caye caulker

pelican on the jetty ------------------our spot


view from the terrasse -------------------------sunset from the deck


jolly roger´s - best deal in town ---------------------typical island house


island motto , no comment ----------------------


cemetery - home of the iguanas ----------------local snorkeler

as you walk off the jetty, there is a mosaic saying ¨caye caulker - go slow¨and that is exactly how it works here! noone walks quickly besides newly-arrived tourists. it is quite humerous because the locals tune the people,¨hey! where you going so faaaast?¨
this is how i would imagine jamaica to be. red, yellow and green are colours that one sees and occassionally smells as one walks down the sandy streets.

so that is the vibe - extremely mellow and chilled, almost sedated. the food is comforting...with lots of coconut-flavoured rice and beans and one can´t forget the freshly caught crayfish! the water activities were unbelievable with pristine visibility when snorkelling (seb said that it was perfect for diving, too).

thanks to gus´advice, we went directly to jolly roger´s to eat. we were in heaven from the moment we sat down. we had a choice between either fresh crayfish tails or snapper. of course, there were no hesitations and lobster was had by all. we were given two tails each, served in a buttery sauce with coconut rice, potato salad, 3 rum scented drinks (what else does one drink on an island in the caribbean?!) and chocolate cake. yes, all that! needless to say, we went there both nights for dinner.

¨anda de wata snorkelling¨ provided us with a wonderful experience on the reef, at sting ray island and at the coral forest. art, the owner, pointed out various marine life and explained a bit about them. for instance, there is a male fish (for the life of me can´t remember the name) that has four females and when ¨he¨ dies, the strongest female becomes a male and so it continues. the weird wonders of the world! snorkelling with the stingrays was somewhat frightening as they were so curious as to who was swimming in their territory. they are like a flock of birds in their formation and probably, just as graceful as they ¨fly¨past. it´s a pity that some companies feed them which could maybe explain their curiosity.

all in all, a great three-day stay which i would recommend to anyone passing through belize.

A peine arrivée sur l´ile que l´on peut comprendre l´origine du crédo de caye caulker 'go slow'. En effet, ici, il ne faut surtout pas se presser. Les gens sont charmants, souriants et visiblement prennent le temps de vivre. L´ile est composée de 3 rues : la plage, la rue du milieu et la rue de derriere. Difficile donc de se perdre. Le tour de l´ile est vite fait et on peut voir défiler les touristes depuis notre terrasse du miramar qui montent la rue puis la redescendent puis la remontent puis la redescendent. Jusqu´a ce qu´ils comprennent, comme nous l´avons compris nous memes après 1 jour, qu´ici il n´y a pas grand chose a faire si ce n´est profiter de ses journées pour se reposer au soleil sur la jetée, gouter au rhum local, faire qq sorties en mer ( snorkeling ou plongée) et attendre patiemment le soir pour pouvoir déguster les délicieuses langoustes au bbq de Rogers... (J´en salive encore...)

Une premiere plongée dans la réserve naturelle de Hol Chan ou la visibilité est exceptionelle. Ainsi je nage au milieu des requins nurse, des langoustes, des tortues et des coraux multicolores. J´apercois meme une murène énorme (3m) cachée sous son rocher et prète a attaquer tout intrus dans son domicile...impressionant.

Une deuxième sortie snorkeling avec Karis nous permet d´observer la vie aquatique de la barrière de corail. Art, notre guide, nous fait découvrir qq espèces de poissons spécifique du coin (chez certains poissons dont la population est essentiellement constituée de femelles, lorsque le male meurt, la femelle dominante change de sexe pour assurer la survie de l´espèce). On nage également au milieu de raies de taille gigantesque (qq 2m d´envergure) qui sont assez curieuses et n´hésitent pas a venir se frotter aux jambes des nageurs...

Enfin, pour tous les voyageurs qui comptent passer par le Belize, je me dois de décrire le deal de Rogers que j´attendais impatiemment tous les soirs :
salade de patates + riz + pain grillé + 2 queues de langoustes + gateau au chocolat + 3 verres de punch = 10 US dollars.... mmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhh.