As I sit here and try to write about Belize, I’m struggling to find the words to describe this adventure. Words and pictures just can’t do it justice. But I’ll do my best…
Vivid blues. Bold greens. Vibrant pinks and purples. Striking sunrises and sunsets…and moon rises!!!
Belize was definitely one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen so far. It didn’t hurt that I spent 98% of the time in a bikini and sandals ❤
After my first ‘first class’ experience, bumpy cab ride and captivating water taxi cruise, we landed on the beautiful island of Caye Caulker. I was simply awestruck by the color of the water – crystal clear blue and shades of teal. All I wanted to do was jump off the boat and float in water.
As soon as we jumped onto land, I could tell that Caye Caulker was small, which meant water would never be too far from eyesight. Another thing I noticed was no cars – only pedestrians, bikes and the occasional golf cart. Pretty amazing when you come a very populated and high trafficked area. I was anxious to explore and get to the beach.
As JM and I searched for our hotel, he spotted a fresh juice stand. And thank goodness we stopped; we met a couple from Texas who quickly became our Belizean lifesavers. They basically help formulate our trip by sharing the bests and the must sees of the island. JM and I ended up spending a great deal of time with them – their company was most welcomed.
After dropping our stuff at the hotel, I threw my bathing suit on and we went out exploring. After a strong Texan recommendation, we knew we wanted to watch the sunset at the Split, so we headed that way. That meant walking down the main road (think it was called Front Street), where all the stores and restaurants were located. Very fun to see the mix of (mostly) tourist and locals, the street vendors and all the potential food options!
At the end of Front Street was the Split. The Split was the part of the island that “split” during a hurricane and now has a decent sized “ocean stream” running between the two parts of CC. There was also a popular bar at the Split called the Lazy Lizard. Definitely the spring breakers paradise! But the Split was THE spot to watch the sunset and moonrise. You never think about the moon rising, since most the time, for me, the rise is blocked by buildings. But O-M-G! If you get a chance to watch the moonrise, it’s pretty freaking amazing.
Every day we planned to watch the sunrise, sunset and moonrise at a different location on the island. Sungazing was a good way to start our day and get grounded, and watching the sunset was that nice way of ending our adventures for that day.
Sunrises Days 1-3:
Sunsets Days 1-3
We also managed to run the island a few times. Running is a good way to get around fast and see what an area has to offer. During our runs, we saw the following:
– The island lizards
– The conche shell wall
– The airport (not working)
– All the construction and build up
– The seahorse farm
– The school
And more. In other words, basically the whole island!
Besides the sunrise/sunset gazings, the biggest highlight was snorkeling! Again, based on recommendation, we picked Carlos and his catamaran boat to go out on the wide open sea. We found the shop on Front Street and booked the all-day trip. 3 snorkeling spots, lunch and riding on the boat all day. I’ll be honest, when JM asked me about activities in Belize, I was a little nervous to agree to snorkeling. But the less I thought about it and more I thought about my VACATION, I welcomed the adventure.
And it was AMAZINGGGG!
Not only did we get a different perspective of the ocean, but we met some really cool people on the boat ride. Three couples from Virginia (seriously!), couple from Alabama and two girls from Germany. The two girls from Germany were great and I ended up talking to one the entire boat ride back. (We all are still in communication – the greatness of travel and conversation!)
I am very proud of myself for going snorkeling and taking on that challenge. I was too afraid to go when I had the opportunity to go in the Cayman Islands. NOT THIS TIME! I took this adventure head on and love reliving the experience. Check these pictures out – I mean WOW!
Each day in Caye Caulker we had something different to do –
Day 1: Explore and get comfortable with the island
Day 2: Snorkeling
Day 3: More exploring and Koko Beach
Day 4: Eating our way through the island before we had to leave!
We always had the focus of seeing as much and doing as much as we possible could. But because the island is relatively small, you ultimately run out of “adventures”, so we decided to venture over to Koko Beach. Koko Beach was on the other side of the split and had to get there by the water taxi. It just so happened that we met our Texan friends over there. We spent the remainder of the evening and our last night with them. Sunset, dinner, street food and one adorable Belizean baby. It was a memory-filled last night in Caye Caulker.
While I was taking in all the paradise I could, time was also passing extremely quickly. Too fast that we soon realized we didn’t eat our way through the city…so, that is what we did for our last day. We got up to watch the sunrise, and then we were off! Belizean coffee, doughnuts, chocolate cake, FRYJACKS- OMG, crepes and eggs, more fryjacks and doughnuts.
Why did we wait so long, especially to try the fryjacks?!
Never again will I wait to try street food. Never again will I wait to eat anything and everything I set my eyes on! There was no reason why we waited so long. If only I could go back and start eating from the day we got there. But either way, NO REGRETS!
Needless to say, Belize (Caye Caulker specifically) was an absolute heaven-sent trip. It was booked at the right time, PERFECT time on leaving (right before a crazy storm hit the east coast) and just overall INCREDIBLE! I hope to return someday and thinking about taking my family for Christmas. Bikinis, sun and beach during winter – who doesn’t want that? 🙂
If I missed something or you are interested in something specific, please don’t hesitate to comment and reach out! I would love to share more about my trip with you.
I am trying something new here. I limited the upload of pictures this time, but am sharing more on [CLICK HERE —> Google Photos here Caye Caulker Belize (Blog) <— CLICK HERE]. The link should be public- hope it works! Enjoy more pictures from my trip!
