Rock the Boat

Two newsworthy events have occurred in the past week: we safely entered 2012's most dangerous country in the world, Honduras; and we are amidst malaria carrying Mosquitos so we prophylactically drug ourselves daily.

Other newsworthy stuff: In Río Dulce, we hiked to a hot waterfall after bussing to the trailhead. I would say that this may have been one of our better day excursions. The water pooled at the top of the falls and cascading into the pool below was too hot to put your foot in for more than a second. The pool at the bottom was a combination hot/cold, as the result of tiny sulfurous holes in the ground letting hot water escape up along with the water falling from above. There was an additional cold stream that was within rock scrambling distance. We hiked to the top of the small 35 ft falls, explored all the different bodies of water, and then discovered that if you could brave the scalding water for a quick second, you could swim under the waterfall and into a cave below the large rock. We gradually got more and more brave, swimming further back in to the cave and finding little nooks to hide in.

                       Agua Caliente

                                                              In the cave

            Deep in thought, deep in the cave

On our hour long collectivo ride back to Río, we got an authentic taste of local Guatemalans. Men wearing cowboy hats would climb into the crammed van, recognize the cowboy sitting in the corner and flick his hat, laughing as he got his attention. The older gentleman leaning against the window had his arm around a lady his same age, making her blush as he joked with her. When the van stopped to pick up even more passengers, a few younger lassies jumped out to make room and finished their ride sitting on top of the van next to the baskets strapped to the metal bars. We were sitting in the back of the van, quietly observing and enjoying these interactions. Guatemalans are really a happy, friendly bunch.

                             Collectivo van that seats 9, in Central America will fit 28

That evening we found street tacos and then split a plate dinner before we headed back to our hotel. Once we settled into bed, thunder and lightning began so we ended up on the roof hoping for a better view. We didn't find it since our hotel was located right behind Central America's longest bridge (3.5 km) which blocked the storm.

The next morning (Saturday), we took a river boat down the beautiful, lush Río Dulce. This served as a bit of a tour with a few quick stops to observe storks in trees, pass by a fort, and a longer stop at a part of the river with hot water. The main purpose of the trip for us was transport to Livingston, a coastal town where the Río flows into the Carribean. We chose a local hotel for the night that also had a pool.... and a slide! We spent the afternoon splashing around and laughing with locals forcing their niño to go down the slide against his will. We walked around town, indulged in more local cuisine for lunch and dinner, and watched english channels on our tv.

                                                      Río Dulce canyon

                                         El Golfete, where Río widens into a lake

                                  How we spent our afternoon at our $15 hotel

  We always make sure to add our own decorative touch to the rooms- clothes on line

Sunday morning we were back down to the dock by 9am to catch a water taxi to Puerto Barrios. They wait until the taxi is full before departing, so an hour and 20 people later we were on our way. It was a short 30 minute ride to connect us to the town where we could catch ground transport. Once on land, we quickly found a collectivo to take us the hour+ to the border. We gained a new stamp on our passports, exchanged our quetzals for lempiras ($1 US = 22 lempiras) and found a chicken bus leaving for Omoa in 15 minutes. That gave us just enough time for a plate of chicken with rice and beans at a stand on the side of the road. At that point we'd only snacked on a few pieces of delicious coconut bread, a traditional food in the south Carribean part of Guatemala. We welcomed a short food break.

                 Future chicken bus making an appearance on the left side of the picture

Another hour and a half on the chicken bus plus a 1.5km walk and we were in Omoa, Honduras. We decided to spend one night on this coast town to break up our long trip to the Bay Islands. We walked towards the hostal we were planning to stay in but found it was closed for the season, so backtracked to another we passed when walking in. Roli's Hostal ended up being a great find; hammock on the porch, clean room with a fan, and private bathroom for 250 lempiras or $12. We changed into our swimsuits, packed a small bag and walked to the dock where the entire town seemed to be. There was one large dock where teenagers stood, some with wet clothes, a smaller dock split from the big one, and numeous people and boats enjoying the sea. We went to the smaller less crowded dock to jump off of but decided it was best for one of us to stay with our bag at all times so we took turns. Dinner was next on the agenda but, since it was Sunday and after 6pm, not many restaurants were open. We finally found a sit down waterfront establishment and Micah ordered carne asada and pescado deditos, the latter which we had no idea what it was. Turned out to be homemade fish sticks to accompany our steak; both were yummy and large portions of food, enough so that we packed some of the plantains in a little to-go bag for our travels the next day.

            Showing off his skills to the locals

Monday can be summarized as follows: 3 buses, hitch hiking in back of truck for 5 km, 1 catarmaran and 1 taxi; or Omoa -> Puerto Cortes -> San Pedro Sula -> La Ceiba -> Roatan -> town of West End. It was a long, 11 hour travel day but there were a few perks. The first bus we rode out of Omoa played Michael Jackson's greatest hits the enter 40 minute ride. San Pedro currently holds the award for the most dangerous city in the world with 3.5x the murder rate of Detroit (congrats, Honduras!) and we survived 30 minutes in the bus terminal without being murdered. We opted to walk with a Canadian duo from La Ceiba to the ferry instead of taking an overpriced taxi, thinking it was only a mile or two, but was actually closer to 4. Luckily a truck pulled over and we all happily jumped in the bed, saving us from a long, hot walk. The catarmaran to the Bay Islands was huge, which I assumed meant would smash all those large swells and be a smooth ride but I was very wrong; the boat rocked for 90 minutes and despite holding a barf bag in my hand just in case, I was amongst the group of people who did not lose their lunch on the boat. Successful day, all in all!

Our first meal purchased from a vendor selling on the bus

At the ferry terminal, we snagged two other travelers that were looking for a taxi to the west end of the island. We shared a taxi with Linn and Klaus from Denmark and were dropped off at the cheapest hostal we knew of. It was after 7pm, so our goal was to just find a place to sleep for the night and then explore better options tomorrow. The hostal that our book said was $15/night has adjusted their prices due to increasing tourism and is now $34/night..... so we walked. After a few stops at mediocre options, we found a three story building with gorgeous porches. A gal from Ohio who has been on the island teaching for 7 years gave us side by side rooms that include a mini kitchen for $30/night. The four of us set out for baleadas from a road side stand. Back at the hotel, we scared a few cockroaches out of our beds before settling in for the night.

                                             

                  Home for the next week

Yesterday (Tuesday) morning, I woke up feeling a bit achy and chalked it up to tensing my muscles for 90 minutes straight on the ferry. We and the Danes wanted to check out one other hostal to ensure we had the best one in town (we do) and then found breakfast/lunch. The afternoon was spent chatting it up on our patio and for me, a long nap. At this point I had a fever and was feeling a bit like I had the flu but the group wanted to go snorkel so I joined in. The beach is a 5 minute walk from our hotel and the reef is a 5 minute swim from the beach. We saw an array of colorful fish and Micah spotted a large lobster. We reconvened on the shore for a few minutes before the boys went back out to try to catch the lobster for dinner. Klaus ran by Linn and I to a dive shop on the road to see if he could borrow a spear but instead found out that there's a 3 month period when it's illegal to kill lobster, which happens to be now. 

                                                Half Moon Bay in West End

           Fish looks like it's wearing eye makeup

After cleaning up, we headed to a restaurant for 2x1 Pizza Tuesday. Our next stop was the Booty Bar to take advantage of their internet and happy hour drinks, and watched music videos with a lot of booty. Had another drink on the patio with the Danes, chased another cockroach out of our room and hit the hay.

            Klaus the bartender from Denmark

Today, I feel like a new person, no more fever. We've decided that I likely contracted malaria, but my system was able to fight it in 24 hours. So now that we've got malaria out of the way, we're making our plans for the week on the island. With our new travel companions, there's been discussion of renting a mode of transport to check out the 50 km stretch of island and find a few other snorkeling holes. Our first two stops today though will be the grocery store to buy food supplies for the week since we have a partial kitchen and back to the Booty Bar to upload this blog for y'all! And maybe watch a booty video or two.

Adios, 

Julia

Down By The River

The weekend in Flores was nice. We had done a good deal of walking and climbing stairs the previous 4 days, especially in Tikal, so the legs needed rest. The town is small enough that we could leisurely stroll around to find cheap food and other services. Our hotel caretaker gave us a discount for extra nights and we enjoyed our small balcony despite the array of weekend noises (live music and cheering at 1am, firecrackers and blaring speakers at 6am, and the other usual street sounds). Being an easily accessible getaway town, locals flood in on their days off and the place was very much alive. Some even jump in the water near boat launch areas displaying acrobatic skill. We took a quick dip off a floating dock attached to a restaurant, but the water was dirty and not very inviting, especially after the crystal clear Carribean we had so recently enjoyed. 

The town has a malecón that encircles the whole island, although half of it is under water. Apparently the lake levels in Guatemala have risen a good amount the past decade, from what I can't really say. On the accessible parts of the waterfront are numerous boats offering rides and men fishing. At night, a few tents spring up with cheap pre-made burritos, fried tacos, tostadas, empañadas, cakes, and jugs of juice. Two of our dinners were done here and neither cost more than $5.50. Convienently next to the food tents and our hotel were numerous bars that offer ridiculously cheap happy-hours and lake views. Jamaica Margaritas for 10 Quetzal ($1.30) were what first caught our eye and the next night we found Mojitos and Daquiris for the same 10 Q. When you combine cheap lodging, food, and drinks with the beautiful scenery, you have a place that is tough to leave. 

                                                Strolling the flooded malecón

                                                  Food tents on the waterfront 

                 Good happy hour deals

After 3 nights, we left Flores on Monday morning for the village of Lanquin. Being a long and difficult journey, van shuttle service made the most sense and didn't cost much more than the public bus/collectivo combination that would have been necessary. So we spent 8 hrs in an a/c van with 6 other gringos, racing around corners and cutting in line for the car ferry across the river. We watched in horror as a tourist in the van ahead of us stuck his head out the window and left his breakfast in the middle of the road. The other scenery was green, hilly, and amazing. 

We arrived into Lanquin by late afternoon and settled into our hostal called El Retiro Lodge, a series of thatch roofed huts on a hillside leading down to a river. They have a nice swimming hole and a hammock area with a rustic ping-pong table. Our room was in a large hut split 4 ways; two rooms with doors on the main level, and then ladders on each side leading up to attic rooms with little headroom and curtains blocking the entry holes. We had a room with a door and the bathrooms were about a 50 meter walk away up the hill. A great setting despite being a bit gringofied (if you will allow me to make up a word). The lodge also has a bar/restaurant that offers buffet style dinners for 40-60 Q per person, but we chose to stroll into town the first night and paid 25 Q ($3.25) a piece for set meals of rice, tortillas, salad, horchata, and either beef or chicken. Being close to town and not isolated is one of the primary reasons we chose the accommodations. 

Tuesday: We hopped in the back of a truck for the 10 km ride out to Semuc Champey, a spectacular river valley with limestone pools. The main reason people come to Lanquin is to swim in these turquoise waters and explore the caves. We skipped the tours and enjoyed the area without being ushered around. A steep hike to the mirador gave us amazing views of the pools below. Then we descended and swam in a few of them. The site is technically considered a natural bridge since the majority of the river dips into a cave and flows under the pools. It comes out about 600 meters later where it spews from the rock in the form of a waterfall. 

                                     View of Semuc Champey from the mirador

                                          Julia diving into one of the many pools

                 The end of the natural bridge where the underground water comes out

After hiking back out of the park and lingering around a sketchy bridge, a little girl named Maria chatted up Julia. She was about 7 yrs old and very outgoing. You could tell she was well trained in the ways of selling to tourists. Her English was good and she asked our names and if we wanted beer or chocolate. Julia politely said "No thanks, i'm good", and then when a boy asked me if I wanted a beer, Maria jokingly replied "No thanks, i'm good". A few minutes later, as we were watching men try to help a Jeep that had gotten stuck on the bridge, little Maria came walking down the road toward us with a group of 4 white people in swimsuits, leading them in singing a Spanish song that included clapping. She called Julia by name and tried to get her to join, but gringa Julia didn't know the words. We boarded a bus back to Lanquin and said goodbye to Maria as she still tried to sell chocolate to Julia.

                                            Street-smart Maria doing her thing

        There are a few boards missing on the bridge and the jeep chose the wrong path

We relaxed the rest of Tuesday by our river and played some ping-pong. We skipped the hostal buffet yet again because we had taken box lunches up to Semuc with us but never ate them. Soggy sandwiches accompanied by happy hour drinks would be our dinner. 

Wednesday: Our hostal gives you a 3rd night free if you book one of their tours, so we took the opportunity and did some ziplininning that with the lodging deal, ended costing about $8/person. It wasn't quite a jungle canopy tour, but it did take us over some homes and had some sweet valley views. It was my first zip-line experience and I had a good time despite spinning around a little. 

                                           Entrusting our lives to a wire

         Julia on the last line which finishes by the small white roof you can see above her

The rest of Wednesday was spent jumping into the river at our place, laying in the hammocks, walking into town to buy snacks, and partaking in "Pizza Night" at the hostal, although we were disappointed it wasn't all-you-can-eat. 

Thursday (today): For the 2nd trip in a row, we took a shuttle to our next destination, Río Dulce. We promise not to make this a habit as we know you would rather hear about our adventures on chicken buses, but yet again the public transport option wasn't clear and the prices not that different. Our guide book used phrases like "involves ungodly departure times" and "transportation schedules around here are flexible at best". Although these words intrigue us from an adventure standpoint, the easy way seemed like the right choice. And yes, I feel the need to defend our tourist shuttle usage as they make me a little uncomfortable and I do not condone them. 

So after a 5 hour van ride along mostly winding rocky road, we are now on the eastern end of Lago de Izabal in the town of Río Dulce. Interesting fact: The US coast guard says this is the safest place on the western Caribbean for boats during hurricane season. Which means there are a few yachties running around and some big boats in the marinas. We will spend 2 nights here, getting one day to explore the area before we hop a boat for a trip down the river Dulce, northeast until we reach the Caribbean Sea. In a few days we will enter the "Bad Boy of Central America", Honduras. Hopefully you hear from us again. 

Welcome to the Jungle

Hoo-lia, checking in. Picking up right where we left off:

Monday we did in fact head to Belize City. Less than 24 hours was more than we needed to explore the grungy city full of beggars. The walking tour our travel guidebook advised to do began with a fairly pitiful lighthouse. The highlight of the city tour was the road side stand where we stopped for lunch. A pleasant Belizean woman had six pots of varying sizes filled with meats and side dishes. I asked what was inside one that looked like a porridge or thick soup, couldn't quite hear her answer but decided to go for it anyway. It was a pigs tail. Unfortunate appearance and hardly anything edible on it, but tasted like pork fat! We hunkered in for that night watching tv in the safety of our hotel.

                                                   Streets of Belize City

Our book described the Belize Zoo, halfway between Belize City and the capital of Belmopan, as an "absolute must-see." We pondered, but upon seeing entrance fees increased to $15/person decided it was too rich for our blood (Micah decided, I was still hoping). On Caye Caulker we ran into two ladies who raved about the zoo and changed our minds. So Tuesday, we boarded a beloved chicken bus and got off at mile 29. The zoo began after 17 animals used in a documentary in the 1980s had become too tamed to return to the wild. The lady in charge of caring for the animals during the documentary was Sharon, a biologist, circus performer and former US Air Force survival instructor, and she decided to start a zoo with these animals. Today, the zoo houses rescue animals that are all native to Belize but despite attempts to retrain are unable to return to the wild. I'm not a big fan of zoos, as I tend to get bummed by the small enclosures and fake environments animals are in. But this zoo took 29 acres of natural lush jungle and put chicken wire in well planned but large areas for the animals to roam. There are spider and howler monkeys, tapirs (relative to rhino), owls, jaguars, ocelots, pumas, coatimundi (think raccoon + monkey), parrots, harpy eagles, crocodiles, gibnuts, macaws, peccaries (smells like a warthog?) and many more. All the animals were visible, if not active; the monkeys dangled from their tails as they bit at a coke bottle, the jaguar drank from its pond before walking straight at us, and the Eagles showed off their impressive wing span. We were so thrilled with how close we got to the animals and how friendly they all were that after a picnic lunch, we walked the entire grounds again. 

             Tapir or "mountain cow", Belize's National Animal and currently endangered

                       Keel Billed Toucan

Lucky the black Jaguar. Rescued two years ago, near starvation. Notice the only thing separating human from jaguar is a single layer fence you can stick your finger through!

                         Only has one wing

                                                         Spider monkey

After we satisfied our zoo craving, we took another chicken bus to San Ignacio, close to the Guatemalan border. We found an authentic Belizean restaurant for dinner and had authentic Belizean food (coconut rice, stew beans and meat) before we crashed for the night after a long day.

Wednesday we woke at 5am to puppies either playing or trying to eat each other alive right outside our window. Around 6am, a parrot that I swear could only say "huh" and "Micah" joined in the fun. As annoying as it was, it was hard not to laugh when Micah and I were discussing plans and the parrot would squawk "micah... micah.... huh?" We left our hostel by late morning, found an Internet cafe to do some picture edits that we can't do on tablets, had lunch at a small local stand and then loaded up on water. We walked up two hills for two miles towards Cahal Pech, small Mayan ruins on the outskirts of town. The ruins were our favorite kind- the type you can climb. Initially it didn't look like much but once we got on top of the largest ruin and looked in the nooks and crannies, it turned out to be a fun afternoon and worth the walk in the hot sun. We also spotted a toucan in the trees, mainly because we heard a guide tell his paying customers and we watched where they were peering.

                               The infamous "I'm standing on ruins" pose

                               The infamous "we're standing in front of ruins" pose

Upon our return to the modern world, we spent a few hours reading on our common porch. For dinner, we found a Sri Lanka restaurant and indulged in curry and chicken strips. 

Thursday was another border crossing day. We took a taxi to the border and exited Belize, back in to the country of Guatemala that we grew to love. Instantly, the sky felt more open and vast, and the lifestyle smelled cheaper, just what our budget needs. We were both a bit nervous about the logistics of our next plan. We read and heard contradicting stories about doing an overnight trip in Tikal National Park. You see, rumors were that you could camp amongst the howler monkeys in Tikal, but there was a certain trick to this that would allow you to be in the park for two days but only pay for a one-day ticket. We had heard if you bought your ticket after 3 or 4pm, it was valid for the next day; but we were also warned that they no longer offered this option. We also weren't positive that we could camp, or if they'd have gear for us to rent. We decided to take our chances and took a collectivo to the junction town, 30 minutes from the entrance to Tikal. It was only 12:30 and since we couldn't arrive before 3 or 4, we had time to kill. We stopped in the first outside local diner we saw, where a sweet señora told us that the cook would be there in an hour if we wanted food, but we could sit and rest till then. We bought a few sodas and played cards for over an hour, until a gal arrived to make delicious steak and fried chicken for our lunch. Finally, around 2:45, we flagged down a collectivo and asked for a ride to Tikal, although we still didn't know if 3 or 4 was the time we were supposed to arrive. The driver wanted to charge double what we expected to pay, so we compromised on a price and began our short 30 minute drive to the park. He made frequent stops for other customers, and we kept fingers crossed that he would make many more to stall our arrival. The other hitch to the plan was that the entrance where we had to purchase tickets was 10 km from the actual park, so if we arrived early and he didn't want to wait, we'd either have to buck-up and pay for two tickets or get left behind. We arrived at the gate at 3:18 and fortunately, the driver told us to wait 12 minutes before buying our tickets, and then he stood next to his van, assuring us he was waiting with us. We were relieved; he knew our plan, and our timing worked out well. 

    Along with the 1 taxi and 2 collectivos, we hoofed it for 2 miles to eventually get to Tikal

Turned out we had two options for camping; we could rent a tent with a thin material mattress, or rent two hammocks with mosquito nets. We opted for the privacy and more advanced insect security of the tent. In reality, the netting of the tent had numerous holes for bugs to sneak in and the mattress smelled like it had been in a dusty attic for a few decades. Despite this, I was looking forward to a horrible nights sleep due to the expected wildlife keeping us awake!

                                                                   Camping

After setting up the tent, we ran in to the park and explored the Gran Plaza for just over an hour, leaving the ruins before that part of the park closed at 6pm. We returned to our tent, read for an hour, and then walked down the road to a comedor for a small dinner. Once back at camp, we went to use the bathroom facilities before bed only to find there were no lights. Made for an interesting shower but with placing the headlamps above the stalls, we made do. We got our first taste of wildlife on our walk back from the bathroom, with fireflies lighting up the walk for us and a frog sitting content in our path. And of course, the stars shone brightly, without any other lights to distract. We were in bed by 9pm, without sleeping bags or real pillows but comfortable. An hour or so after we fell asleep, we were awoke by the loud, throaty howl of the monkeys. It wasn't scary, just unreal. And impressive that a creature that small could make a noise that big. It happened two or three more times through the night, where we both would lie awake for a few minutes listening, before drifting back off.

                        Our first glimpse 

                 Temple I in the Gran Plaza

This morning we woke up with the sunrise, around 5:40am. We were in the park just before 6:30 and didn't see another person until 7:45. That's the one recommendation I have for anyone going to a National Park or Ruins: go early and beat the crowd. That first hour or two where it's been just us at each park has made it feel like we've stumbled upon these ruins ourselves and can actually imagine what they were like 1,000 years ago. Tikal rivals Palenque for our favorite ruins of the trip. Tikal is huge; we walked for 6 hours, never stopping for more than 5 minutes to snack or take in the view, and we saw almost everything. There are a few large structures in Tikal that they know exist but haven't excavated yet; I actually liked this, knowing what the process is and what the mass of land looks like before they uncover the temple. The greatest part of Tikal though, similar to Palenque, was the setting. Both were in jungles, although very different jungles due to the diversity in trees and wildlife. Walking towards the ruins in Tikal, branches broke over head as spider monkeys jumped from one tree to the next. There were monkeys everywhere, along with pisotes (think friendly raccoon) and insects.  The views of the jungle from the ruins we could climb, the smells of the jungle and constantly searching for monkeys earned Tikal high ratings in our book.

                                               Still under excavation

                                                           Temple VI

                       Views of the tallest temples and the jungle from Temple IV

      Monkeys in the trees, pisotes on the ground

                                          Gran Plaza as seen from Temple II

After cleaning up and snatching our backpacks from the locked shed where they rested while we hiked, we took another collectivo to Flores, where we currently are staying. We found a hostel within 10 minutes and had just settled and were admiring the view of the lake from our small balcony when a torrential downpour, complete with thunder and lightening began and didn't let up for nearly an hour. We stayed inside, opting to stay dry although hungry, and finally set out for our first proper meal of the day around 4:30pm. Had a typical meal at a restaurant before we explored Flores as the sun set. Flores is a small island in a lake, connected to the mainland by a short causeway. The buildings are brightly colored, the plants cascade over the balconies and there's winding alleys leading up hills to areas beckoning to be explored. We have a lot to accomplish in the next few days in this adorable town. Guatemala, it's good to be back.

      I'm a sucker for towns with buildings like these

                                                               Flores

Barrier Reef

The days in Caye Caulker, Belize have blended together. After initially feeling unsure about our lodgings and the food options here on the island, everything fell into place and our plan of 4 nights turned into 6, which then turned into 7 (buy 6, get 1 free). Below is a rough sketch of what happened.

The Cabin: 

      The setting of our accommodations is perfect, right on the water and up on stilts. The only concerns we had were the smell of the bathroom and the other rustic aspects. I blame my initial reluctance on the long travel day to get here and comparison to some of the clean hotels we have been staying at. After a decent nights sleep and an afternoon sitting back on the front porch, looking at the water and feeling the wind, we realized this is exactly what we were looking for out here. We checked other places, most were cleaner and some even were equal in price, but none really compared. I would say this cabin is the primary reason we extended our stay.

                                               Where we spend most of our time

Standing on the rickety wood planks that extend from our property out onto the water, we had looked in either direction and had dock envy. Clean wood structures with thatched roofs, hammocks, and lounge chairs. Without any real sandy beaches here, some hotels clear the sea grass around their dock so guests can swim, but not ours. This would turn out to be a non-issue as our porch view more than sufficed and our swimming could be done up at "The Split" (I will explain later).

Inside our cabin, it feels like a tree house with exposed wood siding painted purple, white, and sky blue. The bathroom has a half-sized swing door and the shower is a slow drizzle. There is also no mirror, which is always interesting. The freedom that comes with walking out the front door, not caring what you look like, is nice. You learn to let go of the worries that plague your life back home. Sure, I would look homeless and could probably make a few bucks if I walked around downtown Portland, but here nobody cares. That is generally true for backpacking anywhere, most travelers don't shave or get haircuts. They wear dirty torn clothing or ponchos and puffy pants, things that emphasize their escape from normal life. It is a little less extreme for us; Julia has used the IPad photobooth as a mirror a couple times and I may have taken a selfie once. But for the most part, I have no idea what my wind-blown salty hair and beard are doing, and I like it that way.                       

                                                                  Inside

The People:

        Caye Caulker is the most diverse place we have been. Immigrants from all over the world have settled here, either because they love the water or they saw a cheap English speaking place to live and make money off of tourists. The most prominent group is the Latino population. Some are originals, others came over from Mexico or Guatemala. They speak Spanish amongst their friends and family, but can switch to English depending on their audience. 

The other major group is the Creole people. They give the place a Jamaican feel, with the accents and dreadlocks. Bob Marely music and paraphanalia are everywhere and tourists are constantly offered ganja. Shops have names like "Anda De Wata" and "Ragamuffin Tours", and signs that advertise "Di' 1 & only". They are a little more outgoing and aren't afraid to let a woman know that she is attractive and wonder if she would like to hold hands. 

Rounding out the population are a good number of people from SE Asia, many of whom run restaurants attached to convienence stores. Plus a fair amount of Canadians, French, and other white people who visited and never left. For the most part, everyone mingles together in harmony and live by the island's "go slow" motto. 

The Food:

         With the mixture of people talked about above, the food options are actually quite good and varied, albeit expensive. The major theme is Creole dishes of either Chicken or Seafood, with rice. We splurged one night after seeing a spot on the main strip that was constantly crowded and had a charismatic owner. Simply called "Fran's Grill" and serving out of a small yellow wood shed, we sat at a picnic table and chatted with a couple from Lake Tahoe while drinking our 2 free rum cocktails and waiting for the meals to come out. Offering only 3 mains and no choice on sides (all come with curry rice and mashed potatoes), we went with the Red Snapper in garlic sauce and the shrimp in a coconut pineapple sauce. Both were excellent and the free chocolate cake topped it off. It ended up being our 2nd most expensive meal of the trip at $26, but we were happy that we got our seafood fix.

       

We also found the Chinese food to be most excellent and cheap. One small counter attached to a store had no tables but a good stream of locals popping in for fried rice to-go. We got beef chowmein and chicken curry rice, spent $12, and had enough leftovers for lunch the next day. That made me very happy. 

 Eating piles of Chinese food, watching street basketball

Then we found the cheapest options; a couple local food carts or shacks that offer tacos of all types, burritos, and burgers. Plus a local kitchen attached to a home, similar to what we had found in other countries, offering empañadas, baleadas (a Honduran quesadilla type thing), and other fried stuff. Our meal there was about $5. 

      Empañadas for me, Julia is cutting the baleada

The Island:

         From our cabin, there is a sand path that hugs the eastern shore, past multiple hotels, to the ferry dock. It makes for a nice walk although it gets a bit dark at night and seems to be popular with bicyclists. To the south of us, the path crosses the small airport where small planes jump between islands. And further south it turns into smelly, uninhabited mangrove wetlands. Most locals live on the western shore or central. Colorful stilted houses filled with generations of families and gated condos for the expats.

There is a main sand road that travels up the east side which is sometimes crowded with golf carts, bicyclists, and walkers. No cars out here, but you will see the rare truck delivering stuff. The road comes to an end up north at "The Split", a channel that splits the island in half, created during a hurricane back in the 1960's. Most tourists go there and the people watching is world class. It has a bar named the "Lazy Lizzard" but many just hang out on dock and swim out to a sand bar. We roll up there about every other day to git in de wata. 

                                                       Lounging around "The Split"

                                               Walking down the main drag

The main road has most of the tourist shops and restaurants. They brag about their food or tours and it is tougher to ignore them since they speak English. Now that we have been here for a while, I feel like some of them have started to give up on us. In general, basic needs are more expensive here than anywhere else we have found. Even the price of laundry service shocked us. The lady said it was 15 BZ$ per load (most places go by weight), and we thought we had just over 1 load worth. When we picked it up, we were shocked to hear it was over 2 loads and would cost us 40 BZ$ ($20 US). The most we had paid this trip was $10 US, and that was for an even bigger load. Julia questioned the ladies numbers and asked to see her washing machine. Eventually she talked her down to 35 BZ$ and we learned a valuable lesson; only do laundry by weight to get the cost upfront, and look around town more because we later found multiple laundry sites that would have been cheaper.  

The Reef:

          Just 1 mile off-shore is the 2nd longest barrier reef in the world (after the Great Barrier Reef). You can see the waves breaking over it in the distance. We knew we needed to at least go see it, so we booked a 3 hour trip to snorkel a few spots. Paired with just 2 other girls, the guide swam us around trying to point out things. No really huge schools of fish, but a good variety and some great coral. We saw the following things; Nurse Shark, Lobster, Squid, Lion Fish, Barracuda, Sea Turtle, Angel Fish, and other colorful stuff.

                                                       Nurse Shark

              Some colorful fish and coral

At one point the guide pointed to a hole and said there was a Moray Green Eel down there. He encouraged us to dive down to see it, saying it was harmless and wouldn't leave its dwellings. I dove once but couldn't really see anything. Shortly after, the Eel came out and began swimming right at me. I have witnesses. I think he was following the rule of attacking the biggest guy out of the group, so the others run away. Well... he got within a few feet of me when the guide used his poking stick to distract him, and he retreated back to the coral. The group laughed at me but it could have been ugly. I researched Eels later and found out that they will bite divers fingers off when they try to feed them, or will attack if they feel their burrow is disturbed. I would have probably kicked it with my flippers, but who knows, if it would have got it's teeth into me, I would probably never go back into the water. 

                               The eel coming at me while I bravely snapped photos 

                                             The guide distracting the eel

Our last stop of the tour was "Shark Ray Alley", where they throw sardines into the water so that the Nurse Sharks and Eagle Rays gather around the boat. A bit controversial and fake, but still kinda cool and heart pounding. I would like to point out that I was the first one into the water to snorkel around the sea monsters. After a few seconds, you realize they don't notice you and we kept our distance and watched. Now we can say we swam with sharks and my fear of rays has gone down just a little. 

                             Nurse Sharks and other fish feeding on sardines

                                  The Rays soon came over to get some grub

The other major attraction down here is the "Blue Hole", a sinkhole in the middle of the reef about 400ft deep and 1,000ft wide. If you don't know about it, you should look up pictures on the web. All tours out there are very expensive and it is mostly a diving destination, plus it is a 2hr boat ride away. I feel the need to mention it because it is probably the first thing most people think about when they hear Belize, and we didn't go see it. Maybe next time. 

The Future:

      That basically sums up our week here on the island. The rest and relaxation has been good but we are getting a bit lazy and are ready to get back on the road. Tomorrow (Monday) we will take the ferry back into Belize City before heading further west on Tuesday. Then we will dip back into Guatemala for a week or 2 to see some more ruins and natural wonders. We have been on the hot Caribbean coast for a long time now and look forward to the cool forests and hills further inland. I can't remember the last time I wore a long sleeve shirt. Who knows, I might even look in a mirror and decide to shave.