Ah, the Caribbean...Caye Caulker, Belize

Well, we're back at our trusty internet cafe in Flores, Guatemala, after 4 days and 4 nights of blissfully warm Caribbean lounging in Caye (means island) Caulker, Belize. The water was so turquoise it took my breath away!

The first thing I did when we arrived by bus and ferry from Guatemala was to sign up to go diving! And no, this time, we had no problems with immigration! =)

The first day I dove the Blue Hole, which you have probably seen if you have seen any tourism posters for Belize. It was amazing. My first dive was to 140 feet to an overhang where you could swim between the stallactites, some of which were many tens of feet in diameter and hundreds of feet long. At that depth, there isn't a lot more to see, but on our safety stop coming back up there were several reef sharks circling about. I have to admit when one of them turned toward me, I did back up a bit! I have to repeat myself here and say that the dive was really amazing. At that depth (my deepest dive so far) - the bubbles of my exhales sounded like glass tinkling.

Here's a link to a photo of it if you´re not familiar with it:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/galleries/belize/photo2.html

My second and third dives that day saw all kinds of coral, an octopus, some rays, some barracudas, lobster, crabs, conchs, a huge grouper, moray eel, you name it. The third dive was called The Aquarium for good reason. So many beautiful fish!

Jeremy spent the day wandering around, talking with the local and plentiful Rasta population, and checking out the island. He even saw a dachshund cross the road at a dachshund crossing (there was a sign and everything). He didn't catch the dachshund on film, but we'll post a pic of the sign.

The island has a very Burning Man feel to it - golfcarts and bikes are the main forms of transportation other than walking, people say hello and smile when they pass you in the street, white sand roads - only three of them - and lots of music. Reggae music, but still, music. With all the added benefit of warm turquoise water, great food, and showers and shade.

And the food...oh, the food. I am not ashamed to say (it's in season right now so no guilt) that we ate lobster every day. BBQ Lobster, Grilled Lobster with butter and garlic, Lobster tails, even Lobster kabobs. And I had barracuda steak for the first time. Yum! Although I was thinking about that and apologizing for it when I dove and snorkeled with the barracuda! Sorry, but you taste so good!

The breeze was warm, the water was warm, the air was warm. I love islands in tropical climes. I really do. Flip flops and tank tops at night. No shirt, no shoes, no problem! I'll post some pictures next.

The second day, Jeremy and I went snorkeling, the highlight of which was Ray and Shark Alley, where we snorkeled with so many sting rays that it was hard to jump off the boat for fear of stepping on one. Petted them and everything! So cool. There were so many!

The third day we just spent lazing around the island, sitting in the sun, swimming in the beautiful turquoise water, getting acquainted with the local rum. =) My favorite was dubbed the Panty Ripper - coconut rum and pineapple juice. Yep, I like my fruity drinks! Pineapples taste so good here. "Go Slow", is their motto on Caye Caulker - I can deal with that! We definitely want to come back and spend more time in Belize. Absolutely.

Tomorrow we fly back to San Salvador, where we'll spend the night and part of the next day, and then it's on to Peru where we will be in Iquitos for a few days and on an Amazon trip for a week!

We'll share what we hope will be fantastic adventures about the Amazon part of the trip the next time we come across an internet cafe (probably in Sao Paolo, Brazil where we head for a few days after Peru). Until then, I hope this winter is treating you well. It certainly is treating us well.

Big smiles all around!
Mikol and Jeremy