Caye Caulker, Belize

  Caye Caulker, Belize
Saturday, December 16, 2006

So... we left Tulum and got a bus straight to the town of Chetumal on the border with Belize.
 
When we arrived we were told that we missed the last bus going into Belize.... it was only 3.30pm in the day... yeah right... there has to be another bus leaving.
We got a taxi to the local market place, thatīs where the local buses leave from. Sure enough, the second we stepped out of the taxi didnīt a guy come up to us saying that he was a bus driver and he was leaving for Belize in 30 minutes... SORTED!!!
The only thing of note when we were crossing the border was that the Mexican Immigration official stung us for cash. We were the first up and obviously looked the most gullible! Ah well, youīd think that with our travel experience that we wouldnīt have got caught, lesson learned... donīt travel without a guidebook of some sort.
 

02 Early start - boat to Caye Caulker

Anyways, we stayed in Corozal Town for our first night in Belize. What a cool night we had. You know, when you are away from home you really do appreciate the simple things in life... like having an english television station and the easy access to a chinese restaurant!! Which is exactly what we did on the first night in Belize.... eat chinese and watched "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"... lovin it!!!


Our first impression of Belize.... awesome place... everyone saying hello and speaking in english, a nice change from the ole Espanol!


We stayed only one night in Corozal before getting a speed boat water taxi to an island called Caye Caulker. Upon arrival we headed into the first restaurant, twas called the "Sandbox" (because the floor was made of sand, donīt think the health inspectors would allow that one at home). They were playing christmas songs too and they served up a nice breakfast to top it off.
We then found ourselves a nice place to stay, even though it meant walking around in the pissing rain for about 1 and a half hours, lugging a backpack around in the rain is not nice iīll tell ye!
 

04 Sarah relaxing outside house

The plan was to stay in Caye Caulker for only 3 nights..... we ended up staying 8 nights!! The place has to be one of THE most chilled places weīve ever been to. All the roads are made of sand, there are only one or two cars on the island, for transport itīs either a bicycle or a golf cart..... (like, how maad is that!). The people are really friendly too, mostly rastafarians, telling you to "Go Slow, youīll crash"...  no matter how slowly you were walking, you can always walk even slower. Its all about snorkelling and diving on the island and virtually every second building does either one or both. 
 

Our entire time in Caye Caulker was spent chilling out. The peace and tranquility here has to be experienced to be believed. It really is just paradise. The only noise you might encounter is from a speed boat whizzing past, laughter from people swimming or else a rasta man cycling past singing a Bob Marley tune. 

 

20

It was on Caye Caulker that Sarah tried her hand at the White family business.... by giving me a haircut!! She put the rain poncho on the floor, plonked a chair in the middle and started to attack my head with my beard trimmers!!!! What a howl, she was getting all freaked out that she was messing it up. After gapping me on one side she said "maybe you should go to the barbers". I had to put on my hat and go for a tour of the island to try and find a barber. We found one.. but guess what.... he was closed!!! Back to the hut, she had to finish the job off. This time she concetrated and did a cracking job. However, I donīt think sheīll be getting a job in Salon 33 when we get back home. She spent the rest of the night congratulating herself on a job well done.

Apart from reading and chilling the only bit of excerise we did was take out a kayak and go for a spin around the island. This was awesome.... out in the middle of the sea, absolutely no noise around, being able to see right down to the ocean floor and watch all the fishes swimming about.... amazing!!!

Highly recommend Caye Caulker for anyone travelling. However, this place is not for backpacking!!! Tis a bit expensive!!! Here are some of the "rough" costs for Belize (as experienced in Caye Caulker, which is slightly more expensive than the mainland) :

Good dinner in a restaurant: €6
Local "Belikin" Beer: €2.75
1 hour on internet: €4 approx
Double room with private bog and TV: €35 a night