Belize Caye Hopping

2022, Aug 05    

Belize | Country 11 | 4 day |

I took a quick long weekend trip to Belize - the only English-speaking country in Central America. of course, a large portion does speak Spanish

Unfortunately, I lost most of my photos from Belize due to a backup error. I hope that I can recall the trip as well as possible.

Some aspects of Belize that I find really unique:

• Former English colony with independence in 1981 (very late)
• Caribbean culture (kind of like Guyana) but not in the Carribean
• The Belize Dollar is 2:1 with the US Dollar
• So close to the Guatemala border

I got out of the airport and breathed in the Caribbean humidity. It was raining a bit and I got into my rental car - a Suzuki that we don’t see in developed countries.

Belmopan

Belmopan was my first stop. It’s about an hour from Belize City and in the middle of the country.

During the roadtrip, there were constant police check points throughout the country, where I had to show my passport every time.

The city is fairly small, but with tons of people who were in the middle of their work.

I stopped for some delicious tostadas. They’re similar to garnaches but firmer and crunchier. I had to do mental math to convert these prices from Belize Dollar (very affordable street food).

Xunantunich

I made a few interesting stops along the way, like San Ignacio which had a vibrant market and a lot of resorts.

I crossed the river via this vehicle bridge, where about 4 cars can fit at max. The only fact being that humans had to roll and pull the floats across the shores. The whole process took around 5 minutes for enough people to show up and another 2-3 minutes for the float to get across.

Xunantunich is a small Mayan ruin, much much smaller than Tikal where people usually continue on from Belize and cross to Guatemala to see.

I went to the musuem and climbed it. It’s about 4-5 stories high and definitely a cool ruin.

On the way back from Xunantunich, I stopped by the Belize Zoo. Amongst all the various tropical animals, I was most fascinated by the tapir. What a wonderful creature! I wish that I had mosquito spray…

Belize City

I stayed in Belize City for the duration.

I vividly remember receiving news during this time that one of the cryptocurrency platforms I used went under. Haha, you live and you learn!

Belize City is definitely rougher, where safety can be a concern at night.

I came across this gigantic green crab that climbed into the sewer during the rain. Belize City has these deep and wide sewers along the roads to prevent flooding. I understood why after googling “belize city flood”.

The hotel that I stayed at was great. The owner was not present, but there were signs everywhere about investing in real estate in Belize City, Belmopan or the islands.

Caye Caulker and San Pedro

I took the San Pedro Belize express from Belize City station to the cayes. Caye Caulker is much smaller than San Pedro.

I met this church group from Mississippi who were volunteering in Northern Belize at the ferry station.

After about an hour ride, I arrived at Caye Caulker.

I had breakfast and ate a Fry jack. I’d describe it as a hollow, fried empanada.

There are basically no cars on the island, and people took golf carts everywhere. I walked all the way from the station to “The Split”, middle of two almost connected islands.

I also traveled to San Pedro. Just so many beautiful white sand beaches and cloudy and slightly rainy skies.

San Pedro is also just so narrow - I figure 2-3 blocks in width at most. I came across these shops, some were Chinese.

Overall, Belize is just seemed incredible - a little pocket of American familiarity in Central America.

I said my goodbyes, and I will really miss Belize.