It’s our first time in Belize. Direct Sun Country flight from MSP, only 4 and a half hours. Took a taxi to Belize City. They’re extending the runway to handle bigger jets. In hindsight, this was not surprising, given the number of visitors we met from around the world. US, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Netherlands, Austria, Italy, UK, New Zealand, Australia, and Honduras to name a few.
Took a 45 minute water taxi ride to get us to Caye Caulker. Arrived to the Caye where we overheard a young tourist ask if there were any paved roads. The gulf cart taxi driver chuckled. “No paved roads.”
Made out way to Jans Hotel. It didn’t take long. The entire island is 5 miles long by less than 1 mile wide. The is a gap in the middle. The split was created by Hurricane Hattie, a 1961 cyclone that hit Belize with tremendous ferocity. This storm brought 165-mph winds that ripped through Belize’s coastline. After it passed, the caye had a wide channel of water running through it. The Belizians have since dredged it allowing boats to pass through.
We had woken quite early, so we could make it to the airport by 4:30. We crashed on some wooden chairs on the “beach” in front of Jan’s Hotel. The water line was piled with washed up sea grass and litter. The chairs were very hard, to the point we went looking for cushions to buy. Turns out, none of the local stores carried them.
After a nap, we wended our way to the West side of the island to the Iguana Reef Inn for the sunset.
Looks like a fabulous trip!