Bella's Caye Caulker

After a smooth border crossing and what was probably the fastest trip ever through Belize City (about 20 minutes), we embarqued on the Caye Caulker Water Taxi for one of the offshore islands (called Cayes - pronounced Keys) of Belize. On the ride there we saw lots of ocean, some mangrove patches and a few ¨private island¨ houses, which were no more than a house on stilts and 1 or 2 trees (not the place to be in a hurricane!). Upon arriving at Caye Caulker, we found what you would imagine a sm...

Well what can I say about Caye Caulker! The first thing you see when arriving on the island is a sign saying "Welcome to Caye Caulker, Go Slow". Never has a sign been so true! This is the Caribbean and English is the main language here, which came as a bit of surprise considering the location of the country, between Mexico and Guatemala. The island itself only has about 1300 inhabitants and can be walked from one end to the other in about 15 Min's so it's nice and compact. As Belize used to b...

I arrived in Belize City around 10:00am and took a cab to the marina to take a boat out to Caye Caulker for some relaxation. When I got here it was amazing. Sand beaches, sand streets, smiling faces and sunshine. The boat ride was about 50 minutes arriving at Caye Caulker around 1:00am . I walked up and down the streets of this small island until I found a nice little Hostel off the main road called Bella's. Its a nice place but the owner is a bit of a nut. The rest of the day was spent on th...

In Progress

It's 2 a.m. and I couldn't sleep a wink. The sand flies are sucking me dry. I counted 32 bites on my right arm alone and my eyelid is so swollen from another one. Apparently tropical strength bug repellent will work on them and coconut oil. So itchy, so itchy. Thank goodness the Tiger Balm we bought helps with all the itchiness.

At 5 a.m., we caught the express bus service to Belize City from Dangriga for only 10 Belizean. Good thing too, we wouldn't have been able to make a tour other...

Yesterday we signed up for a dive trip to Lighthouse Atoll, Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye and Long Caye with Frenchie's Dive Shop which came recommended by the Reggamuffin guys. The trip met at 5:30 a.m. and cost 245 Belizean for snorkelers and 380 for divers which was all inclusive. Not bad for another all day tour. As we found out, the only way to see Turneffe or Lighthouse due to their distance was to tag on with a dive shop tour if you want to snorkel.

The ride in the speedboat was ch...

Decided that going to Belize and not seeing the reef was crazy. Settled on Caye Caulker since it´s close, small and cheap. Good choice, but my spider sense for hostels failed me this time. Location, congenial public spaces, and quiet are what I need. Got none of them at where I stayed. The owner tried to take me under her wing, but she was so high strung and down on the place... who needs that on vacation? The noise of her kids watching TV to all hours plus the disco across the street killed ...