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Drugs
In the words of Nancy Regan, just say no. Caye Caulker seems like the type of chill island that would turn a blind eye to pot smoking. During sunset there is even a guy who rides around on his bike advertising his “special brownies.” My guess is that the island does not want to project a relaxed on drugs attitude and end up inundated with travelers who are there primarily to get baked.
While we were waiting for the boat to San Pedro, two official looking guards escorted two twenty-something female backpackers into the waiting area. The girls looked a little off. One of the girls sat down, stood up, and immediately fell to the ground. The female guard laughed, shook her head, and helped the girl back on the bench. Fortunately we had a local sitting near us who got the skinny. The girls were caught smoking pot. Since Caye Caulker is so small, the girls were being transported to San Pedro to be prosecuted. They would have to spend a couple of nights in jail, pay a fine, and pay for all of the expenses incurred for their transportation to San Pedro. I’m guessing that something like that really puts a damper on your trip.
Respect the island’s rules, and don’t ruin your trip, stick to the rum punch and lizard juice.
Sunblock
I thought I calculated correctly, but as people on the island seemed genuinely concerned for the health of our pasty white skin, we applied and reapplied ample amounts of sunblock. This caused us to run out a few days before our trip ended.
There is no shortage of sunblock on the island, but it comes at a premium. It’s expensive.
What we found is that it was the most expensive on Front Street, the street that runs along the water. If however you go to Back Street, you will actually find that sunblock is a few dollars cheaper.
Juice
We get pretty addicted to fresh fruit juice when we travel in Latin American countries. We have a juicer at home, but it’s never the same. On the island, we found the stand-alone juice stands to be a better value than the juice at the cafes and restaurants.
If you really need that glass of juice with your cafe/restaurant breakfast, then go for it, but if you are just addicted to fresh juice, then make your purchase at one of the stands.
At one particular juice place, there was the most polite, professional, little boy serving customers.
Through the back door of the juice place, you could see the boy’s parent lounging in a hammock; parenting win.
You Might Become a Stalker
We had a nice chat with a guy on our initial boat ride to the island.
He and his family were visiting his brother, who was a wind surfing instructor, currently living on Caye Caulker.
“See you around,” he said as we departed the boat. Little did he know.
That evening while we were seated at dinner, who shows up? Boat guy and his family. The next day while buying juice at a juice stand, who comes to buy juice? Boat guy and his family. On the boat to San Pedro, who is on the boat ? Yup, boat guy and his family. It started to become a running joke with comments like,
“hey….again.”
It’s a small island so you are bound to run into the same people. You probably want to keep to your best behavior and not piss anyone off, because you will most likely run into them again. You may also want to choose your trysts carefully. You never know if that make out session will turn into a clinger, and now you have nowhere to hide.
Restaurants
Do not get your heart set on eating at a particular restaurant. I got my heart set on eating at a particular restaurant only to find that is was closed for an indeterminate amount of time. Apparently, the owners were having “legal issues.”
Island restaurants don’t operate on a normal schedule.
Most take off/are closed at least one day per week. Sometimes this is a set scheduled day, sometimes it’s random, sometimes they are closed for several days. It became a running joke during the week, because it seemed like every evening we had a particular restaurant in mind to eat at, and almost every time, that restaurant was closed. Just stay open and flexible. There are plenty of places on the island to eat. When you start to have a conversation with someone on Caye Caulker the questions tend to be,
-Where are you from?
-How long are staying on the island?
-Where have you eaten?
-Where else in the world have you been?
Anyone who has been on the island for more than a day will excitedly tell you their favorite place to eat, so if you are unsure where to go, just ask.
I hope you find these hints helpful, and I hope you get a chance to visit Caye Caulker
