Recap of June Weather in Belize and 3 Celebrations

Slow season is upon us once again although it was not feeling so slow for a while due to my involvement with the Red Cross’ 3 back to back volunteer vacation groups. Which explains my absence of late, for some much needed R&R. Hosting the groups was fun but it wore me out. 🙂 That, and I broke my baby toe at the opening night of the lobster festival and have been in recuperation mode while it heals.

Off-Season Travel

When thinking about Belize travel during the summer months, many people worry about Hurricanes; but by the numbers, there isn’t much to be concerned about.  Belize is very low in the typical hurricane path and thus avoids effects from the majority of storms. Over the past 85 years, Belize has only seen 16 Hurricanes (only 8 were ‘major’ storms), and 17 tropical storms.  Yes, storms can happen, and things can go from calm and perfect to “oh boy that’s bad.” For that reason, travel insurance is always a great idea, but thankfully very rarely used. Okay, I still hear many people sighing…” oh but I look at the forecast and see that gray rain cloud over every day” and you just want some sun. Here is a good example of that – Current Weather in Ambergris Caye (which should be ON Ambergris Caye) on TripAdvisor Belize Forum. When we experience rain storms they are more common in the afternoons, and even then usually very slight and spotty. While your weather app might be showing a few days of 85% rain, the reality it will most likely be a spritz of rain, back to sunny followed by overcast and more short scattered showers. Don’t let that little gray cloud man scare you – chances are he won’t be around near as much as the radar might show.

Recap of June Weather in Belize

Some days I look out over the calm water and flat surf, feel the sun warm on my skin and think “why in the world is this slow season?” Hurricanes and rainy season right?! Well, not so much in the reality of things. People do look at the Caribbean with slight trepidation these months.  The thought of rain and wind, fear of hurricane and ruined vacations play in their heads; however, the reality of this situation is calm and quiet lends well to unforgettable vacationing. This year, for example, the wind averaged about 7 knots (13kph, 8mph), rainfall although at times it seemed torrential, was only 6mm (less than an inch). The average temperature was 29°C (83°F), Which often felt like 34°C (94°F) due to high humidity. In general, temperatures through June are slightly lower than in May, coming in at 86°F (30°C) and an average low at 82°F (28°C). These temperatures are made even more pleasurable by the breeze that comes from the east most of the month. Calm seas and a slight breeze mean one thing for the island and dive communities of Belize… epic diving. With June’s average wind speed at a slight 8 knots; it’s just enough to keep the temperate climate for walks on the beach and too slight to cause rough seas when diving the reef. Deep sea fishing also sees far fewer people feeding the fish their stomach contents as the rides out and back are easy to handle.

Now Onto the Fun Part: The Celebrations

Other great reasons to visit in June – in addition to celebrating the start of the lobster season in San Pedro, Caye Caulker, and Placencia, there is also Dia De San Pedro at the end of the month. Next to September, June really is a good time to plan a vacation if you want to catch some great parties.

San Pedro Lobster Festival

This year was no different and there were lots of great lobster activities around town for the “Lobster Crawl” leading up to lobster heaven and the grand finale. I am sure the official lobster crawlers definitely needed a nap after doing the week-long schedule events around town and the big block party. Congratulations to Ms. Patti from California who took this year’s grand prize and of course the organizers, SEAduced by Belize, Sunrise Realty and the San Pedro Business Association for putting on a great annual event.

First 2 gallery pictures above courtesy of San Pedro Lobster Festival Committee and last 2 by Kendall Beymer. See and learn more about San Pedro’s popular annual celebration on the Big Block Party San Pedro Lobsterfest 2014 post.

More Lobster Festival

I decided to get a second Lobsterfest in this year and had 2 boat offers, Impromptu and Yolo. I decided to go with the first one as I knew I would know more people on the boat (met a few really nice new ones too). We all had a great time and the time spent on Caye Caulker was a nice change of pace. A few of us remarked we do not spend enough time over there.

Dia De San Pedro

Last but not least, our infamous fair where the rides spin way too fast. After the party in the Park, Kendall, Eric and I walked over to check out the fairgrounds. Sadly my favorite game Rita de Premios la Super Sonia was not there. You can see it and some crazy trampoline pictures in Dia De San Pedro Day 2, for ride shots check out Dia De San Pedro opening night. The front page slider pic was from the Sunday night fireworks – which are very popular here. The video below I decided to shoot when Kendall and Eric went on one of the crazy fast rides. It does not do it justice as to how fast they were going but just pick a recognizable person and count how many times and how fast you see them keep reappearing on the screen.

To find out more about annual weather and what our seasons are like check out Belize Weather page. Since it is summer and sandal and barefoot beach weather, I will leave you with an amusing TripAdvisor thread I read this morning on feet – Why do people think other people want to look at their feet?