Life In Belize – Picking Sea Grapes 

Oh to be a kid again! Some of the joys of living on a Caribbean island are that you can dig into your inner child and its OK. What do I mean? Let me explain.

The other day while driving along on beautiful Ambergris Caye, my son observant as he is decided that he wanted a quick snack… Sea grapes! It just so happens that Sea grape trees are absolutely full of fruit at this time of year.  What is a seagrape? This is a lovely tree found in the tropics. Since its super salt tolerant it is often used in ocean side landscaping. Growing sea grapes can be found in sandy soil right on the beach and it produces clusters of fruit that resemble grapes. Which makes one wonder, is it edible.. I have to say when i first came to Belize I was skeptical, but my wife, who grew up in Central America assured me they were good to eat.. I tried them for the first time many years ago and now look forward each year to when the trees bear fruit. 

So back to the story, m son eager to have some grapes and climb a tree I suppose, directed me to a tree that he said would be full.. We got there and sure enough the tree was loaded.. Problem is all of the lower fruits had already bee picked… So sure enough without a word, my son proceeds to climb straight up the tree and started eating and collecting grapes. As he was in the tree he was noticed he wasn’t alone.. Up in the tree with him was a large green iguana.. No he was not scared… But thrilled! So of course I have to get a closer look as well. I couldn’t get a clear picture from the ground so decided to be a monkey and climb up the tree.. FUN!! Of course it drew attention, but no one cared they just wanted us to get some grapes for them as well…

   

If visiting Ambergris Caye in the upcoming months be sure to try something new and grab some sea grapes. Don’t be shy if you can’t reach, just climb up that tree and get em.. It’s 100% acceptable to be a kid again.