Belize

Last week, I had a week off, so I headed to one of the Belizean Cayes (Keys), Caye Caulker for a few days of sun, snorkelling and gluttonous lobster eating.

I happened to be going the weekend of Lobster Fest. All you need to know about Lobster fest is that there is fresh lobster all weekend for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A lobster dinner on lobster fest weekend is 10-15 bucks. I met a Norwegian couple who were eating lobster every single day of their 5 week trip. These are good vacation goals.
Even after all the travelling I've done by myself and all the times I've been ripped off, I will still continue to get ripped off. All part of the experience. When I got to the island, I took a golf cart taxi into town (there are only 5 trucks on the mile long island) and got duped into staying at a "5-star hotel" that ended up having ant-ridden beds. Now I've stayed in some seedy places but I draw the line at ants in my bed. I did verify that they weren't bedbugs and I sprayed my whole bed with bug spray. This kept them at bay all night and then I met a girl staying at Yuma's, one of the hostels and crashed there. Nicest hostel in which I have ever stayed. Above is a picture of our porch, complete with swings and hammocks.
Seeing as I generally make an ass out of myself and least once or twice in a foreign country, snorkelling was my big chance. I did a half day trip out to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark-Ray Alley. Shark-Ray Alley is exactly what it sounds like. The boat pulls up to a shallow area and is swarmed by sting rays and nurse sharks. The guide tells everyone to just hop in. Riiiight. It took me a really long time to get in the water. The guide was like, hey American girl, get in the damn sea already. And then he held my hand, like I was 4, and I swam with the sharks and rays. The sting rays that we swam with don't have a lethal sting, it probably wouldn't feel great but it wouldn't hurt you. The nurse sharks don't give one iota that you're around. Both allow you to reach out and touch them since they're so accustomed to obnoxious tourists. Petting a stingray was akin to petting a cat; they seemed to enjoy it.

The Water Taxi

I took a water taxi back to the mainland to catch my flight instead of taking the 5 minute Tropic Air flight to the airport. I've never taken a water taxi. Shortly after we pushed off, a pretty decent storm came through. We couldn't see much - an IFR day on the Caribbean. Water was running in through the windows, everyone from outside had to pack inside. Hot, stuffy and wet - I felt like I was immigrating. It was great and more importantly, really cheap.

Down at the 'Split' you'll find the Lazy Lobster...THE place to be during the day. They even have picnic tables in the sea in case you want to cool down and drink your rum punch at the same time.
In 1961, Hurricane Hattie rolled through and split the island in two. Hence, the name "the Split" for the northern end of the island.

The most important thing to remember when visiting Caye Caulker is to slow down. They have signs posted all around and if those aren't enough to keep you in a torpid state, then the locals will surely remind you. When I was walking down the street, a local lounging on the sand looked at me and said, hey hey slow down. I was embarrassed, so I started walking like I had a small child at my side and didn't speed up until I got back to Cleveland.