Archive for March, 2008
Second Annual San Pedro Lobster Festival set for June
The rainy season in Belize is in effect during June, but that doesn’t stop San Pedro Town on Ambergris Caye from celebrating the opening of the year’s lobster catching season with a big party. The inaugural San Pedro Lobsterfest in 2007 was deemed a big success by organizers, so hopes are high for another home run when the 2008 Lobsterfest kicks off on June 14 in the island’s major village.
In 2007 Tino Gonzales won the prize for most pounds of lobsters caught on opening day with 717 pounds hauled in. The following day was the Block Party where prizes were awarded in various lobster-related competitions including Best Lobster Dish that went to Elito Arceo of Tabu Café for his lobster stew. Locals Sterling Vorus and Alyssa Arceo were crowned Lobster King and Queen of 2007, which will no doubt make their lives easier in the future.
Date: March 31st, 2008 |
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June in Belize
Once June arrives the busy season at the beach resort areas is officially over and the wet season officially begins. The good news is that hotel and resort prices are now at their lowest, where they’ll stay through November, and crowds are significantly smaller as well. The bad news is that it’s pretty hot and fairly sticky around the clock, and afternoon rain showers are an almost daily occurrence.
June events in Belize
San Pedro Lobsterfest – Mid June – To commemorate the opening of the 2008 lobster season the village on Ambergris Caye kicks off a long food-themed festival that began in 2007. The 2008 dates are June 14-21.
Dia de San Pedro (San Pedro Day) – June 29 – This celebration on Ambergris Caye honors St. Peter, who is the patron saint of the island’s San Pedro town. A boat parade on the final morning of this 3-day festival is the highlight, but there are events on the island during the entire final week of the month and a big fishing tournament that begins just after.
Date: March 26th, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment
Here’s a photo of the Rainbow Grill & Bar on Caye Caulker from the Caye Caulker photos section of our Belize photos page. The Rainbow is one of the better over-water dining and drinking options on the island, and that paint job on the side of the deck hanging over the Caribbean really helps to give the place a Caribbean Sea vibe.
Date: March 21st, 2008 |
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Snorkeling in Caye Caulker
There are at least a dozen different small companies that offer snorkeling trips in Caye Caulker, but few or none of them have a website, so finding details from home can be challenging. The good news is that there are plenty of options once you arrive on the island.
Finding the snorkeling operators
Caye Caulker has only three major streets, and none of them are paved. Front Street runs most of the way along the Caribbean coast, with a mix of hotels, apartments, businesses, and stretches of raw beach as well. Middle Street runs parallel to Front Street about 50 yards behind it, and Back Street is further inland. The Water Taxi pier is where most visitors arrive, and on Front Street beginning just north of that central pier you’ll find a big cluster of small operators that work out of stalls or modest buildings. As you walk along you’ll see one sign after another offering snorkeling trips.
Booking a snorkeling trip
Date: March 17th, 2008 |
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Monkey River Village and jungle/river tour
Here’s another of Belize’s small and out of the way attractions that I’d never heard of until just now, but is on my list for next time I’m in the country. Monkey River is the name of both a river and a town in southern Belize, and with a population of only 200 or so, we can all be forgiven for not knowing too much about it.
Monkey River Town
Once a thriving banana and lumber town with a population of around 2,500, Monkey River Town is a shadow of its former self. An October, 2001 hurricane destroyed much of what was left of the village, but it’s been nearly all rebuilt since then. Today the town runs on a combination of fishing and tourism, with the jungle/river tours being the centerpiece of the town’s offerings. There are no cars and only 2 streets in the village, so it sounds like a pretty relaxing place. There are 3 restaurants in town, from what I can tell.
Date: March 12th, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment
Here’s a random photo of Ambergris Caye from our Belize photos section. The guy in the picture said something about being in the Witness Protection Program, but he’d had a few Belikins so it’s really hard to sort out if there is any truth to that or not. Belize is like that. You meet unusual people who are traveling for unusual reasons. If you want to meet Joe Sixpack and Sally Housecoat who take one week in the sun each year during the off season from their bowling league, then go to Cancun. Belize seems to draw a …
Date: March 28th, 2008 |
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Cheap Caye Caulker hotels - Ignacio’s Beach Cabins
Since most of the more expensive hotels in Belize have their own website and are easy to book online, but most of the cheaper ones aren’t, I occasionally like to spotlight some of the cheaper places to help budget travelers out a bit.
Ignacio’s Beach Cabins is an old school hotel with shockingly low prices, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right place for all my fellow cheapskates who visit Caye Caulker. There are many cheap hotels in Caye Caulker and in many cases if you spend a bit more you get many more important services. In other words, trying to book into the cheapest place isn’t always the best idea, but this place definitely deserves a look either way.
Ignacio’s has been in operation since 1978, and at that time it had five units, charged US$1.50 per night, and could not have been more basic. Now there are about 15 cabins, but things are still very basic. Each cabin-on-stilts has its own veranda that faces the Caribbean, as well as a bathroom, but hot water is evidently sporadic and maybe not drinkable either. If you want to go someplace to totally chill out with a nice view and a good book, this place could be ideal, but if you want something that’s even on the lowest end of the luxury scale this probably isn’t the place.
Date: March 24th, 2008 |
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Real estate in Belize can cause serious daydreaming
The simplicity and climate of Belize are so appealing to most visitors that many of them dream of leaving the rat race or at least retiring to this Caribbean country. Earlier this year we added a new Belize real estate section to Belizelogue that allows people to list properties, land, and even rentals for free. There are some really nice places among the listings, but this one in particular caught my eye.
I’m pretty sure I’d buy this home on Ambergris Caye myself if my Bear Stearns stock investment had …
Date: March 19th, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment
Here’s a random shot from our Placencia Peninsula photos page in our Belize photos section.
Date: March 14th, 2008 |
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Cheap hotels in San Pedro - San Pedrano Hotel
It’s not too challenging to find out about the expensive and posh hotels and resorts on Ambergris Caye, but finding the cheap places isn’t as easy. Most of the budget places don’t have their own website, and even those that do are often hard to find in searches. So I like to highlight some low-price places from time to time to help my fellow cheapskate travelers.
I’ve not stayed at the San Pedrano Hotel, but I’d certainly give it a shot if I were headed to Ambergris Caye on a tight budget. This is a family run place with only 6 rooms and it’s located on Front Street in the heart of San Pedro, only 4 blocks from the Water Taxi pier. Their rates aren’t listed specifically on their Toucan Trail information page, but it does say that rooms go for between US$21 and US$40 per night, and other sources indicate at least in off-season rooms might be closer to the lower end of that range, or maybe even below it.
Date: March 10th, 2008 |
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