We were up and out early on the search for breakfast. Thankfully this time wasn't a wild goose chase because we had all arranged to meet up at Pop's, a cafe that has been gathering rave reviews for their breakfasts. 

We left our room just after 7am, walked up Burns Avenue, then turned right along Bullet Tree Road briefly, where we came across this beautiful old house. It was the Hi-Et Guest House, (not to be mistaken with Hyatt) which boasted both hot and cold water!

From here we turned up West Street. After yesterday's farcical breakfast hunt I was so happy to see Pop's popping up on the left. 

We walked inside to find most of the group already there. It was a simple looking cafe with tables set into homemade booths giving it that American diner vibe.

I was so excited to see they did fryjacks on their menu. It's a Belizean speciality of deep fried batter. It puffs up creating a hollow pocket which makes them perfect for stuffing. 

I went for their fryjacks filled with scrambled egg and chaya (spinach-like green leaf). They were the perfect savoury breakfast! 

I also had smaller plain fryjacks, about a third of the size, drizzled with honey which was the perfect sweet breakfast!

Whilst I was purring with fried delight Julie was left disappointed. She had gone for a bacon butty. The bacon had been cooked to the point where you could snap it, which she didn't mind, in fact she sometimes likes it that way, but the bread had been toasted, which made the sandwich extremely dry.

After breakfast we still had time to spare so we went for a walk around the nearby market. From what I saw yesterday it looked like a flea market, selling the usual knock-off rubbish. However we came across the fruit and veg stalls. They were especially lively and colourful. Some were still setting up, throwing their melons, from one to another, in a human chain, from the back of the Toyota truck to their stall. 

There was an abundance of produce available, all the usual items from potatoes to peppers, but also a few we had not seen before like Soursop, a thick green spikey skinned fruit with a white pulp.

We always enjoy a good fruit & veg market, they're always fascinating.

By 8:30am we had returned to the hotel to meet up with the group and walk to the minibus for our onward journey. Today we were going to travel across the country to Belize City to catch a ferry to a small island called Caye Caulker.

We drove the same route as yesterday, through Blackman Eddy, Teakettle, Camalote and all the others, quickly reaching the outskirts of Belmopan, where we pulled over at a large building with a surprisingly modern design. It had an odd futuristic beehive pattern which Julie disliked.

It was an Arts & Craft gift shop called the Art Box. It was a gift shop of supermarket propotions solely for the tourist trade. It was easy to turn your nose down, but they bought directly from local artists and supported local projects, so it was a good thing.

We walked around not really seeing anything we thought we needed in our lives until Julie spotted a pair of earrings she liked. Also three minature bottles of various hot sauces from Marie Sharpe found their way into our basket. 

After half an hour or so we were all back in the minibus continuing on our way. We had a 12pm ferry to catch.

On the outskirts of Belize City we drove through Lord Ridge Cemetary. It was a strange sensation driving through this huge graveyard. 

When we reached the city we laughed at some of the name like "Sexy Chicken" fast food joint and a clothes shop called "Luk Betta". All a nod to the Belizean sense of humour.

The traffic wasn't busy and we arrived at the ferry terminal with half an hour to spare. That gave us just enough time to check-in our luggage and grab a snack from The Last Drop, a small cafe in the terminal building.

It had several pre-packed sandwiches but they all contained meat of some description. Fortunately they made them on site and they kindly created a fresh cheese and tomato sandwich for me.

We didn't know what to expect from the boat, how big was it going to be? We've been on ferry boats the size of cruise liners to Ireland, or smaller catamarans from Santorini but this was the smallest ferry.

It was hardly bigger than the boat we had to ourselves on Lake Atitlan! I estimated about 40 people could squeeze on-board.

People had already started queuing for the ferry to Caye Caulker. The tickets were open ended so they could be used at any time during the day. Which technically meant we weren't guaranteed a seat on the boat. Although we had already checked-in our luggage so I'm sure they knew their capacity.

As we boarded, our group all headed up the ladder to the upper level. We were the last, so we were just pleased to find a seat. There was much more room than I thought. All 16 of us had somewhere to sit, plus two other outsiders, oh... and the seat for the pilot.

The first thing  I did was find where the lifejackets were stowed.

We set off, leaving the colourful port of Belize City behind, heading out into the turquoise blue water of the Carribean. In our sight was Hicks Cays, a group of uninhabited islands less than 8 nautical miles from the mainland.

I've often wondered why a nautical mile is more than a mile on land but it's to do with the different ways they are measured. A nautical mile, used by sailors, is based on the earth's circumferance and equates to 1 minute of latitude whereas a regular mile was historically a thousand paces of a Roman centurion, which then became standardised as 8 furlongs, or 5280 feet. So now I know.

Once we sailed past Hicks Cays another island appeared in the distance, almost like a mirage. In fact google maps didn't even show an island as existing!

However, the closer we got we could see that it was real. There was even a large 3 storey house built on it.

Switching google maps to satellite image revealed this man-made trapezoid island just South of Caye Chapel.  A few searches on the internet found out that it was known as Caye Lagos because it was owned by a Nigerian billionaire.

It made the news in 2018 after the caretaker and a friend were murdered in the middle of the night. ( news )

We wondered how much it would cost to own your own private island in the Carribean and it wasn't as much as I excpected. ( Private Islands in Belize ) For as little as £200,000 you could pick up your own little piece of "paradise" in the Carribean.

Next up came Caye Chapel, another private island, but this was much larger, with its own airstrip, golf course and a 5 star resort in development. Apparently the Four Seasons Private Residences & Resort will be open in 2025. 

After almost an hour from leaving Belize City the island of Caye Caulker came into view. We rounded the tip of the island and continued along the coast.

The island was five miles long and less than a mile wide. In 1961 after Hurricane Hattie an exisiting narrow channel widened significantly, effectively splitting the island into two.

The ferry terminal was in the centre of the South island, where most of the hotels were.

We were struck first by the incredible colours. The water was a sensational iridescent turquoise but even the ferry terminal building was adding a splash of exciting colour to the palet.  

It felt so good to reach our final destination.  

We disembarked and Jonathon suggested we should grab a bite to eat whilst we waited for the luggage to be carried off the boat and taken to the pick up point. We were all starving!

A short walk away was a restaurant called Bambooze.

Caye Caulker is known for its fresh Caribbean Spiny Lobster. To protect the stock they introduced a lobster season from the 1st July to the 28th February, outside of which the crustacean could not be caught.

Fortunately for those who liked lobster, 2024 was a leap year, and today was the 29th of February which technically fell inside the season. So lobster was on the menu. 

Julie ordered the lobster tail. Unfortunately she was left disappointed and felt it was overcooked as it wouldn't easily give up its meat. She consoled herself in a jacket potato wrapped in foil.

I saw on the menu a burrito which they boasted as being an "arm's length". They even did a veggie version but I decided aganist it. I chose instead a light lunch of just a bowl of salad, nice and fresh with a drizzle of a citrus dressing, almost like a ceviche without the raw fish.

Frank did go for the super-sized burrito and it was obcenely huge!

I think I made the right choice.

After lunch, and before we left Bambooze we all given a free shot each. However we were made to drink it from this contraption they had suspended from the roof. I'm guessing they called this the bambooze!

It was a 3 metre long bamboo pole, into which holes had been cut in order to hold the plastic shot glasses. So, in unison, we lifted up the pole to shortest drink, which we did without spillage.

We returned to the ferry terminal to collect our luggage then walked back pass Bambooze, then less than a minute away down Pasero Street we reached Enjoy Hotel.

There were no pavements no tarmac roads just sandy tracks between the houses. The only vehicles we saw were small golf buggy types. It gave the town a real rustic vibe, even if most of the hotels were ugly concrete builds.

We got our keys and dumped our luggage in our room. We had two large queen size beds which was great. In the corner there was a full size 1950s style fridge freezer but it wasn't plugged into the power.

There wasn't a sign warning us if we'd be charged if we actually used it, so we plugged it in.

We felt confident that it was ok for us to do so because there was a sign for absolutely everything else. We had a "Please do NOT use the face and hand towels for floor mat" with a $15 USD fine.

There was also a price list of damages. If you broke the television it was $500 USD, the mirror would be only $25 (plus seven years bad luck), where as the basin was $300!

So many rules and reminders that it felt quite unwelcoming.

Anyway, we didn't waste time inside. Instead we headed straight back out. We had a few hours of free time before meeting up with Jonathon for an orientation walk of the island.

We returned to Bambooze and to the waterfront.

Then we walked along the front. A little further up there was a nice little stretch of sandy beach. Despite being a Caribbean island Caye Caulker didn't have many beaches, most had been replaced by concrete sea defences to protect the land as much as possible.

We dipped our toe in the warm water as we continued walking up the island. At the end of this small beach there was a restaurant that jutted out over the water, called the Rainbow Grill & Bar.

Our plans this evening were undecided. Jonathon had already shared with the group that he had arranged tables at The Pelican Sunset bar, a restaurant that specialised in ceviche. It didn't sound like our cup of tea, and after checking out their menu online we decided to go it alone this evening.

So we popped inside the Rainbow to check out their menu. We had a drink overlooking the water. It was so peaceful. We felt so relaxed.

Moving on, we explored the village, stumbling across a football pitch in the middle. Then at the end of the road was Meldy's, looking very much like a wonderful local restaurant.

We didn't go inside. As quaint as it looked we were looking for some where with access to the West coast of the island, from where you could see the sunset. 

Back to the main street, we walked past Crocodile Street, and then Calle de Posa until we turned down a street called Lind's Coral. At this point the island had narrowed to less than 200m in width, so within a minute we had reached the other side and Maggie's Sunset Kitchen. 

The setting seemed perfect, the menu had at least one choice for me, so we booked a table for 6pm, or at least I think we did. We left our names but they were so casual about it, not even writting it down.

Back on the main road we finished our walk up the island when we reached The Split, where the island split in two after Hurricane Hattie. There was a large open space that served no purpose at all. There were no loungers no tables, not even a beach, just a sandy void.

We walked across it towards a large wooden buliding at the end. This was the Lazy Lizard Bar & Grill. It was a popular spot.

The bar was busy and all the loungers sat facing across the channel were all taken. It had a very youthful atmosphere. Poppy and Francesca were already here. We said hello but not wanting to cramp their style we didn't intrude on their space.

At the bar, staff were busy mixing this gallon sized jug of rum cocktail. "Can I have a Landshark?" I asked. "No we don't do it" was his reply.

I came back with "But I can see one in your fridge"  and I could! My eyesight isn't perfect but I could clearly see bottles of lager in the fridge. His response was to completely ignore me, in the hope I would just go away. Which is exactly what I did.

"It's because we're too old" said Julie as we shuffled across the sandy void back the way we came.

Retracing our steps we stopped instead at a bar called the Sip'n Dip. We didn't know what to expect at first, even if the clue was in the name. We just wanted somewhere to sit down and have a drink.

It turned out to be a great place to hang out. It had a bar area looking over the water with comfy seats, then a jetty with plenty of loungers on which to relax and then the piece de resistance were these tables in the water where you could swim up to and sip your drink whilst dipping your feet in the sea.

They even had table service where waiting staff would come and take your drinks order, in the water. They also did food and from what we saw on passing plates we decided to spend some time here tomorrow.

On our way back to the hotel we were approached by two young girls selling cakes. They were like a sweet empanadas, honey soaked with a nutty filling, that reminded me a little of mince pies. They were $3 for two. I gave them $5 (Belizean) and they gave me $1 USD in change. For a minute I thought they had short changed me, but they were right.

Having only had a light lunch I was getting hungry so I opened up the bag and ate one of the empanadas. They were clearly home made and really tasty.

"He's eaten one already!" said one of the girls as they both giggled and moved on.  

Back at the hotel we got to our room, but the key wouldn't work. It just wouldn't turn in the lock. I was properly confused when I checked and the key was for room 111. I was trying to get into room 110.

 I was so convinced I was at the right room I believed they had somehow given me the wrong key! We even returned to reception to help us out. She reluctantly put her smart phone down and followed us back the rooms.

She opened the door to room 111. "No it's not our room" I said "oh, hang on ..."

All our stuff was strewn across the floor.  It was our room!

What was in those empanadas!?

We didn't have long in our room. Half an hour later we met up with the group in the lobby for Jonathon to lead us on a walking tour of where we had already seen this afternoon.

There was one place we hadn't noticed and that was the Wanderlust Dive Shop. They were only pushing one trip and that was a catamaran trip, out to snorkel amongst the reef. It sounded great, only I couldn't swim and Julie couldn't snorkel, so we counted ourselves out of tomorrow's group activity. The rest, more or less, all signed up.

In the middle of us all this stranger appeared and then invited himself onto the snorkelling trip. No one objected so he joined the queue to sign up.

We made our excuses and left.

It was time for Julie and I to walk across the island to Maggie's Sunset Kitchen. When we arrived the sky was just starting to come alive with colour. We checked in, our table was waiting for us.

We ordered drinks. I went for a rum cocktail with the lewd name. Julie went for a more  elegant glass of pink gin & tonic. It was 2 for 1 Happy Hour, or 4 for 2 to be more precise, so we had another round lined up for us. 

A stunning sunset was developing. To get a better view I left the table and walked down to the water. A lone boat bobbed about in silhoulette, the water lapped against the jetty and a flock of pelicans flapped about, perched on the branches of a tree across the way. 

Julie joined me. I stood there sipping my Panty Ripper, feeling very fortunate.

Five minutes later the sun was dropping fast into the horizon. We returned to our table to browse the menu and order food. I had the choice of a bowl of garden salad or a Coconut Curry. There was no competition really.

Julie didn't even need to see the menu, her mind was already made. The barbecue was fired and skewered chicken was being grilled. 

Whilst we waited for the food we sat in awe of the spectacular sunset. The entire sky was on fire with a warm glow. We didn't have the best seats in the house. They were taken by a couple and their friend, but it didn't matter. It was breathtaking no matter where you sat. 

The food arrived and despite having a baked potato on her plate Julie was disappointed to see her chicken smothered in barbecue sauce.

When she saw the menu describe it as Bar-Be-Que chicken she assumed it simply meant chicken grilled on the barbecue, over hot coals. Nothing more, and certainly not lashings of bbq sauce drizzled all over it.

My curry was tasty enough, although, in a repeat of last night, I kept on reaching out for the hot sauce to spice things up. I guess calling it a curry puts the idea of spice into your head. In the end I ate it all and all the rice & beans it was served with.

After we had both finished eating we went in search of some nightlife. Caye Caulker's bohemian atmosphere surely meant we would find one or two lively nightspots in town.

Our first port of call was a micro brewery called The Caribbean Fusion Brewing Co. It was upstairs above another restaurant. It had a great layout with large benches for beer drinking and dancing on, also a large TV screen on one wall. It was a great venue only the place was empty.

I guess 8:30pm was too early for party revellers. It was such a nice place we were still happy to give it our time but when they said"No, we don't do wine, but we do fruit beer" we knew we had to move on.

Plan B was The Lazy Lizard, "that'll be where the party is at" I said, confident that the young crowd would be having a raucous time at the end of the island.

When we got there we found the place deserted, shutters closed! What was going on?

Back down the main street we came across a few more people. Enjoy Lounge and Restaurant was quite popular but they had karaoke on. Whoever was at the mic were murdering a song, so we carried on walking.

We stopped next briefly at a busy litter bar called Bender's for a drink but there were no seats available.  

Finally we came to a Sports Bar, just opposite the ferry terminal. It was nothing more than a veranda with a bar and a sandy yard but it was open, with a few people milling about, and they did wine. 

They were showing some college football on a big screen. I asked behind the bar if they would be showing the United v City game tomorrow. They replied "If it's on, we'll show it". It was only later I realised the game wasn't on tomorrow but on Sunday.

Anyway, we sat down, and enjoyed a peaceful drink outside. We talked about this and that, put the world to rights before deciding it was a good idea to return to the hotel.

There were a few more bars & restaurants directly outside out hotel. Julie was feeling a little more human but not a 100% and I was starting to feel a little shivery. So we did the sensible thing and returned to our room, this time opening the right door, and heading straight to sleep.

It had been an unexpectedly long day and we were super tired.