Swimming with the Fishes
I had planned an extra buffer day in Belize city in case there was anything I needed to fix on my bike upon my arrival. Oh, and also I heard there are cool things to do here. I got up early (for me…) and took a water taxi to Caye (pronounced Kai) Caulker. I was told that some excursions wouldn’t be running but I figured it would be cool to check out the island regardless.
The ride over passes many islands, there are over 300 off the coast of Belize, but only around 100 are actually inhabited. The boat operator told me one of the larger islands is owned by three Mexican brothers, features a full golf course and has a private landing strip. He said “I don’t know what they do there” and I said “of course, nobody knows what three Mexican brothers on a huge private island off the coast of Belize would do with a private air strip…wink”
The island features a main strip that extends from the ferry landing to “the split” which is a small channel that cuts the island in two. There is a power generator on site - from what I could tell it is diesel, maybe 250kW. It keeps the lights on and the drinks cold. Island pace is dialed back about 10 notches from mainland life. I imagine that someone who was born and raised on Caye Caulker has extremely low blood pressure and their heart only beats once per minute.
Tourists and locals meander up and down the boulevard, serenaded by the consistent syncopation of Caribbean reggaeton, Junior Kelly, Chronixx, Sean Paul are some of the sounds I heard from various open windows. People are listless in their pursuit of either their next rum-infused drink, taken at tables standing waist deep in the warm sea water. Choices like the Sip ‘n Dip and the Lazy Lizard extoll their offerings with brightly painted wooden signs. If you had enough sweet and icy beverages, there are charcoal grills set up all along the street. You can get grilled lobster, shrimp, or any offering of fresh fish. I settled on a conch curry - I’ve never eaten a conch before, I was not disappointed.
Despite the wind, I did manage to book a half-day (10:30-1:30) snorkeling trip at the reef off of the Caye. It was myself and a couple from Texas. We went to 7 spots one was to find some manatees and another to try to spot some turtles - but some wildlife was probably displaced by the weather and choppy waters, so we didn’t see either. One was also to try to spot a juvenile crocodile, but he didn’t show himself. Another was to see the spawning grounds for tarpins, which can grow to up to 100lbs.
We went to two separate reef spots that were both teeming with hundreds of types of fish of every color - from neon blue (blue tangs) to sea floor camouflage (groupers) to zebra stripes to yellow-tailed snapper and everything in between. The coral was also incredible, you could see its tiny suckers grasping out for food. My favorite was the iridescent violet “fin coral” that attached itself to the rock in a bright purple bulb, and spanned out into an ever-dissipating network of channels.
The last spot was to see a group of nurse sharks. They come right up to the boat and are surrounded by sting rays. It is a little unnerving to be amongst the sharks and have giant sting rays brush over your feet and rub against your sides, as if to say “hey I’m here, and I could kill you…but I won’t”. Our guide said that they won’t be provoked unless you were to wave your hands in front of their face or disturb them in some way. The sharks were very calm and swam around us, looking for food from the boat. Once another boat came and moored some distance away from us, they left.
Nurse sharks surrounding the boat
It seemed that most people were on vacation, and on the island it’s hard not to be. I met a group of Canadians, some Brits, Germans and plenty of people from Colorado.
The last boat off the island to the mainland leaves at 5pm, so I got back on that one. I need to sort my panniers and load up my bike and hit the road tomorrow!
Comments
Post a Comment