Belize Cayes

Crossing into Belize from the North


I was a little nervous for my first real border crossing – Mexico to Belize. But it couldn’t have been sleepier – and Belizians speaking English made the whole thing even easier. We got through leaving Mexico and entering Belize in about an hour and a half – which I think is about the fastest you can make it across a border crossing. So the reference has now been set.

Upon entering Belize – you immediately know you’re in another country. The architecture changes to a more colorful Caribbean palate. Also we quickly picked up a local station playing Creole reggae – which just sounds cool no matter what they’re saying. I used to live in St. Thomas – way back in my early 20s right out of college. The sights and sounds of Belize made me really nostalgic for that crazy fun time in my life.


This might not be the best example but it gives you an idea – the genre should be called dancehall.

Sugar cane trucks dominated Northern Belize

Unfortunately the speedbumps in Belize are marked differently and not as well as the speedbumps in Mexico. So I hit one pretty hard. The a few seconds later we heard a clink sound on the roof. Which turned out to be the end of one of my cross beams hitting the roof. Luckily I have 4 cross beans and really only need 2. Unluckily my rack is different widths up and down the long side beams, and I don’t have the star tool necessary to adjust the crossbeam widths. So I had to improvise and move them around – but eventually I got everything sorted out – removed a bunch of weight from my top car carrier – and we were back on the road after about 45 minutes.

Busted crossbeam – no bueno (or no good since I’m in Belize)
First new sticker in 2 months!

Luckily due to the border quickness we were still way ahead of schedule to meet our ex-coworker and good friend Hali at the Radisson (where I also parked my car for 5 days). 

New beer Belkin! Which feels like a normal beer until you realize the bottle is really thick and the bottle only holds 9oz. Boo! I kept picking up the bottle thinking there was more beer left, but no it’s just the heavy bottle. Belkin Premium is a real 12oz beer – but tougher to find.

Ambergris Caye


We took the ferry to Ambergris Caye (pronounced like key) and checked into our Air BnB:

Can’t beat the view!

The main town on Ambergris Caye is San Pedro (one of about 10 San Pedros I’ve been in so far on this trip). Turns out to be something of a party town. They have a thing called the chicken drop – which is wildly popular Basically they drop a chicken (which is supposedly sent to an animal sanctuary afterwards – RIGHT!) and people bet one which square the chicken poops in. 

This is right before they told this woman she had to blow into the chicken’s butt to stimulate it to poop. The chicken turned around and gave her a look that was priceless.

We didn’t really get too sucked into this entertainment and decided to move on to a delicious fish dinner. 

It was here, joking with the waiters in English, that I had an epiphany about how much fun and a richer experience it is if you can speak the language well enough to communicate more than just super-basic information. But 

Belize has tons of old colonial-looking buildings that captivate me

The rest of our time on Ambergris Caye was eating, drinking, and snorkeling – which was all amazing.


Snorkeling with the nurse sharks was one of the coolest things we did. You can’t see but I was a almost right in the middle of those. Of course reading up later – ecologically speaking – the guides aren’t really supposed to feed the nurse sharks because it messes up their behavior – which I kind of suspected at the time.

Hali doing his unintentional Erkel impression
One of the most delicious meals I’ve ever eaten – stone crab claws – perfectly prepared. This place had to be the best restaurant on Ambergris Caye.


We rented a golf cart and took a ride to the other side of the island – which was a blast. Unfortunately all the food was closed down so we had to subsist on banana bread and alcohol.

Caye Caulker


After Ambergris Caye – sadly we said goodbye to Hali – who had to go back to something called w-o-r-k. Sounds dodgy. Shauna and I went to Caye Caulker – the other popular Caye with tourists. To be honest I kind of wish we’d stayed on Caye Caulker 4 nights and Ambergris Caye one night, instead of the other way around. Caye Caulker was a lot more laid back – golf carts are the biggest vehicles – and the scenery was much more picturesque. We liked it so much we decided to spend the night – and wander the island – where I took a bunch of pics. 

Go Slow – the motto of Caye Caulker

Lobster traps

Clever!

The next day we took the ferry back to the Belize mainland.

2 comments

  1. Ok, I’m caught up!
    I’m guessing you are heading to Guatemala next.
    I know a guy from the FJ Cruiser forums and instagram (@mvbroady) that lives there. I believe he’s in Quetzaltenango.
    Places to see, if you haven’t made your itinerary yet:
    Tikal Ruins (there are a TON of ruins in Guatemala, this is the most famous)
    lago Atitlan and the town of Panajachel.
    Antigua!
    Pacaya Volcano is fun to climb. I went with my cousins and we rode horses about 3/4 of the way up then hiked up the rest. It’s active, so you can get up close to the lava.
    Have fun!

  2. The Breadfruit song and dance started me right off on the right feet, and your photos of gorgeous scenery kept me delighted. You have beamed up to another dimension, while we ordinary mortals remain stuck in noisy, mundane, everyday places like Kansas City. Soak it up guys!

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