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Caye Caulker, Belize

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

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Shelly at the Caye Caulker terminal, reminds me of customs at the Delhi, India airport…

It’s an understatement to say Belize was relaxing.  With caye mottos like “go slow” and “no shoes, no shirt, no problem”, our fast paced, city style came to a screeching halt when we stepped foot off the ferry and onto Caye Caulker.  Located 40 minutes by boat from Belize City and about a mile off the Belize reef, Caye Caulker is the most laid back place we’ve ever traveled.  The caye is about 4 miles long and no more than a quarter mile wide in most locations.  Transportation is basic, mainly foot and bicycle, with the occasional gas powered golf cart.  Without the noise pollution caused by cars, the caye is extremely peaceful and quiet.  The food was amazing and extremely cheap, with a nice lobster dinner and a Beliken beer to wash it down costing about $10 US.  All of the food was homemade (tortillas, salsa, bread, etc.), fresh, and simple. 

Traveling in Belize is easy.  The locals speak great English and are very friendly, to the point where they treated us like long-lost friends.  Unlike other countries we’ve visited, people aren’t trying to sell you things you don’t want, tipping is not mandatory, and we felt very safe at all hours of the day.  Overall, I can’t say enough good things about Belize and Caye Caulker, it’s still a hidden gem but won’t be that way much longer.  You can see tourism taking hold on this sleepy little island.  I hope the citizens of Caye Caulker do what they can to preserve it as is.  The charm and appeal of the caye is that it’s undeveloped, unpretentious, and rustic.

So, what did we do for 10 days in Belize… not much.  We lounged around the pool at our hotel (Seaside Cabanas / www.seasidecabanas.com) with Steph and Cooper and read.  I finally read the Twilight series.  I know, they’re for 13 year old girls, but I had to see what the hype was about.  Our only “domestic” (or marital fight) of the trip was when Shelly tried talking to me on the exact page when Edward turned Bella into a vampire (sorry if that’s a spoiler for anyone).  When not reading, I was diving.  I dove all the famous Belizean sites like the Blue Hole and Turneffe Elbow.  For Christmas, my in-laws gave me an underwater camera case for my point and shoot and I was able to capture what it’s like 130 ft. underwater.  At night, we ate dinner at the local restaurants.  Our favorites, in order, were: Syd’s (best home cooked food on the caye), Rose’s (best lobster), Habanero’s (best fine dining), and Paradiso (brand new South Beach style dinning on the beach).  Overall, Belize was the perfect place to spend our last big vacation comes before the addition of our daughter (due June 1st).   So with that, I’ll leave you with a few diving shots and random pics from our trip.  Bye for now…

Steph, Cooper, Shelly, and I after our 2nd place finish at trivia night. All that random knowledge finally paid off (30 Belizean dollars to be exact).

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Descending into the depths of the Blue Hole and me at 130 feet down…

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Walking on Half Moon Key during our diving surface interval… the most pristine place I’ve been in my life. Not a palm frond out of place.

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The 80 degree bathtub we dove in for 10 days.

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Some parting reef shots…

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Belize… here we come!

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

The last time I posted, Shelly and I were in the Tokyo International Airport catching our final flight home from our Round the World trip.  Even to this day, we’re reminded how much fun 12 different countries and cultures can be.  People always ask “what was your favorite part of the trip?”  I’ve probably given two dozen different answers because every part of that trip was fun. From climbing Machu Picchu, to camping on the Serengeti, to cruising the backwaters in India, each day was unique and special in its own way.  

I started getting the traveler’s itch about 24 hours after landing in Seattle.  We quickly planned a trip to Vegas in September and I also had my annual salmon fishing trip with my father in July.  Both were great trips and Vegas was especially epic.  We had the opportunity to get VIP bottle service at PURE nightclub at Caesar’s Palace and it was ridiculous.  It cost more than our two week stay in Buenos Aires, but was worth every penny.  The salmon trip was also a blast and I ended up catching the biggest Chinook and Coho salmon at the lodge… worth a cool $1,200 bucks.  After splitting the pot with my dad (he netted the fish) and splitting my share with my Shelly (what’s mine is hers and what’s hers is hers), I was left with $300 and put it in the bank.  

Around August, we started to think about where we should go in February when the Seattle weather starts to take its toll on the human soul.   Costa Rica, Hawaii, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Cayman Islands all made our short list of possible vacations.  Airfare at the time was still crazy expensive and flights were in the $800 range for most destinations.  I checked about once a week and fares remained constant until last Thursday when I checked on flights to Belize.  The fares suddenly dropped and a round-trip ticket cost $350!  In about 2.5 seconds Shelly and I discussed Belize, agreed this sounds like fun, and booked a 10-day trip in February.  We are excited to get back out and experience a new country, not to mention get a little sun.  

We’re spending 7 days on Caye Caulker to soak up some rays and go diving in the morning.  Our final 3 days will be in-land in the jungle where we hope to see some Mayan ruins and perhaps try cave tubing.  Overall, we’re excited to go and February can’t get here soon enough.  For now, though, I’ll leave you with a few pictures from this summer and we’ll try to post an entry before leaving for Belize.   

Bottle service at PURE (Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas) and the money fish (North King Lodge, British Columbia)…

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