Belize Part 2: Sun, Sand, and Stingrays

We arrived in Belize City with the idea of taking a ferry to one of the Cayes to celebrate the new year.  We arrived in the afternoon and found out that we could take a ferry the following day, which would be New Year's Eve - perfect.  We parked by the ocean for the night.

View of the pier from Cubby in Belize City

The next day we boarded the ferry - time for some beach and relaxation!

 

Belize City harbor

 The ferry was packed.  We rode in the very back of the ferry.  What a great view, and we got to feel the air and spray from the water.

from the ferry leaving Belize City

Arriving on the island, we immediately liked the place.  Caye Caulker is famous for its beautiful clear water and laid-back beach atmosphere. 

 

Obviously many people had the same idea we did - to spend the holiday on an island in the sun - because all the hotels/hostels that we came to were full.  This was the first time we would spend a night NOT in Cubby since the U.S. and we realized how lucky we are not to have to search for lodging in every place we visit.  We split up to save time and eventually came to some cabins toward the end of the island that had vacancies. 

Our home away from Cubby

 We had a cute iguana that liked to visit us in our cabin.  Or rather, we were the intruders that took over her cabin.  We named her Iggy:

Iggy sunning herself on our porch

 

Since Sarah and Matt would have to leave to go back home to New York after our Caye Caulker trip, they graciously invited us on a snorkel trip to the reefs as a last hurrah - thanks guys, it was awesome!  I had never been snorkeling before and it turned out to be so much fun.  We saw lots of beautiful coral, and many fish and other undersea creatures.  One guy with a fancy underwater camera got too close to a moray eel and it started chasing him!

 

 

 

There were three different stops on the trip, and the second stop was a very shallow area with nurse sharks and stingrays.  They of course congregate in that area because the guides handfeed them.  The sharks stayed a bit away from the boat, but there were huge stingrays everywhere around the boat.  They move really fast - I was scared to jump in the water because I didn't want to land on one of them.  I made Ricardo come watch and tell me when it was safe to jump. 

 

After I did jump in, it was really interesting, and slightly terrifying, to swim around with the sharks and stingrays.  Ricardo was loving every second of it, but the guides were handling the rays a bit too much for my taste.  Ricardo pet the rays and fed them.  I just watched!  It was a cool experience, one we will never forget.

The guide holding a stingray

That night we went out to celebrate New Years with some drinks and some music.  Happy New Year 2013!

We originally were planning to spend only one night on the island, but we ended up staying longer and spending two nights.  Ahh, such a beautiful island...hopefully we will be back some day.

Sadly, the third day we boarded the ferry to head back to Belize City.  We dropped Sarah and Matt off at the bus station and said goodbye.  It was great having them along for two months of the trip - many great memories that we will share.  The bus station drop-off was so quick (everyone was yelling at us to move the car!) that we did not get any pictures.  We left and immediately the car felt empty with our travel companions gone.  We will miss you Sarah and Matt!

  That night we drove out of Belize City and toward the Guatemala border, ready to start the next part of our journey...