Belize

Saturday 17th September 2016 – Today we would visit the Mayan ruins of Chichenitza, about 3.5 hours drive west of Cancun. Over the course of the coach journey our guide educated us about Mayan history and culture, their calendar system, their knowledge of pressure points, their language and even the interesting way they did multiplication. Dangerously overloaded with facts we spilled off the bus for lunch which it turned out wouldn’t be ready for another hour. Happily this gave everyone lots of time to browse the overpriced souvenir shops which were also on site. Shortly after lunch we arrived at Chichenitza. We took some photos of the impressive Temple of Kulkulkan and then took a stroll round the other areas. Most of the actual ruins are roped off and visitors are forbidden to touch them; good news for the huge iguanas which relax contentedly atop them. After a couple of hours in the heat we couldn’t wait to cool off in a cenote. For me this was the highlight of the trip; a huge circular hole trails vines into a 50 metre deep natural pool below. We dived into the refreshing cool water and marvelled at our subterranean surroundings, sunlight entering from high above us. We arrived back at our hostel at 9pm, cooked some pasta and went to bed. Tomorrow we would try to reach Belize.

Sunday 18th September 2016 – We woke early and headed to the bus station, expecting to hop on a bus to the border. We had become a bit casual about bus travel and were about to pay for our poor planning. The only bus to Belize City didn’t leave until 10:30pm; it was now 8am which meant we had fourteen and a half hours to kill. Neither of us felt we could endure this at the bus terminal. It was Sunday and lots of places were closed so we took a bus to Plaza las Americas which we knew would be open. After about three hours in Starbucks nursing the same coffee strange looks from the staff convinced us to move on. We managed to outstay our welcome at another three cafes before it was finally time to catch our bus. It was raining as we left Cancun and watching the bright headlights of approaching cars through the water droplets on the coach window was hypnotic and strangely comforting.

Monday 19th September 2016 – Around 5am we reached the Mexican border. We were informed the exit fee was $25 dollars per person and everyone got off the bus to queue outside a little office; passengers were admitted one by one to pay their fee. Twenty five dollars seemed rather steep and we were unsure whether it was legit or not although hearing snippets from the office it seemed the ultimatum was pay up or get off the bus. In the end we pleaded ignorance of the exit fee and proffered about $13 in a combination of dollars and pesos, claiming that was all the cash we had. Worryingly they believed us – either we’re better actors than we thought or nine months of travelling has taken its toll! We arrived in Belize City around 8am. Alysa stayed in the tiny bus station with our bags while I went to look for somewhere to change money or a way to get to the water taxi terminal (our first destination was the island of Caye Caulker). The streets were an unpromising collection of muddy puddles, lined with ramshackle buildings and it was difficult to imagine walking anywhere with our bags would be a good idea. Fortunately US dollars are used interchangeably with Belize dollars on a 1:2 basis so a few US bills later we were on the boat to Caye Caulker. The island had none of the grittiness of Belize City – wooden shacks painted in pastel colours lined the shore, dreadlocked locals watched the world go by and a cool breeze blew. We booked a snorkelling trip with Caveman Tours and had a wander round the town. That evening we sat on a wooden bench by the sea eating coconut curry and drinking fruit punch – wonderful.

Tuesday 20th September 2016 – After a nutritionally dubious breakfast of coffee and mini-doughnuts we arrived at Caveman Tours where we were kitted out with snorkel, flippers and mask. Caveman himself was recovering from an eye infection so we were left in the capable hands of Daniel, Romeo and Shorty. Shorty was a new recruit and thus skivvy although his tattooed head hinted at a colourful past. This was our first snorkelling of the trip and we couldn’t wait to get into the water. We had an amazing time and saw more than we ever expected; a manatee grazing lazily on the sea grass like an odd aquatic cow, a green turtle paddling serenely through the water beneath us, nurse sharks feeding, stingrays cruising along the seabed and green moray eels poking their heads curiously from rocky nooks. Even after the snorkelling the day wasn’t done. Daniel showed us one of the seahorses that lives in the mangroves around the island, we fed tarpon and Alysa had a sardine snatched out of her hand by a frigate bird. By the time we got back to shore it was dusk and festivities for Independence Day were just getting underway. We ate, drank and made merry, seduced by the calypso beats and captivated by the allure of Caribbean life.