Morning Star Guesthouse Caye Caulker

... started to work our way up to about 90 feet where all the sharks were hangin'. We got to swim around with them for a few minutes, which was awesome! They were Gray Caribbean Reef sharks..and there were also a few grouper mixed in as well. That was about it as far as marine life is concerned, mainly because it's an enclosed space, so most things can't find their way in. We ended our dive after only 30 minutes or so, which is normal for dives that deep. But it was really one ...

... hotel room since Belize City is too dangerous to walk around at night. The only safe option is to get cabs between evening venues which is fine if your wealthy and know where you're going. So anyway a night in Belize City wasn't something I was looking forward to especially since it was a Saturday night.

However the chicken bus I had crossed the border in managed to pull into the bus terminal in Belize City at 5.15, so I quickly grabbed my backpack, plus ...

... sand and there are no cars or sidewalks, just a few golfcart taxis for those too lazy to walk the short distances. The ride over goes past several islands and the water looks crystal clear.

By day this island just swelters and bakes like some sort of breezeless third world convection oven. The sun and humidty just beat you into submission and the island absolutely languishes in the heat. We showed up with no plan, no reservations ...

Bit of a change arriving into a country with the Queen's head on its banknotes and an being surrounded by often indecipherable English after six weeks in Mexico. Belize City isn't all that pleasant so grabbed a 45 minute water taxi out to one of the nearby islands. Caye Caulker is tiny but a lot of travellers I met warned me how easy it ...

So, we arrived on the 19th, meant to stay a night or two and no spend much money - but stayed a week longer than planned, spent a fortune on diving, drank lots and had an awesome time :-)

Tinaīs, the backpackers, was predictably full - so the Miramar hotel it was. We didnīt have a great deal of choice as Xmas was coming up and everywhere was busy - but it was basic and clean for under $9 a night each. Chinese food was still cheap ...

... the morning so it had to be cancelled. The afternoon cleared up so we went for a little bike ride, on bikes provided by the owner of our cabana. The place we went to in the evening ran our of vodka for my Cosmo, so we put rum instead to create what we called a Rastapolitan. We were supposed to leave Caye Caulker the next day (09/10) but we decided to wait and see what the weather was like.

It turned out to be a gorgeous day so we asked our host if ...

Restaurants Food is available from various sources and inevitably comes with its own risks. Street carts and vendors - A wide range of quick snacks are available Hot dogs, Burgers, Tamales, Panadis etc etc. - Good if you require a quick snack. Road side shacks and BBQ stands - A wide range of local Belizean recipes usually all including Rice and Beans (Kidney Beans) the better ones have been prepared on open hearths and of course BBQ mostly chicken ...

... make the mistake of ordering Pina coladas (here they are in the style of a frozen margarita, not a patch on the ones in Mexico which were so fresh and creamy) and these are quickly declared as the most disgusting drink we've ever tasted, I think the pineapple juice is off. There's only one way to down these and it's a quick game of paper, scissor, rock, the loser having to slurp. Feeling ill we stagger back to our room to pack so we're ready for our 7.30am start in the morning.

... manger mais j etais pas pret a leur donner, en tout cas pas un bout de moi. Pas de quoi s'inquieter, ils sont innofensifs. Ensuite plusieurs autres tout au long de la plongee avec des gros Merous et Snappers, des araignees de mer enormes (1 seule pensee, les attrapper pour les manger), langoustes et plein d'autres choses et surtout un recif en bien meilleure forme qu'a Akumal. Comme quoi quand c'est bien protege, surtout de la peche, eh bien ca marche.

... As Joel drives the rocky road away from Altun Ha, he tells us he has a PhD. That stands for Pothole Dodger, so we'd better hold on tight 'cause it's going to be a bumpy ride! Of course, we're all cracking up over this. On the way back, Joel gives us more insight about Belize. They get about 90 inches of rain per year. A gallon of gas costs $5. They export sugar to the U.S.; bananas to Europe, as well as papayas, rice, corn, red lobster, crab ...