aquamarine and the people not as endearing as the rest of Central America. And you wouldn´t Beliiiiize the prices!!! Apart from travel which is astoundingly cheap, Belize is not one for the backpacker´s budget and in some instances is comparable to England...perhaps no coincidence that we share the same Queen! However, the diverse marine and wildlife, much of which is within reach, turns initial disappointment into an amazing and unforgettable experience. The population of less than 280,000 people is ethnically diverse, with Creoles- descendants of the African slaves and British pirates who first settled here - the country´s largest ethnic group. Creoles and the Garifuna (black Caribbeans) are stereotypically rastafarian; the men walk around oh so slowly, barefooted and stoned, with manes of dreadlocked hair, passing by with an "ok mon", often wearing Jamaican colours; the women larger than life, gesticulating exageratedly during conversation. The dialect resembles rastafarian English, perhaps characteristic of the Caribbean.
Our first stop was Belize City, definitely not the best place to start when envisioning paradise!!! Belize City is the epitome of places to avoid; remotely bearable by day, full of the most unsavoury, socially unacceptable characters by night - it should be renamed the Bronx-cum-Hackney!!
Apart from Vince, the rasta cabbie whose motto in life we learnt to be "if you don´t get high you just stay low" after we declined his offer of drugs, and who made our brief stint in Belize City quite amusing, Belize City has nothing to offer! Except, that is, Belize Zoo.
It is necessary to stay in Belize City for one night (The Three Sisters, $50 for dbl room & provate bath.) so as to visit the zoo the following day, which is highly recommended. Not only can you say native Belizean animals such as Tapirs and Ocelots, but you can see the most elusive and one of the most endangered creatures of Belize...the Jaguar! Although it is possible to see a wild Jaguar in the Cockscombe Basin, southern Belize, this is a rarity, so the zoo offers the next best thing! As far as zoos go, Belize Zoo is one of the best and really quite mesmorising - we planned for 1 hour but stayed for 4! More reassuring is the fact that all the animals have been rescued and not captured especially for exhibition.
It is also necessary to stay in Belize City in order to get the water taxi to the Cayes; San Pedro aka Ambergris Caye ($25) and Caye Caulker ($15). Our first stop was "La Isla Bonita" itself, San Pedro, however, unless you like purpose built resorts resembling tinsel town, there is nothing "bonita" about this island! San Pedro, despite its beautiful Caribbean sunsets and the huge stingrays you see immediately as you alight the water taxi (a definite highlight) has been developed specifically with the Americans in mind; a somewhat tacky, cheesy and very overpriced resort. As with Cancun, this is a hotspot for American holidaymakers (please note....I generalise!!) and is reflected thus.
We stayed at Ruby´s, considered to be "budget" accommodation at $80 per night with private bathroom and...I have to admit...fantastic sea view! The best place to eat was Tackle Box, situated on the dock next to the water taxi. Plucked fresh from the sea that morning, the fish was exquisite, cooked in Belikin (the local beer) batter...and they had happy hour!
Our next stop was Caye Caulker aka backpackers paradise! This was "La Isla Bonita" that I was looking for and, I imagine, how San Pedro once was. Nowhere near as developed as San Pedro and certainly only fractionally busy, Caye Caulker is a must for backpackers in Belize, the ambience being very calm and chilled! Despite having no beach as such, Caye Caulker has a very good spot for swimming at The Split, so called due to a hurricane in the ´60s splitting Caye Caulker in two! The current at The Split is unbelievably strong (a good alternative to the gym in my opinion) but despite what some might say, it is not dangerous. The worst that can happen is that the current carries you to the other side of the island - we know because we tried it!
On our first night we stayed at Mara´s Place ($75 for dbl room, private bath., balcony with hammock and sea view), fantastic rooms and conveniently located on The Split. The following four nights we stayed at Maxhapan Cabañas (http://www.gocayecaulker.com/members/maxhapan.html Email: Maxhapan04@hotmail.com). As with everything else in Belize, this blew our budget, however, this place is highly recommended and advance booking is a must! We also had unlimited use of some bicycles, not that everything isnt within walking distance anyway! The owner, Louise, was extremely friendly and made us feel very welcome.
However, lest not forgot the real reason that people come to Belize...the diving and snorkelling!! We opted to go with Mario´s, a small company offset from the main strip, which turned out to be the best decision we could have made. Unlike the majority of tour companies, noteably Ragamuffin´s, Mario´s only take small groups, which makes the experience all the more enriching! Our trip consisted of myself, Steve, Claire and Alan - who we initially met in Tikal and then bumped into again on Caye Caulker. And what can I say about the trip itself? Words cannot describe the amazement factor!
Our first stop was Sharkray Alley, heavily populated by tour groups but the marine life spectacular! Here it is possible to swim alongside nurse sharks, stingrays and an abundance of different species of fish.
From here Mario took us to a place where the waist high water was our own...albeit that we had to share it with twenty or so stingrays! Initially dubious due to the Steve Irwin incident, we floated on the surface whilst these HUGE creatures glided beneath us. We were also fortunate to swim with an eagle ray, a creature that really does resemble an eagle, gracefully flapping its wings and flying through the water. Further along from this site we came to some more shallow water where we had the opportunity to swim with a family of six nurse sharks, which felt like a cats tongue to touch! This trip really was sensational and as a further stroke of luck, we spotted some dolphins swimming alongside our boat as we returned to Caye Caulker, my first dolphins witnessed in the wild!
That evening we spent our time [sing] "sitting on the dock of the bay" with Claire and Alan, watching the sunset and drinking far too much local rum...absolute bliss! 
After day five on Caye Caulker we were starting to feel pretty lethargic due to the really laidback (translated as "lazy"), slow paced way of life, so were happy to leave.
We also spent our time in Belize at Dangriga, an extremely laidback and friendly Garifuna village. Although I found this place quite uninspiring, it is necessary to go here to reach Tobacco Caye. We also spent two nights in Placencia, a village practically flattened in 2001 by Hurricane Iris. Much of the village has been redeveloped with new, brightly coloured houses and cabañas and the beach was by far the nicest that we had seen in Belize...this place is a must if visiting Belize! It is possible to snorkel at Placencia Caye and, if you are really lucky (which we were not on this occasion), it is possible to spot a manatee in the lagoon. Placencia is the main anchor for whale shark diving, which Steve and I had hoped to do, however, we were five days too early! We learnt that whale sharks only come to the surface during the full moon to feed on the spores released by the coral at this time. Any other time, and they are impossible to see! Hey ho...a further example of our terrible organisation!
From Placencia we got a chicken bus to Punta Gorda, from where we got a boat to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala (Times: 09.30, 14.00 & 16.00, $38pp, departure tax $7.50).
Belize is extremely overrated HOWEVER I would go back just to experience the marine life all over again and I would definitely recommend Caye Caulker. For now, we are both looking forward to spending the next month in our second home, Guatemala...
[Photos: 1 - Belize City Number Plate; 2 - Ocelot at Belize Zoo; 3 - Stingray; 4 - Nurse Sharks]
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