More Caye Caulker

I’m on my last night here in Caye Caulker, and while I’m excited to leave and head to my next adventure, I will be very sad to leave this little slice of paradise. The island is really rustic and laid back, and everyone is incredibly friendly, but somehow not in a creepy way (for the most part). Everyone says hello to each other, the locals want to know where you’re from and where you’re going and talk about how great Caye Caulker is, and I’ve met some really great people here in my little hostel! I’m really glad that I chose this as my first stop, it’s been a great introduction to Belize and traveling in Central America, which is quite different from traveling in Australia.
The past few days I have spent sunbathing, playing in the water, and trying to get over this stupid cold that I somehow managed to catch the night before I was supposed to go scuba diving. Needless to say, scuba did not pan out and now I’m trying to figure out another place to do it before I come back to the States, so keep your fingers crossed! Denise and I did go on a boat tour yesterday, where we went manatee watching in the morning and snorkeling in the afternoon. The boat ride was bumpy, but we went through all of these mangroves and past these little islands and it was just absolutely gorgeous. The colors of the landscape here are more vivid than I have ever seen and I am constantly in awe of my surroundings. We did see some manatees, one even came right up next to our boat and poked his snout around for a bit. We went to this little island named St. George’s for lunch, then out to the barrier reef to snorkel. I was really excited to take underwater pictures with my cool underwater camera, and then the stupid thing broke. So if you were wondering why I have yet to post pictures, it is because my camera hates me currently and won’t turn on. Fail. I’m hoping to get a new one tomorrow in Belize City before I trek downward. So fingers crossed again.
Other highlights of Caye Caulker include going to the local reggae bar and seeing how the Belizeans dance…it’s up against a wall and not very lady like. I did not partake, instead opting to bounce around the dance floor with my beer and scaring anyone of coming within 10 feet of me. I also tried the local beer, Belikin, for the first time, and can report back that I’m pretty sure it is just re-bottled Bud Weiser. We also went to karaoke night and watched the locals and some tourists sing their hearts out, which was incredibly entertaining. I’m not sure what it is about foreign countries and bad 90s music, but all that I’ve heard lately is just that. Unfortunately there are no music videos to accompany said music like in Australia, instead they play Sports Center and soft core porn (seriously) on the bar TVs. Kind of an odd mix…
I’ve met a lot of great people since arriving here, and it’s been amazing to hear everyone’s travel stories. I met two girls from Seattle, Jen and Ally, who have been really fun and we all get along really well! Unfortunately they head back to the States tomorrow. However, Ally has been traveling since October and she (along with several other hostel guests) has convinced me to go to Guatemala for a week or so. I’m still going to be in Belize for the next week or so, then I’ll head over to Guatemala for a bit then back to Belize to hopefully do scuba and come home. I’m nervous to go, but also really excited. The majority of people backpacking here are only spending a bit of time in Belize and exploring the rest of Central America, and I figured that I might as well do the same. And I’ve been reassured that it is safe, it’s ok that I suck at speaking Spanish, and will meet lots of fun people on the way, so please don’t worry! I’ll survive. And apparently it’s dirt cheap, which is never a bad thing.
Anyways, I’m rambling, as usual. If you’re reading this and having a hard time following it, I apologize, I feel scatter brained just typing it out. It’s now off to bed for a day of water taxis, buses, and more water taxis tomorrow to get to Tobacco Caye! But I’ll update again soon, and hopefully have some entertaining stories to throw in the mix.