Wa’s up?

We’ve been on Caye Caulker (off the coast of the north of Belize) for over a week now. It’s a beautiful tropical island with a real mix of peoples - ex-pats, Africans, Hispanics and Mayans - all living under one motto: Go Slow! There are no high-rise hotels as such, just plenty of single- and double-storey guesthouses and wooden cabanas. Also, there’s very little fuel on the island so everyone gets around by foot, bike or golf-cart. Very relaxing!

We have a lovely room in a guesthouse with a verandah, featuring a hammock and two resident lizards we’ve named Jazzie and Jeff. This side of the island is blessed with a very welcome sea breeze, which keeps us cool and blows away the mosquitoes and sandflies. We’re sure we’ll miss this when we go inland. There’s at least one kite-boarder out there most days; Colin would love it.

On the island there’s no real beach where you can swim, but the sea-life is superb. Neil is now a certified diver (Mum, you’ll be getting my PADI card soon) and has been playing with nurse sharks (they’re like puppies!); Mari, with jellyfish (ouch!). Neil went to 40m yesterday, and also saw a turtle. Mari saw a barracuda while snorkelling (the bad guy in Finding Nemo), and loads of other colourful reef fish and molluscs. She also got badly sunburnt, and is now sporting very attractive red and white stripes on her legs. We’ll be going on a sunset cruise on the Caribbean tomorrow.

On Thursday we’ll be visiting family friends (Bob and Jill) in Belize City, and then we’ll be off to Orange Walk and San Ignacio for Mayan temple ruins, and exotic kayak rides up jungle rivers.

That’s it for now. We haven’t been able to post pictures yet. We’ll let you know as soon as we do. Please post your messages by using the comment option on this site.

- Neil & Mari

23:17:27 - Monday, 16.05.05