In an effort to dine
at all 3000 San Francisco restaurants(800 and counting) and visit all 600 Napa
wineries( 350 and counting) my wife Linda and our son MJ, Halloffamer and
National Special Olympics Champion Golfer, recently traveled to beautiful
Belize and the Kanantik Resort.
Resort owner Luke
Chadwick is building a world class golf course at his 5800 acre resort. His
advice before we left was to "just bring your passport and promise to
relax at his slice of Paradise on the Caribbean Sea." Kanantik means
"to take care of" and Iris, Louise, Peter and the entire staff took
very good care of us.
From
our home in Danville, it was a easy trip on Southwest Airlines from Oakland to
Houston to Belize.
From
Belize it is a 30 minute puddle jumper flight or 2.5 hour ride to the Kanantik
Resort. We chose to have a driver pick us up and take us to the resort.
Kanantik is a Condé Nast Award winning resort on the
Southern Coast of Belize. It will be a gated community offering world class
golf and 2800 residential home sites dispersed throughout 4 neighborhoods, the
Caribbean Estates, Savannah and Golf Estates, and Foothill Estates. 300
oceanfront villas are also planned.
You can also take a
short boat ride to a 7 acre island which is owned by the development where you can enjoy snorkeling or scuba diving
in the 75 degree water enjoying the multi colored variety of happy exotic fish
on the Belize Barrier Reef. You can also take nearby tours of the Mayan ruins
and hike at a picturesque waterfall. For the more adventurous spirits, zip
lining is available and a host of many other outdoor pursuits.
We stayed in one of
the 25 oceanfront cabanas. They are surrounded by acres of untouched land and
1300 feet of an exclusive beach on the warm Caribbean Sea. They offer modern
amenities found at the world's best resorts. The cabanas are also located close
to the sea water pool, bar and restaurant serving exotic drinks and world class
food.
We especially enjoyed
the "fresh fish" that are caught and served each day. The specialty
drinks are also unique and a joy to savor as you enjoy the warm waves massaging
your feet on the large palm strewed beach. One day we even enjoyed a fresh
coconut picked from one of the many palm trees that was like eating nectar from
the heavens.
The golf course is
currently under the able leadership of international golf course designer Casey
O'Callaghan. Casey is a 1989 graduate of University California Berkeley school
of environmental design. The luxurious club house will feature an organic
restaurant, work out and Mayacology Spa offering massages and a variety of
services for golfers and non golfers. There will also be a world class driving
range and putting green next to the club house.
PGA pro Brendan Steele
is the course ambassador and also from California. He turned professional in
2005 and won his first PGA tour event in 2011 at the Texas Valero Open. In
October 2016, he won the Safeway Open held in Napa California at Johnny
Miller's Silverado Country Club. His impressive score of 18 under par tied the
tournament low score record.
The golf course
promises to be challenging for all skill levels offering 4 sets of tees ranging
from 5200 yards to 6900 yards. There are also some split fairways and natural
beauty to be enjoyed by the casual resort golfer as well as students of the
game who appreciate the challenges of having to strategize how to score well on
each hole.
Kanantik Belize is a great place to escape from the rigors and stress of modern life or to own a second home. Like owner Luke Chadwick told us before we arrived, "all you have to do is just bring your passport and prepare to relax." It is peaceful, perfect paradise that you should put on your bucket list. Their motto is "enter as guests and leave as friends." We made some great friends here and look forward to returning soon and playing the new world class golf course.
