Beautiful Sunsets...

SCUBA Blue Hole

I highly recommend this dive to anyone going to Belize. The history of the Blue Hole is that is was a cave at one point and when the Earth's plates shifted, the ceiling collapsed. Over millions of years (ice ages, etc) the cave has been covered by the ocean and is now under water. We went down to 42 meters (despite that I am only an open water diver and my limit is 18 meters) and swam between the stalactites. The coolest part? There were 4 black-tip reef sharks and a bull shark swimming in the hole with us and they were about 10 feet long! I couldn't stop staring!

The dives after the Blue Hole were incredible as well but in a more "normal" sort of way. We dove at Lighthouse Reef and Half Moon Caye and had lunch on Booby Island (Red Footed Boobies that is!).

I got "lost" on one of my dives which was not so cool.
I went up a swim thru and when I got around the last bit of coral, the group was gone! I was way deeper than I should have been and was completely disoriented. I considered surfacing (because that's what you're supposed to do if you find yourself alone on a dive) but I really didn't want to because I knew they wouldn't let me go back down once I came up! The worst part was the coral wall was on my right and there was the deep blue on my left and I SWEAR I kept hearing the Jaws soundtrack coming from the deep blue "dun nun... dun nun... dun...". I would spin around super fast to see if there was a shark there... nothing. If you know my serious fear of sharks, you would understand that I was pretty scared! haha Basically, the dive instructor found me after about 2 minutes and I swam as fast as I could back to the group (only sucking in about one mouthful of water in the process!)

Caye Caulker, Belize

Caye Caulker was not nearly as pretty as Tobacco Caye but the night life was great. There were tons to travelers milling about as well as plenty of locals. Sarah and I both got our hair braided by Anita (we were told she was the best in Belize and we could "find her under the tree!").












I saw some incredible sunsets at Caye Caulker as well...

This was possibly one of the most incredible sunsets I've ever seen... good thing CJ came running over to check out the digital camera!

I got pickpocketed on the dance floor and chased the dude to the bathroom to confront him! I got my wallet back (the money was gone) with my credit cards and my ID. I was proud of my bravery because this guy was big!

I ate a HUGE lobster because they are really inexpensive in Belize. I looked really classy trying to crack the shell with the blunt end of a butter knife (apparently they don't use claw crackers in Belize) and the lobster actually drew blood from my finger even after it was dead!
Our friends from South Africa Mike and Grant at Sandbox on our last night in Caye Caulker.

Snorkeling Glover's Reef

We took a day trip to Glover's Reef from Tobacco Caye and saw some of the best coral I have seen both snorkeling and SCUBA diving!! The colors were so intense and it's one of the only places in Belize where the coral looks this fabulous.

Katrien and Toon from Belgium... this guy is hilarious!

The rest of the time on Tobacco Caye was spent laying in hammocks, reading, and of course sleeping in hammocks.

At night we layed on the deck with Mike and Grant (South Africa) and admired the incredible amounts of stars that were visible in the sky. I don't think I have EVER seen that many before!!
There is nothing like waking up to an early morning sunrise in a hammock with waves crashing about 100 feet from you.

Sometimes we weren't so lucky in the hammocks though as both Sarah and I fell out a few times :) Definitely came back with a couple of rope burns and bruises!!

Tobacco Caye, Belize

After a couple of days at Placencia, we hopped back on the old-American-School-bus turned Belizean-city-bus and headed north. We didn't have a destination in mind so when we met some cool guys from South Africa that were going to Tobacco Caye, we tagged along.

This was the boat I wrote about and this is what Tobacco Caye looked like.

There really wasn't much written about Tobacco Caye in the Lonely Planet and I am guessing it's because whoever wrote about it didn't ACTUALLY go there! It was incredible! We caught a water taxi ... an itty-bitty boat and we crammed about 14 people + luggage on it like sardines. The boat was so full that it was literally about 6 inches above the water on both sides and we were headed 45 minutes into the middle of the ocean. Sweet. Once again, Sarah and I were wondering exactly what we were doing! By the time we arrived at Tobacco Caye, we were all completely drenched and ready to step on dry land.

Tobacco Caye has 18 official residents and is about 5 acres of land. There are no stores, restaurants, roads, cars, bikes, etc. The only thing you can find here are hammocks, cabanas, bars, and snorkel equipment. Exactly what we wanted.... there weren't even hardly any tourists! Talk about a deserted island.

I loved this sign... it was so true!

This is where all 4 of us slept a few nights!

The price of our private cabin ($25) included 3 meals a day which we shared with 6 other travelers. We snorkeled right off the sand in the turquoise waters and saw incredible fish (Eagle Rays, Baracuda, parrot fish, sea cucumbers, butterfly fish, and even the rare Gurnet and lizardfish!)

Placencia

Transportation to Placencia ... $20
Beachside Cabana.. $10
2 Drinks at the bar... on the house

1 laundry service that washed all of our clothes in one load until the colors bled... $15
(... and took my cool pink shorts and my shirt... $70)

The cost of tie-dying the tank tops that were ruined... PRICELESS.

That's right, when given ruined clothing, just wrap the piece of material that bled around the ruined shirts and make a beautiful tie-dye ... now you can still wear it!

The Road Less Traveled, Belize

So after an incredible 6 day experience in Guatemala, we were off to a new country via an old crappy "Greyhound-type" bus. The trip from Flores (Tikal), Guatemala to Belize City, Belize was about 5 hours. The road to the border of Guatemala was hilarious... pretty much just one long dirt road with pot holes, random horses, and roosters walking down the road. Exactly what you might picture Guatemala to look like!

Just past the border checkpoint, we could already tell we were in Belize. Amid the surrounding jungle, were palm trees, houses on stilts, and cemetaries much like those of New Orleans... above ground and colorful. The vibe was already becoming more Caribbean.

Sarah and I were the only tourists on the bus that hopped in a Taxi to head to the bus station. Most, if not all, the travelers were content to head straight to the tourist trap of Caye Caulker just off the north east coast of Belize. We were looking for a more "Belizean holiday" and headed to Placencia (southeast coast). Gotta love the random man who says he's a taxi driver and takes us to his unmarked car... I think we saw a small picture with a license number on the corner of the dashboard before heading out!

Once at the bus station, in typical Belizean style, there were no posted bus times and absolutely no prices listed! haha This is when you have to rely on the locals to shuffle you onto the correct bus. The best part is that none of the "helpers" are wearing any sort of uniform so you just have to trust them when they tell you which bus to get on!

We hop on the once-American-School-bus, now-Belizean-city-bus and attempt to throw our bags under our seats. We take a look around and realize that we are the only travelers and the only white/blonde people ! Sweet, clearly not from Belize!! Then the Caribbean music starts blaring, heads begin bobbing, babies stop crying, and we put the windows down for some AC.

The 4 hour ride to Independence (the launch point for Placencia) was virtually un-eventful and gave us a great opportunity to check out the countryside. I would highly recommend traveling via the "old school buses" around any country because they are economical and give you the most real experience.

The bus driver dropped us off and said that the water taxi was "just that way..." sweet... there we go, gigantic backpacks on, walking through the middle of this random town ... hoping we were going the right way. This was one of those times that we were laughing about the situation we were putting ourselves in!! Turns out the locals were really nice and when we got to our destination the guys that run the water taxi invited us to play Dominos with them!

Sarah and I gave it our best shot and I think they quite enjoyed teaching us how to play and talking to us. We really enjoyed getting the chance to spend some time with true locals, and listen to their Caribbean accents. When they spoke to us, we could understand them but when they spoke to eachother, they spoke a Spanish-English-Creole blend and it was completely foreign to us! All was good until Sarah accidently threw a Domino into the lake...time to go!

We stayed at Deb and Dave's Last Resort which was an adorable beach side condo and it only took 2 minutes for us to put on our suits and head to the beach. Unfortunately, recent weather had churned up the water and instead of white capped waves, it was black muddy water rolling in! So listened to music and had a drink at the bar with the locals instead!

Early morning coffee on our patio at Deb and Dave's...

That night a local rasafarian-artist (picture barefoot with long dreadlocks) invited us to his house for home-made crab and pasta salad... sweet... free delicious meal and some great laughs! :)