February 12, 2011 (San Pedro Town, Belize-- Again: Day 1)

February 12 was a Saturday, and it was my first day back in San Pedro Town to try to take care of some business before I crossed the border to Mexico for my return to the USA. The main reason I allowed a few extra days to hang out on Ambergris Caye was to check out a possible real estate deal that had come up during one of my recent bus trips in Belize. I had been reading in one of my travel books -- or possibly on the Internet- that it is not unusual for Belizians to receive a parcel of land from the government or family at a special price. Since many of the locals did not have the financial ability to develop the property, on some occasions they might sell a parcel to an outsider at a very reasonable price. I had also found that there is generally no prohibition in Belize on foreigners purchasing real estate. So on one of my bus rides I ended up sitting next to a young man who told me he had been accepted at the Cayman Islands Law School (CILS) -- which I found later is affiliated to the University of Liverpool in the UK. He even showed me his acceptance letter. I congratulated him and told him that I was a lawyer and had attended the University of Minnesota Law School in the U.S. about a million years ago. Then he proceeded to pull some other papers out of his briefcase, and he started telling me that he had worked for the government a couple years ago and that he had been given a parcel of real estate on Ambergris Caye in lieu of cash. In order to help pay his law school tuition, he was going to try to sell his parcel, which he told me had been appraised at US$25,000.00. He even showed me the appraisal, which also contained a plat drawing showing the location of the parcel and the legal description. He said that even though the lot was supposed to be worth US$25,000, he was willing to sell it for $5000 because he needed money for tuition right away. I told him that-- in my opinion -- most appraisals are just worthless pieces of paper, but that I would still be happy to check it out. I told him that if it could be verified that he had the right to sell the parcel, title was "clear" and if recent sales in the area would substantiate that the parcel was legitimately worth even US$10,000, I might be interested. He let me take a copy of the appraisal with me so I could do some "due diligence" when I got back to San Pedro.

I took my first step in checking out the parcel by stopping at the Belmopan Records Office on the way from San Ignacio and purchasing a copy of the "land register" for US$5.00. The land register verified that the subdivision of which the parcel was shown was indeed owned by the Town Council of San Pedro-- which matched the legal description on the appraisal. The young man's name was nowhere to be found in the land records, and he had never shown me a copy of a deed of any sort, so I was curious how (and why) he thought he "owned" the parcel and had the right to sell it. My second step would be to stop by the offices of the Town Council on Monday to check into the matter in greater detail. In the meantime, I had decided I would rent a bike in town and try to find the mysterious development known as the Caribbean Coves Subdivision. I didn't waste any time checking out of Martha's Hotel, and I came right back across the street and checked into the Spindrift Hotel. Even though the Spindrift cost more than twice as much as Martha's (US$55 vs. US$20.00) -- it was worth it. The rooms were not fancy but were very nice and sparkling clean. The hotel was literally next door to the offices of the San Pedro Town Council (yet another amazing coincidence), was next door to my favorite breakfast spot on San Pedro (Estel's) AND the hotel was in the same building as what was to become my favorite bar in Belize-- Wahoo's Lounge.

The Spindrift Hotel and Wahoo's Lounge: Right on the Beach in San Pedro!

I had a big breakfast right next door at Estel's to fortify myself for a wild bike ride, and then headed over to a bike rental shop about a half mile from the hotel. The bike -- which was heavy duty with big ol' fat tires -- cost US$10.00 per day to rent and reminded me of a kid's bike from my childhood. But it looked plenty durable-- which it would need to survive the crazy gravel roads characteristic of Belize. I jumped on and headed off to try to find Caribbean Coves -- the subdivision owned by the Town Council, which I had been told was located somewhere on the west side of the big San Pedro lagoon (see map below). I had also been told that the land was only accessible by water.... But I was looking for another adventure.

Ambergris Caye: Caribbean Coves Subdivision Is Somewhere on the West Side of Laguna de San Pedro

February 11, 2011 (San Ignacio Town, Belize -- Again- for a Day)

Today I woke up at 7:00 AM in San Ignacio to a cloudy morning -- which I had found was very unusual for Belize. It had rained the night before -- which was also a bit unusual. But every place needs some rain to keep things green and beautiful. After a nice morning run to the famous spot in San Ignacio where the Macal and Mopan Rivers merge I had a nice breakfast at my favorite restaurant-- Serendib -- and took care of my only business obligation of the trip. The reason I had to make a quick trip back to San Ignacio was that I had to retrieve two nice (brand new) pairs of shoes I had tried to send back home when I tried to ship the slate Maya calendar pieces I had purchased from "Elmer" several weeks ago. Shortly after dropping off a very heavy box with "Roxana" at Exodus International in San Ignacio, filling out reams of paperwork and paying a hefty shipping fee, I received an e-mail from Roxana telling me that Federal Express had refused to make the shipment to the U.S.. They were apparently not happy with the flimsy box I had used to pack the heavy slate pieces, and they would not allow me to include personal items (my extra shoes) with the shipment. I sent an e-mail back to Roxana asking her if she could remove the shoes (which I would pick up in a week or two) and re-pack the slate pieces in a sturdier box. She was kind enough to help me out with this little hassle, and today I dropped by her place (which was primarily a travel agency) in downtown San Ignacio to pick up my shoes. I thanked Roxana again for the help, and headed back to my room at the Tropicool Hotel. Thank goodness my room at the Tropicool only cost me US$12.50 for the night. If I had to pay a lot for a hotel room I would have been better off to simply forget about my new shoes. I had learned already that one of the keys to third world travel is to PACK LIGHT. There is absolutely no need for fancy top siders, loafers and other shoes which simply add weight and take up precious space in your luggage or backpack. I had found that all you need in Belize for shoes are a pair of sturdy "high tech" sandals, climbing boots (for jungle and Maya site exploration) and running or walking shoes. That's it!

Once I had packed my bags and checked out, I was ready to head back to San Pedro Town. As my departure from Cancun was set for February 18, I had exactly one week to have one last fling on Ambergris Caye, check out some real estate on the island I was curious about, and get down to Playa del Carmen to make it easy to catch my flight back to the U.S. I will write about my "great real estate hunt" in San Pedro in several upcoming blog entries. I caught the bus to Belmopan (which only cost US$1.50!) where I jumped out to look for the building which houses the real estate records for Belize. Fortunately the building was a stone's throw from the bus station, so I could simply drag my luggage across the street and a big parking lot. I found the office that handles real estate documents, and was able to purchase a copy of the "land register" for the parcel I was going to check out for US$5.00. I returned to the bus station and shortly thereafter I caught the bus to Belize City-- which cost me a whopping US$2.00! Once I reached the Belize City bus station I jumped in a taxi and paid the cabbie US$3.50 to bring me about a mile to the place where you catch the water taxi to San Pedro Town.

The water taxi -- which costs US$15 for the one hour trip to Ambergris caye-- is especially great when the water is calm. The scenery is spectacular, and it is a lot more fun than those old army buses you typically find in Belize. When the water taxi arrived at the main dock in San Pedro I immediately started looking for a nearby hotel because I was dragging a heavy suitcase and a small backpack. I found an inexpensive place called Martha's Hotel about a block from the main dock. The hotel (shown below) was cheap -- and it was close to the beach-- but it was (unfortunately) a real shithole! The floors were warped and slanting (the classic cracked linoleum from forty years ago), the toilet was tilted, the place was in severe need of undating (or being torn down) and it was just real creepy in general. I had to ask for toilet paper and pillows -- and there were no screens on the windows. But it was only US$20.00 for one night. That evening I strolled the streets of San Pedro again and ended up having dinner at The Reef. I dined on a dinner of snapper and three Belikins for about US$20.00. Not too shabby.

Martha's Hotel in San Pedro Town: US$20.00 per Night



February 10, 2011 (Leaving Placencia Village, Belize)

The morning of February 10 I awoke about 7:00 AM and went out for a one hour "power walk" on the beach. I headed north and went as far as the future marina project (near the air strip that serves Placencia) that looks like it was abandoned recently before turning around. I came back on the only road that travels north and south on the peninsula. Before I had come to Placencia I had heard people talking about a new (private) international airport that was supposedly under construction-- but I couldn't see it from the road. A recent posting on the Internet showed a photo of a new runway that appeared to be ready for paving. "Inside sources" have said the new 9,000+ foot runway and the new airport will be TSA and FAA compliant and will be operational in early 2011.The new airport will feature the longest runway in the country it will be capable of handling aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 787. The new airport is supposedly going to open Belize to direct flights from Europe and North America. Who knows how long it will be before a terminal is built?

A Recent Photo of the New Air Strip Near Placencia

After my beach hike and shower I had a big breakfast in the hotel restaurant and packed up all my stuff to be ready for my 11:00 AM checkout. This would leave me almost two hours to kill in "downtown" Placencia before the 12:45 PM bus to Dangriga was scheduled to arrive. My two hour wait was made a lot more pleasant by the apearance of my new friends Roy and Cindy who were also waiting for the 12:45 special. We chatted about Placencia and their future destinations of Hopkins, Tobacco Caye and the nearby Maya Center (which I didn't know much about but sounded very interesting-- need to put it on my list for my next visit). Also, we were able to split "luggage guard duty" amongst the three of us so we were able to run around town a bit while waiting for the bus. The bus to Dangriga cost only US$5.00-- another incredible bargain. Shortly before reaching Dangriga, Cindy and Roy jumped out at the same place I had the previous week to catch a van to Hopkins Town. I got lucky when we reached the bus station in Dangriga because the bus to Belmopan was just about ready to leave. The Belmopan bus -- which would take us a considerable distance along the beautiful Hummingbird Highway-- also cost only US$5.00 (10 BZ). It must have been my lucky day, because when I arrived in Belmopan the bus to Banque Viejo -- which would bring me back to my "home away from home" in San Ignacio-- was also just getting ready to leave the terminal. And the Belmopan-San Ignacio leg only cost me US$2.00 (which is ridiculous)!

When I finally arrived in San Ignacio Town, I realized that I had been in buses for the entire afternoon --- but all that transport had cost me only about US$12.00! I kept remembering how in Minneapolis (or Las Vegas, for example) a taxi ride for just a few blocks often costs that much. AND the cabbie expects a tip on top of that! It had actually rained a little during the last part of my bus ride -- one of the few times during my trip that the sun was not shining! I had a nice dinner that night at the Serendib and got to see Nettie and some of my other San Ignacio friends.

"Raj" from san Ignacio Town (Eric Bana's Doppelganger for Sure!)

Lorena: The Hardest Working Shop Girl in San Ignacio (24/7)

I was back at the Tropocool Hotel again, and the only glich that night was an inordinate amount of noise generated until almost 2:00 AM by about a dozen American kids at a nearby joint called Mr. Greedy Too. There was so much noise and commotion a little after midnight that I actually threw some clothes on and walked over to the place to see what was going on. It sounded like there were about a hundred kids in the place, so I was shocked that all that noise was coming from just a few loud young ladies.

February 9, 2011 (Placencia Village, Belize)

I woke up a little late this morning (about eight) but the weather was still fine for a nice run around Placencia Village. I ran all around the village for about an hour and took the opportunity to explore everything. The area still amazed me because of the wide range of development-- from virtual slums in the older part of the village to new and expensive private projects at the southern tip of the peninsula. The beach wasn't as good as Hopkins for running because it was extremely "slanted" (like a velodrome) but there were still plenty of beautiful places to walk and jog. After my run and shower I had the "Big Breakfast" at the Paradise Resort restaurant, after which I poked around on the Internet (using the restaurant's convenient WIFI hookup) before heading out to continue my exploration of Placencia Village. I took a number of photos such as the ones below:

One of the Beautiful new Projects at the Southern Tip of the Placencia Peninsula

Keeping the Riffraff Out in Placencia

Early in the afternoon I came across a cool looking dude ("Roy") smoking a big stogie and trying to fish off the dock in front of the resort. I asked him if anything was biting, which led to a nice long chat and my introduction to his wife ("Cindy"). Roy and Cindy had been in Belize for several weeks and were heading from Placencia to Hopkins (and maybe even Tobacco Caye). They were also my neighbors back in the U.S. as they lived in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (home of the original Playboy Resort many years ago).

This Is Roy Smoking His Big Cigar and Fishing Off the Dock in Placencia

Roy and Cindy were planning to visit San Ignacio after Hopkins, so I gave them the names of several of my new friends in both towns and told them to make sure they hook up with Manny (the "mayor of San Ignacio") when they got to town. I also recommended the Tropicool Hotel in San Ignacio if they were looking for very basic but inexpensive lodging. Cindy was also just starting her "early retirement" so we had a great time talking about that as well. She became my "Facebook Friend" so I was able to read a couple of her stories after she and Roy returned to the USA in the spring. According to Cindy's Facebook posts they enjoyed Belize as much as I did!

That afternoon I went back out exploring thre village and ended up visiting the Purple Space Monkey I had noticed the previous day. I met a couple of great young kids there who were divers from Canada, and who raved about the famous island of Roatan off the coast of Honduras (definitely being added to my "need to go there" list). They had some great stories about their trip to Roatan (which reminds me that I need to bring a tape recorder on my next trip).


If You Tilt Your Head You Can See the Purple Space Monkey Sign

I subsequently met the new owner of the Monkey (the Canadian) and his very hot wife, and I dined on a nice (and inexpensive) dinner of snapper. According to the young barkeep-- a local gal-- the Monkey had only been open since December 17, 2010. I mentioned my concern about very little traffic in Placencia --- especially in comparison to San Pedro-- and she said it had been pretty slow in Placencia all winter. All my exploration of Placencia made me wonder if there would be enough buyers and customers to support all the projects already operating in the village-- let alone all those that were currently "on the drawing board"??

February 8, 2011 (Leaving Tobacco Caye for Placencia: Part 3)

One of my favorite features of Placencia Village is their famous "mile long sidewalk" - also known as the "narrowest road in the world"-- which winds through the center of everything. It is supposedly one of the longest continuous sidewalks in the world. And it helps avoid getting sand in your sandals! During my visit, Placencia struck me as a land of contradiction-- as it is common to see a multi-million dollar project literally next door to a group of unpainted wooden shacks. The villagers occupy the same space as the tourists, and there is always an interesting mix of things going on about town. During my visit my observation was that Placencia was - for the most part- dead as a doornail during what I had expected to be the peak of the tourist season (February 8 - 10, 2011). It was eerie to see dozens of very nice and enticing bars and restaurants - many with spectacular views of the Caribbean - virtually empty during the peak evening hours. It was a marked contrast to the excitement and crowds I had seen in San Pedro I observed a baseball game on a dirt field right in the middle of the "downtown" area in which the local kids were playing with a wooden stick rather than an actual baseball bat.

The Dirt Field Where the Kids Were Playing Stickball

One of the most interesting places I visited was a bar/restaurant called the Purple Space Monkey. It had recently been opened by a Canadian to replace a previous venture that was unable to make it. At the time of my visit it had only been open for several weeks. As I compared the activity going on in Placencia with what I had seen in San Pedro earlier, I kept wondering if perhaps tourists prefer chaos and action to tranquility and laid back?

The Hippest Place in Placencia: The Purple Space Monkey

February 8, 2011 (Leaving Tobacco Caye for Placencia: Part 2)

It is hot and humid all year long in Placencia, but along the beach the Caribbean breeze generally keeps you quite comfortable. The beaches here are not the best for swimming or walking, and for snorkeling and diving you will need to take a boat from 10 to 20 miles out to a nearby reef or caye. The beachside views and the white sand, however, are the best Belize has to offer. During my visit there were a multitude of boats in the harbor, and the area offers world class fishing and boating as well. Once a sleepy and underpopulated fishing village, Placencia Village has become a thriving tourist center. Many visitors believe that Placencia offers the finest beaches on the mainland of Belize, and a more laid back alternative to the hustle and bustle of Ambergris Caye.

One of the Awesome Boats I Saw in Placencia Village

One of the Many Beautiful Views in Placencia Village

At present, the peninsula has a population of only about 3,000, mostly in two small villages (Placencia Village at the southern tip of the peninsula and Seine Bight, a Garifuna village about five miles north of the tip). Another large concentration of housing and development is at Maya Beach-- about nine miles north of Placencia Village. Most of the shops, restaurants and bars are located near the southern tip of the peninsula, but a number of large and expensive private developments are in a variety of locations all over the peninsula. A "land rush" of sorts occurred in Placencia and a considerable amount of venture capital was pumped into the area shortly before the "great recession" his America, so at present a great deal of Placencia looks either unfinished or at the planning stage. Near the small air strip a large marina has been laid out with nary a single home built or under construction as of the present date.

February 8, 2011 (Leaving Tobacco Caye: Part 1)

Today I would be leaving the beautiful and tranquil Tobacco Caye. After a nice "last breakfast" with my new Jehovah's Witness friends prepared by Carmen, I packed by bags and headed for the dock. A boat piloted by "Captain Buck" was supposed to be heading back to Dangriga at 9:00 AM. I was getting a little worried as the day was dark and overcast (a real rarity for Belize!) and the seas were stormy. It had just started raining when we departed on Captain Buck's small boat. The boat had a maximum capacity of about nine people and had no "roof" or cover of any kind. Once it started raining I was glad the captain had set us up with several large plastic tarps to help keep us dry. I crawled completely underneath the tarp and managed to stay pretty dry and warm. The ride was -- unfortunately-- incredibly bumpy this time. And due to the huge waves and the captain's tricky manner of riding the waves sideways the trip took about twice as long as my boat trip TO Tobacco Caye a few days earlier. I had made the huge mistake of failing to put one of the dozen life jackets on board underneath my ass for the journey because after a few minutes of incredible pounding on my bony butt I had to slide down so my meaty thighs took the abuse instead. Even with my tricky maneuvering I still thought I might need surgery on my vertebrae and kidney replacement after this adventure. My back took an incredible pounding. But eventually we arrived back at "lovely" Dangriga. Once in Dangriga I jumped in a taxi for the very short ride to the bus station, and once there I hooked up with the bus to Placencia. The bus ride was -- as usual -- a fabulous bargain (US$5.00 for a ninety minute ride) but had a lot of stops along the way. The Placencia Peninsula looks rather tiny on the map but seems to take forever to drive down. Placencia Village -- where most of the "action" in Placencia takes place-- is at the very bottom (southern) tip of the peninsula shown below.

The trip from Dangriga to Placencia is interesting because you pass by an incredible range of economic development along the way. The Placencia Peninsula lies south of Dandriga and Hopkins (about 120 miles south of Belize City) and due east of the Maya Mountains on the Caribbean coast. The peninsula extends sixteen miles from its northernmost point to the southern tip. Placencia is renowned for its white sand beaches and spectacular views of the Caribbean along its entire length. A calm lagoon separates the skinny peninsula from the mainland. At some points along the way the peninsula is only a couple hundred feet wide. Homes and real estate projects line almost the entirety of both sides of the central road running north and south along the peninsula. The bus lets you off at the very end of the peninsula, so I found a nice (and reasonably priced) hotel called the Paradise Resort a few blocks from the bus stop and checked in.

February 7, 2011 (Tobacco Caye Day Two)

This morning Carmen (shown below) served the guests at Lana's a nice breakfast of pancakes and eggs.

Carmen: Our Cook at Lana's on the Reef

The Canadian chap was leaving for the mainland this morning, so I bid him farewell and watched him walk toward the dock with his backpack. Just as I was just about to go up to my room, a local fellow came by to tell us that a boat was going out at 9:00 AM to look for manatees and do a little snorkeling. The fee for the morning excursion was US$30.00 which I thought was a great deal. The guide for our trip was "Eric" and the captain was A.C. (the guy who had fixed me up with a mask, fins and snorkel). Several other people joined us on the boat, and we spent the morning searching for manatees (we spotted several about a half hour from Tobacco Caye) and a couple of the young guys jumped in the water to attempt to swim with the giant sea creatures. Unfortunately, we never got close enough to them to accomplish this. We did, however, see their heads popping out of the water on numerous occasions. It is quite a site to see. 

On the way back from our manatee hunt we passed by the fabulous Man-O'-War Caye-- which should have been the setting for the famous Alfred Hitchcock movie because it was home to more birds than I have EVER seen in one place. If you look carefully at the island shown below, you will see that the air above the island is filled with hundreds of birds.


The Incredible Man-O'- War Caye



Man-O'-War Caye was apparently named after one of its most popular residents-- the frigate bird-- also known as the "Man-O'-War Bird" for its propensity for snatching the food right out of the mouths of other birds flying nearby. It frigate may not be the friendliest bird, but it is definitely one of the most beautiful.


The Lovely Frigate Bird (a/k/a "Man-O-War Bird")

After cruising by "bird island" and several other beautiful cayes in the area, we finally stopped for a fabulous snorkeling adventure and saw tarpon, manta rays, angel fish and a bunch of other marine wonders. We arrived back at Lana's in time for lunch. During lunch, I asked Emma, Jessica and Lorianna-- my three young female friends from downstairs (we were the only remaining guests at Lana's) --what the heck they were doing at a place like Tobacco Caye. They had already told me that they had also visited the Town of Hopkins.  This was the point where they told me that -- pretty much anyplace on earth they traveled-- there would be people who would take care of them and look after them. This was because, they told me, they were Jehovah's Witnesses. Wow! I told them that I had never actually met any members of their church-- other than the occasional strangers who periodically knocked on my door over the years. The girls were really sweet, and even provided me with a small sampling of "literature" responsive to several issues I had brought up during our lunch and dinner conversations (such as how hard it is to keep a marriage together...). I even took a quick look at the literature that week, but it was (unfortunately) pretty much the same old stuff I have seen over the years.

Three Lovely Jehovah's Witnesses

The snorkeling had been so great that morning that I decided to go out again later that afternoon. I could still not get over the fact that you didn't even need to take a boat out because you were already IN the reef! It was truly amazing. And that evening I went out on the dock for some star gazing. Because there were only a few lights on the island the stars were beyond belief. The temperature, the breeze, the stars-- and three young Jehovah's witnesses. It was absolutely perfect.

February 6, 2011 (To Tobacco Caye: Part Two)

During my first day at Tobacco Caye I snorkeled right off the dock and saw a great variety of fish, coral and other sea creatures including some sting rays like the one shown below.

Blue Spotted Sting Ray

After I had my fill of underwater adventure for the afternoon, I checked out my room and got ready for dinner. I was anxious to meet the other guests and find out the quality of the meals I would be experiencing over the next couple days. At dinner, which was served by Carmen at about 5:30 PM,  met my next door neighbor -- a young man from Canada traveling alone, and two young British sisters (Emma and Jessica) and their friend from Italy (Lorianna) who were together. We all chatted at the dinner table (the dinner was OK-- especially considering the price) and got to know each other a little bit. The only thing about Tobacco Caye is that it is so tiny there isn't really much to do at night (if you are single!). There is an outdoor bar at one of the nearby places but on this particular evening it was dead. During my visit there were only five other options for lodging on the island besides Lanas: 

* T.C. Lodge

* Gaviotas

* Reef's End

* Fairweather Place

* T.C. Paradise

For my evening entertainment -- which was pretty weak -- I did some "blogging" and reading (the sensational Freedom which is largely based in St. Paul, Minnesota and features my protagonist namesake "Walter Berglund"). It is a GREAT book in case you are looking for a good read. I also realized that I missed the Superbowl today. When you are chilling on a beautiful island in Belize you couldn't care less!

Yet Another Sting Ray Right Outside My Door!



February 6, 2011 (To Tobacco Caye: Part One)

Today is going to be another big day on the adventure! Ever since I had heard about a small island called "Tobacco Caye" I knew I was going to have to see it. The caye (island) is located right on top Belize's amazing reef, so you can literally walk right out the door of your cabin with your snorkeling gear on and start snorkeling. AND there is a place called Lana's on the Reef where you are only 100 feet from the beach and you are served breakfast, lunch and dinner for a grand total of US$35.00 per night (including your room)! I couldn't wait to get there! But first I had to get to Dangriga to catch a water taxi. The map (below) shows the proximity of Tobacco Caye to Dangriga.

The evening before I had made an appointment with Emma (Cases-Muller) for one of the special breakfasts she makes for the guests at All Season's Guest House. Emma makes fabulous breakfasts in addition to renting motorbikes at her business adjacent to the Guest House (www.alternateadventures.com). "Hobie Cat" Mark also joined me at the Guest House for breakfast. I had Emma's wonderful Swedish pancakes which were accompanied by a ton of fresh fruit-- plus her special coffee-- for US$6.00. During breakfast Mark and I met several of the other hotel guests, and one American couple that had rented a car and was headed back to Belize City was kind enough to drop me off at Dangriga-- which was pretty much on their way. I was pretty lucky to get a ride as the bus doesn't come directly through Hopkins all that often. I eventually got to the "harbor" at Dangriga and was immediately hustled by one of the locals to "help" me line up boat transportation to Tobacco Caye. I was escorted to the nearby Riverside Bar and Cafe where everyone waits for boats in Dangriga and I was introduced to "Captain Nolan" and his sidekick-- Jason Martinez. The customary fare for a one way trip to Tobacco Caye is US$17.50. Even though it wasn't even noon yet, Captain Nolan was already "tuned up" for the trip but he assured me that he was fine for piloting the boat. On the street outside the bar I ran into an American couple I had previously met on a bus, and they were also lining up their transportation to Tobacco Caye. They were allocated to a different "captain" and I was forced to wait about two hours while Captain Nolan waited for his other customer to arrive. Captain Nolan finally gave up on his other prospect, and we shoved for Tobacco Caye about 2:00 PM. Fortunately, the day was sunny and the water was calm, so our boat really hauled ass! It was a very interesting and beautiful half hour cruise to the island. As we approached the palm tree-lined Caye I was astonished at how tiny (and beautiful) it was (see photo below)! It has a surface area of only five acres, and you can walk all the way around the island in minutes. There were several expensive-looking boats anchored nearby when we arrived at the main dock.

Tiny-- But Gorgeous-- Tobacco Caye

There are only seven options for lodging on Tobacco Caye, and none of them would really be considered "upscale"-- which was fine with me. The island is pretty much an undiscovered gem. My 400-page book about Belize does not even mention it. The island is lush and gorgeous, and all electricity is furnished by generators. Because neither television nor the Internet are available, if a person can't relax on Tobacco Caye there is absolutely no hope for him! I had already heard about Lana's on the Reef in a friend's travel book (Lonely Planet), and I was hoping that they had some rooms available. They had several openings, so I checked in with Dave and Carmen (who run the place) and moved into my room. I was chomping at the bit to get some snorkeling gear so I could try out the reef in my new front yard. I found a local businessman named "A.C." who fixed me up with some gear (US$5.00 for two days!) and I was off! It was just like the articles on the Internet said-- I literally walked off the dock and found myself right in the amazing Great Barrier Reef.