(For English, see further down)

Sol, strand og hav stod printet i vores underbevidsthed. Noget vi havde savnet lige siden Bocas Del Toro.
Endelig efter en masse fantastisk kultur, var kursen nu sat mod Belize og meget omtalte Caye Caulker - en lille ø i det caribiske øhav, ca. 35 km fra kysten og Belize City. Og dette var helt klart én af de destinationer vi virkelig havde set frem til at besøge.

Vi tog fra Flores kl. 8 om morgnen og efter 5 timers bustur, herunder den obligatoriske time ved grænsen, var vi fremme ved havnen i Belize City. Vi fik booket nogle billetter til "færgen", som viste sig at være en speedbåd med plads til 50-60 personer. Så vupti, 40 minutter senere var vi fremme :). Og det syn, der mødte os var ren utopi. Masser af små badebroer snørende sig ud i det turkise og blågrønne hav. Mange af dem med en cabana ude på spidsen med en til flere hængekøjer svingende i skyggen ;). Strandene var kridhvide og de lokale bød os velkommen med deres caribiske/jamaicanske accent :).

Da vi ikke havde booket et hostel på forhånd, gik vi hen ad stranden og snakkede lidt med de forskellige hoteller og fandt til sidst den bedste deal. Og dermed blev 'Tropical Paradise' vores hjem de næste 7 dage. Og her tænker I sikkert, hvad lavede de i 7 dage på en lille ø, "in the middel of no where" ? Og svaret er intet, absolut intet haha... Vi nød selvfølgelig vejret, vandet, hele Bob Marley-stemningen og ikke mindst den lille charmerende lille ø, hvor der "ingen" biler var og vejene var lavet af sand. Eller der var næsten ingen biler, vi talte 2 og en rendegraver ;). Det var dog dejligt at være på en ø, hvor turisterne endnu ikke havde taget over og lavet det til et resort helvede og en begyndende forureningsbombe.

Ellers tog vi én dag ad gangen. Der blev selvfølgelig plads til en lille snorkeltur på "The Barrier Reef", verdens anden største rev (efter Australiens Great Barrier Reef), som strækker sig fra Honduras nordlige kystlinie og opefter til Yucutan halvøen i det østlige Mexico. Denne tur går over i historien, som den absolutte bedste, den mest fantastiske, helt og aldeles ubeskrivelig og fedeste snorkeltur vi begge nogensinde har været på!! Vi så fantastiske koraller, farverige fisk, rokker så store som 1,5 i diameter, revhajer, de mest vanedannene og sødeste havskildpadder og højdepunktet den meget sjældne og fredede søko :) :) :). Et kæmpe dyr der lige pludselig dukkede op og mest af alt lignede en ubåd, der forsøgte at vende sig. Hvis vi ikke var blevet hevet op af vandet, så havde vi nok ligget og plasket rundt derude endnu!
Det tætteste man kommer på at kunne beskrive snorkleturen på er vel fortryllende!
Udover en snorkeltur hang vi ud på vores private badebro og slikkede sol, var ude og få nogle drinks med nogle andre vi havde mødt på øen og det hyggeligste var nok, at vi to gange nød en film i det fri og under stjernerne i den lokale bio ;). Hvad angår velgørenhed nåede Melanie også lige at finde en sød hund (mama-dog) og hendes kuld på 6 små hvalpe, som vi fodrede og sørgede for alle 7 dage.

Så som I kan høre er Belize ren utopi <3. Der er kun en ting at sige: 'Caye Caulker, we'll be back!'

Knus R+M

Our desire for both feeling the sun and seeing the beaches and ocean was increasing. Something we had been missing ever since Bocas del Toro in Panama. So after many cultural experiences in Guatemala, we were heading for tropical paradise, Belize! More specifically the small island 'Caye Caulker' located of Belize's coastline in the Caribbean. This was a destination that we really looked forward to visit.

We departed from Flores, Guatemala, at 8 o'clock in the morning and after 5 hours bus ride, including the 1-2 hours spent at the border (which you would think you get used to), we finally arrived in Belize City. From here we booked tickets for the so called 'ferry', which turned out to be a speed boat for about 30 people. So after 40 minutes of feeling the wind, literally in your hair, we saw the bounty island of Caye Caulker. The sight that met us was pure utopia. Several docking bridges were built into the ocean's blue green turquoise waters. At the end of them were cabanas with hammocks hanging in the shade ;). The beaches were crystal white and the locals welcomed us with their caribbean and jamaican accents :).

Since we hadn't booked a hostel in advance, we strolled along the beach and chatted with some hostels and hotels and looked for the best place as well as the best deal. The verdict landed on 'Tropical Paradise', which would be our home for the following 7 days. And then you might think, what would can you do for 7 days on a tiny island, in the middle of nowhere? And the answer is NOTHING, absolutely nothing ;). We just enjoyed the sun, the ocean and the entire Bob Marley ambience. And because it was a less touristic island, there wasn't the usual resort hell nor big roads crowded with cars and pollution. Just simple and local. Very nice to witness.

Anyway, we took one day at the time and we got to go snorkeling at the second largest reef in the world ( Australia's Great Barrier being the first). It stretches from the northern Honduras' coast line and up to the Yucutan Peninsula in the eastern part of Mexico. This trip is imprinted in our hearts and minds forever as being the most fantastic, the absolute most awesome and fabulous and indescribable snorkeling experience ever!!!!!! We saw beautiful corals, fish in all colors of the rainbow, sting rays with a diameter up to 1.5 m, reef sharks, cute green sea turtles and the highlight was definitely the sweet manatee :) :) :). The latter was just so serene to snorkel with. It is hard to think why people don't preserve and protect these animals, and that they are endangered. We were just so privileged and thankful to get this experience with them. Absolutely memorable ;)!!!! We 'only' got to snorkel with it for twenty minutes, because we had to move on to Shark and Ray Alley. If we didn't have to visit other parts of the reef, we would probably still be swimming around with our precious aquatic friend ;).

Aside from the snorkel trip, we hung out on our private docking bridge, just chilling, sunbathing and reading books. And we also went out for some drinks with a couple of people we met on the island and had a great time. The coolest thing though was us enjoying a movie or two on the beach under the stars in the local cinema ;). In terms of charity Melanie managed to find a mamma dog and her seven pups, so we ended up fostering them for 7 days with food, water and if course luuuvvv ;)!

So as you can hear, Belize is pure utopia <3. There is only one thing to say: 'Caye Caulker, we'll be back!'.

Hugs from R+M