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: 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.

Jelly Belly now offering exclusive candy-making tours

by Jamie Rhein on

If you’ve ever wondered exactly how Jelly Belly jelly beans are made, you can do more than just watch candy being made through observation windows. The Jelly Belly Candy Company in Fairfield, California has opened its doors for exclusive tours called Jelly Belly University Tours. The tours are reservation only and cost a pretty penny.

For $47 you’ll get to don a white coat, gloves and a hairnet for a personal tour through the actual factory. Reading about this reminded me a bit of Willy Wonka, except when you taste the good stuff and the experience won’t turn you into a blueberry, shrink you to a tiny size, or have you taken away by squirrels.

The reason why the tour is so expensive is that it’s exclusive. Only six people are taken through at a time so you’ll have an up close and personal experience while surrounded by the sweetness.

If you don’t want to pay this kind of cash, you can still take the company’s free factory tour but it doesn’t give you that personal touch. Here’s the link to factory tour information.

For anyone who loves Jelly Belly jelly beans, the store would be a blast. All those flavors. My son, though, would need some coaching beforehand, or he would go totally nuts with the excitement of seeing such splendor.

Great American Road Trip: More road kill woes and how to clean a car

by Jamie Rhein on

The first mishap was when we nailed a possum in Illinois east of Chicago the first night of our road trip to Montana. The critter was lumbering across the interstate about 10:30 p.m. That was a sad moment.

Thursday, driving to and from Regent, North Dakota we had several sad moments. Honestly, there are some things that can’t be avoided.

I already posted about the two pheasants we hit. The chipmunk and the blackbird came later.

We didn’t hit them all at once, but over the course of several miles. Such is one of the realities of traveling on small two-lane highways–but this was ridiculous. Particularly when two raccoons made a mad dash in front of us as I was typing the previous sentence. The second one didn’t make it.

With each thump, I’m shouting out from the passenger seat, a strangled “Arggh!” Seriously, it was a nightmare. “That’s one way to damage a car,” I said.

“It’s not like I’m trying to hit them,” said my husband. It’s true, he wasn’t, and swerving too much is dangerous. He pointed out the deep ditch on the side of the road.

My son, the six-year-old wanted to stop for feathers and fur.

My daughter wanted to know why I’m making such an awful sound.

Turns out, I was onto something. While my husband was filling the gas tank in Miles City, Montana after dropping us off at a McDonald’s so our son could let off steam at the indoor playland, one of the pheasants was still with us. It had broken the grill a tad–just big enough to become wedged behind it.

Two truckers, noticing the predicament, exchanged their road kill tales with my husband and helped him figure out how to remove it. The windshield squeegee handle was somehow involved. I didn’t want the specific details.

When my husband showed up at the McDonald’s parking lot with the pheasant in a plastic bag with grand plans of showing it to our friend in Billings, I shouted, “Arggh!” and ran in the opposite direction. “No dead things in the car. Absolutely not,” I shouted from where I stood, still ready to flee if he stepped one foot closer. I hate dead things.

The pheasant was left in a garbage can in Miles City. There are a couple feathers in another bag behind the driver’s seat, but I’m trying not to think about them.

A woman told us, as she was sliding into her truck after hearing about our pheasant mishap, “Watch out for deer.”

The photo is of my son trailing his hand out the window for a moment to catch raindrops, one of the pleasant aspects of the day. Not pheasant–pleasant.

Great American Road Trip: North Dakota. Dodging pheasants in the midst of huge sculptures

by Jamie Rhein on

Thursday afternoon we turned off of I-94 at exit 72 for Regent, North Dakota for a detour. Three years ago, we became so enamored with this stretch of two-lane road called “The Enchanted Highway” that we decided it was worth the forty or so miles out of our way for a return visit. Our goal was Billings, Montana by 10:30 p.m.

Every five miles or so along the 32 miles to Regent, there is a large scrap metal sculpture grouping. A tin family, schools of fish, grasshoppers, Teddy Roosevelt on a horse, and a pheasant family. They are the largest scrap metal sculptures in the world. They are superb.

Back in 1989, Gary Greff, a former teacher and high school principal, came up with the idea of this series of sculptures as a way to draw people to Regent. It’s worked with us twice now. The first time I heard an interview with him on National Public Radio three years ago. As I listened to the interview, I thought heading through North Dakota to see the sculptures was a fine idea.

Greff’s plan to draw tourists is slowly working. As I was snapping photos this time, two other couples were chasing images as well. One couple boasted Florida plates. The other hailed from Minnesota.

We stopped in one of the town’s gift shops to buy post cards and coffee. The sculptures were as wonderful as I remembered and Greff has plans for another.

One of the sculpture groups that intrigues me the most is the pheasant family. They are constructed out of thin wire mesh so that each can be viewed through the others. This time as we were driving to and from Regent, I understood why the pheasant family is so fitting.

There are pheasants everywhere on the Enchanted Highway. Sad to say, despite my husband’s swerving and dodging, we took out two–one of them while I was writing the text for this post. You’ve never seen so many pheasans. They darted, meandered, waltzed, and played peek-a-boo in the thigh high grass. Each time we had a near miss, I yelled out, “Argh!!”

Such are the details that make one road trip memorable from another. Years from now we’ll recount tales of how we tried to dodge pheasants and stopped the car so our 15 year-old could run through the field to try to catch one. Why she wanted to try to catch one, I have no idea. But it was wonderful to hear her laugh with abandon.