BELIZE it!” would be a theme for my stay in the country.

Tropic Air handles much of the local flying and take off pretty much hourly to the resort area of Placencia, and it is at their departure gate where I get the first lesson in how to relax in a seriously laidback country from the gate agent at Tropic Air. Checking the departure board at about 3:45 I notice that my 4 PM flight isn’t listed, and when queried, the agent assured me in a manner that was as casual as it was confident, that just because the flight wasn’t listed, it doesn’t mean it’s not going. As it happened, I couldn’t Belize it when at 3:55 my fellow passengers and I are ushered on board the commuter plane, and airborne right on time, about fifteen seconds after we buckled up.