One of the benefits of travel by bus at night means you arrive at destinations early in the morning and essentially end up with what we refer to as "the 7 day/5 night vacation" rather than the "5 day/7 night vacation". It is nothing more than our reference to getting somewhere in the morning rather than traveling during the day and arriving in time to check-in, go to bed, and pay for a night's room. It is like we won in a game of one upsmanship.
We split our R&R time between the hammocks in the sand at the hotel, the Split listening to music/drinking Belikans, and Bambooze's along the waterfront....and enjoyed some other bars and restaurants along the way. Each afternoon we would go to Bambooze's and I would order a "panty ripper". One of these rum conconctions is all I can handle, but they serve rum like it's water on Caye Caulker so panty rippers are 2 for 1. We would leave out with Bambooze's "owing" me a panty ripper. So the next day Terry and I would go in and collect my second drink, then start over with the 2 for 1. We left Caye Caulker with Bambooze's owing me another panty ripper!
 |
| Bambooze's |
One afternoon while sitting at Bambooze's a local guy came into the dirt-floored establishment and was so excited because he had nabbed an older, stately looking gentleman as soon as he disembarked from the water taxi and was going to get a room for him behind Bambooze's in the little upstairs guesthouse. We assume the local guy was hoping for a small tip for bringing in a guest. Later, while talking to the new arrival he told us he was from Spain, but lived in Mx. as a biologist. He was going to stay on Caye Caulker for a few days on "official business" but was hoping to just enjoy some R&R. The only way he could accomplish both was with a good wi-fi connection. All was good at the little upstairs room at Bambooze's until the local hollered down to get the password. The answer from behind the bar was "I don't know". The local guy turned to the biologist and with a look of distress and bewilderment threw out his arms and repeated "I DUNNO". Terry and I thought we were going to fall right out of those swings we laughed so hard. It was just one of those moments, and for the duration of our trip we would periodically turn to one another and throw up our hands and say "I DUNNO". Well, honestly, I dunno if that biologist ever got his attitude adjusted or not....hopefully, he got my one last 2 for 1 panty-ripper and was able to relax and tell somebody along the way that not only did he not know the wi-fi password, but couldn't care less.
We ate some great meals on Caye Caulker, did lots of walking, rented/rode bikes, and of course enjoyed the adult beveages. Food costs are reasonable, especially if you take advantage of the street vendors like the Budget Man. We ate our fill of conch fritters, and got dressed up one night and went to Habanero's Restaurant. You may think it would be a Mexican Food place by the name, but it was anything but that. In my own opinion, I imagine the chef being well-traveled. The food was delicious with a blend of seasonings we don't normally cook with - Asian and far eastern flavors. Great food and a little more pricey than Belita's breakfast place, the Budget Man, or the grilled shrimp off the roadside pit. I had a wonderful pan-seared snapper served over rice noodles and greens, and Terry ate coconut encrusted snapper.
The island is small so it is easy to walk from one end of the island to the other as well as walk from the windward to the leeward side. We wandered around on several occasions looking for a suitable house for Joanne and Larry to rent long-term on Caye Caulker. There were many options -
All was good on Caye Caulker. The Tropical Paradise Too had it's share of young "sleep all day/stay up all night" back-packers and Saturday night meant the locals partied till they dropped....but none of it was cause for stress. However, eventually we move on. Next stop - San Pedro/Ambergris Caye.
No comments:
Post a Comment