Hola, Smitty here! Sometimes I think its a little hard to say exactly what you want to say when you find yourself in a place that speaks to you without needing to say anything at all. El Tunco is a place that shifts in shape, and if you will it, it can be exactly what you need it to be for you in that moment. Regan got a little unlucky in her time there (she is without question a tough chica) but I think she would tell you that without an injury, Tunco is a sound spot to post up and enjoy yourself.
That said, WHAT A WICKED WEEK!
As a beach girl by nature, I was pretty hooked right away. Getting away from Antigua's city life and getting back to living in board-shorts and beach dresses was essential to my well-being.
The Beach: They call it 'El Tunco' because the rocks right off shore supposedly look like a gigantic roast pig (the Spanish translation). A few highlights of this particular beach are as follows:
1- No sand flies! that's right people - you can cruise around this beach at sunset and all through the night without getting eaten up and looking like a chicken-pox victim the next day. I wont say mosquitos are completely non existent, but its way better here then most other beaches we've been to.
2- Black volcanic Sand: its pretty lovely stuff, soft and pretty and different, but CUIDADO (careful!) because by 11am - that stuff is en FUEGO (fire) and without sandals, tramping around can prove deadly.
3- Surfing: while Regan and I aren't exactly seasoned surfers, (okay we pretty much suck) renting a board is pretty cheap down this way. $5USD for a 1/2 day and $10 for an hour lesson + and hour after to mess around and test your skillz. WORD! Also, for the more experienced wave rider, Tunco has a beautiful point break known as Sunzal which gets pretty nice sized waves with a channel to the left making for a white-wash free paddle out. Enjoy a sunset out there on the water and remind yourself where you are, I guarantee you won't forget it.
ON LEAVING: During the high season, it is very easy to get to El Tunco, but we found it pretty tricky when it came to leaving. Buses OUT of El Tunco book up very fast and only run 4 days a week so make sure if you're on a tight schedule, that you look into out-going buses early on in your stay. We paid $50 USD to go from there to Leon, Nicaragua and booked our bus 5 days in advance.
Like Regan said, El Tunco is pretty small; 2 main streets are what make up this fun little beach scene. That being said, while I know some people who have gotten stuck there for months at a time, I personally LOVED it as a vacation location, and would go back many times over on somewhat shorter trips. It was a great place to re-connect with people from earlier on in our trip, (since it's such a popular destination within El Salvador) as well as meet a whole slew of crazy new characters we now call amigos.
Enjoy El Tunco! Ladies; VIVA ladies night and fellas, VIVA ladies night too. Go to Take-a-Wok and get the best Asian stir-fry, rent a board and catch some waves, take a late night skinny dip with your silly friends, and get a ginger shot at the smoothie bar when the hangover kicks in!
Showing posts with label paradise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paradise. Show all posts
Friday, March 1, 2013
Sunday, December 9, 2012
You Better Belize It!
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
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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