Caye Caulker island, day 1

After two glorious days on the island paradise known as Caye Caulker
in Belize (sssshhhh... let's keep this place a secret... We'll tell
you why in a bit...) we hopped on a water taxi in the pouring rain --
covered with only a tarp to keep us dry -- and went back to Belize
City, where we jumped on a bus to Flores, Guatemala.

There is so much to say about Caye Caulker -- Cathleen is going to
cover day one and Rhonda is going to cover the snorkeling trip we took
on day two.

Arriving at the island was like nothing I had ever done before. The
small water taxi jetted across the open sea from Belize City and
dropped us off at a rickety dock, where we had to carefully step our
way over the old wooden planks, with big backpacks on, to the shore.
When we hit the shore, we were immediately approached by people who
wanted to help us. We said we were fine, but James ("I just want to
be nice, I don't want to be mean") wasn't to be shaken and we finally
let him recommend some places to us. Apparently, you don't have to
tip these greeters -- but they do get a commission for every person
they bring in.

There are three streets on Caye Caulker -- Front, Middle and Back.
Most of the tourists stay at places on Front Street, which is the main
road. The middle street is where most of the locals live and where
the bank and the shops are. Back street is the "industrial" area,
mostly. The island is absolutely charming. Most tourists who come to
Belize either arrive by cruise ship and tour Belize City for a day,
or, if they are heading to the Cayes, they usually want to go to San
Pedro on Ambergris Caye because there are resorts and it is more
developed.

Caye Caulker is different. Sure, there are tourists -- but they are
mostly back-packers who want a low-key, cheaper place to stay. The
locals are wonderful, as are the visitors. We walked the entire
island in less than an hour -- beaches with palm trees, golf carts and
bicycles instead of cars, little brightly painted buildings on stilts
-- a true unspoiled island paradise. In the evenings, people bring
bar-b-ques onto the beach and grill up dinner for the tourists. Rum
is the drink of choice and seafood is served everywhere -- lobster,
shrimp, conch, etc.

Dogs run wild all over the island, but they are not feral. They are
very friendly and they seem to be well taken care of. I think the
locals and the tourists feed them and play with them. There is one
place that was like a cat sanctuary -- all of these wild cats in one
area, but again, none of them feral. They let us pet them and while
we were having dinner, one sat next to our table and politely begged
for food.

We had met this girl who is an ex-pat who used to live on Caye Caulker
but now lives in Livingston, Guatemala (her work is based out of El
Segundo), and she said she and her friends would be heading to the
reggae bar, I&I. We went there after dinner -- the seating in the
entire bar was swings -- even the tables were swings. There was a
roof-top access and we went up there and met some really cool people
from Italy and some locals -- we even met the owner, I&I. Don't ask
me... he said that's his name.

We didn't stay out too late because we had to get up early for our
full-day snorkeling excursion... and.. heeeerrrrreeesss RHONDA!