Belize - A Small Slice of Heaven

Our story with Belize started with a 6 hour bus ride from Guatemala to Belize City harbor. Once again, the border crossing was rainy, with big puddles of crap to slosh through wearing flip-flops of course. The weather improved rapidly when getting closer to the coast, and by the time we were sitting on the speedboat to the small island of Caye Caulker, the sunshine was upon us from between the cloud cover. And come the next day, the clouds were long gone and now, almost a week later, we haven't seen any since..

Caye Caulker is a somewhat popular yet low-key tourist destination, not in the least because of its location only 1 hour by boat from Belize City, as well as the world class diving provided by the three main atolls on the barrier reef, Turneffe, Lighthouse and Glover's. The largest coral reef on the northern hemisphere and only second to the Great Barrier Reef planetwide, the Belizean reef is a great spot to come face to face with large marine life; sharks and big rays are abundant here, with the seasonal chances of seeing dolphins, whales and manatees. The only problem here is the cost of the sport - a two-tank dive would cost 100 USD. Whoa! We did one day trip, saw some nurse sharks, were amazed, but sadly couldn't afford more. Too bad, but then again it won't be long till we're on the Honduras Bay Islands doing the same thing for 1/3 the price.

After a cozy warm day of doing absolutely nothing beyond exploring the town and the occasional dip in the sea, we came into contact with the brilliant local company Raggamuffin who organize snorkeling trips on sailboats, and after a lengthy discussion ended up booking a 3-day sailing trip down south towards Placencia.  Talk about ex tempore! Till the last minute there was a bit of excitement about whether the trip would happen or not since the company needed 8 people to go and only 6 had signed up, but when we went back to their office at the deadline hour, they informed us the trip was a go. Super! At 300 USD the price of the trip was somewhat steep, but now having experienced it all I would be as bold to say it was worth the money.

The next morning we boarded the vessel Ragga Gal and headed out to sea. The breeze was very calm and we'd run on the engines the whole day, occasionally zigzagging small mangrove islands inside the reef and running fishing lines continuously. The first catch of the trip was by an English gent called Rob, and he got a pretty big one quite quickly. Go Rob! Before leaving they'd brief us about the trip and the fishing opportunities, but I'd definitely not expected we'd really catch anything worth mentioning. Oh man was I wrong about that! The total score was something like 2 big barracudas, a trevally, several red snappers, a grouper, 5-6 lobsters and a few other fishes whose species didn't reach my ears. Our diet consisted almost totally of the stuff we caught ourselves, cooked by our brilliant captain Patrick, while our tour guide/deckhand Shane was keeping people on board entertained with his reggae sing-along. What he lacked in singing voice was well compensated by the quantity of effort!

Our first overnight stay was on Rendezvous Caye, a tiny 15-by-50 meter strip of sand and palm trees close to the rim of the reef. We'd eat another serving of fresh seafood, including a lobster ceviche with nachos, and help ourselves to a gigantic amount of rum punch by a bonfire and fry marshmallows and play funny drinking games.

And the sunset on the island.. just purely unbelievable. Our 5 tents barely fit on the island, and being in the middle of nowhere under the stars was pretty wonderful.

The second day started with some more snorkeling and speargun action, looking for some lunch from the reef fish population. And the result: several lobsters and a load of red snappers. Later, some hours into the sailing southwards, our boat suddenly stopped with a thump, the hull trembling: we had rammed the reef on a shallow part and our vessel was stuck on it. With the slightly embarrassed Mr. Shane at the helm, us passengers hopped into the sea to lighten the load and after some time gunning the engine, the guys managed to back the boat off the reef and off we'd go again.

The second night we'd set our tents on Tobacco Caye, an island just slightly bigger than the first one but with some settlements, AND most importantly, a thatched-roof bar with ice cold beers to keep us oiled through the early night. Enjoying the general chatter among our group and watching a local Garifuna style drumming group play their music, we really enjoyed ourselves on that small island on the Caribbeans. This certainly is what life should always be about.. good times with nice people, good climate, unhurried pace with no deadlines. Go Slow! like they say on Caulker.

The third day started again with bit of snorkeling on the local stretch of reef. Before we set sail, we had an hour or so to play in the water, and it was worth it: I came face to face with a large spotted eagle ray swimming in the shallows. I dove after and followed it till my lungs were bursting, and it disappeared into the blue. Afterwards we just sat on the deck, talking about traveling and life with the fine people we'd come to know and like in the past few days on the boat. In the evening we arrived into Placencia, a midsized beach town in the southern Belize where a lot of north Americans are enjoying their retirement. While nothing spectacular, this place is great for sipping some cold drinks at the beach and thinking about the awesome past three days on the boat. A cool Irish couple from the boat are staying here with us for a few nights, while the others went their separate ways already. We're leaving for Honduras in 2 days as well.

Belize recap

Belize is quite different from the other central American countries. For one, it is a proper Caribbean country with the culture that comes with it. Out with the Spanish; English/Creole are the languages here. The backpackers are nowhere to be seen - people arrive here pulling  Samsonite bags after them. The prices are through the roof - roughly double compared to the most expensive counterpart in the area. But all in all, it would be impossible not to like the life here. The seas are turquoise and warm, beaches are white and the rum is relatively cheap and good.

And everyone you meet is smiling.

Edit November 20th: See all the Belize pictures here!