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Published: February 8th 2011
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San Pedro
"Last night I dreamt of San Pedro..." That's what La Isla Bonita is about! Caye Caulker is a small island. You can walk around it in a couple of hours, although you're bound to stop for a few chats with strangers or with people you met the day before, or even to stand for 5 minutes in the shade. Other than enjoying the Carribean vibe or water based activities, there isn't a lot to do around there. But slowing down to a pace matching that of the rest of the islanders didn't prove to be difficult.
For my first full day on the island, I decided to start with an early walk around, I took a few pictures, visited the main supermarket (ended up spending a fortune – about Bz$40 for 3 days worth of food), enjoyed the view, chatted to some rastafaris and then retreated to the shade and relative coolness of the hostel. There, I caught up with some people and we even spotted a baby crocodile in the water (we learnt the next day that he lived just outside our back garden). I didn't venture back out until after 3pm, when I went to the North shore, where the only real beach was located, for a refreshing swim and some fish spotting
in the ever so clear water. Nowadays, the island is split between the main part and the North island, following a hurricane a few years ago. The expanse of water between the 2 sides is simply called “The Split” and not many venture out to the North side (you need a boat or a canoe really) which is just mangrove.
After returning to the hotel, I grabbed a (cold) shower, only to discover that the tap water was in fact sea water and therefore not the most effective to wash away the salt from the beach... After that, I sat around the table with other guests and started chatting to a couple of Norwegian girls. They invited me to join them to watch the sunset at the beach, to which I agreed. By the time we got there, the sun had already gone, but we sat in the sand (some of us with cocktails from the beach bar) with some more Norwegian girls (judging by the selection of the population surrounding me, this must be a country really full of beautiful people!) and chatted for a while. I went back to the hostel to cook my dinner (chicken curry) and
chill out with some other guests. By 9.30pm, I was falling asleep, so that was another early night for me.
The following day, I was determined to try snorkelling. Most of my hostels companions had gone on a half day snorkelling trip the day before, which I didn't feel up to as I didn't want to go somewhere where it was too deep (still scared of drowning) and had come back raving on about it. I was just planning to rent a mask and flippers and have a go near the beach, partly to see some fish, but also as a bit of a challenge to myself, trying to push my fear a bit further away. But that was something to save for later, so in the morning, I went for a paddle in the free hostel canoe with Anita (Polish) and Alessandro (Italian). The sea wasn't as calm as the day before and the waves were hitting us a bit, but thankfully we didn't sink! I wanted to go to the North island, but in the end we went the other way and by the time we got back, I was feeling a bit sea sick and couldn't be
bothered going again.
After respecting the strict “no going outside between 12 and 2pm to avoid the heat and the sunburns”, I went and got the snorkelling gear and headed for the beach where I found some more hostel people hanging out. The snorkelling (without the flippers at first and then with) was definitely an experience. At first, I was very panicky and didn't like it, but I soon got used to it and in the end I enjoyed it and only stopped because my legs were starting to hurt. I didn't see much (a few fish and a couple of starfish) but I was mainly pleased to have given it a go.
On my way back to drop of the mask and flippers, I bumped into the couple I'd met in Tulum and e-mailed upon my arrival on the island (I'd given them very detailed info on how to get there). We got chatting and I was telling them about the “basic” facilities at my hostel and they suggested I could go and have a proper hot non salty water shower at their hotel. They didn't have to offer twice! After that, I went to check the boat times
for my departure the following day and on my way back I bumped into the kiwi couple (Amy and Andy) I'd met on the boat on the way in. We discovered we were all leaving the next day and all heading for San Ignacio, so we agreed we would try and catch the same boat and do the road together.
In the evening, there was more chatting (the people and the atmosphere at the hostel were really top) and another early night for me (again I was struggling to keep my eyes open after 9pm). I also managed to kill a couple of cockroaches, the first over an inch in size, the second (smaller) trying to share my bed with me... Only when I woke up the next morning, the cockroache I had left for dead next to my bed had disappeared. I mustn't have killed it, but luckily, I didn't notice it during the night, otherwise I probably wouldn't have slept!
The next morning was a reasonably early start to catch the boat to Belize City (followed by the bus to San Ignacio)...
Sorry, relatively short blog, especially for over 2 days, but really, nothing important happened. I
had a really good time thanks to the other hostel guests and I didn't do very much at all...
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delphine
non-member comment
Trop joli, ca donne vraiment envie, il faudra que tu me donnes les 'tips' pour y aller. si ca continue mon trip va durer 2 ans au lieu d'un!! je me vois tout a fait sur la plage avec un cocktail! mmmmmmmmmm