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Published: September 30th 2008
Caye Caulker Sunset
Our hotel was situated on the west side of the island from where we enjoyed many spectacular sunsets.Sadly, and yet with contentment and a sense of accomplishment, we're on the final stretch! Nevertheless, we thought we'd share our final musings of our journey through Belize and Mexico, and then homeward bound via Texas, London and Croatia.
From Guatemala, we set off on a shorter yet adventure filled bus ride to the town of San Ignacio (known locally as Cayo) in Belize. On entering Belize, the immigration officer picked up our passports to stamp them, noted our home country on the cover, set them back down on the counter and turned up his little stereo system playing behind his desk. He said to us, "You know who this is?". By this stage we had wizened up, since we had heard this voice all over Central America wherever reggae was loved - "Lucky Dube!" we both replied enthusiastically. It was such a proud and humbling moment for us as the immigration officer shared his country's love for our fellow countryman's music. A few years back, Lucky Dube came to Belize and played to a packed out stadium of adoring fans. Only by meeting some of his fans on the other end of the world and appreciating Lucky Dube's reggae
genius through their eyes did we come to fully realise the tragedy of his senseless passing and also what a loved and respected artist he is outside of South Africa. Rest in peace, Lucky Dube.
San Ignacio is located just across the border from Guatemala and is cradled in a picturesque valley alongside its sister town Santa Elena between the Macal and Mopan rivers. The San Ignacio region is known for its abundance of outdoor activities and beautiful nature trails. Our main reason for visiting San Ignacio was to undertake a full day caving trip to the 'Cave of the Crystal Sepulcher' (Actun Tunichil Miknal in Mayan) or 'Crystal Tomb'. What an experience this turned out to be.
After arriving at the reserve in which the cave is situated we headed off for about an hour's hike to the cave entrance itself. The walk turned out to be an added bonus especially the three shallow river crossings through sparkling and clear cool water. Following a briefing from our guide and wearing safety helmets and head torches, we proceeded on our adventure into the cave. At the start we all jumped into a deep pool of cold water and
The Crystal Sepulcher
The preserved remains of a young Mayan woman who was sacrificed around 900 AD and after whom the cave is named. from there proceeded to swim into the dark jaws of the cave. The rest of our journey underground would take us approximately 500 meters into the mountain side following the course of the stream that flows throughout, and climbing up, over and through a series of crevices, ledges and rocks. Eventually we were allowed to enter two magnificent chambers deep into the cave which contained numerous pieces of ancient pottery, magnificent and beautiful stalactites and stalagmites and also the skeletons of ancient Mayan sacrificial victims. The cave is named after the remains of a young woman who was sacrificed around 900 AD and seeing her perfectly preserved skeleton was both chilling and intriguing. Our visit to ATM will remain one of the highlights of our trip.
After San Ignacio, we made our way to Belize City from where we would catch a ferry to the island of Caye (pronounced 'key') Caulker situated just one mile west of the beautiful Belize Barrier Reef. Caye Caulker is only 8km long, 2km wide at its widest point, has a population of 1300 inhabitants, and is a laid back and amazing caribbean hideaway. After checking into the fabulous Iguana Reef Inn (a real
treat for us towards the end of our trip), we were soon off exploring the three or four sand roads strewn with restaurants, cafes, small grocery shops, dive schools, bars and the like. Our time on Caye Caulker proved to be a real gem for both of us with highlights including our regular swim at the 'Split' (a clear-green channel separating one part of Cay Caulker from another), watching the beautiful sunset from the beach right outside our hotel, sun tanning and swimming at Iguana Reef Inn, going for walks along the beach front and spending hot afternoons reading in the coolness of our air-conditioned room. We both also became addicted to quiz night at the local sports bar pitting ourselves against numerous other teams for the honour of winning. Having realised at our first attempt that thinking out of the box does not work and that knowledge of American football, baseball and basketball does, we made a steady improvement eventually finishing in coveted third place on our third attempt and receiving a whopping $10 off our bill.
A personal highlight for David was diving the famous Blue Hole which is situated about 100 km away from Belize City
Swimming Spot
The Split on Caye Caulker - the most popular swimming place on the island. in the middle of the Lighthouse Reef system. First explored by Jacques Cousteau the Blue Hole is 400 meters in diameter and 145 meters deep, and appears smack bang in the middle of the much shallower Lighthouse reef thus forming a distinct beautiful indigo hole when viewed from above. The actual dive was truly unforgettable. Having descended down the buoy line, we continued a gentle descent along the reef wall surrounding the blue hole and then literally flew off the edge into the dark blue abyss below. My first sight was of fourteen Bull sharks circling peacefully about 10 meters below me and this was soon followed by the appearance of massive stalactites hanging from a nearby ledge. We leveled out at 42 meters, where we were only able to remain for eight minutes due to safety reasons, and I will never forget looking back and up and seeing the sun shining down and just penetrating the top of the giant hole while I felt as if I was floating in space in the darkness below. For dive lovers, this is a must do!
We bade a sad farewell to Caye Caulker and Belize and headed north to Mexico,
land of tequila and Corona! Our first destination was Playa Del Carmen a now bustling tourist town on the caribbean coast. Heading into Mexico was a bit of a 'culture shock' for both of us mainly because we immediately felt thrust back into a faster and more frenetic place after the calm of the previous three months (this was confirmed by the sighting of our first Mc Donald's in months). Although Playa Del Carmen proved to be a big and happening tourist town packed with people and big resorts, we both thoroughly enjoyed our time there especially hours spent on the pristine main beach flanked by spotless ocean, lying on deck chairs under thatched umbrellas and just soaking it all in. We also chose to stay at a smaller and less expensive hotel rather than a big resort which proved to be a good decision as we were able to escape back to the tranquility of our garden oasis after braving the hordes of other tourists.
Our final destination in Mexico was Isla Mojeres (Island of Women) which is a tiny island situated just off Cancun. Our main reason for visiting Isla was because Liesel and her brother Johann
Isla Mojeres Colour
One of the festive and rustic streets on Isla. went there on a trip to Mexico in 1998 and had a ball. Of course, we knew that time would have changed Isla from the rustic island getaway it was when Liesel and Johann first experienced it but we were keen to check it out anyway. Although Isla is clearly not quite an undiscovered paradise anymore it was a far cry from the development and fast pace of Playa Del Carmen and ended up being the perfect place for us to spend our last week in Central America together. We stayed at a wonderful small hotel called Elements of the Island and from there we were able to experience one last bout of beautiful caribbean beaches and sea, delicious mexican food, and ice cold Coronas. The week flew by and soon we were heading for the airport at Cancun from where we would fly to Dallas, London, Croatia and then home!
Our route home took us via Dallas Texas and Liesel and I decided to use the opportunity to spend a few days in Fort Worth. Our stay here was brief but fantastic. We both really liked Fort Worth which proved to be a good blend of 'cowboy' and
Cowgirl
We both loved our brief stay in Fort Worth, Texas. laid back modern city providing us with the perfect place to enjoy long strolls around down-town during the day, great Texan meals at night and listening to live music on the outdoor terrace at 80s (called 8, 0s by the locals) after dinner.
From Dallas, we flew to London, a city we both know and love very much. The highlight of our brief three day stop over in London was being able to connect with our good friends Ros and Shen, and their other halves, for a good dose of fun, chatting and laughter.
Finally, from London we headed off to Croatia for two weeks with 'the gang' (Lollipop, Nuno, Pisscat, Kernel - actually Colonel - Private Paul and Camilsh). We were based at a wonderful spot in Zadar from where we spent the two weeks having a whole lot of fun. Some of the more memorable moments included cruising around the dalmation coast in a speedboat (in speedos!), taking the ferry to Dugi Otok, visiting some of the beautiful islands and nature parks, playing volley ball at Zaton, watching Lolly and Nuno swim with dolphins, enjoying laughter filled dinners in the village of Nin, competing in quizz
night, watching Nuno break dance and enjoying the company of our close friends and family. After a great time in Croatia and nearly four months on the road we finally packed our bags for the last time and boarded a flight from Split to Frankfurt from where we hopped aboard SAA for our final flight back to our own amazing and beautiful country, South Africa.
It is difficult to sum up in a sentence our overall experience over the past three and a half months and we both look forward to sharing more with our friends and families in due course. All that is left to say is that we both feel absolutely blessed and privileged to have undertaken such an amazing journey, and we will carry the memories and experiences with us for a very long time.
Adios amigos and asta luago.
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