Belize...Looking Back, Pt 1

Day 1:
Flew on the WORST FLIGHT EVER. We flew right threw a thunderstorm, and I about lost my very expensive Dallas airport dinner. Arrived at the airport only to find out that they had held an plane for me, so I ran through the airport to meet up with the puddle jumper. Got off on Caye Caulker and got on a taxi to De Real Macaw. I checked in and went and had dinner at Wish Willys. It was a little unorganized and the only reason I ended up eating there was because it was a place recommended by my guide. In hindsight, I should have gone elsewhere, but I was too tired to think clearly.

Day 2:
Got up, went on a walk around the island. Made a grocery run and bought a gallon of water so I’d have some good drinking water. Found a cute place to eat breakfast and ended up talking with a lady who told me about a half-day snorkel tour. I went and booked it. After booking the tour I met three people from Canada who were on the end of their world tour. They were getting ready to go on a tour with Ras Creek and invited me to tag along. Sadly I had already paid for my tour and couldn’t go.

From Belize

I ended up spending the morning at the split, laying on a piece of broken concrete talking to two brothers from the US who were staying at the same place I stayed. One was an investment banker and the other was the owner of a landscaping company.

From Belize

After sunning for a while, I headed back and ate lunch and met up with the boat for my tour. The tour was okay. The guide was knowledgeable and he took us around to several places. I was able to snorkel on my own. The best part of the snorkeling was when we visited stingray alley. I was able to swim and touch nurse sharks and huge stingrays.

From Belize

From Belize

From Belize

I ran into the three people from the morning that evening, and we hooked up for dinner and then met up with the two brothers. We all went out for drinks, and I realized how lame I am. They drank and drank and drank, and I got tired and went home.

Day 3:
Got up and went to my FAVORITE breakfast place. It was up these rickety stairs and they had the most amazing Mexican Breakfast Dish. I even drank tea with breakfast and I felt very British.

From Belize

After breakfast I headed back to my room and got ready for my second snorkel tour with Ragamuffin Tours. I was a little nervous when I got there because there were a ton of people. They split us up into different boats and we headed off. Sadly it wasn’t windy enough to sail to our first snorkel destination, so we motored.

From Belize

I chatted with a bunch of the people and then we got to our first snorkel spot. It was an okay spot, but not my favorite. The second spot we went was back to Sting Ray Alley. It was not nearly as fun as when I went the previous day, and I’m glad that I went on two tours. The final snorkel stop was amazing. It was called Hol Chan and it was a protected spot. I was able to see a ton of fish, sea turtles, and a moray eel! On the way back to Caye Caulker, we all got rum punch to drink. I drank a lot and by the time we were back to dock, I had to eat dinner and go to bed.

Day 4:
I had no plans on this day. I decided to start the day eating breakfast at my favorite place. After, I walked around the island and took pictures of things. I saw the school, kids walking to school, different houses and places.

From Belize

From Belize

I headed back and spent a bit of time reading on my front porch, and once I got too hot, headed to the Split for some swimming.

From Belize

It was super crowded (well, crowded for Caye Caulker isn’t really very crowded) but I found a spot and laid in the sun for a while. I spent most of the day reading, and it was very relaxing. For dinner I ate at a place where the cook/hostess/owner stood next to the picnic tables and she yelled at people. It was the first place I ate fish that had the head still attached, and it was a little weird, but very tasty. I met a couple of people and it turned out that we were both going on the same tour the next morning. So we planned to meet at the dock and head out together.

Day 5:
Got up and went to the grocery store for cereal, milk, and snacks. Packed my backpack and walked to the dock. Bought my round trip ticket and waited for my friends to show up. They were traveling from Seattle. We bonded over the horror that was going to happen because we booked our tour on “cruise day”. We arrived at the dock in Belize City and met up with our guide, who drove us out to the cave tubing place. The whole way he told us about the flora and fauna and history of some of the things that we saw. When we got to the zip-lining place…we were horrified at the “cruise goers” They were rude, obnoxious, and not being kind to their guides. We headed over and zip lined, and it was AWESOME! Then we changed into our swimsuits and met up with our tubing guide. I was disappointed in the cave tubing. It was more like being pulled through the cave as fast as he could pull us. The guide was nice, but it was clearly a profit place, not for meandering. I think I was also really disappointed that I didn’t get to do the tour that I wanted to…going to Lamanai to see the Mayan ruins. When I returned, I saw a sign that mentioned a movie playing. I walked to this place, ordered dinner, got a good seat, and watched The Kings Speech. The ocean was crashing on the left, dinner was amazing, and I met someone from England who had been traveling around Central America for a few months. Belize Trip Recap Part 2 Belize Trip Recap Part 3