Caye Caulker: Sharks, Stingrays and Storm

Belize, Central America Today is the only chance Sarah and I have for an adventure in Caye Caulker as we will be leaving on the 7AM boat to Chetumal tomorrow. David will be staying longer. Big Breakfast. Both Sarah and David were thinking of going to Marin’s, which we missed last night for dinner.

I wanted to try something else. We finally settled on this colourful cafe shack (I forgot the name) recommended by a local, where I had the “big breakfast”. The walls were painted in bright pastel colours, adorned with batik (or silk) art. Inside the cafe, there were artworks for sale. I must agree with the sign at the entrance that says “Best coffee in Caye Caulker.”

Sea Kayaking. I love sea kayaking, but I didn’t realise how much more kayaking technique I needed to learn until today. I’ve kayaked in Indonesia, Hawaii and Philippines but I guess that wasn’t good enough for Caye Caulker, especially being caught with strong winds and storm. At first, I took the single kayak, and David and Sarah, who are both stronger than me, took the double kayak. Eventually, David changed places with me. I was lagging way behind. When we reached the buoys near the reef, the water was just so clear. With the white sand bottom, and patches of sea grass, the water was a combination of blue and turquoise colors.

Swimming with Sharks and Stingrays. These creatures seemed to be very sociable. They surely didn’t shy away from the hoardes of tourists hovering over them, some of whom were touching them. I kept my distance, I was happy enough to swim around them and not touch them. there were heaps of these sharks and stingrays, it was an awesome sight. The reef guard, probably noticing me struggling in my kayak with the storm approaching, gave me a ride to the nearest anchored boat. From there, we all weathered the strong rain. When it subsided, I decided to go back to shore and the guard gave me a ride, with my canoe, all the way back to Ignacio’s. The storm hit again. Sarah and David both hitched a ride with another tour boat to get back to shore.

The Split. On the northern end of the island is a happening bar. A number of tourists hang out there. It was happy hour and rum mixes go for 2 for B$5. I just got myself a banana colada for B$10. It’s good. We kayaked all the way from Ignacio’s to reach the place. I didn’t swim, David and Sarah did. By 6:30PM, we thought we better head back, the looming dark clouds on the horizon looks ready to pounce with another nasty storm. True enough, we haven’t got far when the storm hit. Sarah and I were on the double kayak, and we could hardly move forward against the wind! David got a little bit further. I finally talked sense to Sarah and she agreed to dock our kayak. It’s just impossible to continue with the strong wind against us! Luckily, everybody knows everybody here on the island, it seems, so we left our kayaks under another tour operator’s care. David was gracious enough to agree too pick it up tomorrow.

Jolly Rogers’ Lobster. After the storm subsided, we went to this place, nearer the northern end of town, for lobster. July is lobster season for Belize. They just had a lobster feast a week or two ago. We waited 45 minutes for our food to be served. The lobster tasted soft and not chewy at all. I guess it was worth the wait. Like last night, I went back to our cabin earlier than the two, My left arm was aching and getting worse by the minute. It’s not simply sore muscle. I thought I’d get an early night and just sleep through the pain.