My first border crossing that required an immigration process that didn’t involve an airport was fairly smooth sailing. However as I was buying my ferry ticket they explained I needed proof that I flew into Mexico and a print out of the ticket highlighting specific departure taxes. This I did not have and I certainly wasn’t prepared to pay the tax again ($533 pesos ~ $42NZD). So I whipped out my laptop and used my Photoshop skills to manipulate a ticket from my emails to show ‘the tax.’ I lined up sweating bullets as my mind went to what the inside of a Mexican jail might look like, and they didn’t even look twice at my print out. I mean it was the truth, I had paid the taxes on my flight to Mexico so really I has nothing to worry about right?!

It was nice to have my friend Havi for moral support! We waited another hour or so before boarding the water taxi that would take us on the 2.5 hour journey across to Belize. As more and more people arrived it  didn’t nearly look big enough to transport everyone and luggage from Chetumal, Mexico to San Pedro, Belize.

However everyone piled in and we were off on the bumpy ride. With heavy head nods as I drifted in and out of sleep we soon arrived at San Pedro for immigration processing and then the obvious backpackers got back on the ferry with final destination – a backpacker’s paradise – Caye Caulker. The sun was setting behind the island and we received a warm English welcome. Yes they speak English in Belize!

There are minimal to no cars on the island and again everyone gets around by golf cart. However it’s not a big island so walking the sandy roads is totally doable. There is a super Rastafarian vibe and ‘friendly’ locals yell out Go slow..but keep moving yeah!! The CC motto:

Before you see it, you can smell the grilled lobster which is cooking on almost every corner. Street food is the way to go on Caye Caulker and of course we treat ourselves to the local delicacy. I opt for the jerk style option with coconut rice and a mango salsa. HAPPY DAYS!!  On a particular corner there is the famous cake lady. Every afternoon she is there selling a range of sweet treats, yelling ‘get your cakes here, I’m here until 9, get your cakes’ in a heavy Creole accent. Under her breath just as you walk past she’ll also say ‘I’ve got special cakes too for a good price.’ And of course we are all about trying the local delicacies.

The Drifted Coconut Hostel reviews say incredible air-conditioning, free rum punch every night, free canoes to use... we don’t read any further and book a couple of nights.

It is a pretty cool hostel and the people here are super friendly and of course anyone is going to be after a few rum punches. We make some friends and hit the local bars, top points for name originality – The Sports Bar and after some sweaty dancing we hitch a ride on the back of a golf cart to another place that will see us through to the early hours of the morning – I&I Reggae Bar. Love me some reggae!

The struggle is real the next day. In the 35° heat we saunter to the Lazy Lizard at The Spilt and enjoy some refreshing cocktails and jumping off the jetty.

Unable to back up another night we enjoy a couple of quiet beers out on the water in the canoes and then head to a recommended restaurant called Wish Willy’s to enjoy some more grilled lobster tails! A day on the island honestly goes …Swim, a cocktail, a swim, a street snack, a swim, a cold beer, a sunset, a lobster..and repeat!

Another relaxing day with not a lot planned. We decide to venture across to the northern part of the island which is fairly uninhabited. There is a bar that you can get a ferry across to called Coco King. We spent an afternoon here enjoying the beach and the rubber rings before enjoying another wonderful sunset. We also got wind of a full moon party here the next night so we will surely be back.

Feeling refreshed after a solid sleep (helped by the local delicacies no doubt) we are excited about our adventure ahead with Raggamuffin Tours. A full day snorkeling to the famous Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

The sailboat cruised out on the most incredible crystal clear waters I have ever seen. We had 3 separate snorkelling stops: Hol Chan Channel, Shark and Ray Alley and the third Coral Gardens. At each stop the crew were so informative about the marine life and discussed ways we can minimise our affect to ensure the animals are not put under unnecessary stress.

It is Manatee season and were lucky to come across this slow moving fella, keeping in tune with the island vibe, these guys are in no rush.

Cruising to the next stop – Shark and Ray Alley, you can only guess what might be seen here. The sharks are attracted to the sound of the motor as many companies still feed the sharks to try and attract more tourists. Luckily Raggamuffin have strong polices to not disturb the natural environment and strongly discourage us from getting too close to any of the marine life.

This trip was absolutely incredible and some of the best snorkelling I have ever done. To top of the day we sailed back to the island to reggae music, fresh prawn ceviche and rum punch. The crew said no group has ever been able to finish the whole lot so of course we make an attempt but don’t even come close.

A few more photos of the island life! Enjoy!

Although Belize is known to be very expensive it is only in comparative to the rest of Central America and can certainly be done on a budget by not eating lobster and drinking cocktails everyday! 2 days quickly turned into 5 and I finally decided I had to get off the island before I blew my budget completely. Onward to San Ignacio, a small town close to the Guatemalan border. It was a nice change to see another part of Belize and spend a couple of days. This town is famous some caves called Actun Tunichil Muknal or ATM for short. I have no photos as you are not allowed to take cameras due to a tourist previously dropping theirs on a skull and breaking it. Yes a skull…there are many many human remains in these caves and after swimming through water well over our heads we discovered the full skeleton of The Crystal Maiden although this is controversial as evidence points to it being a man. The caves are thought to have been predominately used for sacrificial purposes and victims of sacrificial ceremonies remain where they died to this day. It was an experience and I was certainly glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel!