Caye Caulker, BZ
I AM A GEEK:
I arrived on tiny Caye Caulker late Tuesday. After hanging around Brent’s place for the day waiting for the 3:30pm water taxi from downtown. I spent the time downsizing and trying to pack only the bare essentials. Radio. Clothes. Camera. Audio recording gear. Computer.
With much trial and error I was finally able to cram all the things necessary for 10 days on a tiny Caribbean island. There was even room for my sun tan lotion.
The water taxi ride is normally about 45 minutes and heads northeast from Belize City past numerous other cayes. One is an 18 (?) hole golf course called Caye Chapel. Do an online search… it is really quite amazing. And, I imagine, tres expensive.
The ride was bumpy as it was quite windy. It was also cool as there was cloud cover.
Upon arriving at the main dock, I met a young woman from Los Angeles. Tami is Chinese-American and this was her first visit. I gave her some tips, and she asked if I’d like to meet for dinner.
We agreed to meet at 6pm near her place.
I went to my place – a one-bedroom apartment on the Caribbean Sea. Heather, the Abbotsford, B.C. woman who runs the place was nowhere to be seen. I did bump into her husband Neno, and we chatted about the changes since I was last here.
I dropped off my gear and set out to get some supplies. Since I have a full kitchen, my plan is to eat most meals at home, thereby ensuring I can afford to eat whilst in Albania in May.
I walked to the “largest” grocery store “Chan’s” for water, tortillas, eggs, bread, etc. Along the way I was stunned at the amount of growth since I was here in the fall of 2003.
There are a slew of new stores and hotels, although none that are resort size.
Apparently the village council passed a motion in 2003 saying that they were going to restrict building expansion. So everybody expanded to the maximum three stories before the new restriction went into force.
One place I used to stay was called the Blue Wave. It was cheap and clean and run by a friendly family. It was basically their house, with two small rooms in the basement (with external doors) and a self-contained cabin out back. The best feature was a large yard with chairs, tables, hammocks, and nice shade giving trees.
Gone!
The yard is gone, replaced by a three story and probably nine-unit structure. Totally different than what once was.
I understand development, but I find that Caye Caulker is really changing from what it used to be. Back in 1999, it was quite undeveloped and raw. There wasn’t even much of a beach.
Then a hurricane hit and resulted in an extreme makeover for the island – mangroves were ripped out, trees disappeared, old shacks vanished. Suddenly Caye Caulker was more like a sandbar.
As expected, rebuilding meant replacing what had been here and adding more. It seems each time something happens, the reconstruction is always bigger and more modern.
In April of 2003, a hotel near the main dock, Seaside Cabanas, was destroyed by fire. This was a nice, though slightly upscale, hotel. A Canadian named Barb ran the place, and it had a great and laid back palapa hut bar. But fire – arson? – hit and Seaside Cabanas was no more.
That fall, when I again returned to CC, there was talk of rebuilding it. And on this visit, I discovered it is completely rebuilt bigger and questionably better than before. The bar is gone, replaced by a pool.
Progress, I guess. But it makes me think that my little hidden gem will one day be nothing more than a Playa del Carmen or Cancun. I certainly hope not.
Just before 6 I ran into Tami and invited her to my place for a drink before heading for dinner. She works in the financial end of the fashion industry and works all the time. She decided to take 12 days off and chill in Belize. Four of those days will be spent here, learning to dive. And then she’ll head inland to do some caving.
We had dinner at a place called Herbal Tribe. The drinks were 2-for-1 and barracuda steaks were the special.
We spent three hours talking about me, her, traveling, life, and politics. Luckily she is a democrat. It was fun…
Around 9 we called it a night… and hoped that we’d bump into each other again.
WEDNESDAY was a calm day. I slept in late and proceeded to do little more than read, listen to music and then explore the island a bit more. Even though I’ve been here 4 times, there are still parts of the island I haven’t explored. I wandered down towards one end of the island on the main road, and then took a smaller road back. Around 6 it looked like the skies might clear (it had been cloudy all day) and I headed to the Lazy Lizard bar at the split.
The split is where Caye Caulker was split in two by a hurricane in 1961. The bar is pretty touristy, but it has become tradition to come here and watch the sun set and pay US$2 for a beer. The island is very narrow here – maybe 300 metres from one side to the other.
There were plenty of young tourists ( I used to be one of those! ) and a couple of old guys fishing. The sun was out for a bit, but clouds on the western horizon obscured the final drop.
There was no sign of Tami, so I wandered back to my apartment and flopped on the couch – cool tropical breeze blew through the place and I lost all motivation to do anything. I cooked up a couple of eggs and then watched a Kate Hudson flick on pirated HBO.
You may think it bad to actually watch TV while on holiday, but remember – I am here for 10 nights and… I rarely watch TV at home. So there.
Today, THURSDAY, start early. I went for a long stroll to the airport. Bought some watermelon juice from the juice lady and cooked up a storm. Today’s breakfast: eggs with sausage, veggies, rolled in tortillas and served with coffee (unfortunately instant – as I can’t find any ground stuff other than 5lb tins of Maxwell House. Yarf!). And watermelon juice too. Yum! Oh, and some refried beans too,
It is now late morning and I should be able to get online at my place soon. I’ve not bothered since arriving Tuesday as I do need to spend more time away from the computer. However, writing this stuff is a good creative exercise.
I’ve also been taking a few snaps. And, with luck, will post them as I post this.
Brent and Roh are due to come over Saturday. I had thought about heading back to catch a big canoe race, but think it’s more important to chill out. That is the whole point of the trip.
I reckon that’s all for now. It’s a hot and sunny day, though there are clouds on the horizon. Not sure what I will do other than… nothing!
Cheers! (3/3/05 @ 1pm Central)
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