Chilling in Caye Caulker

I woke up the next morning about 9am with a slight hang over from too much rum punch. I head down to the internet cafe to blog and then find Cramer for a little lunch. A guy named Reina is selling fresh banana bread and meat pies out of a little cart on the street. The meat pies are like little pot pies and are common down here. They're cheap and tasty at 50 cents a piece. Reina tells us that the locals all eat at a place called Syd's. So we walk over there. The island is small and there are only a few main streets. You can walk to the end of one part to the other fairly quickly. That's another thing that makes this place so great. No cars. Everyone has a bike or they get driven around by golf cart taxis. It makes a huge difference in creating that laid back old school vibe. There are no huge resorts either. The island is full of little hotels (mostly 2 to 3 stories), bars, restaurants, and home owned by the locals. Just like anywhere in poorer countries the locals live in smaller less impressive dwellings. But here it all seems to blend together and it just seems natural. The people are laid back and even when trying to sell you something aren't pushy. Syd's is only a short walk from the hotel. They have a lot of different choices, but they're famous for their fried chicken and beans and rice. It even comes with a fried plantain and some coleslaw. Cramer and I order an appetizer of Ganashes after I see a local family eating a huge plate of them. They're just tostadas with some beans, cheese, and some onion. They're only 25 cents a piece. By the time our food comes we've already killed our appetites, but that doesn't stop us from tearing into some tasty fried chicken... Colonel Sanders better watch out.
After a huge meal we decide to walk the island and check out the split. The split is the place where people go to swim and drink. Caye Caulker is actually two islands that is split in half. Almost everyone stays on the southern island and the northern part of the southern island is called the split. Apparently back in 1961 Hurricane Hatti created the split by leaving a small river running through the island. People then dug it out to create a channel so boats could get to the other side quicker and easier.

There is a cool bar at the split called the Lazy Lizard. People are all drinking and swimming and enjoying themselves. Reggae and Punta rock is blasting on the speakers. The currents in the split are moving very fast so I have to be careful no to get too far out. While sitting at the Lazy Lizard, we see a bunch of people crowding around a big black guy, taking pictures. I guess the guys been in some movies, but I don't even recognize him. Then it clicks.... It's Big Worm from the Friday movies. I think most recently he's been in Couples Retreat. Too funny.


After a few too many beers I start talking to a local girl named Kimmy. She is a real funny person and starts giving my a back massage. Well somehow I have a new girlfriend now! I hang out with Kimmy for a few hours, she's a real sweet heart. Everyone knows her on the island and she is friends with everyone. We go to the internet cafe and I set her up with an email and Facebook account! We end up going to the I and I Reggae bar to end the night, which is right by our hotel. I say goodbye and take off around midnight.

The next morning Cramer and I are up early to sign up for a snorkeling trip through Raggamuffin tours. We sign up for the half day trip which runs about 25 dollars and takes you by sailboat to the local reef at three different spots. Our guides are a couple of Belizean rasta guys. They're very friendly and cool. The reef off of Belize runs all the way down to Honduras and is the second largest reef next to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The first stop we get out in about 8 feet of water with sandy bottom. The guys from the boat start throwing pieces of fish in the water and huge schools of manta rays and nurse sharks come swimming all around us. I reach out and pet a couple of the mantas, but I'm a little wary of that stinger! I can't quite get close enough to pet the nurse shark. There were some other fish swimming by too like a barracuda. The next two stops took us to the coral reef where we got to see the different corals and hundreds of fish. The corals weren't very bright, but overall a very good experience. I love being down there swimming with the fish. I think I'm going get my scuba diving license when we get to Roatan, Honduras.


We hit Syd's for part two and pass out for a quick nap in the AC. After a few drinks we start walking down the beach to see what's happening. Getting hungry again, we see a woman selling stuff of her cart on the side of the road. Her name is Ms. Rose and she has the real deal. I get the stewed pork, rice and beans, potato salad and some kind of local garish of onion on the rice and beans. All for about 4 dollars, which is a great price around here. It's the best meal I've had since I've been here. We sit at a picnic table by the ocean and end up talking to a family while we eat that's from Virginia. They travel all over the world constantly, because the husband works for a university and gets paid to teach classes in different countries. The guy's name is Scott and his wife's name is Kim and they have two kids one 13 and the other about 10. They just got to the island, but turns out they're going to be seeing almost all of the same stuff as us. They even leave a few days after us from Costa Rica too.

It's our last night on the island so Cramer and I go back to the Reggae Bar. A couple of young women named Kendra and Melissa are with us that we met on our way to the bar. Both just got here, one from Belize city and another one from Honduras. Unfortunately I think these girls are trying to make an honest living... if you know what I mean. As the night progresses different bars become the hot spot. At first everyone is at the reggae bar until midnight, then everyone heads to Oceanside bar. Before we leave the the bar, Cramer and I start talking to a couple of British guys who are very cool. We've met a lot of students and others in college doing field work down here. On the snorkeling trip we met a bunch of British people who were doing marine biology work in the reefs. Another group from Texas was doing excavations on one of the islands looking for colonial artifacts (pirate stuff!). Many other are doing digs in the jungles too. These British guys were traveling through Central America too and we're going to many of the same places. We finally end the night at a bar called Jello which is like a dance club. We finally say goodbye to our lovely lady friends and head home stopping for some more street food! Hahaha, and I thought I was going to lose weight down here. We start talking to a rasta guy on the street and suddenly the cops pull up. They think were buying drugs or something. They give us a pretty thorough search before sending us on our way. My motto is Hugs not Drugs, officer!

All in all Caye Caulker is a great place. Highly recommended. If you're not into the big resorts and want a little bit more authentic experience, more similar to the islands in the Caribbean, check out Caye Caulker. It's laid back, reasonably priced, and they speak English, which really makes a difference. I did spend about twice as much as I thought I'd spend, but when you're on an island even one a little more consumer friendly the money goes quick.

Now we're going back to Belize City and then heading west to San Ignacio in western Belize. I'm going to have to enjoy the ocean breeze for a few more minutes, because now we head into the jungle for awhile! Chicken buses and profuse sweating here we come!