La Isla Bonita

San Pedro, Belize - If you didn't know already, you will learn within five minutes of arriving on Ambergris Caye that this is the tropical island paradise that Madonna sang about in her 1987 hit "La Isla Bonita".

Incidentally, that song contains one of my favorite cases of misheard song lyrics. My old friend (and one of my best food buddies) used to insist the words were "Last night I dreamt of some bagels..."

Love of bagels aside, we all know the real words are "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro." This little town is the only population center on Ambergris Caye, the largest of the Northern Cayes off the coast of Belize. It's almost 30 miles long, but only five miles wide at its widest point, and the entire northern end is a nature preserve. Besides being featured in Madonna's song, the island was also the setting for an early season of Temptation Island, possibly the worst reality television show ever. Still, that's a lot of good publicity for a little island.

To say that San Pedro is "bustling" is putting it kindly. More accurately, it is just plain loud. The main roads (all three of them) were paved within the last few years, and now golf carts and taxi vans whiz through the streets like the Grand Prix. There is construction everywhere - hotels, houses, condos - as everyone wants a piece of paradise.

We spent one night in town, but we couldn't take it. We had to retreat to fancier digs on a quiet beach south of town. Somehow, once we had a private dock to swim from, a hammock to swing in and a balcony to watch the sunrise, life on the Caye seemed much sweeter. Funny how one's perspective changes when there is free rum punch involved.

Despite our initial misgivings, Ambergris was a pretty sweet retreat, especially the near-deserted northern end of the island. Bacalar Chico is the national park and marine preserve that occupies this end. We motored through the Bacalar Canal, the narrow channel that separates Ambergris Caye from the Yucutan Peninsula. It was the Mayans who carved this channel out of the mangroves, so they could shorten the distance of their trading routes. Amazingly, thousands of years later, this channel - not more than 20 feet wide - is the reason Ambergris Caye belongs to Belize instead of Mexico.

We visited Cayo Iguanu, informally known as "Bird Island" as it is the nesting grounds for the roseate spoonbill, the reddish egret and the white morph egret. We snorkeled amidst the most colorful coral I have ever seen. Besides the myriad fish, we spotted a massively huge manatee (who weighs up to two tons, my guide informed me).

And truth be told, we sampled sweet red snapper, limey lobster ceviche, spicy chili-seared tilapia, succulent grilled shrimp... it was - undoubtedly - the most delectable dining in all of Belize. Even I had to admit that progress has an upside.