Belize - Days 10 & 11

A couple of relatively lazy days, yesterday and today. As documented in a previous post, I spent most of Tuesday on a quest for something to relieve the itching of my sand flea bites. In between we did manage a few minor activities. We started out with breakfast at Amor Y Cafe on Front Street. They have good iced coffee (made with coffee ice cubes, which I love), and really good grilled cheese sandwiches on thick break with tons of cheese and a variety of fillings. I had ham, pineapple and cheese - awesome! Andrew had salami, mayonnaise & cheese, which he also liked very much. Our bill for two sandwiches and two coffees (with tip) was $15 US.

From there, we headed up to The Split. I only lasted about 20 minutes on the beach before my itching drove me back home to the calamine bottle. Andrew stayed quite a bit longer and came home a nice crispy color. We lounged around the house for the rest of the afternoon - I think Andrew had a nap and I worked on my grant proposal.

For dinner we went to Wish Willy's, which was recommended to us by several people. It's basically some tables and chairs in some guys yard. He cooks and his elderly father toddles around serving water and handing out napkins. The food was very good (BBQ pork chops for me, grilled barracuda steak for Andrew - both served with awesome grilled vegetables) and cheap at $9 US/plate, though the service left a lot to be desired. Despite the fact that the guy cooking (Willy?) was downright grouchy, the place was packed by the time we left.

On the way home we stopped to get an ice cream cone and swung by Anna's stand to get a couple of pupusas for breakfast tomorrow morning. We have discovered that they are pretty darn good if you reheat them in a frying pan. We were happy for her to see a fancy new chalkboard menu out front, in place of the usual poster paper. She was probably able to pay for it just out of what we've spent there this week! Back at AV, I overdosed on Benadryl capsules and we hit the hay.

Today (Wednesday) is our last full day on Caye Caulker. The Benadryl helped a lot with my legs last night, so we were able to sleep until 8 am - about 2 hours later than our average on this trip! After breakfast we spent most of the rest of the morning packing up. It always amazes me how much you can sprawl out in a place over a couple of weeks! After we finished we headed out on our bikes for one last tour of the island. It was hot today, so we didn't ride very long before we landed at the Rainbow restaurant for something to eat. We shared a small order of nachos and a shrimp quesadilla. Andrew had a Bailey's Colada & I had a Dirty Banana (Baileys, Kahlua, chocolate syrup and a banana).

After lunch we returned to AV. As we were locking up our bikes, the owner came out of her suite and told us that she appreciated our business and was thrilled to hear we had already rebooked. What? From the confused look on my face and the sheepish grin on Andrew's, she knew quickly that I had no idea. Andrew fessed up that he has rebooked us to return here from November 4th until November 16. Anyone else want to come along?

After filling me in on the details of the surprise trip, Andrew and Freaky went upstairs to have a nap. I spent most of the afternoon on the front deck in my "office" working.

Who wouldn't want to work here?

This evening we watched the sun set from the roof deck one last time, and then went to Rose's for dinner. Andrew had shrimp kebabs and I had a grouper fillet - all cooked on the BBQ. After one last stop at the ice cream stand and swinging by Anna's to say goodbye, we headed home. Tomorrow we'll take the noon water taxi to Belize City and spend the night in a hotel near the airport. It's been such a great trip to Caye Caulker, and we have fallen in love with this island. We wish we didn't have to leave, but at least we know we have less than 250 days until we're back!

Sunset from the roof deck of Alta Vista