Another lazy day in paradise

That title about sums it up.  Lovely day, though didn't accomplish very much. We had breakfast at home, then ran a few errands (bank & the fruit stand).  Back home for a couple of hours to sit up on the roof deck and read before it got too hot.  Back out for a late lunch (lobster clubhouse sandwiches & iced tea) at a little bar on the beach, and then back home where Andrew napped & I read.  

On our way back out to forage for dinner, we encountered this little guy in the driveway.  If he would have had a couple of friends with him, we could have had crab legs for dinner!

We swung by French Angel to see if we're able to go on the manatee tour tomorrow - nope, only three people signed up (they need at least 4).  John told us that he's working with some of the other tour operators to see if they can get a group together for Monday.  If not, we may see if Bert can take us.  He mentioned that he does manatee tours, too.  Speaking of Bert, we also went by his place to get our dive books stamped from yesterday's dives.  He told us that he does single tank night dives, and that he would take just the two of us out if we were interested.  We are definitely interested, but Andrew's right ear is plugged from the two dives yesterday (which always happens), so we'll have to see if that unplugs by Monday.  If it does, we'll try to go out on Tuesday night.  

Dinner was found at the bakery - they have the most lovely fresh buns there.  Andrew just had his with butter; I had mine with peanut butter.  A side of fresh pineapple and it was perfect!  I am, however, going to need a serious carb detox when we get home - ugh! 

Now we're in for the night.  Since we're not going to see the manatees tomorrow, we may take a hike out to Back Back street and see where we end up.  Hopefully that will make for a more interesting post than this one!

Dive Day!

Hooray, the planets aligned and we were able to dive today!  We were up early and had a leisurely breakfast at home before gathering up our dive gear and heading out on foot to the dive shop.  Bert, the Dive Master, greeted us there and said it was a go!  Also joining us were Javier, the captain for the day, Rod from New Zealand, and Elaine from Oklahoma. 

 

By 10 am we were on the boat and heading over to San Pedro (Ambergris Caye), which is about 20 minutes from Caye Caulker.  Our destination was Esmeralda, a marine park just outside of the reef.  The boat trip over was rough, as it was a bit windy today, but the sun was shining and the water was the color of a perfect emerald.  

 

With a nice small group we were briefed and in the water by 10:45 am.  Bert was a great Dive Master - attentive and kept a close eye on us, but also gave us some freedom to meander about on our own.   Andrew always has trouble equalizing his ears, so it took him about 10 minutes to get down to our starting depth of 50 feet.  I, on the other hand, can equalize like a fish, and had plummeted comfortably down to the ocean floor in a minute or two.  The first thing to see were a dozen nurse sharks circling around.  They were clearly very used to the divers, and come right up to you.  Most of them were around 6 feet long, but a couple of them were more than 8 feet which is a little intimidating when it's coming directly at you. 

One of the bigger ones.  A couple were a good 8 feet long.  No zoom used here - I could have easily touched him as he went by.  They swam right along with us like they were part of our "school". 

When everyone was down and equalized properly, Bert showed us how used to people the sharks actually are.  They obviously recognize him, as they would swim head first right in to his chest and he would rub them on the head.  Kinda cute, actually.  Next we got to take turns holding one of the smaller ones.  You have to gently flip them over and then they just lay there, very calmly.  Their skin feels like very fine grit sandpaper, or my skin towards the end of a Minnesota winter.  They didn't seem to have any fat on them and you could very easily feel the ribs on their underside, and the spine on the back side.  This was definitely a highlight for me! 

Nurse shark at Esmeralda.  They are so docile they let you flip them over and hold them.  Our Dive Master (Bert) was pretending to waltz with one at one point. 

Andrew

 After mauling the sharks for way too little time, we moved on.  The next thing we came across was a big Moray eel.  These guys freak me out a little bit because their teeth look like they could shred you to ribbons in a matter of seconds.  Also, they're just plain ugly.  However, this one also seemed used to the divers, so I crawled down on the floor to take his picture. 

Big Moray eel.  Again, no zoom used here - he was close, but I didn't try to pet this one.   

Another cool thing about this dive were the various channels we were able to swim through.  They are quite narrow in spots, and you sometimes have to time your breathing correctly to not bang your tank on the coral (you rise up in the water when you breathe in, sink when you breathe out).   Along the way we saw a lion fish, a green turtle, a huge eagle ray (seriously, his wing span was easily 10 feet across), a blue & yellow angel fish, parrot fish, and lots of sea anemones.  All the while, our shark friends kept us company.  

 

Several cool coral channels to swim through.  This is Andrew going through one. 

Green turtle hanging out on the floor.

Lion fish

Look closely - a huge eagle ray

Our first tank was finished in about 45 minutes, so we loaded back on to the boat, had a snack and sat in the sun for a little while.  Our second dive was in a similar area, so much of the same scenery. 

Bert with one of his buddies.  They loved him.

Back on Caye Caulker, we stopped on our way home to get hamburger buns for dinner.  Big excitement was ensuing as there was a fire at a building on Back Street.  We didn't go look but the smoke was thick and we did see the fire truck head out.  Based on it's speed, it's a good thing that nothing on this island is more than a minute or two away!  We cooked burgers at home and are now ready to turn in for the night.  Tomorrow will not be nearly so exciting, folks.  However, the French Angel guys are trying to put together a group to go to the manatee sanctuary on Saturday.  Keep your fingers crossed for us that they can find a couple of other people so we can go!

Another do-nothing kind of day

Yep - there's a lot of those on Caye Caulker.  The sum extent of our activities today (excluding meals) included spending a couple of hours at The Split swimming/sunning, and a trip to see Bert at the dive shop.  I didn't take one picture.  I did finish book #3 today.  We had great lobster ceviche for lunch, and tried Anna's new menu item (beef tacos) for dinner.  (Delicious, in case you were wondering!)  Andrew had a big fat nap.  I laid on the couch with Freaky & read.  Oh - that reminds me, I did take a picture of Freaky lounging on the couch with me. It's a hard life for a cat shared by an entire neighborhood here in Caye Caulker.  

Oh, and I itched.  It's day 4 and I am, once again, covered in sand flea bites.  They are particularly bad right now - worse than they were in February.   They are even in the house this time, which they weren't before.  I brought a supply of Benadryl tablets with me, but had to run to the pharmacia to get a histergan cream, too.  Can someone go insane from itching?  How many Benadryl tablets can an adult take in a 24-hour period and still sustain adequate liver health?  Several times today, I thought that insanity or overdose was imminent.  Sadly, neither happened.  Andrew is also covered in bites, but they don't seem to bother him.  In fact, when I point them out to him he seems surprised that they are there and says he doesn't notice them at all.  I hate him. I will not feel badly when the anaconda eats him while I flee. 

The good news is that Bert is going out for a 2-tank dive to Esmeralda tomorrow, and he's got room for us!  Everyone says Esmeralda is one of the best dives.  Lots of nurse sharks and other fish to look at.  We haven't been there, so we're looking forward to it.  Here's a clip, for those interested.  Carter, I will try to get pics of us touching a shark, if we're allowed.  If we're really lucky and one eats Uncle Andrew I will definitely get photos of that, too! :)  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaF2heEa-V0

 

A lazy day that ends in fried chicken is a good thing

We did very little today.  In fact, that could be stretching the truth somewhat.  We actually did almost nothing.  

It was another rough night for sleeping here.  For some reason, a dog showed up on the porch of the house next door (currently vacant as the owners won't be here until later this month).  It then proceeded to bark 4 or 5 times with the exact frequency to prevent one from falling completely asleep.  I don't know where the dog lives.  It doesn't live in the house next door.  I know this because those owners were here in February and we talked with them a lot.  They don't have any pets.  They only feed Freaky, as does everyone in the neighborhood.  The dog finally moved on about 2 pm, so we got a solid 2.5 hours before the birds started right outside the window.  Oh well, we have coffee!  

We ate breakfast at home - lovely fresh tortillas filled with beans, eggs, cheese & hot sauce.  Accompanied by coffee and grapefruit - heaven!  By 7:45 am we were finished our "chores" which consist of doing up the breakfast dishes, sweeping the floor & taking out the trash.  Why isn't it like this at home?   We headed out on foot in to town in search of a pineapple, which we found at the fruit stand.   I also bought a jar of peanut butter from the grocery store.  I can't exist more than a few days without peanut butter.   We swung by to say hello to John at the French Angel (snorkel shop).  We want to go to see the manatees while we're here.  However, most places won't go out with less than 4 people (too expensive to take the boat out) so we have to check back every day to see if anyone else wants to go.   No luck today, but we'll try again tomorrow.  John is a friendly guy and remembered us from last time, so it's pleasant to check in with him every day. 

We decided to do a little hike while around the southeast perimeter of the island.  It's not very populated over there and, at the tail end of the rainy season, it was a little mucky.  We slopped around in the quicksand & swamp for about an hour before we realized we'd come to an impasse.  Either swim out to sea, or return the way we'd come.  We chose the latter and, 30 minutes later, we were back to civilization.  A little crispy, but otherwise no worse for wear.  

An iguana on someone's front step.

The "trail".  Lots of little lizards scurrying here and there, but no snakes!

A cemetery we happened upon. 

We opted to eat lunch at home.  Andrew had his leftover pizza.  I had a lovely roll from the bakery toasted and covered in peanut butter & banana.  Ahhh!   We managed to get in an hour nap amongst bouts of moving about the house to various reading/computer locations.  We talked about going up to The Split to swim today, but we got a lot of sun this morning so will do that tomorrow (perhaps). 

By 5 pm we were ready for dinner, and looking forward to trying Syd's.  We tried to go there a couple of times in February, but weren't able to find it open any of the times we went by (that is not as uncommon as you would think here).  We were happy to find it open when we arrived, and sat ourselves in the adorable little garden in the back.  We were quickly joined by a cat, which a note on the menu warned us not to feed.  Syd's is famous for their fried chicken, so Andrew ordered conch (??).  He just doesn't quite get the concept of ordering the house specialty.  He says he doesn't like chicken on the bone because it's "too hard to eat".  I ordered the fried chicken and it did not disappoint!  Especially when you consider that the chicken plate costs $4.50 US.  Huge portions & everything was delicious.  We both had sweet teas & our total bill was $32.50 BZ ($16.25 US) - Andrew being an expensive date.  We left full, but still swung by Anna's for Andrew's breakfast - 2 mixed pupusas & a horchata.  

Andrew's meal - fried conch, mashed potatoes & coleslaw.  $9 US.

My perfect plate - fried chicken, rice & beans & coleslaw. $4.50 US.  Obviously, I made the better choice!

Freaky was waiting for us when we got home.  She came in and had some food & some milk, and is now laying on the floor trying to convince one of us it's ok to pet her stomach.  We won't fall for that one again.  Andrew still has scars on his arm from that little trick in February!   We're trying to follow some election coverage, but it looks like we're in for the long haul on this one.  Won't be decided early, that's for sure but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 

 

The Things that go Bump in the Night

At the end of our lane, there is an overgrown, vacant lot.  It's quite thick with various foliage, and hemmed in by a chain-link fence.  During our dozens of trips to and from "town" each day, I don't actually give it much thought.  At night, however, it cannot be ignored.  Things live in there.  Things that are big and move quickly.  Things that cause branches to bend and snap.  

Last night, we saw a medium-sized crab maneuvering his way through the fence in to the jungle abyss.  Startled by us, he tried to hustle through head first, but his long (and delicious, I'm sure) legs got caught in the metal of the fence.  This necessitated that he turn around and back in, pulling his legs behind him before he could scuttle in to the tangle.  At the same time, something larger was moving the leaves near to the ground, leaving us to assume that the crab was the Belizian version of a home-delivered meal.  

The irrational part of my brain has effectively convinced the rest of me that what lives in there moving all the trees without being seen is a snake the size of an anaconda.  Maybe it IS an anaconda - are they indigenous to Belize?  I don't think so, but I'm not sure.  Could they travel here as a stowaway on a boat from an Amazonian location?  Why not?  I am intriuged, but terrified at the same time, so I continue to peer in to the dark thicket when we walk by.  Much in the same way that, when I hear a noise in the house at night, I'm compelled to get up and investigate instead of closing & locking the bedroom door.  Knowing is better, even if your worst fear is about to come true, no?  Besides, I just have to get ahead of Andrew to be safe. 

 

 

 

 

Caye Caulker Take 2 - Day 2

So much for sleeping in - we were both up by 6 am after a short night.  We were able to fall asleep by 10, but it started raining about 1 am so we had to jump up to close windows.  Once the rain quit, we had to get up to open them again to let the cool air in.  Oh well, we don't have much else to do so a nap this afternoon won't cut in to anything important!  

It was a lovely morning, overcast and about 70 degees.  I made coffee (I was delighted to find the French press was still here) and sat out on the deck to read.  Ms. Freaky was here to greet us this morning in her loud & persistent voice.  Good thing we bought some cat food last night!  

Freaky having her morning snack.  She won't stop yelling until you give her something, so it's best to be prepared!

By 8 am we were showered and on our way to find some breakfast.  We ended up at Cafe Y Amore, a favorite spot from our last trip, and filled up on iced coffees and their famous grilled cheese sandwiches.  Andrew had his with scrambled eggs inside, I had mine with ham & pineapple.  After I doused it in habanero sauce, it was heaven!  $15 US for everything, including tip.

Andrew with his iced coffee at Cafe Y Amore.  We love that they make their ice cubes out of coffee, too!

My grilled ham, cheese & pineapple.  So good with habanero sauce!

  During breakfast, I noticed my first sand flea bite.  Aaargh!  We jumped on the bikes and headed back to the house to lather up with spray.  We brought the big guns this time - DEET!  I also brought enough Benadry tablets that I could possibly risk a trafficking charge.  I certainly don't want a repeat of the itching torture from February!  

Sufficiently coated in carcinogenic chemicals, we rode back in to town to pick up a few things.  We like to be able to have breakfast here at the house in the mornings, because we are up earlier than most of the restaurants are open.  Also, it's a shame to waste all these beautiful decks!  Getting groceries is no small ordeal on the island, as you have to go to several different stores to get what you need.  First stop was the fruit stand where we bought four bananas and two grapefruit for a whopping $2 BZ ($1 US).   From there, it was on to the bakery for a loaf of freshly made whole wheat bread and two yeast rolls with sugared tops.  Grand total $1.80 US.   Final stop was Chan's Grocery Store where we bought staples:  cereal, milk, eggs, beans, hot sauce, pepper, butter, coffee cream, more cat food, and some sodas.  We'll have to hit the tortilla stand early tomorrow morning, as she was closed by the time we happened by there today.  It was just starting to rain when we left Chan's, so had a bit of a soggy ride home and we both had nice white sand "tails" up our backs from the rear tires.  If this rain keeps up we'll be doing more laundry than we anticipated!  

After hanging out at home for a few hours, we headed back in to town on foot (big rain about 11 am, so the roads are sloppy) to hit the bank machine and find some lunch.  We've learned that you have a relatively narrow window for lunch here, and if you don't eat by about 1:30, you're out of luck until dinner.  Siesta is taken very seriously.  Also, we like to eat a bigger meal at lunch, and then find street food or a sandwich at dinner.  We ended up at one of our favorites, Paradise Restaurant, which overlooks the cemetery and beach.   It's lobster season this time around, so we shared lobster nachos and had some rum punch - 2 drinks for $3.50 US, how can you say no to that!?  The rain had stopped, so we took a long walk around the island after lunch and shot a few pics.

Overcast, but still beautiful.

Road along the sea side of the island.

Conch graveyard.  Ceviche anyone?

Breath taking.

A lot of puddles from the rain.

Happy hour all day?  Don't mind if I do!

Kim's (property manager) ferocious rottie, Xena getting some loves from Andrew.

Spent most of the afternoon at the house.  We lost power for a couple of hours while they worked on the lines outside the house, so a nap was out of the question (too hot with no fans).  Went for a bike ride instead, which was better for us anyway. 

Dinner was going to be take-away, we had decided.  Andrew wanted Pizza Caulker, and I wanted a Cuban sandwich from a little stand on Front Street.  On our way home I shrieked with glee to see Anna in front of her griddle cooking pupusas.  Hooray!  "You're back," she said.  I was surprised that she remembered me, but Andrew pointed out that I basically stalked her like a serial killer the entire 12 days we were here in February.  We ordered a couple of pupusas to go (chicharon & cheese for me, mixed pork for Andrew) and chatted with Anna while she cooked them.  She said she was happy that we were moving in to the tourist season, as business on Caye Caulker had been very slow this summer.  Despite that, she's made some improvements to her business.  She showed off her new awning for the rainy evenings,  and a little table and a few chairs for "dine in" service!  She said that if we wanted horchata (a cold, sweet rice milk drink with cinnamon that Andrew loves), we'd have to come back tomorrow.  Like we wouldn't be back anyway.  

Caye Caulker - Take 2

We're back!  It seemed to take forever for this trip to roll around, but now that we're back at Alta Vista, it feels like we never left!  

We had an early go of it this morning.  Up at 2 am to get organized in time for a 4 am car pick-up.  I've mentioned this before, I believe, but we now have a car service pick us up both to and from the airport.  One too many returns home to a Minnesota winter and car problems in a parking lot 15 miles from home has deterred us from driving ourselves.   It's much nicer to get in to a nice warm car directly from the airport and be dropped off at home!  Costs about the same as parking, too!

The airport was fairly deserted at 4:30 am on a Sunday.  The cruise ship passengers don't usually start arriving until closer to 6, so we were able to breeze through security with only a small hitch when the zippers on my Travex pants caused an alert with the body scanner.  A quick pat-down by a TSA agent and we were on our way with enough time to stop at Caribou for a coffee!  

Leg one to Miami was uneventful.  I was in the dreaded middle seat, but the woman sharing our row was very well-behaved and sat practically motionless the whole time.  The man behind me was less cooperative and snored like a buzz saw throughout most of the flight.  Despite that, and thanks to a Gravol, I slept through most of the 3-hour flight.  

In Miami we had enough time to grab a quick lunch, call Michelle to check in, and then board the plan to Belize City.  The flight was more than half-empty, such a scarce treat anymore, so we had the whole 3 seats between the two of us.  Flying bliss!  I managed to make my way through about 1/2 of my current book, and Andrew played on the in-flight wifi.  He likes to track the plane as it goes along and make sure we're on time.  

Belize City was rainy and hot when we landed.  Customs is fairly painless here for tourists and we were met just outside by one of the Tropic Air staff who collected our bags and guided us to the check-in counter for our last flight (more on that to come).  Once our bags were check through to Caye Caulker, we ran across the street from the airport to buy a SIM card for my phone.  Last time we were here we didn't have a phone of any sort, and there were a few times we wished we had.  For example, last time we had to go and pick up our pie from Caye Caulker Pizza.  This time, we can call & have it delivered!

Tower of the Belize City Airport

Now we arrive at what was my most dreaded part of the trip.  I had a momentary lapse in judgement and let Andrew talk me in to flying to Caye Caulker rather than taking the lovely, safe (albeit slow) water taxi.  For a mere $70 each, we were given the privilege of loading in to a sardine can with wings with a half-dozen other suckers for a 10-minute flight to the island.  I have to admit that the take-off & landing were both smoother than I expected.  The 8 minutes in between were less soothing, mostly because it was raining so we were flying in and out of black storm clouds while rain pelted the windows.  Isn't that how all those plane crash scenes begin?  Fortunately, the flight was very short and, in a break between clouds of death, I spotted a manatee in the water.  Very exciting!   Soon enough, we were on the ground in Caye Caulker! 

Our winged death trap

Kim, the manager of the holiday rental, was waiting for us at the airstrip (you wouldn't call it an airport really; the only building is a little shack) in a golf cart.  In less than 5 minutes we were inside of our beloved Alta Vista!   We had a moment of nauseating panic when Andrew couldn't find the bag he had all his cash in, but all ended well when he located it in the pocket of the rain slicker Kim had given him to wear in the golf cart.  Whew!   Kim then gave us the low-down on the goings on in Caye Caulker.  It's the very end of low season so not many tourist here right now.  Crime is up (robberies and muggings), so Kim cautioned us to hide our valuables in the house and to not carry much cash when we're out.   Once Kim left we spent about 15 minutes coming up with creative places to hide computers, cash and passports around the house.  I hope we remember where we put everything when it's time to leave! 

After hiding everything, we headed in to town on foot to find some dinner.  It rained here much of the day so the puddles are like small lakes in the sand roads.  We thought bikes would be less practical than our feet.  Being Sunday and low season, many of our favorite places were closed.  However, we did find Rose's open and shared conch ceviche and shrimp kebabs.  

Back at Alta Vista we unpacked, showered, and are now lounging around for the evening.  We're tired from a long day, so keep your fingers crossed that we can sleep in past 6 am.  No sign of Freaky yet, but we did swing by the store for a can of cat food on our way home.  We'll see if she happens by in the morning!