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When in Mexico, you do as the Mexican's do, that's tequila shots, when in Belize do as the Beliazian's do, that's beer thirty and rum o'clock. After a short taxi ride from our lake paradise we arrived in Chetemal, Mexico's border town with Belize, we brought a very expensive ferry ticket over to Caye Caulker 65US, then hung around as you do at borders joining different queues and answering funny questions. Luckily we had emails with our flight break down showing Mexican taxes paid, many people who book though and agent don't have this and then have to pay £15 to exit Mexico, top tip keep that breakdown safe! The crossing to San Pedro is two hours of probably the bumpiest boat journey I have ever been on, it's a small boat and we were riding against the waves so it was hold on tight and sick bags to hand for most. I handed the lady next to me my fan and we began communicating with hand gestures and slow words in each others languages, she was an Argentina lady who had been on holiday in Mexico for two weeks and was now heading to San Pedro, Belize to visit her
brother. After our bumpy ride it was more customs, more questions, new money and another boat. Finally arriving in Caye Caulker at around 7 or 8 not sure as the local time had changed we checked in to Bella's hostel then ventured out with new friends Jess & Chip's in search of BBQed food and beer. The national language of Belize is English, but on this sleepy Caribbean Island most speak Creole a dialect, it was difficult at first to believe that people were no longer speaking Spanish but when it turned out that they were speaking English it was time to focus on my East London roots and listen hard. That first meal away from tacos and burritos was delish! Fresh BBQed fish, rice, peas and grill veggies all washed down with a local beer or two. Tired and disorientated our night couldn't stop there, we walked down Front St to buy a bottle of rum and chill back at the hostel when we met a man on his way to a reggae bar, he had us a reggae, we danced the night away to the bashment and r'n'b Sophie and I knowing every song, getting low and dancing
our socks off it was amazing. The fun was paid for the next day, after checking out of the skanky hostel and finding a double room with en suite! (Super posh after 2 weeks with a shared bathroom) we nursed our hangovers at the 'beach' (Caye Caulker doesn't have a beach, just a bar at the end of the island that has some decking and access to the sea, very strange for an island actually.) Off in search of pizza that night we stumbled apon pizza Caulker, the staff were super friendly and the over priced pizza was actually pretty yum. Sunday after passing out early on Saturday and waking up with yoga and a lovely breakfast at our favourite cafe we hung out at 'the split' (the 'beach' place) there I met and began talking to Greg in the sea who after dinner we dragged to Pizza Caluker for numorous cocktails and eventually to I&I bar for reggae dancing, of which his moves were extremely impressive! The day before we left paradise we decided to take a tour to the three snorkelling trips, at the first stop we were awe struck by a pair of manatees, the second stop
we swan with nursing sharks and manta rays and the third a perfect coral reef with many of the above, that tied in with rum punch and reggae it was pretty much the perfect day.Those few days on the Island we chilled with locals, drank far too much rum, went on a sailing trip and snorkelled with; sharks, manta rays, turtles, manatees and zillions of fish. We bumped into old friends and made many new friends. A funny, sexy Canadian, a sweet, hardworking local, a kind, accommodating waiter. We began to really settle into island life but with its island prices it was time to head back to the mainland, get on our first 'chicken bus' (no idea why it's called that as there wasn't a chicken in site) and cross back into Mexico to venture to Palenque and San Cristobal for a couple of days before crossing into Guatemala.
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