So we touched down in Belize City midday on Thursday. The first thing we did once we cleared customs and got our bags was to find a cab to take us to the docks where the water taxi to Caye Caulker departs from. Pretty much everyone we had talked to told us that the first thing we should do once we got to Belize City, was to bail out of the city and head for the islands. And that was just fine by us!
After roughly an hour's boat ride we landed in paradise, aka Caye Caulker. We dropped our bags off in our small dorm-style room near the beach and went to explore. The main streets run roughly a mile long by 4 blocks wide, and sport mostly bars, restaurants, and little shops and bodegas. The island itself is approximately 5 miles long and less than a mile wide. A lot of the locals we've become friends with are originally from Belize City, and came here to escape the violence and crime of the city, and just "Go Slow", which is the motto of the island. There are no cars, only bikes and golf carts. Things move at a leisurely island pace... more than once as I've been walking down the main strip I've heard, "Ay girl where ya gon' so fast now, this is the Caye- go slooow!"
On Friday we decided to move onto a larger, but less expensive room at a guesthouse near the other end of the island. We spent the day near "The Split", a beach-bar area where the island is split in two by a channel about 300 yards wide or so. There's a bar there called the Lazy Lizard, which was appropriately named given that most of us backpackers spent the day sunning ourselves on the concrete piers adjacent to the beach. The water is beautiful- crystal clear with white sands.
Around mid-afternoon we got pretty hungry, and after listening to a few fellow travelers rave about the lobster on the island, and how they've literally eaten it for every meal, we decided that sounded like a pretty solid plan for a late lunch. Not too far from The Split we noticed a sign for Wish Willy advertising a lobster meal for 18BZ (which is $9 US) with free rum punch drinks while you eat. Not gonna lie, it was the second part that really hooked us in. We wandered over there, and inquired about eating. A few men in the yard doing some work informed us that the restaurant did not open until 6:30 pm that night. As we turned to leave, with the intention of coming back when it was open, a tall local came out of the apartment above the kitchen. It was Maurice, the owner and head chef.
"How can I help you?" he asked us. We mentioned the sign and said we'd been craving lobster and his place looked ideal, and that we could come back later on. Maurice quickly waved us to a table, "For you, I'm open" he said as he sent one of the guys to grab some fresh lobster from the market. He then came over and chatted with us, asking us where we were from and how we liked the island. After a few minutes he disappeared, returning with a pitcher full of rum punch. A local favorite and the most affordable drink around, it's always delicious and refreshing. Shortly after that, he presented us with our late lunch: two lobster tails each, cooked to perfection with local spices. It came with an epic rice side seasoned with ginger, sautéed with carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and onions. It was hands down the best meal we have had so far on our trip, and Maurice was a great host. Definitely check this place out if you ever travel to the Caye!
That night we cruised down to the I & I, a local reggae bar where everyone goes at night. Katie and I ended up having a few "small world" moments. We ran into two other UVM grads with whom we had a ton of mutual friends. I also met a kid named Tyler from Keene, who used to live with a friend of mine. Pretty random, right? We made some new friends as well, and cruised to Oceanside nightclub, the favorite late-night spot of the island. All-in-all a really great first full day on the island! I'll let Katie fill you in on the EPIC snorkel tour we took the next day...
Adios everybody!
Caitlin
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