Tobacco Caye

I was lucky to get a room on Tobacco Caye as most of the places were still closed - dealing with the big clean up and most of the staff were still not back after the evacuation. Dean who owns the Paradise, where I stayed, was reluctant to let me in but looking sick and pitiful he agreed to clean a room up for me.

Tobacco Caye is a very small island, only five acres. In the storm the water rose several feet and washed up all sorts of rubbish and debris and the place was covered with fallen palm leaves, coconuts, dirt and shells. It was a really big clean up with only a few there to get it done. I told Dean if I felt better I'd give him a hand but all I could manage was to lay in my hammock and read.

The accommodations on the Caye include all meals so I felt quite spoiled coming to dinner to see two lobster tails on my plate. Dean also decided to give me some medicine for whatever it is I have. He is after all the island doctor he told me, qualified because his girlfriend is a nurse!

The next morning there was a knock at my door - the only other tourist on the island was Leanne, an Aussie. She arrived the day before me and heard there was another tourist here. Sadly I wasn't up to joining her for a day out on a boat with snorkelling but I did promise to catch up with her in the bar that night for a quiet rum - it would be good for my cough.

I didn't do much that day either although I did pop out for a little snorkel which you can do right off the island as the reef is just there. I also went for a walk to circumnavigate the island - that took about ten minutes. It was slightly embarrassing when people who I'd never met before were asking me how I was feeling. With only about 10 locals on the island and two tourists - there's no secrets here.

Tobacco Caye is lovely although I didn't get to see it in its usual beauty and the weather was just okay. Although if I'm feeling like crap I think I'd rather be in an overwater cabin, laying in a hammock reading a book, than anywhere else...

Waiting for the storm

The mainland towns in Belize are more like country towns - dusty/sandy roads, old tumbledown wooden houses with not a straight wall or floor in sight and people slowly going about their business.

Dangriga is the largest town in the south of Belize with a population of about 10,000 - but there is nowhere to go out at night. The streets are full of locals hanging around or walking about but no-one actually goes anywhere in particular for entertainment. It's kind of strange. Sam and I ended up at a little restaurant type place for a couple of beers after wandering around for a good hour trying to find somewhere to go.

With not much to do here, i figured I'd head out to Tobacco Caye the following day. To get there you head to the Riverside Cafe in the morning and the boat captains wait for enough people to make the trip worth their while. The day before I was having lunch in a restaurant and they had the weather channel on. The Tropical Depression "Matthew" which was on its way had just been upgraded from a tropical depression to a tropical storm - not great news as it was heading directly for Belize. At the cafe in the morning they were studying the satellite images on the internet and it looked as though we might be okay, Matthew would hit Honduras sometime on Saturday night and hopefully dissipate once it was overland. Just before we were about to go the call came in that they were evacuating Tobacco Caye so I wasn't able to go after all. Given I was ready to go somewhere, Dog, the boat captain, suggested I head to Hopkins.

Hopkins is another Garifuna town and has a population of about 1,000 and I can confidently say that I was the only tourist there. It is a long dirt road that runs along a spit for several miles so everything is very spaced out making quite long distances to walk from one place to another. Most of the restaurants were closed and there wasn't really anything else going on so it was probably quite good timing to pick this place to get sick and wait out the storm.

Matthew finally arrived on Saturday night and while it downgraded again to a Tropical Depression, it packed a huge punch - the wind and rain was unbelievable. It was about midday on Sunday when the weather finally settled down and everything had an eerie calmness to it. Dorothy who ran the place where I stayed suspected it was then the eye of the storm and we would get the other half soon but it turned out that last night's chaos was all there was - thankfully.

Independence Day

The 21st of September is Independence Day in Belize. Originally a British colony, Belize gained independence in 1981 and today has a population of just over 300,000. Belize is a small country bordering Mexico and Guatemala with a long coastline on the Caribbean Sea boasting the second longest barrier reef in the world.

The festivities for Independence Day have been going on for a while and when I arrived there was a huge party next door at the basketball court, ahem, I mean, Central Park. Last night was the fireworks and today the parade.

The island was in a party mood last night and we kicked off with a visit back to our karaoke bar where we realised we weren't as good as we thought we were. But we kept practicing.

At midnight were the fireworks. Everyone piled over to the eastern side of the island where they were set off from the end of a dock. Given the population of Caye Caulker is somewhere between 1,200 and 2,000, there was plenty of room for everyone and you could hear the oohs and ahhs from people standing a long way away, rather than someone on top of you screaming in your ear like in Sydney on NYE. The fireworks were absolutely beautiful and went for a solid fifteen minutes, about twelve minutes more than I expected. After the fireworks the "Central Park" again turned into a big nightclub type place, booming music but not much dancing. Unbelievably, every child was still there at 1.30am - no one misses out on this party.

Today was the parade which everyone was looking forward to. A local guy, Madingo, who I met at the Lazy Lizard yesterday, was making hats and costumes for some of the girls. He actually made a hat for us while we were at the bar - you'll see it and him in the video if you can bear the hectic pace of the parade - it's towards the end.

The 2pm parade kicked off just before 3pm and there was much anticipation. It travelled about 100 metres up the main street and then down one of the side streets and around the block. It's a small island so we do small versions of everything, Kevin told me. Most people get around the island with either golf carts or bicycles so there were plenty of decked out versions of both in the parade - as well as the hilarious fire engine which led the parade. As I write this, "Central Park" is again party central with very loud reggaton music and the odd nationalistic song thrown in. Everyone's having a great time - how could you not?

Caye Caulker

And so here I am in sunny Belize after a long, hot, journey involving two boats and a bus. Caye (pron. key) Caulker is a post-card pretty island in the Caribbean, with white sand streets, colourful buildings and the odd coconut palm tree. It is quite strange being in an English speaking country after so long, and it takes a while to adjust to the accent here – but it is beautiful. I wish we all spoke with a laid back Caribbean accent. Another weird thing is understanding what people are saying when you overhear conversations - it really has been a while.

Caye Caulker is great if you like diving, snorkeling, sailing, fishing or just lying around in the sun. There aren’t really beaches to speak of but around the island there are long docks where you can jump off the end to swim. There is also what is called The Split which is in the middle of the island, well the north of the island now. A few years ago a hurricane came through and cut the island in two so the area called the split is quite a nice spot for swimming and sun bathing now. The bar there, Lazy Lizard, is the perfect spot to have a cool beer if you’re a little overheated. Most things are on the island south of The Split.

My friend Nick from Puerto Escondido and Oaxaca turned up the day after I did which was a great surprise. We spent that first afternoon lounging about in the water up at Lazy Lizard, followed by a lobster dinner, a couple of drinks and a karaoke number at the Oceanside. I have to say that out of the eight or so performances we witnessed at the bar, we were the only ones to get both audience participation and applause!

To celebrate spending International Talk Like A Pirate Day in the most appropriate of places - Belize - we went out for a day of snorkeling, opting for the sailboat rather than a little speedboat. Instead of listening to the drone of an engine we had reggae. Yeah.

It was such a magnificent day – perfect weather, unbelievable coral and marine life. We got off quite literally to a rocky start with the ship beaching itself on a small reef not long after setting off. Sails down and after a little rocking of the boat we dislodged ourselves. I couldn’t help but laugh.

We went to three different locations. At the first, North Channel, we were lucky to see and swim with two manatees. They are the giant creatures that are sometimes called sea elephants or sea cows. It was just amazing to watch them play with each other, only a few metres away.

The second stop was Shark Ray Alley where we jumped into water full of nurse sharks and sting rays to then swim over to some more beautiful coral and see even more amazing fish.

The final stop was Hol Chan Marine Reserve. This area has been a protected marine reserve for 25 years so all the fish there have grown really big and there are just so many of them – large schools of all kinds of fish. It was great to see really large snapper and grouper, as well as all sorts of brightly coloured tropical fish in huge numbers, sea turtles, eagle rays, sting rays, starfish and an eel. Our guide was the super-cool Kevin – he would just jump straight in the water with his full length commando pants and then free-dive down around 20 metres, swim through underwater caves and pick up sharks and rays in his arms to bring them up for everyone to see.

I think I'll be here for a few more days...

Guatemala

Guatemala is a truly fascinating country. I have now spent a collective six weeks here and could easily spend twice that amount of time here, or more. The roads are terrible but the country is blessed with both natural beauty and wonderful, interesting and friendly people.

It’s hard to say exactly what it is that is so magical about Guatemala, but it just is. Everyone should try to come here at least once in their lives – you’ll leave both content and happy – sort of like that feeling after a big Christmas lunch.

The video upload is playing up but you can view the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG7sS2lIjRA

Livingston

I was grateful to arrive in Livingston after quite a pleasant boat trip up the river. It is amazing to have this little town stuck out in the far reaches of Guatemala that is unique both for Guatemala and Central America. The town is only small and if you walk along the main street from the dock on the river, after about ten minutes you get to the Caribbean Sea, from where you can see both Belize and Honduras. Livingston is only accessible by boat so it is more like being on an island than on the mainland.

There are four cultural groups in Livingston, the Garifuna (decended from the Caribe and, apparently, escaped West African slaves), Maya, Hindu and Chinese, although I didn’t see any evidence of the last two groups.

On my wanderings on the first day I met Paulo who took me for a tour through the Garifuna neighbourhood. No-one comes here he told me, they’re afraid of the black skin. It was Guatemalan Independence Day and there were a lot of celebrations going on although I’m pretty sure it is like this most of the time. The full bar with loud music and dancing, he explained was an everyday occurrence, not just for the holiday.

Paulo told me stories about himself and the community which was really interesting. He was telling me about something that happened the day before. One guy wanted to go after a younger guy with a machete – obviously he wasn’t happy about this young punk who got is 16 year old daughter pregnant. Paulo intervened, Man he said, this kid is not your enemy. The hormones are the enemy and there’s no way you can fight those. He also told me about his daughters, 15 and 17 – they were very hormonic he said.

Unfortunately I didn’t spend as long in Livingston as I could have. The boat to Belize only goes twice a week and it was either two nights there or six. I’d have preferred six but I have limited time left and I can’t dilly-dally around anywhere for too long now, and after the Rio Dulce thing...

The hostel there, Iguanas, was great, similar to Zephyr in set up and vibe – this was also helped by Dieter who works at Zephyr coming to Iguana for a few days to celebrate his birthday. There were some late nights and lots of fun and good conversation but it was time to end my second visit to Guatemala, sadly.

When you're done, you're done

I booked the shuttle to leave Lanquin on Saturday and head to Rio Dulce and from there, Livingston, a Garifuna town only accessible by boat.

About 9pm the night before they told me the shuttle wouldn't go because of the roads and I had to stay in Lanquin another day. Could be worse but I was ready to go, I'd already had a day of lazing around and certainly didn't need another. I'm an instinctive traveller and when you're done, you're done, it's time to go.

So I was relieved when at about 10.30pm they told me it was back on - not the roads at all but apparently I was the only one booked on the shuttle and it wasn't worth it for the driver. I understand that. But there was a late surge of interest and we headed off on Saturday morning with six of us on the shuttle.

An aside: it is far easier to get shuttles across this part of Guatemala than rely on chicken buses. But I prefer the colours, smells, sounds and sights of the chicken buses. They are cheaper yes, but the the enjoyment is in the rides, crazy drivers, interesting passengers, all sorts of food offered for sale up and down the aisles at various stops. I'm looking forward to the chicken buses again - soon I hope.

I was ready bright and early Saturday morning, after only about 3 hours sleep, to get on the bus and finally we headed off. About half an hour into the journey a lightning bolt pierced my brain and I remembered that I had left my camera battery and charger in the powerpoint at Zephyr. I'm sure you can imagine what I yelled out.

After about half an hour of help by a Belgian passenger and the driver, we confirmed the charger was indeed still in the powerpoint and that the driver would bring it on his trip tomorrow and meet me outside Sundog Cafe in Rio Dulce at 1.30pm. Cool. So Dayun, Stuart and I settled into Rio Dulce and quickly discovered there is nothing to do here - despite it being a really attractive location. We popped into the gritty town for a greasy lunch of fried chicken and chips, then in the afternoon, wandered down to the Yacht Club for a gin and tonic. A spot of dinner back at the hotel then off to bed for my weary bones. The boys were heading off to Livingston in the morning because there is nothing to do here.

I hung around to meet the driver. It wasn't pleasant sitting outside in a dusty carpark for two hours in the hot and humid air, but what can one do. I returned to the hotel dreading the thought of another night here. Another day and all I had to do was go sit in a @#$@ carpark for a couple more hours in the heat of the day. Guess what, no one turned up.

I was ready to go two days ago at this point.

Rather desperate, I had been messaging Chris from the hostel who had been speaking with the driver who kept telling me they were there and waiting but I never showed. I'm glad Chris believed me. He knows Rio Dulce so he understands I wouldn't be missing these crucial appointments. And, I can't use my camera for the rest of the trip without the charger so I have to wait.

Finally, day four in Rio Dulce and I asked Chris to ask the driver to bring it to me here at the hotel. It is just across the bridge and I couldn't bear sitting in that godforsaken carpark again. Finally at 1.30pm my driver turns up with a load of new backpackers. After unloading them he finally broke it to me that his friend has the charger and will be here in cinco minutos. Thoughtfully he left me his mate's number. So after half an hour I asked the girl here to call him for me and see what is going on. At this point the camera was losing the battle. I understood it would be sometime today. Joy and rapture it took a couple of hours but finally got here.

Poor old Rio Dulce, it is really quite pretty and I just can't understand why it is so boring, but it is. I guess that can be the same with people too sometimes.

So tomorrow is Independence Day in Guatemala (and Mexico and the rest of Central America, I believe) and I get to celebrate by leaving Rio Dulce, I'll be on the 9.30am boat for Livingston.

I am done here!

Semuc Champey

The main attraction in the area is Semuc Champey which features both caves (not for me) and these amazing rock pools suspended over the river. One of the most tranquil places you could imagine but at the entry there are young guards holding large shotguns. Guards and shotguns are just everywhere in Central America – even with nature (take that nature!).

The pools are a limestone bridge formation that is about 300 metres long and you get in one pool and climb or slide your way down to the last pool. The walk up to the mirador is both steep and slippery but well worth the effort, and it makes the swim at the bottom just that bit nicer.

The river runs with fury into a hole going underground, then coming out the other side in some beautiful waterfalls. Apparently a few tourists fell into the hole a few years ago with body parts emerging out the other side up to 40 days later. The area is now roped of with a guard to make sure no-one gets too close.

The water is fresh and crystal clear and you can even see little fish swimming about. The photos tell you just how gorgeous this place is. The 9km ride there took one hour in the back of a truck along a very bumpy and in parts, steep, road.

Lanquin

Tuesday morning and an 8am shuttle to Lanquin. A tiny town in the jungle in the middle of Guatemala. Someone discovered its beauty years ago and now it is part of the must-see list for tourists. This is the sort of place you can come for a couple of days and stay for weeks or months.

Lanquin itself is a small village with not that much to do but there is a relatively new hostel here that is just beautiful and makes it very easy to lay around in a hammock and just hang out. Chris and Thomas, the owners, have an amazing music collection so when there’s electricity, you can just lay around, staring at the amazing view, listening to great music and eating seriously good food – a pleasant change.

One of the activities to do here is tubing in the river down the bottom of the hill. We rode in a tuk-tuk to a spot on the river, jumped in with our tubes and just floated down the river, stopping along the way for a beer. It was quite a way we ended up going, about 2-3kms in just over an hour. The scenery was idyllic, beautiful trees gently bending into the green river, with little spots where there were some rapids to provide a bit of excitement. Ah, this is living!