Belize - blink and you'll miss it

My plan for Belize was merely a quick transit,     three nights, four days riding, making a beeline for Guatemala. Just after crossing the border I encountered two British cyclists heading the other way, north into Mexico. They were raving about the snorkelling here, sowing the seed of a plan in my mind.

Belize really wasn't what I expected. Culturally more part of the Caribbean than Latin America, I've enjoyed a few days of speaking English and a break from eating tacos.  

Although Belize is a relatively expensive place for a traveller it feels poor and undeveloped. You wonder if it can resist the forces of the oil industry forever... 

Being in a hurricane zone means it and its environments are susceptible to rising sea-levels, rising temperatures and all the other ills of climate change.

Doesn't she look young!The Belize dollar has been pegged to the US dollar since 1978. You can use either currency freely with one US equal to two Belize dollars.

Typical rural scene.  

Further encouraged by Facebook messages I lugged my bike onto a boat and made for the island of Caye Caulker, a snorkelling centre.

I think I took this picture because it shows sea defences. Geography nerd forever. 

I arrived to a sun kissed Caye Caulker and decided to camp at a hostel to save a few dollars and enjoy the tropical weather. In the next 24 hours there were frequent downpours and I left the island with lots of damp, smelly clothes in my panniers.

Really good coffee was close at hand, albeit at prices higher than the U.K. No deterrent to me!

The snorkelling experience was something really quite special. I generally avoid water sports and am not the best swimmer but used these as reasons to go for it rather than excuses not to. Swimming with nurse sharks, stingrays and turtles was a new way to connect with nature and the beauty and fragility of the coral reef was astonishing.  

Tropical paradise? The night before I left there was a robbery from the hostel with a laptop and mobile phones stolen. I'm being super vigilant with my bike and gear as crime does seem rude here. Thankfully not of the violent type, more opportunistic in nature which you can at least guard against. It's a real shame as the Belizean people are absolutely lovely, such nice people to talk with, but there are a lot of poor, desperate people who know no better than to resort to crime. 

So, all in all a very pleasant interlude in the Latin adventure. On the end I stayed for five days, just enough to get a taste of the country. I crossed the border to Guatemala this afternoon and am looking forward to setting up a range of experiences here, starting with a homestay from tomorrow.