Day 15 - Friday July 13, 2012

Day 15 Friday - Our last day on Caye Caulker :-( and its only a 1/2 day!

The plan today was to get up early and go snorkeling at the Split. This is something we just didn't make the time to do during this trip. The thought of having to pack wet clothes doesn't appeal to me, so in the end that's not how our morning went...and as always...what happened was exactly what should happen.

We woke up way too early - before 6. Finally Lincoln's mention of the possibility of getting one of Glenda's Caye Famous Cinnamon Rolls if we made it to her restaurant around opening time (7am) got me out of bed. At the beginning of our stay we got there at 8am and she was sold out. We found out today why. She supplies all the restaurants on the island. We saw people leavings with BAGS FULL of her cinnamon rolls. We stood in line for close to 15 minutes just to order our food, I was sure she was going to be sold out by the time we got to the counter...she wasn't (happy dance) so I ordered TWO. Linc got one wit his Eggs. They were VERY good!

Lincoln starts talking to a man and his 2 sons (from Sacramento and previously from SJ) so invites them to sit with us. While we are eating, John (Linc's dive Buddy and our new friend) rides up on his bike. He has his dry bag (for diving) so its easy to know where he's going. I say "Are you going diving", his response is "Its daylight isn't it?" LOL, gotta love it! I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not...instead of a Gym Membership, John has a Dive Membership, so he dives whenever he wants - pretty cool!!

John orders his food and sits down to eat so we get to talk to him some more. He is a really cool guy. An ex-CEO, very high powered man from the Newspaper industry. He once led a very stressful life and now the polar opposite. He has lots of cool stories Linc tells me. 

Eventually its time for us all to leave. Linc needs to go back to the dive shop to get last night's dive signed off in his book, John is going out on the boat and I need to go back to the room and get cool. Its about 8:30 at this point. We have to check out at 11:30, taxi is coming at 12:15. Flight off Caye Caulker is at 1:10.

I work on my blog, it would be nice to be caught up BEFORE I leave the island...but that's not gonna happen. Though this way the time on the flight to Houston and maybe even SJC will pass quickly as I will be finishing it up then, at least the commentary. I'll add the photos from home and post from there which I'm sure will be much quicker.

Finally at about 10am I shower. Lincoln suggests I email Sara about this house we looked at but didn't get to see the inside of. It belongs to a local woman. We have a bit of spare time this morning. I get an email back saying sure, she'd love to show it to us and tells us where to meet her and that she'll hire a taxi to take us out to the home. So around 10:30 we move our suitcases downstairs for safekeeping until of airport taxi cart comes. We check out with Doris and pay our bill and walk to the Amor Y Cafe to meet Sara. We see her on her bike on Front St and wave at her. At about 11am the taxi arrives and drives us the 5-7 mins out to the home. It has 2 rooms (1 bedroom and an office) a bath and an open concept Kitchen, Dining Room & Living Room on the 2nd level. On the first level it has a "workshop" that could easily be turned into guest quarters. The rest of the underneath of the home could be enclosed. There are lots of possibilities. It has access to a pier and is on the leeward side of the island. Its one street over from where Barry & Lindsay live, basically one lot over from their backyard. We are really glad we were able to see the inside before we left today!

$98k

                                            Great floors!

                                         A Palm in the yard!

                                     Just one of the views....

We get back to Tree Tops at 11:45, just as our Taxi driver rolls up. He must have misunderstood quarter PAST 12 with quarter TO 12. Oh well, we get to the airport REALLY early. We thought we might be able to get on the 12:10 flight but today there wasn't a flight because no one was booked on it. Thankfully they had a nice waiting room that was air conditioned so I plugged in the laptop and started typing the blog. I was happy to be cool!

This sign was on the road to the airport. I told the Taxi driver they should put it on Front St (the main drag) for the tourists who drive too fast, he said they don't want to scare the tourists, LOL! That it was directed at the locals (probably the taxi drivers) because when this stretch of road is dry people tend to drive too fast.

Right on time they have the 3 of us that are waiting, a almost full plane...it had 3 empty seats...so now the plane was full. The co-pilot seat was a passenger. Before we physically got on the plane we watched as they fought with our biggest bag...trying to stuff it in the compartment under this small plane. They tried every direction and I thought it might have to go inside with us, but eventually they squeezed it in. 

Notice it has ONE prop!

               I don't get to sit with my honey, but we both get window seats!

The flight was really cool. I video taped most of it. It was smooth and quick. The sights were amazing. I'm glad we went from Belize City to Caye Caulker via Water Taxi and I'm equally happy we left via plane. Both experiences were really cool!

The flight was about 15 minutes. The landing was smooth and though it was warm, it wasn't as hot as I expected as we walked across the tarmac. Our experience at "International", as this airport is called, was uneventful.

                                Belize City - International Airport

Our flight was late taking off, due to the plane arriving late, but that's ok. When we get to Houston (late) the line for Customs is LONG and takes us 40 minutes to get through it. Then we still have to get our bags, go through another quick Customs Bag check, then re-check our bags with TSA and stand in a fairly long queue for another TSA check (like we've been anywhere but within control of Customs). This takes another 20 minutes, it takes us 10 minutes to get to our next gate which gets us there at exactly 9:15, when our flight was supposed to take off...fortunately this flight is 1 hr 45 mins late so we didn't miss it :-) Its all good!

We land in San Jose at 12:40, get our bags, grab a taxi to take us to the truck which is safely parked at Lincoln's office on base. We arrive home at about 2:20am. Pull in the 'carry on', orient ourselves, freshen up and climb into bed.

Vacation is officially over. We had a GREAT time in Belize and most of all on Caye Caulker. We made some fantastic friends and we can't wait to go back and we will!!!!!!!!!! 

I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog as much as I have writing it. I know I was rarely "up to date" but hey, I was on holiday so I did the best I could! I will be uploading a bunch of photos my husband took when he went out diving and maybe a page with just random other photos that I didn't put in my posts. Maybe people will want to see them...who knows. Anyway, thanks for reading! Take care and be happy. Remember YOLO, you only live once so make it count!

PEACE!

Day 14 - Thursday July 12th, 2012

Day 14 - Thursday 

Today we are going with Sara & Greg to the North Island of Caye Caulker to look at some property for sale. Sara has hired a boat and we need to meet her at the Split at 9am. We want to grab some breakfast. We stop at a vendor almost as far as the Split. There is one guy waiting for his food so we think it shouldn't take too long. Its about 8:30. We place our order and sit down. A gal we recognize from the Sports Bar sits down and we realize she placed her order, left and now came back to wait for it. Someone else comes by to pick up their order. We soon  realize there are a handful of orders in front of us. So much for picking a "quick" place. We know nothing is quick and that's ok...but sometimes you need 'not so slow'.

Greg comes walking by and sits with us. Its now about 8:45. At 8:50 Sara comes along on her bike. We still don't have our food. I ask the cook to put it in to-go containers. Finally just before 9am we get our food and hurry the last bit down to the Split and arrive a few minutes late.

To our surprise the "Captain" of the boat is Jamal, the bartender from the Sports bar who found my glasses last night. We board the boat and take off for the North Island. The less than 5 minute ride is gorgeous. He takes us up a little canal into a 'lake' and we dock. This is a development. There are lots surrounding the lake, a few ocean front lots and then lots behind all those lots. There is one lot in particular that we are interested in. Its one lot from the ocean front, quite large for $50k US. They want 10% down and will finance the balance at 8% interest. The "gotcha" is that right now there is no power to this island. They have sunk a power line from the South Island, but there are no above ground wires yet, so everyone on this island uses Solar & Wind power, which means no A/C (which means Lynn could melt during certain times of the year). This might be a good investment but no guarantees and a lot of variables.  Its definitely quiet and gorgeous here!

                            View across the lake towards the Sea.

                                Looking out towards the Sea.

                         Cool tree with shade that I stand in for awhile.

I was REALLY hot out there. First off I wore socks and shoes. My ankle is really swollen from the sprain. I wore flip flops yesterday so decided it would be smart to wear shoes for this outing. I wore a black Tshirt..duh! And a black hat...double duh! Add to that there isn't much shade and that I had drank WAY too much last night. Thankfully we didn't stay out there very long.

                                  The ride back was beautiful. 

                              The color of the water is amazing!

        Looking towards the Power Plant on the South Island "leeward" side

               Coming up on the split, looking towards the south side.

We said goodbye to everyone. Jamal's family got on the boat with him and off they went to enjoy the day. Lincoln jumped in the crystal blue water at the split to cool off...he always has a pair of board shorts on, ready to swim at a moments notice. I, not so smart. 

Lincoln swimming

We saw this funky fish that a local man has pulled from the water. Very prehistoric looking.

Barrier Reef Sports Bar

                                  A Toadfish 

We walked a bit down Front St until we saw a taxi to take us back to the room. Each taxi ride is US$2.50 each and well worth it, especially when you are hot.

When we got back to the guesthouse they were still cleaning our room because it was only about 11am. We waited up on the rooftop deck, lounging in the hammocks. When they were done we cranked up the A/C to cool off so we could take showers. I always have to get cool/dry before I can take a shower. Lincoln is doing a night dive tonight so we want to hang in the room for awhile before going out. Its pretty hot. So we relax and nap. 

We head out because we are hungry. Lincoln left laundry at Marie's two days ago that we need to pick up. We want to get some Belikin glasses to take home and are told we can get them at the Distributor by the Power plant so we head that way. We find the office and I recognize one of the drivers and remind him that I saw him at 88 West yesterday and he smiles and says he knew I looked familiar...plus I've waved at him a few different times during our stay. I don't know  if I've gotten a picture or not, but he's the guy who rides "shotgun" on the truck. 

We take what feels like 10 pounds of glasses and head to the dive shop to eat before Lincoln dives. Its Thursday but I want Tacos more more time!I have one drink and then switch to soda. Christina shows up for the night dive right before I'm leaving so I'm glad I get to say bye to her one last time. I have Cecelia, the bartender, call Adrian the taxi driver I now consider "my taxi driver". He happens to be right around the corner and shows up in seconds.

On our way back Adrian points out a local kid cleaning a huge Barracuda on the pier. The kid caught it and will take it to Rosie's where they will cook it for him. Pretty neat! The day before when Adrian was taking me to the hotel I noticed the big black birds (Frigatebirds) that are always hovering over the sea, swoop down on the pier right by Tree Tops. I commented that I had never seen them swoop down before...then I realized that they were picking up fish that were lined up along the pier...then I realized it was a young boy's fish. He had lined then up and left them so he could go further out on the pier for something...not thinking that the birds would come down and get them (obviously he was not a local boy!). All of a sudden he came running back to his loot to find the majority of the fish were gone! Life lesson learned.
 
I packed the rest of things while Lincoln dives, or at least the majority of our things. Lincoln gets back from the dive, showers and we are ready to get some dinner a bit before 9pm. I'm afraid it might be too late. We walk up to Habanero's Restaurant for some awesome Lobster Bisque. It looks open and we ask but they say the kitchen is closed. We stop at another place, look at the menu but the prices seem high and we've never heard anyone speak of the place so we keep walking eventually ending up at the Rainbow Grill where we've had drinks before and have been told the food is good. They are still open, barely. I'm not that hungry so I order the Lobster "fingers" appetizer and Linc orders a Belizean staple Stew Chicken with Rice & Beans. The food arrives quickly and my appetizer would feed 4 people. Its really good. Lincoln helps me eat it and then I save some for Roso, a dog we like. I named him. He's a boy dog who wears a bright pink collar. You would assume that since he wears a collar that he belongs to someone but I have never seen him with anyone and have seen him on the street at all times of the day & night in all parts of the island. Pink is Rosa...so since he's a boy I made up Roso. Sadly I don't think I ever took his picture. 

On our way back up Front St we stop at the Barrier Reef Sports Bar to say bye to Tommy and see who is there. To our delight we see Barry & Lindsay sitting at the bar! We stop and chat for a bit but pass on having a drink. Its late and we tipped a few too many the night before. The bar owner, Amanda, is there so Lincoln gets to meet her while Barry tells me what it takes to retire in Belize. After a bit we say our goodbyes, again, and head out. 

Its our last night on Caye Caulker and we are both sad about this! This little island and its people have captured our hearts! We slowly walk back to Tree Tops soaking in the sights and sounds, wishing we weren't leaving tomorrow!

Day 13 - Wednesday July 11th

Day 13 - Wednesday

Lincoln went diving today. We had to move to the Sunset Suite today for our last 2 nights so I packed up our things and did that. Then I went and had breakfast at Tropical Paradise. I ran into a gal we had met at the Happy Lobster and talked to her while I ate. I then had a leisurely day in the A/C room until about 2pm when I walked back to the dive shop. Unfortunately I found out that they wouldn't be back until 4pm. I ate some wings (it was Wing Wednesday) and had a couple of drinks. At about 3pm I walked down to the travel agency to buy our tickets for the TEENY WEENY plane back to Belize City on Friday. :-(

Another of our new friends, Christina was on the dive with him. He met her last week on a dive. She and her husband Walter live on the island. They are from Canada. They are really cool people. They own the Macaw Apartments . A neat place to come for either a short time or long term rentals.

Christina hunted/speared a bunch of Lionfish which are not native to the Caribbean sea and are killing the reef & other fish.

Christina spearing a Lion Fish

One of the many Lionfish Lincoln saw during this dive

During most dives he saw quite a few.

Tonight Christina and Walter had us over to their apartment for dinner. Their neighbor Dianna joined us as well. We had brought good Silver Tequila, Triple Sec, Amaretto Di Saronno & Lincoln's homemade Limoncello with us in Smuggler Packs so we took these to share.

Linc, Christina, Dianna & Walter 

Cocktail Hour on the patio at Christina & Walter's @ Macaw Apartments

Lincoln made everyone Margaritas. Christina brought out warm Tortillas with garlic butter stuff & spinach dip that was really good. Then we had some Limoncello and the main course was served, Lionfish on garlic toast.  WOW, sooooo good! The food just kept coming and I just kept eating...even after Lincoln stopped. OMG! Its a good thing that Lionfish are so good to eat, it will help to reduce their population.

                        The dinner Christina made - Lionfish on Toast

After dinner, we went to play trivia with Barry & Lindsay at the Sports Bar. We tried to get Christina and Walter to go but they declined this time because they said they sucked at trivia.

Up until the last round our team was in 1st place. At the end of the game aka the BONUS round, we were in 4th...oh well, we had a blast. We knew people on another team so there was smack talk going on which is always fun.

                               The team with folks we knew (waving)

After the game was over we hung out and talked and continued to drink. At midnight when they close, we were part of the the small group they had to ask to vacate :-). At one point I lost my reading glasses, fortunately Jamal the bartender found them which he rewarded richly with a kiss on the cheek!

Barry & Lindsay own a Golf Cart so they drove us back to our room which was AWESOME! We were both a bit inebriated so this was a good thing!

It was a beautiful night so we went up on the roof to watch the clouds and the stars.

Day 12 - Tuesday July 10

We spent 3 hours or so today with Sara of ReMax Real Estate looking at properties on the south island of Caye Caulker. She had Greg, a new agent join us. They are great people!

We looked at existing homes and lots to build on -- that are available for sale. It is Lincoln's dream to retire here. I love it here too so it works for me as well. Our retirement dollars will go waaaay further here than in the states, that's for sure! We found a a lot on the South tip of the island we like, there is no electricity so you have to utilize Wind & Solar power...but its gorgeous out there! Because of all the recent rain we run into a lot of big puddles and just plain wet ground. Its actually good because it shows us what lots are "solid".

 

There is an option in Bahia for USD$98,000 a couple of lots

from the sea that's worth considering

Listing for house

                         Nice views from the veranda and the windows!


                       And just around the corner we would have friends

                       Our friends Barry & Lindsay own the blue one.
                                   A REALLY nice 3 story home!

                                      Listen to the birds at this lot


We saw some great possibilities. Its so hard to know what to do.

Sara and Greg dropped us back at Tree Tops. I have a special massage scheduled with Ms Juana at 3pm over at Coco Plum so I needed a shower and to rest. I worked on my blog a bit since as usual I'm behind (sorry!).

I had an amazing massage. She worked muscles in my arms that had never been worked.

Its Tuesday which means its Taco Tuesday at 88 West (though we've had their Taco's 2 or 3 times since last Tuesday but its as good of a reason). So after yet another shower and rest period we head over to Belize Diving Services / 88 West. There are a handful of folks including this cute puppy who belongs to Lloyd.

Also there might be a night dive tonight that Lincoln wants to go on. He has left all his equipment here which is nice...then he can just go on a dive at the drop of a hat. They aren't going out tonight after all...its now scheduled for Thursday (at least he won't miss it).

It was a nice night so we came back and enjoyed our rooftop hammocks and relaxed.

Day 11 - Monday - July 9th, 2012

Day 11 Monday


We are going snorkeling today. We need to check in at Raggamuffin Tours by 9:30. On our walk down Front Street (what I've been referring to as 'the main drag or main street') I step in one of the many pot holes and 'roll' my ankle. Fortunately I don't actually fall to the ground. I had stopped to look at a jewelery table, so Lincoln is about 15 feet ahead of me. I yell for him to stop.


A major rush of nausea envelopes me, so much that I think I may now fall over. My entire body tingles. YUCK! He runs back to me and helps me hobble to a shady place with a make shift seat up against a tree. I want to cry but I don't because there are some locals watching me. I suck it up. Eventually the nausea passes and I decide to walk the final 100' or so to the tour shack. By the time we get there they are sold out. There are a lot more people on the Caye today, not sure where they all came from! We are bummed because Raggamuffin uses sailboats.


We walk back a few places to E-Z Boy tours, owned by the cousin of Brian from Belize Diving Services and they can accommodate us so we sign up. My ankle is killing me but I figure soaking it in the Caribbean Sea may help - I'm sure it won't hurt! While we wait for the tour to go, we go across to a convenience store and buy some Advil for me to take. Then we got to the Waffle place across the street which is owned by Brian's Mom and run by his Aunt (its all in the family!).

                                              E-Z Boy Tours

                                               M&J's Waffle Place

                BZE$4 for Butter & Jam on my Regular Belgium Waffle - it was very good! USD$2


They have 15 people to go out on the boat...more than we'd like. They take 2 guides so that they have no more than 8:1. First we go to The Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Its about a 20 minute boat ride towards San Pedro. The 'dive' area is gorgeous. We see lots of beautiful fish.


The second area is also in the Hol Chan Reserve. There were lots of beautiful fish here too.


The third area is called North Channel and is not in the protected reserve. It is much closer to Caye Caulker. When we get here Ian says the other tour group is 'chasing' a Manatee. He suggests we sit on the boat for a few minutes so the Manatee can calm down. He gives us strict instructions that when the Manatee swims by us, that we should all stop and just float in the water and watch as the giant animal swims by. That no one is to swim down towards him nor swim after him. We leave the boat as a group and start swimming. Within a very short time the our first experience happens. WOW, what an amazing site. Video will be posted at some point.

It was a great day in the water!

After showering & relaxing we headed out for dinner. There is a place called The Sand Box. On Front Street there is a guy who talks up the people and tries to get them to eat at The Sand Box. By now we have walked by him for what feels like a hundred times. He calls us "Mommy & Daddy", we finally give in and eat there. Not my favorite so far but we sit on picnic bench on the sand and the view is good and our server, a very young man is very nice. And now, Benedict will not try to hustle us anymore.

                                                         Our view during dinner

Its still early so we head down to say hi to Tommy (the host) at the Barrier Reef Sports Bar & Grill. Its a fun place to hang out. They have different activities throughout the week. We went to the Guitar Jam on Friday and Linc went to Trivia night on Sunday with John, Barry & Lindsay. Trivia is again on Wednesday so we are planning to go then so I can check it out. We watch the sunset and have a drink before heading back to our room. It was a great day of course --- we are on vacation!

Day 10 - Sunday July 8th, 2012

Day 10 - Happy 24th Birthday Collin Bridges

Lincoln is supposed to go diving today.

At some point in the middle of the night, the rain, thunder and lightning wakes us up. We go back to sleep but are awoken off and on throughout the night. At 7am when Lincoln should get up, the storm is in full swing. It is pouring really hard and you can hear the thunder in the distance. We wonder if the dive boat will even go out. The shop is so far...to walk all the way there and find out they aren't going would be a drag plus he'd be soaked to the bone. Linc decides not to go and we decide to stay in bed for the morning. It was a good decision!

At 8:30am the cleaning gal knocks at the door. I'm thinking, REALLY? Today she wants to clean early...all week she hasn't cleaned until close to 11. I answer the door and she tells me that Chriss from Coco Plum called to confirm that I can have my massage at 11am and that he'll send a taxi for me at 10:45 because of the rain (nice!).

We are starving but the rain is coming down in sheets. We have juice so we drink some and eat some fresh pineapple that I bought yesterday and then get back in bed and drift off to sleep for a bit. Its a nice lazy Sunday!

Lincoln decides he'll go with me to Coco Plum. Its on a different part of the Caye, over by the Airport and near where John lives. If the dive didn't happen then John will be home and Linc can hang out with him. If not, he'll explore or just hang out at Coco Plum. The taxi shows up at 10:50 (on time for CC time) and the puddles in the unpaved road getting there are HUGE...at times I'm amazed we make it, though we do.

We walk through a heavily canopied jungle area to the cafe and we are greeted by Chriss. He's in his early 60s and originally from Denmark. He mentions that he was raised Mennonite. He tells us a bunch about this part of the island. He makes Lincoln a cup of awesome coffee and then leads me to the Spa House.

Photo of Spa House from website

 I took the following photos after my massage

Lots of purple throughout the room.

Chriss is an amazing Massage Practitioner and very Intuitive. I so wish he lived in Santa Cruz!!

Keep in mind the room was very warm, naturally warm from the weather and today was cooler than most days because of the rain. The sounds were also natural, not from an iPod. I could hear the rain, the sounds of the jungle....a handful of different birds. It was really neat and relaxing!

John had told me Chriss would work an area until he was satisfied and he was right. At one point he said this is too much work for little result and went off to boil water for a hot rock treatment. I had never had hot rocks so I was a little apprehensive and excited at the same time. I've seen photos of rocks lying on the skin.

Chriss came back with a tea kettle of hot water and a stainless steel bowl. I watched as he put these beautiful river rocks into the bowl and pour the boiling water over them. After a few minutes Chriss took a hot rock and massaged my back very deeply with it until it lost its heat, he replaced it in the bowl of water and retrieved another, each rock was hotter than the last. The final and largest rock was almost too much to bear...and it felt the best. My muscles all gave way and Chriss was satisfied. He said this section of my back was solid iron before the rocks and now it was released. It was exhilarating. This was a great 90 minute massage.

I told Chriss that I was coming back for one more massage before I left on Friday. He said though he'd love to do one, though he suggested I come back for a special "Mayan" Woman massage with Ms Juana Cowo, so I'm scheduled to do that on Tuesday. I'm really excited about it because he says it will 'center' me. Which I so need!

After the massage the rain had stopped, so Lincoln and I decided to walk back to our room along the beach, because it was a part of the Caye where we hadn't been. It was about 15-20 minutes away. During my massage Lincoln had explored this part of the island so he was familiar with where we needed to go.

First we walked over to the Airport to get the particulars on the flight schedule to Belize City. We've decided that rather than take the Water Taxi back to Belize City, then a Shuttle for the 45 minutes over the bumpy road to the airport -- that we'll simply fly over in one of the TEENY TINY airplanes. Its only a 15 minute flight, in a TEENY TINY airplane. LOL. It will be fun! I'm told you can see Sealife during the trip because you fly so low. YIKES!

The walk back on the beach is fun. We stop and look at different places to rent next time and find some great possibilities. A couple of places even let us walk through the rooms which is cool! By the time we get back to the room we are starving since we really haven't eaten yet. I shower, dress and we leave.

Colinda Cabanas

                                       View from upstairs unit

                 The living room (there is also a bedroom and kitchen area

We want to try Syds and walk to it. The only day its closed is Sunday's. Today is Sunday. We stop at Caye Pizza but decide not today. We end up at Happy Lobster. Linc has Fish Fingers and I have a Chicken Quesadilla. We are so hungry that we eat before we think to take a photo for this blog!

While we are eating, Alison (from Toronto) walks by so she comes and sits with us. Today she did her last dive to achieve her "Advanced" title. Woo hoo!

                                                     Alison

After dinner I was exhausted after the relaxing massage earlier in the day so we went back to the  room. I worked ont the blog for a bit and around 7:30 Lincoln wanted to go into town and get Ice Cream and see if anything was going on...I was too tired so I told him to go without me. He said he'd be back around 10:30 (which is late here) so I wouldn't worry!

He ran into John (his dive buddy) at the Ice Cream shop next to the Barrier Reef Bar & Grill. John bought him a cone and they went next door because it was Trivia Night. Lincoln saw Barry & Linsday, the couple we met over on San Pedro. They live near John but had never met. The four of them joined up as a team and played Trivia. In the end they came in 2nd. Had I been there, our team may have finished first since I have some good TV/Movie trivia knowledge which  they were lacking. When Lincoln got home and told me what I had missed I was totally bummed. I was pleased to hear that the others asked where I was! The good news is that Wednesday is also Trivia night. So hopefully we can all do it again before we leave!

Day 9 - Saturday July 7th

Day 9 - Saturday - Low Key Day

Lincoln is diving today. We get up and head out for breakfast. I suggest we try this "shack" place I saw that sells Fry Jacks (a patty of dough that is fried and puffs up into a pocket and then is filled with whatever they have) with all different choices of fillings. Their prices are cheap and there is a fruit stand next door where we can get juice and fresh fruit. Eat more like locals! Lincoln gets an Egg, Ham & Cheese Fry Jack and I get just a Ham & Cheese Fry Jack. BZE$2.50each. They are much bigger than I expect. A tad on the greasy side but really tasty. We get orange juice which is freshly squeezed and poured into reused small water bottles (yes the germa-phobe in me stayed in the USA). BZE$3 each. Plus 2 bananas for BZE$0.25 each. Total for breakfast a whopping BZE$11.50 or USD$5.75 for BOTH of us! We are both full when we are done.

                                                          Fry Jacks, Banana & Juice

Fruit & Juice Stand

We continue our walk to Belize Diving Services. We know that Camille & her daughter Catherine (the people who caught the fish that we ate last night) will be diving today, it will be nice to see them. I also am excited to get to meet John. He was Linc's dive buddy the last dive. He has moved to the island in the last year and is loving it.

               Alison, Catherine, Me, John & Camille hanging out under a huge Palapa before they go diving with 6 others (Lincoln took the photo)

The Dive boat and boarding area

After a bit I say goodbye and head back to the hotel. They are gonna be back around 1pm and I plan on coming back to greet them.

John tells me about his massage therapist, Chriss, and how wonderful he is. I decide that I'm gonna get a massage. I go back to the room and check out the Coco Plum website. The place looks amazing and I chose the 90 minute massage and that I'll make an appointment via email for tomorrow when Linc is diving again.

I hang out in the room and work on my blog. This blog has turned into a job...it takes a lot more time than I expect. That's ok, I'm sitting in front of a window looking at the sea and Coconut Palm trees and the best part is the room is air conditioned AND I'm not at work. Life is good!

The gals come to clean so I take my book and go up on the roof to sit in the hammock. I don't read, I doze off instead. After a bit it starts to rain so I head down to our porch. They aren't done so I lie on the lounger and drift back to sleep until they finish.

The rain comes and goes. I had planned to start walking back to the dive shop (which is at the other end of town) at about 12:45pm....its pouring at that time so I wait. Finally at 1:30pm it lets up enough that I start walking that way. I figured I may run into Lincoln. The dive shop isn't on the main drag so I wonder which of the side streets I should take to go up the two blocks up that I need to, to zig zag over to the Dive shop. I pick one and cross my fingers. I don't see him during my 10 minute walk and get to the dive shop and don't see anyone except Renesha behind the bar. I'm hot so I figure I'll grab a drink before heading back to the hotel. I glance towards the water and see that the boat is just now pulling up. Ahhh, CC time...GO SLOW! Its about 1:45 and they are just getting back. I had perfect timing! YAY!

Lincoln and I sit at the bar and order some yummy tacos and the Shrimp & Bacon Quesadilla - just think how good bacon wrapped shrimp would taste! Alison sits down next to us and I get to know her. She's 25 (looks much younger), just graduated from University in Toronto and is traveling alone. She's taking the Advanced Diver Course here. She's very sweet.

After awhile we walk back to the room to shower. I start working on my blog again and I realize Lincoln is sleeping. I lay down with him, its about 4:15. The next thing I know its 7pm. We get up and we are hungry so we dress and go into town to eat. We walk almost to the Split to a place called "Wish Willy's".

Wish Willy's is restaurant set up in Willy's yard. Its a long table under a cover and is really cool. His food is good. We shared a Jerk Chicken plate. Lincoln had never had Jamaican Jerked anything and now whenever he thinks about it his mouth begins to water. I have a feeling we will be eating there again before we leave! We got two large pieces of Chicken with a huge portion of white rice and the best grilled vegetables I think I've ever had! Linc gets a Belikin (beer) and I get a Sprite. Bill is BZE$28.

I didn't take any photos, I will post some of the place in a future post!

We walk slowly through town, seeing folks we know which is cool. Its amazing that after just one short week we seem to know a lot of people. The shop/restaurant owners and a lot of the locals recognize us and say hi and we stop and chat as we walk --- as well as fellow tourists. We've made friends with a handful of ex-pats - folks who live here now that are from other countries.

We run into one lady, I ask her where she's from. She says Colorado. I say where? She says Lafayette (where I lived for 10 years and still own a townhome). I say OMG...where? She says "Indian Peaks", which is one "block" over from where I lived. SMALL WORLD! She's in a hurry, the restaurant she was at ran out of  Tofu (she said they cooked it great) so she offered to go up to the convenience store to get more. So we say goodbye and I figure we'll probably run into her again anyway.

By this time its raining and I want to get back to the room. We spend an hour or so researching places to stay the next time we come here to visit...as there will be a next time. We really like it here. I'd like to come in May, I hear the weather is much nice then (not as hot & humid).

Goodnight Caye Caulker!