Guess the main form of transport on the island
There are two main tourist islands in Belize. We’ve been staying at Caye Caulker, which is the smaller and more relaxed of the two. However, today was the day to take the ferry across to the bigger island of Ambergris Caye, and to the town of San Pedro for a look around.
It’s noticeably busier, more frenetic, and certainly noisier. Because the island is much bigger you can’t just walk everywhere like you can on Caye Caulker, so everybody hires golf baggies to get themselves around. There are hundreds and hundreds of them, and the biggest trouble is trying to find a parking spot for them.
However, whilst there were more shops, there isn’t actually a whole stack more to see on the island. It’s still mainly bars and restaurants, with a sprinkling of retail shops and minimarts. You can get out to a few sandy beaches, unlike on our smaller island, but they do require you to hire a golf buggy as they are a long way out of town. We decided against going to Secret Beach, as it seems that everybody on the island goes there on a Sunday afternoon! You should have seen the procession of buggies heading out on the only road. Instead, we wandered up and down the streets and the foreshore, and had a lovely lunch on the pier over the water as we watched the black pelicans bob about in the water.
It seems that both Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye are really designed for young couples before kids who want to enjoy the nightlife. As an indication of how much they want you to enjoy the nightlife, numbers of restaurants advertise free rum with your meal. Whilst it is very relaxed and laid-back, it’s not exactly child friendly, with very little for children to do especially as there is almost no sand and swimming beaches as we would know them in Australia.
Caught the ferry back in the late afternoon to the nice and relaxed island that we’re staying at.
There are really three groups of people on the islands. Whilst there are a number of traditional ethnic groups living here, they seem to fall into two main groups. Firstly, there are the slightly built locals, who look very Peruvian or Chilean. Fairly short and fine. Then there is a group that looks very Jamaican – the females are big bottomed, and the men have that slightly spaced out look as though they’ve had something interesting for morning tea (if you get what I mean). The third group are the loud and cashed up Americans.
The locals are very friendly and welcoming, and seem to tolerate us tourists with a big smile on their face. English is the official language, though the locals seem to move in and out of English, Spanish and Creole in the same sentence without missing a beat. The Belizean dollar is pegged to the American dollar. Both are in common use, and you often get a mixture of both in your change, which was originally off-putting until you learned to expect it.
Never seen black pelicans before
The beach at San Pedro
The real San Pedro (St Peter)