You'd Better Belieze It!

Writing from the laid back island town of Caye Caulker, where the official and anal itinerary prepared by Mat prior to departure from New Zealand has us in Tikal, Gautemala. Itinerary shuffled and budget exceeded again, we are going to be in Belieze for another week - no obvious reasons to escape this little piece of paradise in a hurry!

Our entry to Belieze represented our first land based border crossing of the trip. A pretty relaxed affair where there were no forms to complete, no fees to be paid and one Belizean official asking if the was anything we wanted to declare? "Not really" was our response, and with that, border control waved us through and back onto our bus to Corozal.


Corozal is a pretty sleepy border town half colonised by the Chinese and where the locals are exceedingly friendly and relaxed. Our time here was spent with a couple of Aussies (Flash and Laura) and a Brit (Tina) where we exchanged travelling war stories over a Belican (local brew) or 10. Flash and Laura are well travelled, and Flash had us in hysterics all night as he re-called some cracker tales of Tamazapan and booze induced antics in Thailand.

A fantastic night out at Patty's Diner where travellers are invited after their meal to scrawl some prophetic statements on the walls about their Corozal expeience. Fair to say that after the numerous Belican's, the words flowed, only to find at the end that our message had been addressed to 'Paddy', as apposed to the owner, 'Patty'. All was forgiven however with the first drunken haka of the trip.


From Corozal, it was on to the northern Cayes, where after a night at the more touristy San Pedro, we ventured south to Caye Caulker, an Island we have been unable to leave since. Caye Caulker is about the size of Manner's Mall in Wellington, population 800 (no Blanket Man though) and only a few hundred metres from the barrier reef. We've been staying in a purple beach side cabana on stilts (to avoid them being washed away during cyclone season) where the hammock out front has been put to good use. The sea breeze blowing in at night has been fantastic, though we did have one night where the torrential rain (6 inches in 30 minutes - sounds like a dirty movie title) kept us awake.


The primary activity during our first days on the island was diving, where we racked up six dives and 5 hours under water. The coral reef here is very impressive, as is the marine life. Plenty of moray eel, a few turtles and the odd shark make for a great diving experience. When not diving, we've been book reading while working on the tan (Mat is still yet to peel after nearly two months of travel and numerous time out of a Ginger's favourite environment - the shade).

Eating has been the other activity on Caye Caulker that has featured prominently in our daily highlights. There are a fantastic range of options, from the beach side BBQ of seafood to the dirty chine on the cheap side of the island. All meals have agreed with the system (still running a perfect 0 on the sharts) and are served in Belize time - usually 90 minues after one has ordered. No issues though as there is always something to keep one entertained between courses.

Over the last few days, we have been joined on the island by Brett and Carrie, Strayan friends we met in Mexico. We racked up a boomer night early on which started with a second place effort in the local quiz night, narrowly defeated by a team called 'Bobby's Smelly Finger'.


We were beaten on the final bonus question where we'd wagered the full 10 points and got the answer in early in the hope of winning the pitcher of Belican on offer for the first correct answer. We blew out after missing a crucial mathematic step, but for those playing at home, what is the next number in the sequence:

1, 4, 13, 40, 121, 364....

The numerous 2 for 1 'Panty Rippers' (Malibu and pineapple juice) consumed during the quiz had us in high spirits, so next stop was the local karaoke bar for a power ballad (you can take the boy out of the Realm karaoke nights, but you cant take the Realm karaoke nights out of the boy). Soon after Brett and Mat concluded there rendition of Air Supply's 'All Out Of Love', the owner decided to stop karaoke for the night. No worries though as Mat & Brett turned their attention to ripping up the sand dance floor.


We also spent a fantastic afternoon snorkelling the reef, during which we found ourselves in nipple deep waters with 20 stingrays while our guide Carlos threw fish into the water to create activity. Fair to say that Mat squealed like a nervous little girl every time a stingray touched his legs, and thoughts of Steve Irwin's tragic death were ever present as stingrays flashed underneath us at pace.

We board a yacht tomorrow with 9 others (including Brett & Carrie) for a three day journey along the barrier reef tomorrow where snorkelling, fishing, camping and the consumption of copius quantities of panty rippers fill the agenda.