The KiwiCampaign

Without much of a goal in mind other than traveling South along the coast to see some more of Belize off the beaten path, we boarded a bus in Belize City to Dangriga. Over the next two hours, our group of two merged with two girls from Finnland and a Mexican/Czech couple, and it was decided to head for Tobacco Caye, a much less touristy atoll out on the reef about 150 km south of Belize City.

As we left the bus station in Dangriga on the search for the water taxi dock, we stood out like sore thumbs as the six of us trudged with massive backpacks through this Garifuna town that hasn’t discovered all the “blessings” of tourism. Every other person we encountered on the street seemed to be the captain of some sort of boat, offering us discounted fares to our destination. We finally agreed on a price, and braced for a stormy passage in a tiny boat that didn’t seem appropriate at all for these conditions. A few pushes here and there, and we made it through the sandbanks of the estuary. Kim turned white as a ghost as we negotiated the surf and swells, but miraculously we all arrived save, albeit wet, at the smallest island I have ever set foot on so far.

Tobacco Caye is a 2-acre island next to the reef, containing a few all-inclusive accommodations that all cater towards the low- to medium budget traveler. Coconuts can be whacked from the palm tres for easy drinking, Pelicans and Frigate Birds hang out on the peer, an Osprey with a chick can be seen nesting atop one of the dive outfitters, and the reef allows for ample snorkeling opportunities right from the beach. The setting seemed absolutely perfect, but for the first time so far, the weather did not seem to be cooperating: The wind had been blowing storm ever since the morning, and the sun was nowhere to be seen.

We skipped the Snorkeling/Manatee watching tour this morning hoping for better weather tomorrow and hopefully be able to go dive with Whalesharks that make their appearances right around the full-moon in this area. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for calm and sunny conditions tomorrow, but the silver lining of these conditions is the long-overdue blog update. The only thing missing on this cloudy day is a nice cup of coffee.

 Six more days to my first Quadruple Americano form Peaberry.