Bloggin' From Belize: Caye Caulker in Pictures

**Click on pictures for larger view**

We landed in Belize on Tuesday and spent Tuesday - Friday on Caye Caulker. Of the 3 Belizean islands we have visited, Caye Caulker has been our favorite and we knew it was the only one we were interested in visiting on this trip.

We didn't find the island exactly as we'd left it.

In the past, we had found it to be much slower-paced and less crowded than the more popular, Ambergris Caye (called San Pedro by locals). However, it is clear that more and more tourists are becoming aware of the smaller Caye. We noticed several new hotels had been opened, resorts were in the process of being built, there was more trash on the

beaches and much more pressure from the locals to look into their shops, eat at their restaurants, and purchase their crafts. Most surprising to me, was the golf cart taxis driving up and down the 1 mile of sandy road constantly offering to drive us to our destinations. It's only one mile! Why would we need a taxi?

The island is becoming less of a backpackers destination and more of a Caribbean "tourist trap." It is still beautiful, but we plan to explore the less popular Saltwater Caye for our next trip.

But, it was a wonderful 4 days. We avoided the tourist restaurants and followed the local traffic at meal times. This was a great decision for two reasons-- the food was cheaper and much much better! For breakfast, we walked about half a mile to a blue home surrounded by tropical flowers. The owner of the home sold cinnamon rolls right out of her kitchen. We ordered 3 cinnamon rolls and 1 cup of coffee each, which cost us $4.50 bz ($2.25 US) total.

For lunch, we were excited to find locally made salbutes. We ate salbutes for the first time during

the year we lived in Blue Creek and fell in love with them. We have not eaten them since we returned home and were anxious to taste the fried masa topped with shredded chicken, cabbage, tomatoes and lime. So, when we were strolling through the island one afternoon and happened upon a small blue building with a chalkboard advertising salbutes for $1.00 bz each, we couldn't resist. I ordered 2 or 3 and Nathan ordered 4. This cost us a total of $7.00 bz ($3.50 US). Also, a few blocks down, we passed a fruit stand offering fresh squeezed watermelon juice for $5 bz per litre. Yes please and thank you! Even Young Mister Picky Eater loved the watermelon juice!

Finally, for dinner we went 100% Belizean and found a local couple who made homemade rice and beans with stewed chicken for $7 bz each. They also made their own homemade ginger ale for $6 per litre. It was delicious and refreshing, mixed with a bit of orange and a twist of lime, but it was strong!! The ginger made it so spicy, I had to cut mine with

equal parts of water. It would be absolutely fantastic in lemonade.

We pretty much spent those 4 days swimming in the Caribbean, eating and sleeping. I could not have asked for a more perfect vacation with my husband and my little boy. It was the perfect way to get away, relax and unwind before the whirlwind of reunions that Blue Creek would bring.