Caye Caulker, Belize

25 January 2009.

We arrived at Caye Caulker after a ferry ride from Belize City. This was the start of the laid-back, relaxing part of the tour after the first part of hectic travel and quick stops.

It was certainly a different style to what we were used to, blue, blue water and white, white sand - the Caribbean as you would expect it.

The first afternoon that we arrived was hot and sunny, so we went swimming down at the split. The island used to be one, but after a hurricane, was split in two. There was a concrete pier, with a bar along side and everyone was parked up enjoying the sunshine.

Dinner that night consisted of a BBQ lobster dinner at Jolly Rogers Grill. His grill was a converted 40 gallon drum, and the restaurant was little more than a corrugated iron shack.





































We picked up some beers from the local bar, and sat down to enjoy. It was good!





























During the afternoon the group had arranged a snorkeling tour for the next day, where you sail out to three reefs, and spend the day swimming with the fishes, and the promise of rum punch on the return journey.

We woke the next morning to pouring torrential rain. Snorkeling cancelled, rain pouring, we thought it would be a good chance to catch up on the news of the world outside. There was Canadian sports bar which had wireless internet. Unfortunately, the power on the island seemed to be out. The Canadian bar was still where we ended up, playing cards and staying dry - reality pushed aside for another day.

The weather promised to be sunnier the next day, so we were hopeful that we would get our snorkeling trip. It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty close, so we decided it was a go.

There wasn't a lot of wind so we mostly had to motor out, but had the sails up for a short while.

I, due to some irrational paranoia about not being able to breathe with a snorkel, stayed on the boat with a book and took some photos of everyone lazing around in the ocean, leaving Ruth to it.



















At the first stop however, the weather started to turn, so we knew we were in for some rain. It was still really warm though, so we were not too worried.















It was patchy, but everyone still managed to get in and see the sights - it miraculously cleared up each time we stopped with the sun breaking through.

A highlight was standing on the bow of the boat, motoring along, with the rain pelting down. There was just something about the feeling that is hard to describe.

After everyone had exhausted themselves with the snokels and swimming, we made our way back home. The rum punch arrived with a freshly chopped shrimp cerviche, which fought off any chance of anyone getting cold. There was a lot of punch...

... and the sun came back out, just as we were arriving back. Everyone was a little wobbly from their time at sea, so we headed back down to the split for more swimming, and a cooling beer.

At some stage in the proceedings, we decided that a full scale sea battle needed to take place, leading to shoulder fighting - and generally a lot of hilarity.















The seabed was quite uneven and the extra height we had was hugely beneficial. Needless to say, Ruth and I were victorious.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, then a second lobster dinner finished off our time on the island, heading back to the mainland and Tulum, Mexico the following morning.

San Ignacio, Belize

You're not in Guatemala now, Dr Ropata.

Crossing off our 5th country, we arrived in Belize in the rain. This part of the tour is supposed to be all sunshine and relaxation after the hectic trip through Mexico, so we were worried when it rained for our entire bus ride across the border.

However, we had a plan - just about the only thing you can do while it's raining is drink tequila and play cards. We started in a hotel restaurant on the edge of San Ignacio, and didn't leave until we'd drunk them out of tequila. Did I mention that it was just 5 of us left? Yes, the others had all come to their senses and headed home to try and find some food, cards and perhaps some more tequila.

We, the less sensible ones, had stayed on, enjoying drinking under shelter and watching the rain and toucans in the trees. But, finally, we were forced to admit that we needed to get home, and headed out. And headed down the road, or what was left of it. The roads in Belize tend to be somewhat sandy, and with the amount of water falling, they were now almost entirely mud. But we didn't care - we were dancing and slipping and sliding and covered in white mud by the time we got home.

At some point we had arranged to go on a tour of the Macan river. There was rum involved in this decision, but it was one of the best trips I think we did. We canoed upriver for about 3 hours, guided by Daniel, who was an expert at spotting the wildlife. We (Hamish, Ruth and Sarah from our tour) were still hoping to see a banana-beaked toucan, but we only managed to see one of the other varieties (again!). What we did see were a lot of iguanas. One of them was bright orange, others were perched on the very edge of very tall trees hanging over the river - they like to get as exposed as possible so that they get as warm as possible. Hundreds of bats were sleeping under the overhanging rocks, and our guide enjoyed flicking water at them to make them fly around us...

The trip upriver (thanks almost entirely to Daniel and Hamish's arms) ended with a walk through the riverside village towards a little waterfall and pool area. We ate our lunch (the ubiquitous rice-and-beans and curried hotdog. Unusual) and then had a refreshing swim under the waterfall.

(Photo by Sarah Rackley)