Belize

I am in Caye Caulker, Belize right now. I have been in Belize for about a week now. I've been meeting and hanging out with Niquoa's 1001 cousins. Everyone has been friendly and cool. On our first day, we had some fresh coconut water on the rocks and ate the meat. I've tried the Belizean rum called one barrel which is really good. The local beer, Belikin, is pretty good as well -- except for Light House. You know how I like my beers dark with full calories. I had the best tamale at a stand near the park/ocean/club district which had chicken and peppers in it. We hear one of the aunts in Cayo makes the best ones so we're going to have to go down there to compare and learn the recipe. We also checked out Old Belize and Mayan ruins about an hour away called Altun Ha. They were not as impressive and large as Chichen but they were still nice to see. The drive there was nice as well.

I am in Caye Caulker right now so I can dive the Blue Hole tomorrow. It's a famous spot for diving. I am not sure how deep the hole is but I would dive down to around 130 feet. I should be able to see stalagmites and stalagtites and some reef sharks. I was told I might see a bull shark. I don't have much luck with spotting large pelagics so I won't count on that. The island is nice. Not much to do but it's nice and relaxing. My hostel, Tina's, is right by the beach and I have a nice view of it from my window. They provide a kitchen, fridge and a place to lock vaulables.

It appears Belize has it's own clock that it runs by. I am always surprised if people arrive at the time they say or things take the amount of time originally stated. When we were coming down here from Tulum (another site for Mayan ruins) they would tell us the bus ride is 3 hours and it would take an hour longer than anticipated. If someone says they'll be at the house to pick up us at Noon, add 2 hours. We're not in a rush to go anywhere so it's fine with me but it's a huge change from the 'get up and go' attitude in NY.

And I don't know why I'm always surprised by this, but everyone outside of the US is always so aware of things going on outside of their own country. Her cousin Lyndon knows much more than I do about the elections and his theory on what tactics will harm or aid each US candidate. I'm so ashamed. I'm going to catch up on my news now.