Adios Mexico

Well we have left Mexico on the way to home via Toronto for a long weekend. We have enjoyed our time here and were sad to leave but as I said before all good things must come to an end.

We will be staying close to home for a few months as we plan our next adventure which we think maybe Central America. Right now we are planning to tour Central America and work our way back for a few weeks to end the holiday in Progreso. I think the place has connected with us and we are looking forward to returning next winter.

So Adios for now. Hasta Luego!!

Going Slow in Caye Caulker, Belize

We spent last week on Caye Caulker, a small tropical island off the coast of Belize. Don and I went with Dawn as she wanted to go diving so we thought it would be a good time to take a vacation within a vacation!

We all took the Platinum bus back to Cancun, stayed overnight at our favourite hostel ( had the best chicken mole ever) and then headed down to Belize the next day. Six hours on the bus to Chetamul which is a city on the border of Mexico and Belize, then took a 90 minute water taxi to San Pedro and then another 30 min water taxi over to Caye Caulker getting there just as the sun was setting.

The water taxi in Chetamul. It holds about 60  people, goes very fast and is very bumpy as it feels like we hit every wave on the ocean!

Don and I in the water taxi, we are still smiling but that was before we started the ride!

Waiting in line to clear Belize immigration.It was in a shack at the edge of the water.

On the way in the open boat on the last leg to Caye Caulker.

Arriving at the dock in Caye Caulker at the end of a long day.

We were up the next day to check out the island as well as enjoy the great pool at the Seaside Cabanas, the small hotel where we stayed.

The Seaside Cabanas, a great place to spend a few days...

One of the views from my lounger where I spent a lot of time. It was quite hot here even more so than Mexico.

Caye Caulker is about 1 km wide and 8 kms long with about 1500 residents. It is known for its' laid back attitute and official motto, " Go Slow". There are a variety of accomodations on the island from hostels to luxury hotels and people often come here not only to relax but to dive, snorkel and partake in other water activities.

A typical cabana painted in Caribbean colours...

The supermarket, no cars on CC only motorized vehicles are golf carts.

The town has three streets, Front, Middle and Back, which are all sand and most people here go around barefoot.

A view up Middle Street

The local laundramat...

The fruit lady making our fruit salad and the juice man doing the freshly squeezed orange juice every morning.

Don checking out the local beer..Belikin.

The Caye also has some great bars...

The Lazy Lizard, the bar at the Split where everyone goes to swim, snorkel, sun and people watch.

Everyone has Happy Hour...

And the sign outside Don's favourite bar as the owner played all the Leafs games,the first he has seen since he left home.

And places to eat...

The local takeout...

Don counting his money, 2 Belize dollars to 1 US dollar...

The best take out food I have had in a long time...

Cooking my supper...

I didn't think it was that big!!!

And as in most places we travel beautiful children...

A little girl and her doll...

Getting water from the well...

Brother and sister...

One day Dawn and I went on a long day trip so she could dive the Blue Hole which is about two hours from Caye Caulker. It was a rough trip but she got to dive there as well as two other sites. The boat was full of divers so as I was the only snorkeler I got to snorkle on my own in some pretty big wave action.



We also got to stop off for lunch at a small island and that was neat as well. Unfortunately neither of us brought cameras as we were afraid they would get wet but we should have as many others did so no pics to show we were there. I did however find a few pics of the Blue Hole from the internet so we can remember what it was like...

The Blue Hole was found by Jacques Cousteau and is a famous diving spot. I snorkelled on the reefs that you see surrounding it.

Here is what the Blue Hole looks like to a diver.

Another day we took a samll boat just five mins off shore which is the beginning of the Belize Reef which is second only to the Great Barrier Reef. This trip was awesome and we do have some pics to share.

The coral and fish were so plentiful and easy to get to. I saw the most amazing things there...small colorful fish the size of my little fingernail, a lion fish which looked like it had feathers on its back, a fish that glowed like a neon sign. Also as I was swimming a large school of fish swam around me. I felt like I was in an aquarium or a Finding Nemo movie!

On the way out to the reef...

The Belize barrier reef where we snorkelled.

This is what some of the coral looked like...

We saw lots of these type of fish.The small ones look like zebras.

Lots of colorful fish

We also snorkelled in Shark Alley where when the boat stops it is surrounded by sharks and rays. And we were supposed to jump in! We did but it was scary!!! They came all around us but are used to humans so we came to no harm and it was an experience to say the least.

As Dawn is snorkelling the dark shape to the front is a sting ray...

Here is a better picture, they were in schools and swam all around us. They move through the water like they are flying.

This is one of the sharks that was in the water. They are called nurse sharks and are not dangerous but they still look scary especially when they surround you under the water!

Our last day in Caye Caulker, a place to go if you are in need of some serious relaxation...

We stayed for a week and then worked our way back to Cancun with Dawn who is now back to work and we are back to Progreso for our last week as we are leaving here next Weds so I guess there will be one post left before we head back to the snow and cold!!

Enjoying our Company and Chichen Itza

This week we had Matt and Dawn here for a visit and was so happy they were here. We stayed close to the house and Progreso so they could enjoy the pool and see a little of the area we were staying in...

Dawn and Matt are practising thier vows.

Dawn enjoying the pool...

That's a big bottle of beer...

We went out to eat a couple of times once at Bamboo Beach and another at Sol y Mar...

Bamboo Beach, they had a liver and onions special that Don ate but the rest of us had fish.

Waiting for our supper...

Visited Lorraine and Austin at their beach house...

Matt and Dawn at the gazebo...

Dawn checking out their great house...

And of course we went for drinks, botanos and Happy Hour at our favourite bar...

Mexican refrescos...

Happy Hour Crowd!!

Checking out the spices...

Now how much should we pay for this one?

Our one expedition was a day tour by private van to one of the Seven Wonders of the World,Chichen Itza. This is a large Mayan excavation which is only one eighth developed as it its' heyday it was a city of 80,000.

Map of Chichen Itza

Don and I in front of the Castillo at Chichen Itza

Our guide, Luis, illustrating the Maya calendar...

Lots of carved snakes...

Many intricately carved buildings...

The wall of skulls...

We also stopped for lunch at a huge Yucatan buffet seeing that over a million people visit here every year they have to have some place to feed them. The buffet was actually quite good with the typical fish and pork dishes.

Our restaurant greeter...

On the way back we stopped to swim at a huge cenote compared to the other one we swam in. Again the property was well developed and very clean. The cenote was very wide and very, basically a large hole in the ground with water coming over the ledges and fishes biting our toes.

Yes, the cenote is that far down!!

I am there near the front..

Don trying to stay afloat.

The week has come to an end so Matt has gone back to St.John's, delayed a night in Halifax because of winter weather. The three of us are headed down the coast to Belize for a week of relaxation on a small island in the Carribean Ocean, will do a post on this trip next week.