Belize it or not: Caye Caulker; where backpackers outnumber locals

by Iva Skoch on

Isn’t this heaven? (Sorry if these photos find you in the middle of cubicle hell.)

I took these pictures last week in Caye Caulker, one of the northern islands off the coast of Belize. Most people opt to go to the bigger Ambergris Caye, which is a bit more family friendly, but also more expensive.

Caye Caulker is smaller (about 5 miles x 1 mile), cheaper and hence packed with backpackers. The last time I saw so many backpackers in one place was probably Yangshuo, China. These are the kinds of places where you literally see more backpackers than locals. Kind of defeats the point of adventure travel, doesn’t it.

There are a few great things about Caye Caulker, though:

  • Seafood. Especially when conch is in season.
  • Cheaper than other Belize islands. I already mentioned that.
  • Closer to Belize City than Ambergris Caye. Ferries to Ambergris Caye stop here first.
  • Close to the Belize Barrier Reef (about 10 minutes by boat)
  • Best of all: Beach. It is one of the few places in Belize you can find a nice beach for swimming. Most of the shallow cost here on the islands is covered with sea grass, which makes it a little hard to swim. The northern side of Caye Caulker has a great little beach (see pictures) which is almost completely sea grass-free! There is a bar right there on the beach, with tables in the water. A backpackers’ take on resort swim up bars.

Can you beat that?

Belize it or not: Getting away from it all

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from Belize.

I took this photo just a few days ago from the plane (hence the quality), during one of my island-hopping trips between Belize City and the island of Ambergris Caye.

Check it out. Some guy built a house on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean several miles of the coast of Belize.

I think that qualifies as “wanting to get away from it all.”

Can you imagine bringing all the wood and building equipment here on boat? What happens when the hurricane season comes? I know hurricanes are not too frequent in this area, but still. A big storm could probably blow this house right in the ocean.

I’d love to meet this person. I picture him looking like Robinson Crusoe. I would be very disappointed to find a white-collar dude trying to create his own personal tax haven. (God knows Belize attracts those people.)

Belize it or not: Island-hopping on budget

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from Belize.

If you come to Belize, chances are you’ll stay on one of the islands, not mainland. Not only is it easier to find nice beaches on the islands (cayes), but it is much closer to the Barrier Reef. And if you are visiting Belize, you simply must see the reef. Even if you don’t dive, the ocean is shallow around here and the opportunities for snorkeling are plentiful.

If you’re not sold on the idea of island vacation and decide to stay inland and spend time in the jungle instead, you should at least visit the islands for a day or two.

Flying tips
If you arrive in Belize by plane, you will most certainly land at Belize City International Airport. The most convenient way to get to the islands is to fly straight from here.

There are two local airlines that operate all those island-hopping routes: Maya Airlines (owned by Belizeans) and Tropic Air (owned by American expats living in Belize). I have flown both and I couldn’t really tell the difference in quality or service between the two. Both use the same planes and operate efficiently. Tropic has more planes than Maya.Flights from the Belize City International Airport to the most popular northern island, Ambergris Caye (town of San Pedro), cost $65US ($130 Belize) per person.

It’s only a 15-minute flight on board a little Cessna, which is great because it will give you a great opportunity to see the area from up above. You’ll actually fly low enough that you’ll be able to see sharks and dolphins in the sea below you. If you are lucky, you might even get seated on the jump seat next to the pilot – my favorite spot.

If you want to save money and have extra time, consider flying out to the islands from the municipal airport in Belize City instead. A taxi from the international airport (14 miles outside the city) to the municipal airport will cost you $25US ($50 Belize) and take about 15 minutes.

Here is the benefit. From the municipal airport, Maya or Tropic Air flights to San Pedro go for only $35, instead of $65. If there are more of you traveling, it makes a lot of sense. We did it and our cab driver even gave us a little tour of Belize City for just a few extra dollars. Belize City is not the safest of cities and seeing it from a car might actually be enough for a lot of people.

Taking the ferry
If you are on a tight budget, your best bet for getting out to the islands is a boat trip. Once again, you’ll have to take a taxi (or bus) from the international terminal to the water taxi building in the center. From there, boats to the islands leave about 6 times a day, the last one taking off mid-afternoon.

Express ferry from Belize City to Ambergris Caye (San Pedro) costs $12.50 ($25 Belize). It takes about 60-90 minutes and stops at the backpacker mecca of Caye Caulker on the way. Obviously, flying is much more convenient, especially if you–like me–tend to get seasick.

Happy travels.

Belize it or not: Top Surprizing Things About Belize

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from Belize.

Those of you who have been to Belize before might not find these surprising, but this is my first time here and they surprised me. Here is a brief laundry list:

  • The U.S. Dollar is widely accepted. With the Belize Dollar pegged at 2:1 to the U.S. Dollar, it’s not surprising. Guess where you should be traveling when the U.S. Dollar is practically worthless? Where they accept dollars, of course! Although Belize is pretty expensive comparing to other Central American countries, the cheap dollar makes it affordable.
  • English is all you’ll ever need. While guidebook after guidebook tell you people speak Spanish or Creole, Belizeans almost universally speak perfect English. It’s the official language, don’t forget.
  • It’s not all jungle. While the UN pegs forest cover at 79% in Belize and the country itself claims to have 44% of its land under some legal land-protection regime, there are whole sections of the country that are open, rolling hills and farmland.
  • It’s not just the Blue Hole. There’s great diving all up and down the world’s second-largest barrier reef. The terrain is varied, and so is the wildlife. I can tell you that first hand, as I squeezed in 5 dives in 2 days off two different islands.
  • There’s a surprising level of development. Literacy is above 75% (depending on the source). The economy is rapidly growing. While the UN’s human development index generally puts the country at about number 80 of 177 countries studied (in terms of education, GDP per person, etc.), life expectancy here is in the top 40 worldwide.
  • The population density is one of the lowest in the world. With 300,000 or so people in an area the size of the state of New Jersey (which has almost 9 million folks), and 1/3 of people living in Belize City, it’s not surprising, really.
  • The rainy season (May-November) is quite pleasant here, especially if you stay in the north. We are in the middle of it right now. It rains about once a day, if that, for a while and then it’s sunny again. The benefit over the dry season? It’s cheaper and there are hardly any tourists.
  • People are really friendly, helpful and pleasant. The islands have a Caribbean feel, while the inland is more Spanish-influenced.

I give Belize two thumbs up.

Belize it or not: Diving the Blue Hole

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from Belize.

Yesterday, I made one of my life-long dreams come true. I dove the Great Blue Hole, a submarine cave about 45 miles off the coast of Belize. They say after diving it, divers are usually either utterly disappointed or absolutely blown away. I found it absolutely amazing.

The Great Blue Hole is circular, over 1,000 feet (330 meters) across and 400 feet (120 meters) deep. It was formed as a limestone cave system during the last ice age. As the ocean began to rise again, the caves flooded, and the roof collapsed.

The trip

To get to the Blue Hole, we booked a diving with the operator Aqua Dives Belize. They offer a $199 per person special now, which was the cheapest deal going, from what I could see. It includes the boat trip out there, breakfast, lunch (on a tiny caye on the same atoll) plus yummy rum punch (after diving), purified drinking water, 3 tanks and weight belts.

(We’d tried Ambergris Divers earlier, and found their staff friendly and competent, but we preferred Aqua Dives and their newer equipment.)

You start out at 5:30am, and make a 3-hour boat ride from Ambergris Caye to Lighthouse Reef. After a total of three dives, they get you back at 5:30pm.

The trip to the Lighthouse Reef, which the Blue Hole is a part of, goes through some rough waters. People were getting sick on the boat, which is always the “fun” part about diving. Isn’t that funny that there is always that one girl who throws up on the way to the reef. (That girl is typically me, but it wasn’t yesterday. I took half a Dramamine, which is not a great idea before diving since it makes you drowsy, but I survived!)

[Here is a question for you. Why is it always girls who get seasick? You never see guys throwing up from fishing boats.]

The diving

We parked the boat right in the middle of the Blue Hole. Eight divers with two instructors (one in the front, one in the back) descended with us to the depths of 140 ft (45 meters). As you descend, you see great stalactites which cover the cave. You don’t see a lot of fish. In fact, we only had couple of solitary bull sharks swimming with us, which was way cool.

The sheer drama of swimming among the stalactites makes it almost a religious experience. I caught myself forgetting I was under water. Some people might see the “lack of fish” as boring, but I found it incredible. Never saw anything like that in my life.

This was the deepest dive I have ever done. I, naturally, found the breathing much harder than breathing at, say, 80 feet. The air is denser and you feel like you have to breathe harder.

Since it is a pretty deep dive, I’d heard some people experience nitrogen narcosis, which–using the dive master’s term–means they get a “little crazy.” They have had people taking their masks off at that depths, taking their regulator out of their mouths, wanting to go deeper and deeper, and cut themselves from hugging the stalactites. Obviously, going to the full depth of 400 ft is not possible, but that apparently doesn’t prevent some people from trying. Several people have died diving the Blue Hole (I knew of one of them).

You’re only in the water for about 25 minutes, and down at 130-140 feet for about 8 minutes (due to the depth), but every second was worth it. A sandy ledge slopes down from near the surface, down to about 50 ft. Then, it’s straight down a vertical wall to about 110 ft. Then, you’re in the cave. You swim in and around stalactites that are easily 3 ft or more in diameter, and underneath the old cave’s “ceiling.”

Below you, at about 170 ft, you can see another sandy ledge. It looks so close that you could reach out with your leg and touch it. It’s like you’re swimming in a cathedral, with the stalactites forming statues hanging from the arched ceiling.

It’s magic how you can watch the bubbles ascend the walls, and see the light and wall above you. You can see tiny creatures living on the walls and stalactites. A diving light is not necessary due to the clarity and complete lack of current.

Recommendations

I thought the dive masters did a great job preparing everyone for the dive, repeating all the underwater hand gestures, safety instructions, etc. I was surprised that me and my buddy were the most experienced divers on board, having been certified for only 6 years. The rest of the divers all had less than two years of diving experience. Those are some gutsy people. I don’t think I would have gone down 140 ft with that little experience.

I actually would not recommend the dive to beginners. Not because it’s that difficult (although the depth makes it more technical), but because I don’t think as a beginner, you quite appreciate how special the Blue Hole is. As a beginner, all you want to see is big and colorful stuff – fish and corals. Plus, you should be very relaxed in order to really get the most of it. As an experienced diver, you have seen all those things that beginners want to see– sharks, turtles, eel, lobsters — and seeing something as stark as the Blue Hole is actually quite powerful.