Our hotel didn't do breakfast. So last night, as I always wake up hungry, we bought an Otis Spunkmeyer Banana Nut Muffin. However when we woke up this morning Julie suggested some coffee would be nice. So without further adoo I got up, got dressed and went in search of some finest Americano.  

Jonathon had recomended a cafe called Ice 'n Beans, less than a minutes walk away. When I walked inside their little shack the wonderful aroma of roasted coffee hit me. It didn't seem that busy at first, but when they took my order and asked me to wait outside I noticed it was incredibly popular. There wasn't a spare table to sit down! 

Back in the hotel room the Spunkmeyer Muffin and the excellent coffee hit the spot.

Adopting the islands motto of "Go Slow" we didn't rush out this morning. With the rest of the group out on their catamaran trip we had the day to ourselves. So we stayed in bed until 9:30am.

Eventually we got up and walked 100m down the road from our hotel, where on the corner of Pasero Street and Avenida Langosta we came to Errolyn's House of Fry Jacks. It was time for brunch! 

They served their stuffed Fry Jacks from this brightly painted shack. A steady flow of people stepped up to a hatch to order from an extensive list on a board up on the wall. My head dropped when I noticed that it was all bacon with something.

Thankfully I quickly noticed another list, a laminated piece of A4 paper listing all possible combinations of egg, beans, cheese, chicken and ham.

I had to go for the full veggie combo of egg, beans and cheese, for $5.

When it arrived I was so impressed. It was so large I needed two hands to pick it up! Before I did, I helped myself to some homemade green sauce and a little of Marie Sharpe's red hot sauce which they had on the counter. 

I sat on a stool on the veranda to eat. Julie watched. She didn't fancy a stuffed fry jack despite my recommendation.

"Oh my God, this tastes delicious" I said in between groans and moans "A little greasy perhaps but all the best foods are".

I was really enjoying it. 

Once I had finished, which took a while, we moved on, following the same route as yesterday, walking along the water front. We stopped at another small cafe operating out of a small brightly painted shack, called Juicy. 

As the name suggested they did all sorts of fresh fruit juices. They also had a limited food menu. Julie fancied some cheese on toast.

We sat outside at one of their brightly coloured tables. They were in fact little works of art.

The side of the bench had #talk to a stranger written across it and as if it was always meant to happen a woman asked if she could join us. She was very chatty. Her name was Patty and she lived on the island for a few months over winter every year. Caye Caulker actually has about a 1000 people living on the island.

She helped out at a Dog Shelter on the island.  I thought she was going to ask for a donation but she didn't. Before she left she mentioned that there was some live music at a bar called Salty's tonight. "You should go" 

It was a little breezy today, the branches of the palm trees were rustling, so naturally the conversation moved towards falling coconuts. A quick Google search revealed  that apparently you are fifteen times more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than in a shark attack!

Twenty minutes later, Julie's cheese on toast finally arrived.

We looked at the plate, looked at each other and just fell about with laughter. They looked ridiculous. We were imagining toast covered with copious amount of oozing melted cheese, instead she got a single slice of processed cheese, the type you put on top of a burger, on top of toasted bread that was so dry it turned to dust.

"It took her twenty minutes to make that!" said Julie.  "What took her so long?! There's 'go slow' and then there's .... what's slower than slow?!

It was also served with the random choice of sliced bananas dusted with cinnamon. It was too funny for words!

Anyway, we left before a coconut fell on our heads and continued up the island.

We rejoined the main street the same time as a small carnival of children were marching up. They had been put into groups and dressed up as fruit, like pineapple, strawberries, orange, grapes.  With loud music blaring and someone banging a drum they turned off towards the football pitch.

We soon came to Sip'n Dip where we decided to spend the rest of the morning.  We positioned ourselves in the shade, inside the shack, overlooking the submerged tables. We weren't ready for the dipping and settled for some sipping.

I went to the bar to order our drinks where a sign offered " 'free' shots When You Flash The Bartender". I thought about lifting my top up but I chickened out. I didn't think they would appreciate my sense of humour and I would simply have stood there looking like a sad old man.  

The breast obsession continued with a "Big Titty" rum. I searched the internet about the company and there was no endearing back story, no matriachal large breasted founder, just a business gimmick like Colonel Sanders licking his fingers.    

We spent over an hour relaxing in the shade, sipping without dipping. But around 1pm we began feeling a little hungry and decided to head out in search of some lunch.

Not too far away was the Paradise Cafe where we decided to take our chances on their menu. They had a few options for me which was enough for us to stay.

Although the main reason why we gravitated to the Paradise Cafe was this singer, sat on a stool in his shorts and flip-flops, belting out some great songs.

His songs we remarkable and I had to google some of the lyrics to find who sang the  original. One was a song called "Cold" by Chris Stapleton. I've already forgotten the others.

My chosen choice was The Vegan baguette, filled with sauted chickpeas, and a long list of vegetables like avocado, tomato, red onion, green pepper, lettuce, cucumber, radishes and a coriander and cashew nut dressing. Despite sounding super healthy it tasted delicious.

By the time we returned to Sip'n Dip the vibe had completely changed. All the tables in the water were now filled with people enjoying this unique experience. 

After a few drinks the lure of the "dip" got to us and we relocated ourselves onto one of the submerged tables. I must admit it fell nice to finally get into the sea. Although we didn't last long at the tables. The seats weren't that comfortable, to be honest, so we soon relocated to a lounger on the jetty.

It was much more relaxing. Juile went for a swim around an enclosed area whilst I drank some beer.

The water was so clear, we could see all the fish that swam past. The best was this yellow stingray that floated into the enclosed area. It had this lovely pattern across its body. It then decided to cover itself in sand and disappear from view, perfectly camouflaged, lying in wait for some prey.

There was no cause for alarm. It's venom wouldn't be life-threatening to a human, but if stepped on, like a booby trap, it would unleash a nasty sting from its tail.

The afternoon drifted by sipping and dipping.

Before we knew it, it was time to get back to the hotel and get ready for supper.

It was our last night together as a group. It would have been rude not to have joined them, even if it was at Maggie's Sunset Kitchen, again.  

We all met in hotel foyer at 6pm and walked to the restaurant. By the time we reached Maggie's the sunset was in its last moments. Once set the sky lacked the same intensity as last night, which was a shame.  

We all sat on one long table. We were all there except for David who had decided to head home early. The conversation revolved around the snorkeling catamaran cruise. Everyone had enjoyed the experience as they all shared their photographs.   

Julie and I ordered the same thing as last night but armed with hindsight Julie this time asked if her chicken could not be covered in the sticky bbq sauce. It was much better for her. Knowing the blandness of my coconut curry, I spiced it right up before I started eating it.

At the end of the meal Jonathon brought the conversation around to the trip asking us all "what will take away from this trip?" I said "friendships, however brief". Julie looked at me oddly. I suppose we hadn't integrated ourselves much with the group at all, so there hadn't been many friendships formed. But I just felt that whilst we dipped in and out, the moments we shared with them was always welcoming and friendly.

Anyway, the next question was "What would you change about the trip?" I couldn't think of anything. Jens said he would have liked longer in Tikal and we all agreed with that suggestion. A whole day there exploring more would have been great. Perhaps it warranted two nights in Flores.

 As we left Maggie's, it was time to say our good byes. We were all going our seperate ways in the morning. Kate wished me a happy St. David's Day which was an invitation for me to sing the Welsh national anthem, Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

I coughed and spluttered my way through it. I was definitely coming down with the lurgy. Thankfully Julie was feeling better.   

The night was but young and we felt wide awake. We remembered the recommendation this morning about live music at Salty's, so we headed in search of the bar. Of course it wasn't far, nowhere is on the island. 

The band were excellent. They called themselves Andrew Kingston and the Go Slows and they did some great covers from classic rock and 60s R&B back catalgogue. Julie and I boogied ourselves silly throughout their entire set. 

The band was an eclectic mix of performers, from this cool rastafarian drummer to a white American senior citizen playing bass. They even had a guy blowing his own trumpet. They created a great sound in support of Andrew Kingston who had a cracking voice and played the guitar with confidence. 

We were having such a great time and were disappointed when it came to an end around 10pm.

As we returned to the hotel we came across a game of basketball. It was a proper competitive game with five of six rows of spectators watching. The Caye Caulker Stingrays were playing in blue and yellow shirts. The other team were wearing a grey shirt but I never did find out who they were.

Anyway, there was only a few minutes left on the clock. The game was close and there for the taking. We walked inside and stood at the edge of the court with several other locals.

It was an exciting climax to the game with the Stingrays coming out on top.

It was an unexpected bonus and a fun end to the evening!

We were back in our room, and lights out before 11pm.