Belize and Mexico

Caye Caulker - Belize

Our next stop Belize was our first taste of the Caribbean, we were looking forward to swimming in the warm water, Diving and just chilling on the beach (its not like we had done much of that yet :).

We all (the entire bus) got stiffed out of 20 Quetzales each by the corrupt boarder officials as we crossed from Guatemala, we were told you have to pay an exit fee, which is very common in these parts, but found out later if you asked for a receipt you were just waved on. It wasn't a lot of money in fact only about $3 each, but still.

We caught a speed boat ferry to our island in the sun, this was the Caribbean we had expected. English was the main language spoken, but the creole accent can be so hard to understand. there were plenty of guys, old and grey with dreadlocks to their knees, lots of rasta hats, all pretty chilled back and happy to be here.

The people were great, friendly happy to chat, lots of fresh fish and grilled chicken.

Cos arranged a dive trip to the blue hole, the main reason we had picked this place to come to.
Cos:
For those of you who have not heard of the Great Blue Hole, it is a giant sink hole off the coast of Belize, a quarter of a mile across and 145m deep. It used to be a cave, which perhaps our ancestors lived in before the sea level rose and the roof caved in. The two entrances (shown below) are compliments of jacques cousteau and some dynamite.

So after a dawn start, and two and a half hours (60miles) of punching through a massive swell, I couldn't wait to get in the water! It had been awhile since my last dive, and although I was excited about the dive, I wasn't sure a deep dive with no bottom was the best for a refresher.
The edge of the cave is an overhang, about 3m thick, we flew off the edge head first and floated down into the black gloom. There was an instant temp change inside the hole, the water was cold, everything was black, and there was no sea life. The guide started off into the black, under the overhang. I had no idea if we were swimming into a wall or not, so i followed him, leaving the group behind. It was incredible. As soon as I was under the overhang, my eyes adjusted. Giant, stalactites hung from the ceiling, as big as tree trunks and some up to 10m long. I swam weaving between these giant prehistoric creations. The sight, combined with the narcosis was incredible. It is a scary dive, but worthwhile.

The next two dives had an amazing amount of marine life along a wall of reef. Turtles, stingrays, moray eels, lion fish, barracudas and an amazing variety of fish. The visibility was over 50m, in warm, blue Caribbean sea. Halfway through the second dive, I heard dolphins, which is amazing in itself. Then, a pod of over 30 dolphins swam right past us, some within 2m. I have surfed with dolphins before, but seeing them move under the water, their massive, smooth bodies gliding effortlessly and their kind eyes twinkling, was incredible.

We stopped for lunch on an island which was close to perfect, Halfmoon Caye Natural Monument.  Picture a long stretch of pure white sand, dotted with palm trees and shells, crystal clear blue water, a green lush jungle which edges towards the beach and that's the island. It is the nesting home of the Red footed Booby Bird, and frigates, which are both unique and kinda gross. They inflate their giant red throat and make growling/chocking noises to attract females - Sexy ey?

Something I had wanted to try at home was kite surfing, I knew you could do it here and after seeing the constant onshore winds coupled with waist deep water I was convinced it was a great place to try. Signed up for a 3 hr lesson and had a ball. Those kites are so powerful, even a little one will lift you clear out of the water if you don't handle it right. The instructor was great and even offered for me to call in the next day and have another go. Its hard to combine all the elements of handling the kite with a board, I managed to get up on the board a couple of times, which is pretty good after 3 hours lessons. When we return to warmer water I will definitely be taking this up, onshore winds will no longer be a bad thing.

Most of our days were spent wandering around the small sandy island, eating, lazing about with a few water sports thrown in for good measure. We were told it was expensive here, but this was not the case, yes it was more so then Guatemala but you cant get much cheaper then that.

The Caye was beautiful, surrounded by palms on all sides, white sand and clear azure water

We really enjoyed a laid back week here, spent too much time in the sun, enjoyed some jerk chicken and fresh seafood burritos, well worth a stop off if you get near.

Next and final stop - Mexico