Belize 2007

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02/04/2007

Ambergris Caye (pronounced key) is the largest and most developed of about 200 small islands that make up the coast of Belize. Most of the island's 7,000 inhabitants live in the town of San Pedro, located in the southern part of the caye.

Getting to Ambergris Caye is an easy trip from Belize City by either water taxi or small planes. Catching a flight to Ambergris from the Belize City International Airport so easy and can be done with or without a reservation prior to arrival. There are two airlines that have regular hourly flights (which take only 20 minutes) and we cleared customs from our flight from Houston and went directly to the domestic terminal inside the airport to exchange some cash, buy tickets in Tropic Air, and be on our way to the islands. Water taxis also depart from the waterfront in downtown Belize City proper and take about 75 minutes. The water taxi terminal is a 20 minute cab ride from the Belize City International airport and the cab fare is fixed at $25BZE per person. We found that taking the flight TO Ambergris was a great intro to the islands of Belize and also was the easiest logistically (and well worth the $50USD per person ticket) after a long day of travel.

There are plenty of hotels, resorts and places to stay of all categories on Ambergris Caye. Transport around San Pedro is by foot, golf carts, or bicycles. There are three main streets on the island that run parallel to each other (ocean side, center, and lagoon side). Along all these roads are great local of restaurants, bars, gift shops, and galleries waiting to be explored. We found the best exploration time was early each morning (before and after enjoying a great breakfast at Ruby's bakery, or the little art café Tabu across from the airstrip) as the sun is in full effect by 10am and it's super hot and humid. Most shops and restaurants are open air without any air conditioning. For this reason, my favorite places to enjoy a Belekin (local beer) were along the water or on one of the many piers. However, there are some great places on the back streets for very cheap authentic Belizean food. Since Belize was once a British colony, English is spoken just about everywhere. Credit cards are also accepted in most of the shops and restaurants we went to. There are also several banks with ATM machines where you can pull out cash if you do find a shop that does not take credit cards. Since the Belize dollar is at a fixed to the US dollar, American cash is used interchangeably by all shops. The exchange rate is always 2 Belize dollars (BZE) to 1 US dollar (USD).

Belize is known for its' incredible barrier reef. It is the second largest barrier reef next to the Great Barrier Reef. This is what gives the shores its' saturated aqua color. Most of the reef is very shallow and the clarity of the water is breath-taking. Scuba diving and snorkeling are some of the best in the world. The sea life was so abundant and swimming with sharks and stingrays was absolutely amazing.

When visiting the cayes, Ambergris Caye is probably the best introduction into the islands. It has plenty of activities for you to do or you can choose to just relax and take in some sunshine. We found that a lot of exploration time on the front end of our stay helped up find our favorite spots for sun-bathing, sipping a cool drink, and catching the sunset with plenty of time to enjoy each of these at a leisurely island pace.

9:53 AM | Blog it | Travel

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Andywrote:

Speaking of Belize, I still can't believe it brings back such strong memory of love and hate. I absolutely hated where I stayed but I also loved San Pedro. My father was working in Belize at the time so my mom and I went to visit him for a few weeks. Considering I was on vacation in Costa Rica where my Mom lived at that point, I felt I had gone to hell. It was even worse considering, I was on a break from school in Vancouver where summers are never hot. It was mid summer, and the place was so humid and the swampy country meant mosquitoes! I hid inside the house the whole day, and even then it was super hot. We were living outside of Belize city, there the tv didn't work!. I had brought about 5 books and I must have read them many many times over. I swore I would never go back again.

The good side was that there were other families there working for my father. I had dinner over at their place one night, and I probably had the best ever home made noodles. I'm not sure why I remember it so but it was a bright point in the days when I thought I was going crazy. Toward the end of the visit, we spent a few days in San Pedro. We flew on a tiny airplane over to San Pedro from Belize City. Once I landed, I felt like I just left hell and entered heaven. The temperature was perfect, with a nice sea breeze taking away the humidity that I suffered through for a couple weeks. The island was clean, I stayed at the yacht club where it was nice, with a nice pool. The water was super clear, with light brown sand that's not too coarse. Boy was that a nice place to be :)

6 June

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