So long and thanks for all the fish
Trip Start
Sep 07, 2005
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11
124
Trip End
Aug 18, 2006
Belize City, Belize
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Several busses cruised by at about 5:30, and for several minutes we were convinced that we had been forgotten or that the tickets we purchased in Antigua were actually just very expensive bits of paper. Fortunately, through our blurry eyes, we spotted a bus with the words Belize City across the top. We climbed aboard and crammed our gear above the seats we had selected. By this time we were now fully conditioned to drill of telling the driver that our bags would fit on board and that it would not be necessary for him to take them for us. Sure enough, with a little repacking, we were able to stuff our two big bags into an overhead space that was not more than 12 inches tall. Accomplishing this feat and watching other travelers lug 4 to 5 times the weight and volume that we carried gave us great pride. Many bus drivers and almost every traveler we had come cross made some comment about how light we were traveling. Of course most of their comments came with expressions that made clear their realization that the awful stench they had been noticing was not a local farm animal, but was in fact us, the lightweight but putrid Americans.
Later that day we crossed yet another boarder and soon found ourselves in Belize. For several days we had been looking forward to some proper R&R in a nice resort by the beach, but while on the bus we were shocked by the prices of hotels listed in our guidebook. Our only real objective for our time in Belize was to do some diving, so we eventually talked ourselves into setting our sights on the cheaper, more backpacker oriented Caye: Caye Caulker.
So with our objectives clearly defined, we hit Belize City on a mission. We found our way to a bank to extract Belizean Dollars, to a ferry terminal to purchase tickets to Caye Caulker, and to Dits, a small hole in the wall we read about that was renowned for its coconut pie. Other gringos who got off the same bus had the budgets and good sense to get into a taxi as soon as they hit the city, but us less extravagant and less intelligent travelers decided to brave the city in the heat of the day on foot. By the time we had completed our errands and found the famed Dits, we were shot. The city was dirty, the air was humid, and the sun was hot. To our collective surprise, neither of us were particularly cranky yet, so our time at Dits was a delight. We had two slices of coconut pie that would probably have been rejected at the local supermarket, but in the state we were in it tasted like mana from heaven. We washed the cream-free pie down with a real brown-as-a-bag banana shake and by the time these treats were gone we were both just as pleased as punch.
With full stomachs and high expectations, we found our way back to the ferry terminal. Thirty minutes later we pilled onto a small water-craft with about 25 other passengers (and their absurd amount of luggage) and were on our way. After a short 45 minute boat ride across what has to be the calmest ocean-water in the world, we arrived at Caye Caulker.
Our guidebook indicated that Caye Caulker was a no shirt, no shoes, no problem kind of place, so give the fact that our shirts and shoes were riper than the bananas used at Dits, we figured this was a bit of good fortune for the island and both of its future residents.
When we got off the boat we were approached by the expected band of touts who wanted to help us with our bags and also wanted to help us find a place to stay. But these hawkers were about as aggressive as the greeters at Wal-Mart, because as soon as we said no, gracias, they backed down. There was either a lot of burning herbs on this island, or we had truly arrived in the Caribbean. Who knows, perhaps the two go hand and hand. In either case, the guidebooks are to be believed when they say this place is laid back. A decent number of the shopkeepers we encountered were fast asleep and several signs on the island prompted visitors to slow down. This type of signage makes sense near a school zone, or in heavily trafficked areas, but this little island doesn't even allow cars, so their commands were truly intended to impact not only our velocity, but our states of mind. We must have been moving too fast to even read the signs the first time through, because over the course of the next hour we had stopped in to negotiate a room rate with every single hotel vendor on the island.
There were only three items on our agenda that night: we wanted to book a dive for the next day, we were interested in sampling the lobster sold by every restaurant in town, and we simply had to find a way to cool down. The second and third objectives were accomplished at a decent looking sea-side restaurant that served up local everything and was close enough to the water to provide a decent cross breeze. After a fairly disappointing meal we made our way to a dive shop that offered full day dive trips to the famous Blue Hole for about $30 less than the other shops we had come across.
We rose early the next day and made our way back to the dive shop that was kind enough to accept our credit card the night before and were treated to complimentary coffee and cinnamon rolls. Our dive boat was slated to depart at 6 AM or as soon as the 14 other passengers arrived and had consumed their fill of free breakfast....
