Archive for February, 2008
Random Belize Photo of the Moment
Here’s the view from the pier where the Water Taxis stop on Caye Caulker. It’s one of our collection of photos of Belize. Most people are quite surprised at how small and mellow the island is when they pull up for the first time.
Date: February 18th, 2008 |
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Golf Carts on the Belize Islands
If you’ve yet to make your first trip to one of the main tourist islands off Belize, this might be a little hard to picture, but on Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, there are very few paved streets, and golf carts rule the road. It’s more true on the much-smaller Caye Caulker, but in both cases there are very few conventional cars to be seen anywhere.
So taxis on the islands are almost all 4-seat golf carts, and renting them is possible and popular on both as well, although the benefits of doing that are far greater on Ambergris Caye than they are on Caulker.
Golf cart rentals on Caye Caulker
There are a few small outfits that rent the carts to visitors on an hourly or daily basis, but none of them appear to have an official website. This is also true of half the things on Caye Caulker, which is one of the reasons the place is hard to get a handle on before you arrive. Golf cart taxis will take you anywhere on Caye Caulker for US$3, and the longest rides to either the Cut in the north or the Odyssey Resort past the airstrip in the south only take 5 minutes or so. If you rent a golf cart on Caye Caulker you can literally see the entire island in about 30 minutes. People might think you are lazy, but if you’ve got a group of 3 or 4 people who want to check out a few different restaurants (or bars if there’s a designated driver) they can be really fun and efficient.
Date: February 14th, 2008 |
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Corona del Mar Hotel and Apartments on San Pedro - Free rum punch!
Many of the most popular hotels on Ambergris Caye are the luxurious places that charge US$200 and more per night, but one place stands out since it also gets consistently high reviews and ratings from previous guests and yet it’s noticeably cheaper than the others.
The Corona del Mar Hotel & Apartments is right on the beach about half a mile south of San Pedro village, which is an ideal distance for a combination of convenience and tranquility. They have 12 hotel rooms and 4 apartment suites, and the highest price for any of them is well under US$200 per night even in peak season.
Date: February 12th, 2008 |
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The time I rented a bicycle on Caye Caulker, Belize
This isn’t so much a comprehensive guide to renting a bicycle on one of the islands, but more a story of how wonderfully and simply things can work in this tiny country.
I was living in New York City before I left on my 2005 round the world trip, which actually started in December 2004. I stopped to visit some friends in Miami and then Los Angeles (where I’m from) before setting out traveling for a whole year. My first international stop was Belize, and I knew I wanted to check it out for a couple days before continuing down through Guatemala.
So after a couple weeks spent in Miami and Los Angeles and a plane change in Dallas-Fort Worth, I suddenly found myself in Belize and a couple hours later I was on Caye Caulker. I was/am a cheapskate and backpacker, so I chose it over Ambergris Caye, and I liked it a lot right away.
Date: February 7th, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment
Here’s another from our Belize photos collection. This is on Ambergris Caye.
Date: February 15th, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment
Here’s another photo from our Belize photos collection. This is down on Placencia Peninsula.
Date: February 13th, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment
Here’s a random photo from our Caye Caulker page of our Belize photo album:
Date: February 8th, 2008 |
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Museum of Belize - a former prison that has turned its life around
Visiting a stuffy museum isn’t near the top of most people’s lists when they come to a country like Belize, but there is an interesting spot in Belize City that should be of interest to culture vultures or visitors who care a bit about their host country, even for only an hour or two.
One of the more fascinating aspects to the Museum of Belize is that the two-story building was constructed as Her Majesty’s Prison back in 1857, and only opened in its current form in 2002. The official tourism board article boasts, “With all the rich Belizean heritage inside, it would be a crime to miss it.” See what they did there? A former prison and it would be a crime to miss it? Hilarious.
But seriously, the permanent collection in the Museum of Belize contains Mayan masterpieces that range from 600 BC to AD 1500, so it’s easy to get some perspective on the ancient local culture that mysteriously disappeared a few centuries ago. While the original artifact lives in a bank vault, an amazing replica of the largest carved jade head ever found in the Maya world (discovered in 1968 in Altun Ha) is on display here. Other jade items, intricately crafted pottery, and flint weapons are also parts of the popular permanent display.
Date: February 5th, 2008 |
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