Caye Caulker, Belize: Just Cruising in Belize

After scaling the Mayan temples in Tikal (see previous post), I was ready for some serious R&R, and given the fact that the Belize border was only 1 hour away by bus, I was definitely excited to get over there and check things out! So I headed off to Belize from El Remate on Wednesday morning, and arrived in Belize City around 12:30 in the afternoon.

Before I had left I had already decided that I was going to be staying on Caye Caulker, which is known as the “backpacker’s island”, and is about 45 mins north of Belize City by water taxi. I had heard that Caye Caulker was supposed to be a bit more economical than the tourist laden San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, and really relaxed as well, as the islands official motto is “go slow”. If your not familiar with Belize, it sits north east of Guatemala, right on the Caribbean and is littered with tiny little islands know as Cayes. A giant barrier reef sits just east of the keys and it is home to some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world.

I was definitely excited getting on to the water taxi, and when I arrived on Caye Caulker it seemed like I was on a completely different planet, as it was so different from Guatemala. The water was an amazing array of light blues and had different colors stretching as far as the eyes could see. The beach was full of white sands and littered with palm trees and hammocks, and even the streets were sandy paths as opposed to roads, as there are no cars and thus, no asphalt any where on the island. I was also really surprised at how small the island was. It seemed to me that if there was a storm, the island was so small I could imagine it just washing away.

So, as I walked around the island looking for a place to stay I knew that the Belize Dollar was only a 2:1 ratio to the US Dollar (in Guatemala its 8:1) and that things were going to be a little more expensive there, and I was right. Most places were going for any where from 60BZ to 100BZ which is $30-$50 per night. I ended up finding these little “shacks” that sat up on stilts all the way down at the south end of the island for $30BZ or $15 per night. And I’m not joking one bit either about the “shacks”. They consisted of a door, a room with a bed and some faulty outlets, and a bathroom with PCV piping that supplied a cold shower. So I thought about my situation and decided that living in a “shack” on the beach in Belize for a few days was still a hell of a lot better than sitting at my desk in San Diego crunching numbers all day like a chump, so I decided to go for it and take the “shacks” as my temporary home.

That first night on Belize was great as I became accustomed to the culture and laid back life style. Everyone pretty much just cruises around the island drinking rum, eating, and playing in the water. You begin to see the same people over and over again and it’s really easy to make friends and find people to hang out with for the night. I actually think I was hanging out with different people each night I was there, as people are always coming and going to and from the island. It’s crazy there because as I had posted from the island internet café…Ever heard the saying, "where the wine flows like water?" Well in Belize, "the rum flows like water" and the rum is REALLY good! So I really tried to follow the old philosophy, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. Needless to say I was pretty much hammered off of rum every night that I was there…LOL.

One of the definite highlights of Caye Caulker is the “Jolly Rodger”. Now the Jolly Roger is basically this really big guy named Rodger who sets up a few picnic tables on the side of Front Street next to a huge BBQ. It’s important to note, that next to the BBQ were buckets filled with about 50 fresh Lobsters! I ended eating at the Jolly Roger just about every night because for 25BZ you get: a HUGE grilled lobster, rice, potatoes, garlic bread, cake for desert, and 3 rum punches. So you can definitely see how easy it is to start off your night feeling good with a belly full of fresh lobster and 3 rum punches! Now, that’s living in paradise!!

My last day on Caye Calker was by far one of the highlights of my trip. I decided to take the all day snorkeling adventure tour out to the barrier reef. It was truly amazing because I was snorkeling with all sorts of fish, sea turtles, eels, sharks, crabs, lobsters, rays… you name it! Our guide Carlos even brought along an underwater dive camera and we came away with some of the most amazing pictures I’ve ever seen that looked straight out of national geographic (he even got a cool one of me snorkeling above the reef). So after 3 days of snorkeling, rum, lobster, and more rum, I decided to make my way back and leave Belize when I got word of a storm coming in that was expected to hit on Saturday.

Belize was a truly amazing place and hopefully one day when I’m an old man I can make it back there, buy a boat, and spend the rest of my days drinking rum and diving for fresh lobsters. Until then, I’m heading south towards Panama and into Colombia. Next stop, El Salvadore. Hasta Luego…

*** I put together a little youtube movie with some video and all the pictures that I took while I was in Belize, as well as some of the pictures that our guide Carlos captured with his underwater camera and have posted it below… Enjoy!