visit to the carib sea

we recently paid a visit to the relaxing island of caye caulker, a 35km boat ride from belize city.

traditionally a fishing village, caye caulker has recently become a popular vacation destination with its traffic free streets (only golf carts and bicycles share space with pedestrians here) and abundance of palm trees. one can easily travel through the center of the village barefoot, and the island itself is so narrow that the sea can been seen on both sides from either shore. the barrier reef is close by, and the "beaches" here are quite shallow and grassy (sea grass, that is). the water is an unbelievable shade of turquoise and deliciously salty.

the view from our hotel, seaside cabanas. the pool attempts to match the color of the caribbean sea here, but doesn't quite do it justice.

with conch on almost every menu, we discovered piles of shells under several piers. apparently someone decided to get a little creative here.

the colors here are just mind blowing. these photos have not been altered in any way. i promise.

sunrise just outside our hotel.

sunset from the top of a three story hotel in the center of the village. we had the opportunity to do sunset yoga up here one evening and it was phenomenal.

although we thoroughly amused ourselves following the rising and setting of the sun and patterns of the clouds, we did venture out into the sea one afternoon. mom, coy, and i embarked on a half day snorkeling trip, visiting the coral gardens, caye caulker marine reserve, and shark and sting ray alley. snorkeling was quite similar to actually being IN the movie finding nemo. and despite my gut reaction, i did manage to get into the water amongst the largest sting rays i have ever seen. luckily the sharks are off mating somewhere these days, because i don't do the swimming with sharks thing.
aside from amazing water activities, caye caulker also boasts a great beach front art market with jewelry, wooden sculptures, guatemalan embroidered works, and local paintings.
if we hadn't been departing for the tourist hot spot of san pedro, it might have been difficult to leave. quite a different experience, san pedro does have the bonus of long stretches of beach and some of the best food in the country.
next stop: orange walk district. a visit to the maya ruin site of lamanai and our village are in store for mom and mark. stay posted for more exciting updates.