Well, have been here on Caye Caulker for 4 days now and am feeling well and truly chilled ! It's got a typical Caribbean feel to it, everything at go slow. On my first day I got told by a guy that I could get a ticket for walking at that speed, since then I've tried to amble along at chill-speed !
The island was split in 2 I think in the 70's when a hurricane ploughed it's way through - there is now a channel of water called, surprisingly enough, "the split" where there was once land. It's a great place to go swimming.
The place I'm staying is dead cheap, very basic rooms, I've got a bed - that's it ! But what else would I need ? I've met a couple of great local guys, Leslie has a barber shop in the store downstairs, his mate Dave (I didn't even ask him if he rides a bike - considering the only method of transport here is a golf cart it's unlikely) and also Lincoln. The other night they cooked me up some Snapper and Lobster straight from the sea, cooking on a BBQ out the front of the store. Much better than going to a restaurant !
The weather has been pretty good considering I was expecting rain over here, yesterday I went snorkelling out by the reef with nurse sharks and stingrays. Spent the day on a sailboat in the Caribbean, with the sea the sort of colour we dream about, pure turquoise. I'm still struggling though with this breathing thing whether through a snorkel or through scuba equipment. Although it was amazing yesterday I have to admit I spent most of the time trying to breathe normally. I was going to dive the Blue Hole (the most famous thing about Belize, a dive site with sharks and whales and stuff) but it's so expensive to do and I'm not sure I could actually do it. Got stung twice yesterday too by a bloody jellyfish, was a bit painful but I got over it - spent about 20 minutes waiting to have some sort of allergic reaction and having to insist on the boat to turn back on a Piriton mission but luckily no sign ! It's interesting, while away from home like this I have a real terror of becoming ill due to the comparable lack of health facilities. I seem to have some sort of very slight eye infection at the moment and I'm hoping it will go away on it's own accord in a couple of days, can't find any eye wash stuff here on the island, come to think of it can't find any sort of pharmacy !
I'm due to leave Caye Caulker tomorrow, but I'm a bit stumped on where to go ! I was planning on a couple of days down in Placencia in the south of Belize and then catching a ferry to the north coast of Honduras but apparently the ferries only leave on a Friday - that would mean me hanging about in Placencia for 5 days (no major trauma considering it is supposed to have the best beach in Belize) but Belize is so expensive I could do with getting over to Honduras sooner. Oh well, I'll get a launch over to Belize City in the morning, find a bus to Dangriga or Placencia and take it from there !
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