Unda Da Sea

Here is what you have all been waiting for. Lucas took the camera out again snorkeling yesterday and managed to take some beautiful under water pictures including some of Manatees and Sting Rays. Enjoy!

Lucas unda da sea

Manatees!

This is what I was face to face with the other day!!

Beautiful school of Blue Fish

Tiny awesome fish (Juvenile Damselfish)

Yellowtailed Snapper

Rays!

Sailing and Snorkeling

Yesterday we went out on a full day of sailing and snorkeling. It was the perfect day with just the right wind and crystal clear water. It all got off to a bit of a rough start for me as I was immediately very sea sick. By the second stop I was moving past that though and really enjoying the day. The first snorkel stop was the very best though as Lucas and I spotted two amazing things. First we spotted three Spotted Eagle Rays swimming together below us. They are so beautiful how they just glide though the water. And then we saw a Manatee!!! We couldn't believe our eyes when the massive mammal passed underneath us. They are known to be curious animals so he didn't just pass by but stayed awhile below us spinning in the water and swimming in circles. Then(!) at one point Lucas and I had surfaced to talk about how wonderful and lucky we were and when I went back under the water I turned to be face to face with the curious creature. My heart literally stopped and I screamed but no sound came out under the water. It was a truly magical moment. I surfaced to call Lucas and have him share the same experience but the Manatee must have been spooked or decided we weren't that interesting as he was on his way back down to the bottom when we looked down again. But it was a really wonderful moment. The sail back was much better and I was feeling great again. We were served snacks and rum punch all the way back. It was stunning. (We did not manage to get any underwater photos as the camera that we had rented died on us the moment we got in the water, but be on the lookout for some tomorrow as Lucas went out again today in hopes of some more photos!!)

Me and Lucas on the Sailboat

Letting the water hit my feet on the way to the next snorkel stop

Lets play find the dragonflies on our Japanese friend

Soaking in the sun and enjoying the Reggae in the background

Lucas with sun setting behind him

Gorgeous photo of the sun coming down on our way back

So beautiful!

Caye Caulker Halloween Bash

What a relief it was to see the sign advertising the Caye Caulker Oceanside Halloween party when we arrived! I was so worried all along that I may not get to celebrate my favourite holiday. Thankfully there was no need to worry and the party kicked off early Saturday and continued into the small hours of Sunday. We had such a good time! The costumes were great and get this?!?! Lucas won a costume contest!! Which one, you ask? Look at the pics below and guess ; ) (I know that you all recognise my costume and are thinking, wait a second, I've seen Jenn dressed like this before...well give me a break, I'm on an Island and he's the best I could do! Plus it's Alex with a Caribbean twist so that's new isn't?!?) ; )

The old favourite with a Caribbean twist

Lucas dressed as a hot lady and Aussie Dave. Everyone at the pub LOVED Lucas' costume. Now almost everyone on this Island has a picture with Lucas in his hot Halloween costume.

Lucas and me out on the dancefloor

Hell Raiser and our Swiss friend lookin' a little freaked out.

Most creative costume, Jungle Guy.

What I was doing all night!

Lucas' main competition in, you guessed it, the Sexiest Costume Competition. And he won!!

Caye Caulker

The motto here on Caye Caulker is 'Go Slow' and this was evident from our first step off the water taxi. Not only was it evident, it was perfect and so welcome. This atmosphere is precisely what we needed for our last week in Belize. We like to call this our little vacation from our vacation. We're staying here a total of eight nights which means that the bags are unpacked and our shoulders are free from stress for the next nine days (well 6 days now...). The Caye itself is around one mile wide and 1.5 miles long. We've explored almost all there is to see but as the motto goes, we're taking it slow. Yesterday we went on our first snorkeling tour, overall, it went well. Lucas took to it a bit better than I did but I'm not giving up and we'll be going out to the big reserve on Sunday. Until then, enjoy the photos!

Our Hostel, 'Tina's'

Me relaxing on Tina's Palapa out on the water

Lucas on Tina's dock

Me with one of the many stray dogs who seem to have also adopted the Caye's motto

Lucas snorkeling for the first time and about to see 20+ Stingrays surround the boat

The light of the beautiful full moon last night

Lucas chillin' at Bamboo's

Ambergris Caye

Lucas and I arrived on Ambergris Caye about... 4 days ago (we lose track...) and have been having a great time. Spending time here was not in our plans as it is tourist central and we've been trying to stay away from the heavy tourist spots. Luckily it's off season so it's not so bad. Yesterday we rented a golf cart (what everyone uses to get around the Caye) and explored as much of Ambergris as we could. We ended up finding a pier in the middle of no where with no people or resorts around so stopped here to relax, enjoy the sun, the water and some lunch. It was so beautiful! We'll be here for another two nights before heading off to our final destination in Belize.

Me driving the golf cart

Lucas did most of the driving

The main street in San Pedro

Me enjoying the water and letting the sun get to my head

Lucas doing the very same ; )

So beautiful...

Lamanai

Yesterday Lucas and I visited our last ruin stop in Belize, Lamanai. Lamanai is the oldest Mayan ruin in Belize dating back to 1500BC. It is also the longest continued Mayan occupied ruin in the world; Mayan population lived in Lamanai until the 1860s. They have found nearly 700 structures at Lamanai but have only been able to excavate 6 sites. This was the first guided tour we've gone on of a ruin and it was actually really nice. The guide we had was full of information and had a strange but funny sense of humour. The trip to Lamanai was one of the best parts, it was a 2 hour journey by boat along the New River. Wildlife was abundant! I hope you all enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed being there!!

Beautiful sculpture on the face on a temple at Lamanai

Lucas at the top of a temple with the New River in the background

Me at the top of the temple

Stella 9, the most famous Stella found in Lamanai (maybe in Belize?)

Jaguar Temple

Belize Zoo

Today Lucas and I visited the Belize Zoo. It was a really amazing place. The animals there were all acquired naturally, meaning that none were captured from the wild. Some of the animals' stories were really tragic. It's wonderful that Belize has such a nice place to show some of it's rarest animals. It helps educate the public that these animals are worth saving. We were very lucky to see all that we saw today. It was as if the animals were showing off for us at times which was really neat. The Toucan flew right to the front of his cage to see us, the crocodile climbed out of the water onto a nearby bamboo platform, the cats came right up to the front of their cages and rested. The puma was rolling around and purring as we took it's photograph. Every animal has it's own personality which was beautiful to see. My favourite was the Tapir who came right up to me and Lucas and licked our hands and sniffed my nose, it was adorable. I hope that you all enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them!

Lucas next to the Crocodile

Me with the Tapir, Navidad

The Scarlet Macaw

Junior the Jaguar

Pelicans

One of my favourites, the Black Jaguar

Anteater sleeping. If only he were awake to eat the ant that bit me today!!

Crocodile coming to show off on the bamboo

One of the three types of Toucan found in Belize. Sadly the most famous type was off display today.

Beautiful Puma

The otters were having fun showing off for our camera