After only a few short days we had to leave Guatemala. But as the guide book says, we are contemplating ou
r next trip back! We left at 6am on a bus that was a half hour late. Our bus, turned out to be a van with really tight seating. We made it to the border in an hour, half the original time it took us to get there. As usual the border crossing was a blast. Business as usual, pay the man and you're in. I call it an expensive stamp fee as opposed to an "entrance/exit" tax. Our passports are looking good!
Once over the border, we had to wait for two people who were taking FOREVER (apparently they were importing computer goods). While we waited, we enjoyed dinner (lunch) and a show. Everyone was quite hungry and so we walked over to some road side restaurants and grabbed a few burritos. Joe and I bought four and a pop for $5! Delicious homemade burritos, bread and all! After we got our food Joe thought it would be funny to shout out "hey, there goes our bus!" Everyone turned to the window in panic; he thought it was hilarious. We returned to our bus only to find the French woman fighting with our bus driver. Understanding no Spanish, we relied on others to fill us in. She continued to yell and moan sometime before we fully figured it out. Apparently she wasn't happy about our luxury bus. She had wanted the front seat
of the van and the driver told her no because it was filled with lots of stuff. She was really yelling about it, it cracked me up!
We took the bus into Belize City and missed our ferry to the island by five minutes. We decided to walk around the dreaded Belize City for 1.5 hours. Although there were many beggars we found it to be fairly safe for our brief shopping expedition! The city has a bad reputation.
We boarded our ferry moments before the down pour of rain. Four people were sitting uncovered and got soaked, but it is so stinking humid, they appeared to be enjoying themselves! We finally made it to Caye Caulker, a popular backpacking island off Belize City. We followed a local who got us settled into a hotel with air conditioning and TV. Joe was pleased! We set out to explore the island on foot finding many tourist shops and activities. After a lovely dinner of seafood, we retired early to our wonderfully cool room.
The next day we opted to relax with a leisurely breakfast at Café Amore, followed by some light shopping. Then we enjoyed a nice swim in the ocean at the “split” casually known as the swimming hot spot. The island was originally one big one but is now “split” in two due to a l
arge hurricane long ago. We enjoyed Chinese food for lunch which was surprisingly good, before a quiet siesta in our room. Later in the afternoon we explored the island finding a beautiful wedding and a lot of houses for sale. Not cheap though! Some were going for $195,000 US and didn't appear to be THAT nice. Still this place is crawling with American tourists, many fat ones, in their rented golf carts! The island is only 8.5 km long and 1.2 km long. Easily walk able! We discovered many sand crabs that hide all over the island. They’re kind of creepy. We were going to stop in for a massage, but at US$70, we decided to wait till we got home! 
The island is truly a paradise, with many ocean activities to do. Very close to the island is the world famous “the blue hole” for any diving aficionados. We never had the chance to get certified, so we bypassed this activity, opting for long walks on the beach with ice cream cones instead!
We have enjoyed our time in Belize tremendously, but must head back to Mexico for Liam and Maggie’s wedding!
r next trip back! We left at 6am on a bus that was a half hour late. Our bus, turned out to be a van with really tight seating. We made it to the border in an hour, half the original time it took us to get there. As usual the border crossing was a blast. Business as usual, pay the man and you're in. I call it an expensive stamp fee as opposed to an "entrance/exit" tax. Our passports are looking good!Once over the border, we had to wait for two people who were taking FOREVER (apparently they were importing computer goods). While we waited, we enjoyed dinner (lunch) and a show. Everyone was quite hungry and so we walked over to some road side restaurants and grabbed a few burritos. Joe and I bought four and a pop for $5! Delicious homemade burritos, bread and all! After we got our food Joe thought it would be funny to shout out "hey, there goes our bus!" Everyone turned to the window in panic; he thought it was hilarious. We returned to our bus only to find the French woman fighting with our bus driver. Understanding no Spanish, we relied on others to fill us in. She continued to yell and moan sometime before we fully figured it out. Apparently she wasn't happy about our luxury bus. She had wanted the front seat
of the van and the driver told her no because it was filled with lots of stuff. She was really yelling about it, it cracked me up!We took the bus into Belize City and missed our ferry to the island by five minutes. We decided to walk around the dreaded Belize City for 1.5 hours. Although there were many beggars we found it to be fairly safe for our brief shopping expedition! The city has a bad reputation.
We boarded our ferry moments before the down pour of rain. Four people were sitting uncovered and got soaked, but it is so stinking humid, they appeared to be enjoying themselves! We finally made it to Caye Caulker, a popular backpacking island off Belize City. We followed a local who got us settled into a hotel with air conditioning and TV. Joe was pleased! We set out to explore the island on foot finding many tourist shops and activities. After a lovely dinner of seafood, we retired early to our wonderfully cool room.
The next day we opted to relax with a leisurely breakfast at Café Amore, followed by some light shopping. Then we enjoyed a nice swim in the ocean at the “split” casually known as the swimming hot spot. The island was originally one big one but is now “split” in two due to a l
arge hurricane long ago. We enjoyed Chinese food for lunch which was surprisingly good, before a quiet siesta in our room. Later in the afternoon we explored the island finding a beautiful wedding and a lot of houses for sale. Not cheap though! Some were going for $195,000 US and didn't appear to be THAT nice. Still this place is crawling with American tourists, many fat ones, in their rented golf carts! The island is only 8.5 km long and 1.2 km long. Easily walk able! We discovered many sand crabs that hide all over the island. They’re kind of creepy. We were going to stop in for a massage, but at US$70, we decided to wait till we got home! 
The island is truly a paradise, with many ocean activities to do. Very close to the island is the world famous “the blue hole” for any diving aficionados. We never had the chance to get certified, so we bypassed this activity, opting for long walks on the beach with ice cream cones instead!
We have enjoyed our time in Belize tremendously, but must head back to Mexico for Liam and Maggie’s wedding!
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