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Published: February 10th 2013
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"You Better Belize It" is the latest Belize motto, and it's right on! It's a really fun place to vacation!
This is our third trip to Belize and the island of Caye Caulker is one of our favourite spots to be! On previous trips we toured the mainland, visited all the hot spots and checked out some of the other islands. They were all amazing but Caye Caulker just felt right so we decided to return here and spend our last couple of weeks relaxing in the Caribbean.
Caye Caulker is an interesting little island like no other! The inhabitants are a mixture of black, spanish, creole and mayan with english as their first language. Many speak with a little different lingo that is fun to listen to and they are as friendly as could be! The island's motto is 'Welcome to Caye Caulker - Go Slow'!
Belize was originally a British colony hense the english influence. Here are a few facts on the island:
Location - 1 mile west of the Belize Barrier Reef
Length- 8.2 km
Width - .25 - 2.0 km
Population - 1300
Industry - fishing, coconuts, lobster fisheries, ship building,
Sand Streets
Two main streets and that's it tourism
Even though tourism is a top resource, Caye Caulker remains a small village with a distinct cultural flavour. In fact there are only a few white sand roads, no cars, only bicycles and golf carts. People and supplies get here by plane, ferry or water taxi. It is very unique. Shops of all kinds, restuarants, barbecues, dive shops, icecream parlours, tour companies and the like line the street and it is enjoyable to walk along and take in all the sights of daily life on the islands. Most people walk along the street in barefeet. The sand is very soft!
One of the most interesting things about the island is what they call 'The Split'. In 1968 Hurricaine Hattie blew a channel through the island and essentially split it into two and blasted a part of a beach bar and cement dock in pieces as well. However, the bar which is called The Lazy Lizard is a gathering place for swimmers, snorkellers, sunbathers and a beautiful spot for sunsets and kind of sits in chunks in and out of the water. The water in the channel is shallow, has a sandy bottom and is a beautiful turquoise
color. It's like a little piece of paradise and we enjoy hanging out there. The sunsets are spectacular!
We were a little concerned when we arrived on the island as the weather was not what we expected!! Cloud, rain, wind and cooler temperatures loomed for the frist few days. However, when our friends Gary and Carol arrived from Edmonton they brought the good weather with them. Since then it's been hot and sunny with a nice breeze.
We are staying at Costa Maya Cabanas. It's family run business that runs tours as well and is beach front with a beautiful view of the ocean. The four Belizian brothers are such great guys and do all kinds of tours (snorkelling, diving, island hopping, fishing etc). Heather from Canada works in the business as well overseeing the operations. We enjoy watching Roley come home every afternoon with his catch of the day and filleting his fish and conch.
Seafood and more seafood is the specialty of the island. Fresh lobster, grouper, conch, snapper, shrimp are always available at a reasonable price. The meals come with sides such as coconut rice, mashed potatoes, salads and steam veggies. Superb!!
Our
days consist of swimming, beaching, walking, biking, snorkelling, kayaking, canoeing and enjoying the fruits of the sea. There is also lots of time for reading and other leisure activities. Such is life!!
Next week we plan to do a couple of tours so will report on them later. Thanks for reading. Until next time.
Mallory and Warren
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Linda and Maurice
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Memories
Your description of CC is right on! You should right for the travel magazines. Say hi to Heather, we stayed there when we were Caye Caulker. Makes us want to go back. We are leaving beautiful Thailand headed for Mexico tomorrow.