Saturday, December 11, 2010

Caye Caulker

The immigration office as we entered Belize really set the tone for our stay in Caye Caulker. Sitting on a little jetty on the island of San Pedro it was quite a sight & a little different to the immigration offices we've been thru so far. When Elise mentioned that she had fruit in her bag to the customs officer, he said, "just don't show me because then I'd need to take it." Hmmm... not quite Border Security.


Caye Caulker was the type of place that looked like a movie set. Sand streets, little painted cabanas and shops and reggae music playing all day and night. We occupied ourselves with lazy days at the Split (the main swimming area on the island) where we had fun watching the island ganga farmers trying to pick-up tourists, sell some marijuana and yell at the sun bathing tourists, "man, ya'll should be arrested for being so serious on this island, man".









One of our highlights was a day sailing around the nearby reefs Caye Caulker-style. We had the chance to snorkel with sharks, stingrays & some turtles and on the way home the rum punch came out. We were sunburned and drunk by the end of the trip but all in all it was a really fun day!


Our cabana was super cute, complete with hammocks, bikes to cruise around the island and a double bed each! YAY!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Playa Del Carmen & Tulum


After a few weeks inland it was time to hit the coast for some R&R, sun and swimming! Our first stop was Playa Del Carmen, Mexico's answer to Miami.

It was definitely a bit of a treat to have access to so many yummy restaurants including our favourite after-dinner icecream stop, Haagen Dazs, as well as first class service on the beach with waiters, sun beds & unbrellas to chill-out during the day.







We had a day on the island of Cozumel, a 45 minute ferry ride from Playa which is only really accessible if you have a car or moto. We opted for the moto which provided lots of entertainment as we cruised along the coastline of the island, stopping in at beaches here & there for a drink & swim.  Despite the potholes & some crazy Mexican drivers, we made it back without a scratch!

A quick 1 hour bus trip and we were at Tulum, the sleepy beachside town just South from Playa which seemed like a world away.

Just a short ride from town were kilometres of beautiful coastline which looked a lot like the NSW South Coast!


Here we met some cute friends. These guys have the ultimate backyard to play in!