(^74) Belize City – Caye Caulker - By water taxi (45min)
The place to go to in Belize was the islands. Water taxis plied the water between
the mainland and the Cayes, and we jumped on one and sped off at full throttle
across the calm Caribbean Sea to Caye Caulker. A welcoming and easy-going place
where the motto was “Go Slow”.
Caye Caulker is a tiny island, at most 800m long and no more than 300m wide.
Welcoming dreadlocked and laidback islanders eagerly await one as you step off the
ferry, ready to point you in the right direction (or sell you the good stuff). While
looking for a place to pitch a tent, we were pointed toward a nearby campground.
The helpful gentleman mentioned that if he had a bike, he could’ve shown us the
way – keep in mind we were almost in the middle of the 800m long island. LOL!
The Go-Slow motto of the island was taken quite literally. Being a teeny island,
everyone knew each other. There was no rushing from place to place, as these
friendly people made striking up a conversation easy. On the other hand, going to
the little supermarket to pick up milk could be a lengthy process as everyone knew
we had been cycling and hailed from South Africa, two facts that seemed to amuse
them tremendously. They chuckled at the fact we were white and from Africa and
they were black and from Central America. To them, it was even more amusing that
we cycled to Belize, as the furthest most of them have been on a bike, was around
the island.
We lazed the days away, dipping in the Caribbean's warm, crystal-clear water,
listening to reggae music and sipping beer at the Lazy Lizard Bar. Finally, I gave in
and took a boat to the nearby reef for a snorkel trip. I snorkelled to my heart’s
content and swam with nurse sharks, stingrays, moray eels, and schools of fish. I
wish I had a camera to capture the experience.
leana
(Leana)
#1