Belize

(Rich's pictures updated as much as possible! The map will have to wait but will be updated when we can.)

Hey there folks. We left Mexico on Cinco de Mayo and have spent the last 8 days in beautiful Belize! Forgive us for leaving Mexico on Cinco de Mayo (we know!), but it's really only a big holiday in Puebla and in the US.

Anyway, we never originally intended to go to Belize . Since we are travelling for so long, we are on a fairly strict budget, and relative to the other countries we are going to, Belize is a budget buster. In fact, we spent about 60% more per day in Belize than we did in Mexico. But we felt we would have cheated ourselves if we didn't spend a little time here, so we decided to do a short stint in Belize. We spent 5 amazing days on an island called Caye ("key") Caulker and in 3 more a laid back town near the jungle in the west of Belize called San Ignacio. We never expected to go to Belize but are very glad we did.

Tomorrow, we are heading to Guatemala where we hope to spend at least a month. Guatemala is cheap (and very safe actually). There are tons of outdoors activities including hiking and caving and rafting. They also have cheap spanish language schools and we plan to do at least a week of spanish classes, hopefully with a homestay with a local family. First, we are heading to the steamy jungle in the north to see the ruins at Tikal, which are some of the most spectacular in all of Central America and everyone who's seen them has raved about them.

Before that though, we wanted to give you a summary of beautiful Belize.

Our first stop was Caye Caulker where we spent 5 days. Caulker is a laid back carribean island. There is a great mix of local culture and travelers there. The locals are a mix of hispanic and african descent, and the peace-love rasta men are friendly and fun! The island is palm trees and sandy streets. The barrier reef is about a mile off shore and the breeze blows from the reef onto the island and cools everything off. There's an eclectic mix of bars and restaurants and cafes, but mostly it's very small. You can walk the whole thing in an hour easily. You can watch the sunset from the north end of the island where a rastafarian man will chop up a fresh coconut for you with a machete, stick a straw in it, and you have fresh coconut juice!

Our highlights from Caulker include snorkeling the barrier reef where we saw sting rays and sharks, coral and fish and swam in some of the warmest water ever. Endless hammocks. Meeting local people including our friend Javier, Rich's 16 year old running partner and our good friends at the hostel. Watching the NHL playoffs (and battling the Canadians!), playing trivia, and sipping caribbean beverages at Lloyd's sports bar. And definitely the laid back, no hurry pace of island culture.

San Ignacio is a small town in Western Belize not far from the Guatemala border. The people here are some of the friendliest we've met so far, very warm and welcoming. Like on Caulker, they are a mix of hispanic and african descent, but the rastafarian/Jamaica-like culture is not as prevalent here. The town is small, only a few main streets, but there is a beautiful river that cuts through and two big bridges. The market is good and there are tons of outdoors activities around, including some smaller Mayan ruins.

Our highlights from San Ignacio have been the super friendly people, a canoe trip down the river and swimming in the cool water, staying at a really nice relaxing guesthouse, and visiting the Mayan ruins of Cahal Pech with some really cool friends we met.

One other great thing about Belize has been the food. We were fairly tired of tortillas and cheese in Mexico (dear lord no more tortillas please!), and in Belize, we were really able to try some awesome local food. We have eaten some great Jerk Chicken, stewed chicken, grilled red snapper, rice and beans with everything, and some amazing BBQ with potato salad. Some of our pictures will give you an idea.

All in all, Belize was a great experience and we feel a tad guilty leaving so soon, but it was great to visit and we're excited for Guatemala!