After our fabulous rendezvous in the jungle, the time has come to get back to the ocean where we belong! As Patrick mentioned, Lamanai was absolutely remarkable and something that should not be missed by anyone travelling through Belize.
(FYI: The yellow star is where we go next)
We were up early to make our way down to Caye Caulker, a small island off of Belize. To get there we boarded a rickety old school bus that may have been the same model my grandma rode to school as a child. The ride was actually pretty enjoyable in the beginning because we got to drive through quant little towns of Belize and there was a nice breeze keeping us cool, but Mother Nature decided to test our patience. She brought in torrential downpour, causing all the windows to go up, and for the next 30 minutes of our ride we got a nice sauna treatment. We arrived in Belize City in pretty good time and immediately made our way to the water taxi. We haven’t heard many good things about BC in terms of safety, and we surely weren’t going to be the ones to find out if it was true. Being new years eve, the town was popping and everyone seemed to be out making plans for their evening’s events.
The water taxi was quick and painless; it was about an hours ride and 13 bucks (roundtrip) – not too shabby! Although we were worn out from all the travelling, as soon as we arrived at the dock our moods were revived and we were ready to celebrate! Caye Caulker is an adorable island, with the only mode of transportation being foot, bike or golf cart. Everything seems so happy – the houses are all painted bright colors and everyone is smiling! We quickly checked into our new residence Miss Ella’s House, which is what we will call home for the next 5 days. After feeling like vagabonds for the past week, we were both excited to fully unpack our stuff and relax. Miss Ella’s is a darling little house with more room than we would ever need. If anyone wants to join us for the next few days, we have plenty of room! We even have a top deck where we can watch the sun rise and set each day! STOP reading and go pack… your time is ticking!!
As soon as we arrived, Patrick had the itch to go adventure by himself to get some groceries, and considering it had just started raining, I let him have some “Me-time.” He came back drenched to the core with a couple essentials, and we waited out the thunderstorm at the house over some yummy chips and salsa. Our little house is basically a cabin, including a tin roof, so listening to the rain was extremely calming. Once the rain stopped, we prepped ourselves to go out to welcome the new year.
Like I mentioned, the island is very small, so we walked through the streets and stopped for dinner at a place our (golf-cart) taxi driver recommended, Rose’s Grill and Bar. Now… this is what you call home-cooking: We walked up and outside the restaurant was a huge grill and plates where you got to LITERALLY pick out what you wanted to eat for dinner. Patrick was like a little kid in a candy shop and without hesitation picked the biggest lollipop in the shop – the lobster! I went for their special and got a huge filet of blue marlin (thinking Patrick would be sweet enough to give me a bit of his big ol’ lobster). Both of our meals were excellent (although Patrick didn’t share a SINGLE bite with me), and we even got to share dinner with a Dutch couple we met who invited us to their table. The restaurant was set up to have several tables that were all family style.
We hit it off with the couple, and we all walked down to the Split, which is an area on the island where a hurricane blew through and sunk everything. Now there is a little clearing on the island with shallow water and a bar called the Lazy Lizard sits on the edge. The Liz was hoppin and we strategically got a “table” in the water with our first resolution to have our feet in the ocean at midnight! We all laughed, splashed and danced our way into the new year! They even put on a little fireworks show at the stroke of midnight which absolutely made our night – especially mine… anyone who knows me knows fireworks are my thing!
As Patrick and I danced and played into the new year, I kept thinking how lucky I was to be starting my year off in such a fabulous fashion. After yesterday’s Mayan history lesson about the world “ending” in 2012, I have a hard time feeling anxious considering my life has been so great up to this point. I don’t really believe that such a catastrophe will really occur, but regardless of what the future holds, I believe as long as you surround yourself with loved ones and do what you believe is right and good, then all is well!
-Roya
Bootstrap Journeys 