SO..after the steamy jungle we finally made it an island paradise...Belize!! We took the local ¨chicken bus¨, which is just an old American school bus (looks like the one we saw go over a cliff in Guatemala), and we decided that it was way more comfortable than some of the ´luxury´shuttles that we had been taking...at some of the main bus stops local kids got on the bus and sold sodas, popcorn, chips, and even homemade baked goods... (We steered clear of the homemade pizza...it looked a little sketchy).
Once we got to Belize City, it was a 45 minute boat ride to Cayes. We instantly felt happier upon the site of the Caribbean water (I guess we are truly beach girls at heart)! Caye Caulker is this adorable beach side town with only sand roads and golf carts. We booked a hotel with an ocean view and headed for a swim...ahhh paradise.
The next day we booked a tour with E-Z boyz boat tours. The lady booking the tours was named Bunny (and Michelle if you´re reading this, she totally reminded me of you)! She was bubbly and friendly and she guaranteed that we would have a great time...she was not lying. We went to three different snorkeling spots. At the first spot a swarm of nurse sharks came right up to the boat...it looked like a feeding frenzy. I was a little nervous (what´s new), but NO FEAR Jess jumped right in. Not wanting to be a wuss, I followed. We saw nurse sharks, coral, turtles, sting rays, lobsters and tons of fish...it looked like a scene out of Finding Nemo . We then stopped at San Pedro for lunch and then went to the third spot. Our guide told us that manatees sometimes visit the North Channel, but that he hadn´t seen any in a few days. I was so excited I could barely contain myself. Anyone who knew me when I was little knows that I was borderline OBSESSED with manatees ( I even adopted one and got the little certificate), so getting to swim with one was high on my list. After about 10 minutes ( and me almost giving up hope) our guide pointed one out...I couldn´t get my fins on fast enough. He told us to go in on the other side of the boat so that we wouldn´t scare the manatee. I caught a glimpse of the manatee but a giant wave broke on top of us and then I couldn´t see anything but bubbles. It seemed like forever until the bubbles cleared and I thought the manatee was gone for good. But then I looked down and I was eye to eye with the manatee....IT WAS UN BELIZE-ABLE!
