Tropical Island Fitness
By Amy Goldhammer
December 2002 - Shape Magazine

I'm flying high in the Central American Sky to Belize for a seven-day kayaking adventure with Island Expeditions (form $1499; 800-667-1630, Islandexpeditions.com) The six-seater aircraft lands on a patch of grass in the thick of a rainforest, and the pilot, tossing my pack out, instructs me to jump out. A dusty white van pulls up and an island expeditions guide waves me in for the short ride to the seashore, where we board a dinghy for the sail to Southwest Cay in Glover Reef.

Three hours later, we pull into Southwest Cay, a mile-wide isle dotted with palm trees, a dozen safari- style tents and a small bungalow that serves as a combination kitchen/dining room. I meet my 14 fellow campers and have a late dinner (fish and tropical fruit) before collapsing in my tent, where I am lulled to sleep by the sound of the high winds.

I'm Jolted awake the next morning by the trumpeting of a conch shell. After breakfast (eggs, more fruit, coffee) we kayak in water that's as clear as glass, except for the colorful corals, seaweed and creatures such as turtles, seals and otters that pop to the surface, curious about our kayaks. An "Island lunch" fuels us for an afternoon of snorkeling, windsurfing and more kayaking.

The week passes in a tropical blur, with each day much the same as the last. One day I catch a fish, which the chef prepares for dinner. Another day I discover a new coral reef. As the week flows on, I marvel that things that would have seemed dire at home (tangled hair, grubby clothes, sand in my sleeping bag) have been washed away in the surf of another world.