Mexico and Central America 2008, part 40 (Belize: Caye Caulker; Mexico: Tulum)
Following the afternoon excursion to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve in Belize, I returned to the hotel room and washed my hair, and then I went to the beach near the hotel where I sat in order to read as the day was slowly coming to its end. Then it occurred to me I could go for another walk around the islet in order to “get to know it,” especially because it was quite windy, so the temperature was pleasant enough for a nice stroll.
I have already said that the lower part of Caye Caulker in which I was staying and where Caye Caulker Village is located is around 3 km long and slightly over 1 km wide. So, there are not many things to see there, but towards the south there is even an airport for small planes. I walked around there a little and then I returned to the hotel in order to get my travel diary, after which I walked some more along the main street, buying a papaya for my breakfast of the next day. I also went to an internet-café and then for dinner. I had some fish and scampi skewers, but I did not bring my photo-camera with me, so there is no photo either of the dinner or of the beer. After all, it does not matter. What is important is that the dinner was fine and just right in terms of the quantity, while the beer was cold.
When I was through, I went back to the hotel and sat again on one of the chairs that were on the beach, looking in the distance and enjoying the peace I was surrounded with. After some time, I went to my room where I read a little before going to sleep.
The next day was also my last whole day on Caye Caulker and in Belize. As I was not going on any excursion, my plan was to spend the entire day simply reading and relaxing.
Earlier during the morning, while the sunrays were still not too strong, I finally went for a swim close to the hotel. Namely, although I sat there every day, I was not inspired to go into the water from the beach, since the shallows were full of sea grass and I did not feel like walking through that.
That’s why I went to the end of the wooden pier that existed near the hotel and I got into the water by climbing down the ladder. The situation was slightly better there, there was not too much sea grass, but the water was sort of murky and not crystal clear as when I went snorkelling the day before. Admittedly, when I swam off a little in the direction of the coral reef, which was simply too far (almost 2 km away) for me to swim all the way there, the water was somewhat clearer and there was less sea grass, plus it was also deep enough that I could not accidently touch the bottom.
On the other hand, the water was almost unnaturally warm, as if it were thermal and not sea water. Since Caye Caulker is situated within the Belize Coral Reef, where the water is shallow, it was no wonder that it was that warm. Even the strong wind that was blowing these days was not enough for the water to cool down.
After the swimming, followed by reading in the shadow of the palm tree, when the Sun started to be far too strong, I withdrew to my room continuing to read there in the very pleasant coolness. I also ate the papaya I had bought the day before and this felt good. In order not to spend the entire day in the room, I went again for a short walk around the village or I could say near the hotel, since Caye Caulker Village is really small. I simply did not want to be static all day. After all, I knew I would have to have lunch somewhere, so I decided to fit this into the walk.
To start with, near the hotel in which I was staying, there was a local cemetery, while a path leading from the beach to the street led right through the middle of the graveyard.
By the way, in the middle part of Caye Caulker Village there are some three streets that run along the length of the island and a larger number of transverse ones. Everything on the island is fine-tuned to tourists and tourism, which sometimes is not too bad, for there is a relatively large number of restaurants where one can eat. And yet, in the end I decided to have lunch at my hotel’s restaurant, where I took scampi burrito and it was good.
After the lunch I went back to the beach near the hotel and continued to read there when it occurred to me that it was almost the end of my stay on Caye Caulker and I still did not go for a swim at the Split, i.e., the “strait” that divides the island of Caye Caulker into two parts. I had to rectify this and as it were this was a good reason to go for yet another walk around Caye Caulker Village, this time in the afternoon.
Since I passed along the streets in the middle of the island several times by now, this time I walked to the Split following the coastline and thus on the way I enjoyed the sights I could see from there.
By now I had already gotten hang of taking photos of myself (this was back in 2008), so I thought I just had to make one of me with these wonderful colours in the background.
When I got to the Split the water was quite choppy, but this did not bother me. My intention was not to swim there for too long or to get far from the ladders used for climbing down to or up from the water. I just wanted to be able to say to myself that I did not miss out on anything on Caye Caulker. I am an excellent swimmer, but I must admit that I stayed in the water for less time than planned, since the current flowing through the split was unpleasantly strong. I thought there was no need for me to stay there for longer, for I could not really relax and all the time I had to watch out for how much the current was pulling me and to swim quickly back towards the ladders.
Once I got out, I dried a little, got my things and went back to the peace and quiet that still permeated the beach near the hotel. Although I did go for these short walks, the day was actually rather calm and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that I even thought I would not mind staying this idle and sitting on the beach for a few days more. But, that was just a fleeting thought in my head that actually did not carry any weight.
When the Sun started to set, I went to my room, had a shower and washed my hair in order to be ready for the following day and the continuation of my journey. Again I went for a short walk, mostly along the beach and I also went to the internet-café to check my emails. Since I was content with the food I had had at the restaurant belonging to the hotel in which I was staying, I decided to have my dinner there as well. This time I ordered grilled barracuda, because I wanted to try it and I can say that it was not bad at all.
A little more walking by the beach after the dinner and then I finally retired to my room in order to pack my things and go to bed earlier.
The following morning I woke up before the alarm clock again and since I had a motorboat to Belize City only at 8.30 am, I used this time for another short walk that I truly enjoyed. I also went to a wooden pier and took some more photos of the shore of Caye Caulker from there. It seemed each hotel and each house had their own wooden pier. Of course, this was not really the case.
So, I left Caye Caulker for Belize City on time and in less than an hour I was already on the dry land. Right there where the motorboat docked I could buy a ticket to Chetumal, Mexico, plus the coach was to pass literally in front of the building in which the tickets were sold. I was supposed to leave at 10.30, but then it turned out it was almost two hours late. Still, it was not only that I already had the ticket, but I really needed that coach, since it was an international line, so this time I could not hop on and off different passenger vans and make my own combination. So, there was nothing else for me to do but take advantage of the situation and practice patience. It is said that practice makes perfect. I’m not quite sure, but I still keep on practicing.
When we finally left, at some point I could see from the window of the coach the beautiful waters of the Belize Coral Reef in the distance.
The late departure of the coach on this occasion was not the only problem or opportunity to practice patience. I was also told that the trip to Chetumal should take around three hours and in reality it took almost five! What worried me was that from Belize City in Belize to the town of Tulum in Mexico, my next destination in which I had no reservation, there were almost 400 km. In addition, I was also “losing” one hour of the day because of the change in the time zone, so I was quite restless and very dissatisfied. Luckily I had Mexican pesos, so once in Chetumal I could buy a ticket for the first coach to Tulum which was leaving in some 20 minutes, while the ticket I bought was for the last available seat on it.
Here is the map of my movements during the second leg of my stay in Mexico in 2008.
Still, before I start writing about the continuation of my journey, let me just mention that originally I planned to stay in Chetumal in order to transfer from there to the archaeological site Calakmul. Calakmul was one of the biggest and the most powerful cities in the world of the ancient Maya people and its main rival was Tikal. These two cities constantly fought for the power and influence, and they were in fact the two superpowers of the Maya civilisation. The remains of this city were discovered in the first half of the 20th century, since this entire area is covered in dense rainforest and when you look at the map, Calakmul is somehow positioned in the middle of Yucatan and far from all the bigger cities. It is around 240 km away from Chetumal and all of 300 km away from Campeche, the capital of the federal state of the same name on the territory of which Calakmul is located.
I would not be worried in the least by these distances, if I managed to find information about the public transport to the site. According to what I had read on the internet, I was to get to a smaller place and then take a taxi there. This seemed far too uncertain, plus I worried it was far too expensive for my budget, so on this occasion I just transferred in Chetumal and continued further to the north of Yucatan and the town of Tulum. Still, I’m left with the regret that I did not see in person the couple of imposing pyramids, numerous steles and other structures and artefacts which the ancient Mayas left behind. Calakmul is yet another site that has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The coach through Mexico drove much more efficiently than the one I used in Belize, but still I arrived in Tulum only around 9 pm and then, in the dark, I started to look for the place to stay. Admittedly, I was doing this by taxi, but there was no other choice for me. Namely, Tulum is a small town a couple of kilometres away from the coast of the Caribbean Sea, but I did not want to spend three days in the urban part of this municipality in the state of Quintana Roo, preferring instead accommodation by the beach, since over 50 km of the Caribbean coast belong to Tulum. Needless to say, my intention was not to look for accommodation along the entire coast, where there are numerous hotels of different categories, but my plan was to stop at a few of places within the hotel zone where I asked if they had anything available and how much it was. As it turned out, third time’s a charm and I found a room at the price that was absolutely the highest during the entire journey, but it was already the end of my stay and my budget was solid enough, so I could afford such a treat. On the other hand, it was not as if I had much of a choice. I could not spend the entire night looking for the place to sleep.
Since I found the place to sleep, the guy from the reception escorted me to my “room” in which I even had a private bathroom with running water and there I left my things and returned in the dark to the reception and the restaurant where I had a bite to eat, after which I went to bed. Namely, the paths were not lit, but I could discern them quite clearly thanks to the Moon that was almost full.
It was only early the next morning, when I woke up and started to walk in the surroundings of my room that I could clearly see where I was staying and so I took a photo of one of the “rooms” (this one was not mine, because mine was not in the front row and with the sea view).
As it can be seen, the rooms in this hotel were in fact wooden huts – stilt houses built along the beach. Just for the information of those reading, a night in such a still houses, admittedly with a private bath, was 60 USD in May 2008.
On the other hand, when I got to the completely deserted beach, because it was indeed very early, I could enjoy the wonderful sights. I was content.