This may have been the perfect trip. We hesitated to say that outloud, during it, because we feared we might jinx it, that our flight home might be rerouted through, say, South Africa. But from start to finish, from first-class seats to VIP status at the hotel to first-class seats, this was the perfect tropical vacation.

It helped that we had friends on the inside, Belizean AA employees who hooked us up with tour guides and hotel recommendations and rides around town. We arrived at noon on Thursday and promptly headed out for the Mayan ruins at Altun Ha. This was a modestly-sized town with elite residences and temples (the general public lived in wood houses, of which not much remain). We were surprised that scholars still don't know much about Mayan life, such as what the everyday folk did for a living or what time period they occupied, exactly. The Spanish conquistadors burned all the Mayan codices, their history, as devilish material.

Friday morning, we were picked up by Doug, our American guide of the day before. Doug is an older man who came to Belize fifteen years ago to lead tours. He actually lives in one of the tiny, poor villages, and he seemed to know everything, from Belizean politics to the names of all the trees. Doug drove us out to Jaguar Paw, a resort smack dab in the middle of the rainforest.

The morning was devoted to ziplining. We were kitted out with protective gear and hitched to the line, and then we flung ourselves out into the canopy. There were eight platforms we zipped to, some longer, higher, and faster than others. I have to admit, I was full of apprehension before the first one, just a healthy dose of self-preservation. By the end I was fine, though I wish we had a bit more time in the air to appreciate our surroundings.

After lunch, we hiked to the river with our bouncy black inner tubes, ready to explore some caves from the water. We just plopped backwards into the tubes and let the current guide us through the caves. We had headlamps, but the coolest thing was switching them off and floating in perfect blackness, trailing our hands in the silky, cool river. The water was entirely clear, with no plants and very few fish. This is such a popular activity that Izrael, our guide, told us he led Bill Gates and his family a couple of weeks ago (less notably, he also led the cast of Temptation Island).

Another ninety-minute bus ride over bumpy terrain put us back in Belize City, waiting for the ferry that would shuttle us to the isle of Ambergris Caye and the town of San Pedro. Arriving in San Pedro just as darkness fell, I was smitten immediately. A bar sat out on the dock, surrounded on three sides by water, with no walls and neon plastic cups for their tropical drinks. Couples strolled on the white sandy beaches, and natives sat shirtless outside shops, playing cards and blasting chill Caribbean music. The entire town is about five blocks long and two deep – and covered in sand instead of paved – but we had all we needed: a few drinks and access to some dive shops.

In the morning, we canvassed these dive shops, hoping to find a half-day snorkeling tour that would get us back in time for our ferry back. The Belize reef is the second biggest in the world, after all. We found one that would take us to the popular dive spots of Shark Ray Alley and Hol Chan. We anchored in the middle of the wide Caribbean Sea, and our driver pointed out a few nurse sharks in the water, which was a pretty good incentive not to get in. But slipping into the sea, we soon found out that the creatures could not care less about us big ungraceful fish. A devil ray kept circling below us, coming back again and again as if begging us to take his picture. We did, of course. Next, we motored over to Hol Chan, part of the Marine Preserve protected reef and a very busy spot. Here, the wildlife was in abundance, as we noticed not only the different corals but a lobster, jellyfish, something slimy inside a conch shell, and a moray eel. The sunlight fractured through the water, the complete silence under the surface, the shimmering wall of the schools of fish – we came away determined to take scuba lessons – for our next trip to Belize.

Snorkeling did leave us with nasty sunburns on the backs of our legs and arms. But did I mention this was the perfect vacation? A sunburn in late November ain't bad at all.