Of sand bars, secret beaches and soccer — life in Belize gets no better than this

Have a seat: The Sandbar offers a variety of seating, from semi-dry sand to 5 inches of warm and soothing saltwater. Beverages are optional.

Sometimes all it takes is a boat full of friends, a spit of sand and a glorious day in Belize to make you feel all is right in the universe.

Adam and Jackie Feldman of Casa Picasso restaurant wanted to have a special welcome for their longtime friend and fellow restaurateur Hasni Ghazali. What better way to offer up a taste of the island than a daytrip with good friends to the backside and our favorite spot in all of Ambergris Caye — The Sandbar?

The Sandbar is just that: a spit of sand on the south side of a very small island just off the “back side” of Ambergris Caye.

An advance party checks out the location and finds it …. just perfect.

Marcos and Karen Zul of Creative Tours provided the C-Monkey and the rest of us brought the food and drinks, including lobster, ribs, lettuce wraps, delicious salads and lobster cornbread for an on-the-beach feast later in the afternoon. After all, Casa Picasso’s tagline is “Where the fabulous dine artfully.”

Marcos and his captain, Eddie, maneuvered the C-Monkey on to the shallows of the spit and within minutes, our party was firmly entrenched in several inches of warm water carrying on a heavy discussion about cable, WiFi and Apple TV and the various benefits of each. Even a passing shower wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits and camaraderie.

On the western horizon we could glimpse the very tops of the vegetation on Blackador Caye — soon to be “rescued” by Leo DiCaprio and his investors and transformed into a high-end resort. (I’m still sorting through the “rescue.” Let’s just say that his PR staff earned its money on this one.)

With a rare Sunday off, Trevor Del Valle, manager of Lola’s Pub — his smile speaks for us all.

We moved on to a nearly deserted beach — one of the actual sweeping white-sand beaches that stories on Ambergris Caye so frequently talk about but visitors rarely see. Tourist tip: They are on the remote and inaccessible back side of the island. You need is a boat to reach them.

I am sworn to secrecy on the location of this particular one, but there are many on that side of the island and they do stretch for miles. There is even the popular “Secret Beach” which you can reach by golf cart.

Landing at the Sandbar.

Around 5 p.m. we headed back to San Pedro and reached the Carlo and Ernie’s Runway sports bar in plenty of time to watch the U.S. Women’s team crush Japan for the World Cup football trophy.

A great ending to a great day.

Jeff Fuller, chef at Casa Picasso, holds up the port side of the C-Monkey.

Thank you Jackie and Adam Feldman for organizing the day and Marcos and Karen Zul and the C- Monkey for making it possible. — with Rose Alcantara, Trevor Del Valle, Steve Blair, Marie Carroll Rigby, Sue Blair, Rebecca Coutant, Scott Barkhouse, Susan Traverse Barkhouse, Jeff Fuller,Adam Feldman, Jacqueline Musante Feldman and Hasni Ghazali at San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye.

Now, what was that magical salve for a really bad sunburn, again?

This boat is called “Cool.” It was tied up in San Pedro with a broken prop, busted coming in from Guatemala through the reef channel. Not cool? Saw it while we were gassing up for the day.

Eventually good friends fiend theri way into a circle — as we did. As Trevor is fond of pointing out, the circle is the most universally recognized shape — and the symbol of friendship.

Yes, THE sand bar …. doesn’t hqave to be big to be fun!

Master chefs: Jeff Fuller and Hasni Ghazali.

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