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Crossing the border into Belize was an arduous process. First we found out that we had to pay an exit fee to leave Mexico, something that had not been mentioned in any literature received when entering and something that I couldn't find on any official government website. Farcical. To make things worse, the bus was 2 hours late and so we missed the water taxi we had hoped to get to Caye Caulker from Belize City. We took a cab to the docks - our driver Austin was hilarious. As we stopped at some lights he saw a woman approaching the cab. He started mumbling to himself, looking in her direction and nodding in satisfaction. As she got to within a couple of meters, he shouted something to her in the local pigeon English. The expression on her face was priceless - she looked mostly shocked, but also a little flattered. He nodded again in satisfaction and smacked his lips. Welcome to Belize. We got the 9am water taxi to Caye Caulker, a small island off the coast of Belize.
As we approached the island, all the frustration and stress disappeared. We were greeted by a shoreline of turquoise water lined by palm trees and small multi-coloured houses.
We walked towards the hostel having been given directions by a local (who amazingly just wanted to help, without expecting anything in return - refreshing after Cuba and Mexico). Along the way, more locals offered their help and directed us to Bella's, where we had booked in for the night. The hostel gave off a sociable vibe but unfortunately the rooms were dingy and the bathrooms had a multitude of problems with sinks, toilets and showers. Not ideal.
Having dropped our stuff off, we took a stroll to The Split. This is the point where in the 1960s the island was torn in two by a hurricane. Here we found a waterside bar (aptly named The Split) and enjoyed a bottle of the local stout (Belikin) and a burrito.
One of the few plus points about Bella's was that we were able to take a canoe out on the water for free. So, with paddles at the ready, Mitch and I took a boat out into the sea. We paddled for around 45 minutes in the sunshine, around to the split and back past out hostel, a trip that included a minor collision with a tree.
After the boat we still had a few hours left to kill and whilst strolling away from the hostel, we bumped into Bobby. He had been on the island for 45 years and was something of a character. He showed us where he felt was the best place to get a snorkelling tour, the best place to get a lobster dinner and the best place to rent bikes. All he wanted in exchange was some cash (he'd fit in well in Cuba). We took his advice on the bikes and rented a couple to cycle around the island. After some time, the clouds suddenly closed in and the rain became torrential. It wasn't like rain back home though - this was a little warmer and quite pleasant. We cycled for 10mins or so in this before deciding we should probably find shelter. After the rain died down we came out of hiding and stopped for a coffee so we could dry out a little before returning the bikes.
That night we cooked our own dinner (pasta with canned veg, salsa and tuna - it turned out better than I expected), and had a few rum and cokes whilst chatting to other travellers. Nothing too heavy that night as we had booked onto a full day snorkelling tour the next day (as recommended by Bobby).
Day two started at 10am sharp. We grabbed a quick breakfast and coffee and headed to Blackhawk Tours. Here we were met by Steve (the boat owner) and Mario (one of his guides). The sun was out and the eight of us on the tour grabbed our gear and walked over to the boat.
After a period of time sailing, I noticed there were a lot of gulls around. I turned to see Mario standing up holding small pieces of fish in the air. Behind him, around 15 seagulls were gliding, almost within touching distance. It was amazing to see these birds so close up and in full flight. I munched on some delicious watermelon and fresh pineapple as I took this in.
Our first stop was Shark Ray Alley. As Mario threw a few pieces of small fish into the water, larger fish started to come to the surface to claim them. Then, as if out of thin air, the nurse sharks came in their droves. They created a flurry of activity next to the boat as they tried to get to the fish. We all jumped in (with lifevest on in my case) and were surrounded by the larger fish, sharks and sting rays.
Stop two was probably the greatest experience of my life. We were told that we would see turtles and larger rays. I wasn't quite prepared for what happened next. We got in and the ocean was teeming with huge rays. Some of them must have been wider than my height. They were terrifying but so majestic in the way they glided through the water. Then came the turtles. They were massive. They weren't shy either. They sometimes swam at you, with no intention of changing their course. On a couple of occasions I had to reach out and push their shells to steer them out of the way. I was shocked by how close they came and how curious they were. I could have stayed here all day, bobbing around in the water and swimming with these amazing creatures.
Finally, we stopped at part of the Hol Chan reserve where Mario gave us a guided tour, talking us through the different types of coral and fish that we saw. This stop involved some swimming against currents which was exhausting. We got back to the boat and watched as Steve expertly cracked open two conche shells and made conche salsa to go with some tortilla chips. As we sailed back to shore and reflected on the day, we enjoyed an endless supply of (quite strong) rum punch. We arranged to meet the others on the boat for dinner (one of whom was a Czech girl that had built quite the relationship with steve during the day).
At 7pm we met the others, with the exception of the Czech girl and her friend, who turned up an hour later, with the friend being absolutely battered. We sat down to a slightly awkward situation of Steve, his Czech piece and her massively drunk friend on one side of the table and the rest of us on the other. I had a fantastic lobster dinner for just £7, which capped off an amazing day. Later, having moved to a hostel called Dirty McNasty's across from Bella's, which was much nicer, we went back to Bella's and met up with Camilla and Natalia who we had bumped into in Tulum, for some rum and coke.
The next day we took a water taxi back to Belize City. Whilst having breakfast we bumped into our LAD of a taxi driver, Austin. We endured a pretty uncomfortable 6 hour journey across the border into Guatemala, where we paid a dubious 'entry' fee of 20 Quetzales (about £1.75). We arrived into Flores in the afternoon.
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