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| Saturday, May 31, 2008 |
 OK, so it's more of an island than a city but it's still worth talking about. It's a hammock lovers paradise. Set off the coast of Belize, Caye Caulker is paradise. It's small, it's beautiful, it's youthful. Everyone here is friendly and no one moves quickly. There's no cars only little golf carts and the island's motto is "Go Slow." The tempo willl have you running on island time before you know it.
Years ago, the island was a lot bigger but a hurricane ripped through it, splitting it in two, and destroying a lot of the dock area. The island has rebuilt itself and is still one of the major destinations for travelers to Belize.
However, the disaster created the island's best feature- The Split. The Split is a deep trench that provides excellent snorkeling right off the island. You can jump right in and see stingrays, sharks, and a huge variety of fish. It's better than any tour you'll pay for.
The Split is also where all the action his. Though the island has a great eastward facing beach, everyone walks down to the split. There's a small beach there and the old dock provides an excellent place to sprawl your towel out. The young and the pale come out here to sun and snorkel all day, with a bar serving ice cold drinks and music. 
The main street is lined with fabulous seafood restaurants ranging from budget to very posh. A few of the houses around the island turn themselves into little barbeque's, with Wish Willy's the most famous. Set out right in front of his house (though I think he has since moved), this place is a Caye Caulker landmark serving amazing food delivered by a cool Rasta chef. There's no menu- they serve whatever they have that day but you can't go wrong with whatever you get and a free drink is included. For a more expensive meal, head to Don Corleone's for some pretty good Italian food.
This is a young spirited island and a good portion of the tourists are young, party minded folk. You'll see them all night long partying at the local bars and the incredibly sketchy but amazingly fun after hours club. Usually the locals out number the tourists but it's a great chance to interact them and they are all pretty friendly.
With great beaches, atmosphere, a kicking nightlife, great seafood, and The Split, no trip to Belize is complete without a visit there. A lot of people head to the more upscale Ambergris Caye but Caye Caulker is the better pick of the two. Despite having traveled to dozens of islands, this place remains one of my favorite destinations.
You can see my photos from Belize here:
Matt's Belize photos.
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posted by Nomadic Matt @ 5:35 AM  |
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| 4 Comments: |
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Nice Photos! - I don't think the peeps from Belize couldbe more laid back if they tried!
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Interesting to read your info about Caye Caulker... but it would be a whole lot better if you use apostrophes correctly...please!
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@Anon #2- Could you point out where I used the apostrophes incorrectly? I will gladly change them.
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Nice Photos! - I don't think the peeps from Belize couldbe more laid back if they tried!