Belize Independence Day

We were lucky enough to be in Belize during their Independence Day. Caye Caulker put on a little carnival type parade, and my eyes we almost hurting from all the color! It was amazing!

 

 

Belize Continued...

How was your weekend? We had a great time at Oktoberfest, but we ate way too many brats and drank way too much beer!

So since it has been grey and rainy here, I thought I would keep sharing photos from our honeymoon in Belize! The colors make me want to be back on the islands, lounging around in the sand, with a pina colada in hand.

Caye Caulker

Upon arrival, this is the first stop:

The split. A few years back a hurricane ripped Caye Caulker in two. What remains is called the “split,” and it is where locals and tourists alike hang out, soak up the sun, and swim around.  The part of the island that got separated is swimming distance away.  

To get a taste of the local culture, this is essential:

Leaving the tourist trail. Heading into the “neighborhoods” of Caye Caulker, around the middle of the island, gives a glimpse of what everyday life is like on the island.

This meal here, had me begging for more:

The Little Kitchen. It is in the back of a house off of a side street on the middle of the island, but despite the slightly sketchy area of its location, the women cooking know their way around the kitchen! They cooked up the best creole lobster and jerk shrimp, and make sure to eat the stewed rice and beans.

 

To ride in style like this locals, I recommend this form of transport:

Biking. All the locals mob around on bikes (and golf carts) because vehicles are not allowed on the island. So grab a beach cruiser and slowly work your way around the island. 

You will sleep like a baby here:

Sea Dreams hotel. Air conditioning was an added bonus that made us sleep, well like babies. 

Want a souvenir, take this home:

Marie Sharp’s hot sauces. This is a Belizian staple. Marie Sharp has created an empire based off of her local hot sauces and jams. They are so popular that she owns her own island!

The locals and tourists like to get tipsy here:

The Lazy Lizard. Happy hour is from 4-8 and locals and tourist head here to drink the Lizard Juice (known to knock out even the biggest of men) or my favorite, 2 for 1 Panty Rippers. Basically you can’t go wrong with local coconut rum mixed with pineapple juice!

The culture here is unique because:

It is seriously a mixture of all different people and walks of life.

Kriol, Maya, Garinagu (also known as Garifuna), Mestizo (a mixture of Spanish and Native Americans), Mennonites who are of German descent, with a blend of many other cultures from Chinese to Lebanese. 

If I had 24 hours here, I would spend it this way:

I would rent a bike in the morning, head into town to get some fry jacks for breakfast. Then around noon, when the sun is pounding, I would head to the split, strap on some fins and a mask and snorkel around the island. I would end the day by grabbing jerk chicken or grilled lobster from a road-side bbq cart and wash it all down with an ice cold Belikan beer.

You Betta Belize it

The first day of our official honeymoon, Brian and I decided to make the trek down into Belize to hang out on the picturesque island of Caye Caulker. It is a four hour bus ride from Playa del Carmen to the border of Mexico/Belize. We upgraded buses and took a primera clase ADO bus for about $40 dollars per person. I'm pretty sure the "upgrade" actually involves more air-conditioning, so that you feel as if you are sitting in a fridge for four hours, in tank tops and shorts no less. 

Once we reached Chetumal (still in Mexico), we booked a high-speed ferry from Chetumal to Ambergis Caye in Belize and then on to Caye Caulker. This costs around $40 or so per person as well, so it definitely isn't cheap to get to the islands, but it is well worth it! 

After a four hour bus ride and another two hours on a ferry, we finally reached Belize! We arrived a few days before Belizian Independence Day and were lucky to snag a one bedroom apartment close to the spit on Caye Caulker.  The hotel, Sea Dreams, is more like an 8 room bed and breakfast. Each morning we were there, a local Belizian woman named Ada cooked us a fabulous breakfast, which we ate on the roof of Sea Dreams while overlooking the water. 

The spiciest Jerk chicken/ food I have ever eaten at Terry's Grill...

Wanderlust Wednesday: Caye Caulker

   There are two ways into Caye Caulker, the cheap way, which I took a few years ago and the expensive but incredibly faster way. For us, the cheap way was taking a bus from Tulum, Mexico, four hours to the border of Belize, and then another two or so hours into Belize City. From there we hopped on a local ferry and rode another two bumpy hours to Caye Caulker. 

As for my parents, this last winter they did it the easy/more expensive way. They still bussed in from Tulum, but once they reached the border they took a flight from Corazol   into Caye Caulker, I think it was only 30 minutes. 

Either way you get there, Caye Caulker is definitely worth the trip. 

Caye Caulker is a sleepy little island, with one town (it's really small), no vehicles, 

and pure white sand "roads." 

We rented bikes and cruised around the island and walked barefoot from the moment we stepped ashore. 

This led to a lot of lost shoes. 

Currency: Belize Dollar (2 to our 1)

Beer: Belikan

Hot Sauce: Marie Sharp

Food: Coconut rice + beans

Language: English + Patois (creole-ish english, sounds like pirates) 

One of my favorite memories from Caye Caulker is this little kid coming around to our guest house, selling fresh johnny cakes out of his bike basket for a Belizian dollar.

I spent a few weeks in Belize traveling from tip to tail, and Caye Caulker is still 
one of my favorite places in that country....Which is why, in September, we take off from our Mexican wedding to honeymoon in Caye Caulker.