To arrive at Caye Caulker we took a water taxi ride after our bus ride from Chetamal, Mexico (bordering Mexico and Belize) to Belize City (you do not want to stay here). Our bus ride proved luxurious compared to most. We even had individual movie screens (with continual movies in play) and plush, comfy seats. We arrived though to pouring rain (which seemed to follow us from continent to continent). Our future jobs may be to help any area suffering from drought.

During our water taxi experience we sat with some tourists and many locals (Jamaican looking Rastafari types) jabbering in some language we did not understand.  Though English is the official language of Belize – only the tourists seemed to be speaking it. As we traveled about an hour to reach the island we were in a partially open boat that swerved over the waters with finesse – and an occasional ‘bounce.’ Upon landfall we were greeted by a local in a taxi (golf cart) and sand flies (ugh). “Welcome to jah island here,” he said.

Our drive in covered the entire island with roads strewn with potholes large enough for the vehicle to sink in…filled with brown brackish water from the rains.

We stayed at the Lazy Iguana Bed and Breakfast. Here we lounged in the hammocks on the top floor with a panoramic view of the azure Caribbean waters. This spot resembled a cozy bird’s nest – with a view of palms swaying, along with thatched palapa roofs grooving to the island’s rhythm…and the hammocks also seemed to have that Rasta swing.

After checking in, we donned our umbrellas and rain gear in search of the nearest restaurant (which by foot took about 20 minutes). With our umbrellas bent to breaking, and our pants and raincoats soaked; we arrived at the closest establishment. Most of the restaurants had sand for floors, thatched rooftops and exposed walls. The rain and wind gusted in and seemed to fly right through us. The local spicy beer (Belekin) and the tasty, fresh seafood made up for our challenging dining environment.

A highlight of our trip was taking Carlos Tours Snorkel Trip (3 sites included). We swam with large schools of fish, including barracudas, amongst magnificent coral reefs. Carlos even coaxed out a green moray eel which then lurched at him with fangs exposed. Of course Jim decided to return here for underwater photosl  We saw a parrot fish and then Carlos lured an octopus from its hole (and would not share his diving tricks with us later). No worries – we have no plans to become his competition.

During our snorkeling trip Carlos took us to the famed “Shark and Ray Alley.” We swam with nurse sharks (I figured if they are nurses – they must be friendly). And also with numerous rays which were docile creatures. We even pet many of them. A delight was seeing the Spotted Eagle Ray (looks like zebra’s skin). And at one point we swam in a deep area just above the divers. What an interesting perspective!