Whirlwind week - Caye Caulker, Sitee River

A few more words on Sarteneja before moving on to our next stops...

The place we stayed in Sarteneja, Backpacker's Paradise, is also trying to start an organic agriculture demonstration plot (or series of garden plots) to boost the supply veggies for their restaurant and also to encourage organic farming around the village. They already grow many fruits (oranges, zapotes, pineapple, custard apple, banana...) and also tomatoes, peppers... They also keep chickens and have a chicken tractor (a really neat way to clear land where you let chickens do all the work!). Nathalie, the owner, showed us how to work with the chickens on our last day in Sarteneja.

We have some pictures from Sarteneja.

 Backpackers Paradise:

Shipstern Wildlife Reserve, Owl Butterfly:

Shipstern Wildlife Reserve, Lookout Tower View:

We have several more pictures from Sarteneja, and from Caye Caulker where we went next. The internet connection here in Hopkins is very slow, and it's going to take to long to post them all. we're hoping to make some facebook albums for all our pictures on one of our next internet sessions. We'll keep you updated.

Alright, so after sleepy Sarteneja, we went by bus and water taxi (via Orange Walk and Belize City) to crazy Caye Caulker. Caulker is basically a tropical island paradise, well within an hours trip of the international airport. the result: tourist central. expensive food, crowded streets, pushy, less friendly locals (who are accustomed to rich, rude tourists), and pricier accommodations. Caye Caulker is still a beautiful place to stay, and we found a small fixer-upper cabana hotel that was affordable, clean, and run by a really friendly couple. Colinda Cabana's is a little ways down the beach from the main craziness, but still really close to restaurants, etc. Including Chan's Take out Window, a little hole in the wall place with solid rice and beans and a banana milkshake that I'm pretty sure Lisa likes more than she likes me. Great dock to hang out on as well.

The snorkelling, which was the reason we went to Caye Caulker in the first place, didn't disappoint. we did an all day tour that stopped at three different spots, and they all offered great snorkelling! We saw sea turtles, sharks (sharks mate!), rays, and hundreds of different fish. I (Torrie) swam through a coral cave about 20 feet down, and hurt my ears a little. worth it. The reef seems to be suffering damage though...our guide said hurricances, but I (lisa) don't doubt it is also having so many people pass through each day.

We are out of internet time for now, but take a look on google each at the Hummingbird Highway to see the incredibly beautiful route we traveled to our current location in Sitee River. We are off to Glover's Reef on Sunday and will update on that adventure next week.