Caye caulker....I thought it was GROSS

[ladycaveat]

It might have at least three advantages I can think of: the Water Taxi ride is longer, so you would be off your feet for longer; Ambergris Caye is larger and has many more facilities than Caye Caulker, which might help if you do have difficulty with your walking; and it is a place evidently you have not been before, which makes any visit that much more interesting. Having visited Caye Caulker, I KNOW going to Ambergris Caye would be what we would do the next time we visit Belize. I wish we had done it this last time, so I could tell you firsthand more of what to expect. But Travel Angel and Pssunshinegal, if we can lure them back to the Boards, could fill you in! :D

 

Thanks bunches . . . I'll check it out!

[gail811]

Ok.....should I worry? This is our third trip to Belize, and a guide I met there three years ago and I keep in touch with, recommended we go to Caye Caulker and then out to swim with the rays and sharks, then back for lunch and a little time to walk around Caye Caulker. Since I am responsible for setting this up for 14 people, should I rethink this day? I got a totally different impression about the island.....I was thinking it would be more like Costa Maya...that was always a favorite for us. I will be anxious to hear your opinions!

[driftwood]

Dear gail,

 

As you seem to intend Caye Caulker as a jumping-off place for what sounds like a snorkeling excursion, there is nothing to fear. The two-stop snorkeling and one stop sharks'n'rays walkabout from Caye Caulker is excellent, and the Water Taxi trips kill a lot of time and are sort of fun on a good day; and the lunches are good 'nuff in most of the joints that are open at midday. There are bar(s). Young people will have more fun than old people and should never worry anyway. Just set it up with as little time as possible allotted to walking around Caye Caulker and you will not be disappointed! :D

 

As a sort of joke you could set people to looking for a beach, with a prize if they find one. Surprise and delight the natives, who say there is none. Like a Snipe Hunt . . . . :rolleyes:

[gail811]

Dear gail,

 

As you seem to intend Caye Caulker as a jumping-off place for what sounds like a snorkeling excursion, there is nothing to fear. The two-stop snorkeling and one stop sharks'n'rays walkabout from Caye Caulker is excellent, and the Water Taxi trips kill a lot of time and are sort of fun on a good day; and the lunches are good 'nuff in most of the joints that are open at midday. There are bar(s). Young people will have more fun than old people and should never worry anyway. Just set it up with as little time as possible allotted to walking around Caye Caulker and you will not be disappointed! :D

 

As a sort of joke you could set people to looking for a beach, with a prize if they find one. Surprise and delight the natives, who say there is none. Like a Snipe Hunt . . . . :rolleyes:

 

Thanks; that is what I wanted to hear! We rank in age from mid-fifties to my 2 year old grandson....quite a group! We have been looking forward to this day and it is nice to have one as knowledgeable as you ease my fears! By the way, I have two sons and my in-laws all in the Tidewater area; and my very first cruise was on the Victory when she sailed out of that area!

[driftwood]

. . . and unconsciously I think a lot of what we did in Belize was done so as to be able to report back on some of the questions I had seen on the Boards!

 

Initially I had not intended to say anything about our experience on Caye Caulker, as I knew most of you would be day trippers and at worst would come away with a sunburn and/or a tummyache, but really it isn't fair to oversell things either, and of all the things we saw in Belize I felt Caye Caulker was the most oversold. But the reef and the water cannot be oversold! Just a short boat hop away!

 

I am sorry about your sons and in-laws--perhaps they are not in the Backwater area--my personal feeling is that any cruise out of Swampland is a Victory! Got 'nother escape planned for August . . . . RCCL for a novelty . . . . Darn you, Holland America, for turning tail on the Port of Norfolk! But I know how you feel! :rolleyes::o

[Pssunshinegal]

I know of a condo that will be for rent this fall ! :D

 

On CC or AC? I have friends who are looking for a condo.

 

Janice

[Travel Angel]

On CC or AC? I have friends who are looking for a condo.

 

Janice

 

Ambergris Caye

[Pssunshinegal]

Can you write me at pssunshinegal at aol dot com so that I can get some details.

 

Thanks.

 

Janice

[JenDalessan]

Just to clarify something here....

 

If I had stayed in the little street area and not visited the bathroom at the Lazy Lizard, I would have been ok with CK. That bathroom freaked me out. It might be that I am scarred after working under the health dept for most of my adult life.

 

This is not a good place for a beach day. It's also not a good place for clean bathrooms. Sorry...that is just my opinion.

 

I don't see how cruise passengers should be blamed for the trash on the islands. The day I was there I only saw about 10 passengers on shore.

 

Last thing...the pic posted of the beautiful blue water also shows a peek of the same trashy shoreline I was referring to.

[driftwood]

If it weren't for health departments there would probably be a lot fewer explorers making it out of their own hometowns and onto Caye Caulker! Sheila and I were social workers for a city agency, and most of our professional lives were spent steering people away from places they should not go and experiences they should not have. We, too, have seen a lot of bathrooms in our professional careers, and fortunately we have usually not had to use them.

 

Things will get better at Caye Caulker--although one reason we walked the length of the island so often is that Sheila couldn't believe there really was no beach--even as we write, money is trickling in, and if the cruiseship industry continues elbowing its way into smaller and smaller ports with larger and larger ships--and more of them--it won't be long before the trickle becomes a flood, and sewage treatment plants spring up around the Caribbean like daisies on a Kansas farm. Where do you suppose the money has come from for all the reverse-osmosis drinking water plants? Even here in Swampland it was years before a reverse-osmosis plant was considered--"too expensive!" But they have them in Quintana Roo now, and even in mainland Belize. NOT LOCAL MONEY.

 

But things will have to get a LOT better on Caye Caulker before it gets any gold stars. And if they ever get a beach, it is going to have to have come from Rent-to-Buy Beaches, Inc.--they may have to drag another island over to the coastline! :rolleyes:

[MrsLeo]

It is a pity that people are going to completely write off Caye Caulker because one person happened to find themselves in a gross bathroom and posted here that the whole island was gross.

 

I was in Chicago a while back and stopped at a place because the kids had to go to the bathroom immediately. I swear it was the most disgusting bathroom, I have ever seen in any country we have been to, but would I say that the entire city of Chicago is gross and filthy because I had the misfortune to stumble into that filthy place? No I am sure that would not be a fair comparison at all. What I did, was get back in the Truck, drive a little further down the road and try a different place the was more than acceptable.

 

In Caye Caulker there is a great excursion company called Tsunami Watersports, Heather and her crew will take great care of you. For the lady who was concerned about walking a great distance, they will come pick you up at the Water taxi in a golf cart and they have a lovely shark/ray/ coral gardens tour you can take in a glass bottom boat so you still get to enjoy the reefs and sea life even if you can't get out and snorkel. Their guide Ninja, while a bit of an interesting fellow, he is an excellent guide and a very strong swimmer, he kept all members of our party very safe. This is a wonderful excursion for people of all ages.

 

They have many different excursions including snorkel and scuba trips available and they are very good at what they do.

 

Between Tsunami and the water taxi dock, you will find a restaurant called Rainbow. They have adequate restroom facilities, things are clean and the food has been delicious both time we went there. I highly recommend the Conch Fritters and the fresh Red Snapper and of course a cold bottle of Belikin. Next to Rainbow there is a small stretch of sand and shallow water where one could catch some rays and relax.The water is pristine and I saw no litter or trash. The kids had a ball wading in and chasing the small fish. One thing about the ocean is the tides and currents carry debris to specific areas and it all winds up in the shallows where the water can carry it no further. so it is what it is. It happens, it doesn't mean the whole island is covered in trash.

 

For the record it is NOT.

[driftwood]

As it happens, we spent the night at the motel Heather owns, and we booked our trip to the reef with Tsunami Adventures. Unfortunately we arrived on what is officially Heather's day off, and although she happened to be present when we arrived, she found it convenient not to speak to us. Not one word--although she spoke around us several times. OK, it is her business, and I am an old geezer. But she ignored my wife as well, and I can only suppose she was awfully preoccupied by the funeral we later discovered she was attending later in the day. Every day is a new adventure, and every day conditions change. We thought they had been notified we were coming; we thought we were going to be picked up by a golf cart and taken down to Heather's joint. Surprise! But I haven't whined about that experience on this Board because I assume almost all of you are only going to be here for one day. But there is no point in anyone's assuming--especially when others may become victims based wholly on your recommendation--that everything is always hunky-dory in Paradise. If you see an angel with a flaming sword at the entrance to the garden, take it as a good clue that this is not the best time to visit.

 

This IS a small island. On a small island you tend to feel at the mercy of the environment: and every smile, every clean bathroom, every halfway decent pizza counts. We are from the United States: and by God, we can elbow our way past almost every obstacle that anyone can put up, and be more unpleasant than anyone else on Earth, as we have proved time and again at every corner of it.

 

But is that how YOU want to spend YOUR hours in Belize? There are so many other places to go, so many other things to see, so many friendly people who are ACTUAL NATIVES OF BELIZE. United States and Canadian capitalists are a dime a dozen--you probably work with a batch of them every day. Do you need to help advertise them?

 

Anyone can put up a sign they are for example "J. Fred Muggs Watersports," retain the services of a licensed tour guide, and give people an adventure they will never forget. There is a gorgeous reef across from Caye Caulker; there are people able and willing to take you there, and licensed and skilled to do so. René is one such person; he is a native Belizean; on the day we spent in or near Caye Caulker, his services were retained by Tsunami Watersports to take four of us to the reef. He was excellent as a tour guide and excellent as company. But the fact is that on a small island ALL RESOURCES ARE POOLED, and every "Watersports" sign essentially advises you that you are dealing with a booking agent for whatever it is you want to do. Curb your enthusiasm. The fact is that there are times (not usually when cruise ships are in port, admittedly) when there are not enough people available to fill up a tour boat for a trip over to the reef, EVEN WHEN EVERY "WATERSPORTS AGENCY" ON CAYE CAULKER IS SHARING BOOKINGS.

 

Before I wrote anything to this thread, I would carefully read through all that has thus far been written, pro and con, and consider carefully what has been said. You can bet your experience has been different from anyone else's. Good news! But from what little you may have experienced, will you feel comfortable recommending this particular paradise to others?

If they suspect what they MIGHT be getting into, they will PROBABLY have a good time, as I suspect gail811's party will. But if you go there thinking one place or another is the magic bullet that will cure the day for you, you may "brush the reef" and find yourself with a remarkable scrape!

[wadethegringo]

All of Drift woods post are accurate, detailed and appear to be with out bias. Belize is a very diverse country. Jungles, reefs private islands, fishing villages and inner cities. It is younger than most of us,(1981). With a small tax pool, the infrastructure is not there.

 

Belize, Like everyone else is hoping to keep some of your vacation $$$.

 

The "Private Islands", Caye Chapel and Banister are the best choices for people looking for service and ammenities.

San Pedro on Ambergris Caye has a lot of the things vacationers are looking for in the way of beaches and service.

however just last week the council was discussing ways to combat the trash problem.

 

Caye Caulker is a great spring board to the reef and other activities around the Cayes. It is in no way a "Resort". It has been and still is a small fishing village. It has been popular with Backpackers for years. The infrastructure of Caye Caulker today can not support the increasing number of visitors to the island. The locals are not out to make a million. They like to make enough for their family and spend the rest of the time enjoying life. They do not want big investors to come in and change things.

 

Caye Caulker is a step back into time. The service is not up to what most visitors would expect. the cleanliness issue is being addressed, but by US standards, very few would pass. Sand floors in bars and restaurants, Street Vendors lining the street at night selling full diners, restaurants in peoples back yards.

 

For a cruise ship visit, soak in the local style, be careful, take some pictures have a great time. just go with an open mind.

[MrsLeo]

I am very sorry that you felt slighted by Heather at Tsunami. If she was indeed preoccupied by a funeral or perhaps upset she didn't get her day off, I have no idea.

But I do know they bent over backwards for our group. Our ship was late getting passengers on to the tenders and as a result we missed the water taxi we had intended to take. I called Heather from the Belize Tourist Village and they promised they would wait an hour and a half for us to get there. When the water taxi arrived Heather came down in her golf cart, which was very nice of her and offered my elderly father who is 83 and my mother a ride to their place. She introduced me to the lady who owned the boat we were to go on, and to Ninja our guide. I am confident that if you called Heather and explained to her that you had mobility issues and needed her to come pick you up, she would do it.

The first time we went to Belize we booked a tour in advance, I won't mention the name because they are now under new ownership, but anyhow, the tour company stood us up, so we ended up meeting a young lady named Natalie, she was a very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide, and we had a blast with her at Caye Caulker, with the sharks, rays and coral gardens too. We had absolutely nothing negative to say about either of our visits there.

Everything was without a hitch. Both times we were there, we ate at Rainbow, food and service were great. The bathrooms while far from luxurious, were not filthy. They were stocked with toilet paper, soap, running water, and paper towels.

I don't know if I would want to stay there overnight, or spend a week there, but we liked Caye Caulker, we have had great experiences both times we were there. We'll be back in Belize in a couple of weeks, and I am not opposed to returning there. But as Driftwood said, it is not a beach destination, it is not a resort destination.

 

Both time we were there we went past Caye Chapel, and I'm familiar with some of it's history. I would like to stop there, but it always looks deserted, I have yet to see anyone even playing golf out there.

 

We're alos considering going out to Ambergris and checking out Hol Chan Marine Preserve, just so many choices.

[bullydogsmama]

we visited Caye Caulker in January. We booked our excurson off the ship through Coral Breeze Tours and had a great time snorkeling off the Reef and then had our time in Caye Caulker. We walked from one end of the street along the water to the other, Not much to see but the people were friendly and I felt safe there, Now Roatan thats another story, If you go to Caye Caulker thinking your going to have a perfect post card moment don't go. I didn't think it was dirty just poor. Would go back in a heartbeat. Roatan you'd have to drag me off the ship kicking and screaming to go back there.

[driftwood]

I didn't "feel" slighted by Heather; I "was" slighted by Heather. So far as I am concerned for myself--and even for Sheila--that is neither here nor there. Major Tom recommended her, and that is good enough for me! She is pretty, she is clearly athletic, and I have no doubt she can drive a golf cart splendidly.

 

"No use complainin'!"

 

What DOES concern me is that people with "mobility issues" are in fact not going to be able to make the length of the Water Taxi pier to begin with: it is longer than you remember, and IT is not in the greatest shape; and if some bushy-tailed enthusiast encourages them to go to Caye Caulker--for no good reason that anyone has proposed yet that I can see--instead of for example Ambergris Caye, which HAS infrastructure and HAS food and MAY HAVE clean and accessible bathrooms (for all I know), and HAS enough trash to keep the natives awake at night and in political meetings--and through some "miscommunication" there is NOT a Heather and a golf cart waiting, what then? The fact is that Tsunami Adventures is well to the other end of the island. Fortunately I am impatient, and hired a golf cart piloted by a conveniently available professional golf cart taxi driver, and Sheila and I and our overnight luggage and our snorkel gear and our camera gear DIDN'T have to walk the distance.

 

wadethegringo knows the score, and if I could say as much in 500 posts as he can in six, I would be happy with myself and the rest of you would not have to read so much. My whole purpose in responding on this thread was to agree with JenDalessan that not "Everything's up to date . . ." . . . in Caye Caulker, market it however heavily the Belize Tourism Industry Association thinks is wise. I too would hate to choke the flow of tourist dollars to the people of Caye Caulker, as they are good people. But be careful what you wish for: wadethegringo's observation, "The infrastructure of Caye Caulker today can not support the increasing number of visitors to the island," is ABSOLUTELY true, and unless you are committed to a day of snorkeling on the reef, YOU SHOULD NOT GO TO CAYE CAULKER ITSELF. Eventually no doubt big money will come in and do to Caye Caulker what it did to our honeymoon island, Ocracoke, off the North Carolina coast: but first all the natives have to die or be shipped off to unknown destinations, and the real resort hotels have to be built, and the rent-a-beach has to be dragged over. Wait for it! Wait for it! :eek: "Sufficient unto the day . . .".

[MrsLeo]

The reason I suggested to the glass bottom boat tour to the lady was because she was concerned she would not be able to climb up and down the ladder of the boat for a snorkelling excursion, that way she could see the sea life with out getting out of the boat to snorkel which was her fear.

If someone's mobility is impaired to the point they can not traverse the length of the dock, they probably should never leave the confines of the tourist village and I doubt they could make it from the tourist village to the water taxi in the first place.

 

I cannot fault you for looking out for people's best interest and certainly if you wind up in the Lazy Lizard's Loo or wanding the island in search of a beach you will be disappointed. I have seen no one post here that the island is up to date. However, the places I spoke of had sufficient and adequate facilities for our purposes during our time there.

 

I went back and looked the email Heather sent me to confirm our tour with Tsunami and it informed me to call her from the marine terminal to let them know we were there, so they could pick us up at the water taxi dock. I understand that if I had luggage and stuff and was expecting a ride to my hotel, I would be frustrated if they were not there too. I am sure if you'd been given those instructions you would have called and had been picked up.

 

If the local businesses flounder and the tourist dollars are choked off, which is what is going to happen if people heed your advice

 

" YOU SHOULD NOT GO TO CAYE CAULKER ITSELF"

 

Then your fear of big money coming will be a self fulfilling prophecy. Those businesses will be in jeopardy, big money will come in and snap up the real estate for a song and before you know it, the rent a beach will be dragged over.

[driftwood]

and it is not about Heather: most Canadians are very good at looking out for themselves, and she looks quite capable. All I said and MEANT was, when wadethegringo tells you Caye Caulker can't handle the influx of day tourists, he is not kidding; and unless one has a reason--such as the excellent one of intending to visit the reef--to visit Caye Caulker, there are more friendly ways of introducing the very needed tourist money into Belize than plugging up overstressed toilets in a fishing village on a tiny island.

 

It should also be pointed out that Caye Caulker's survival does NOT depend on cruiseship passengers--as wadethegringo pointed out, it is tremendously popular with backpackers and with the ubiquitous Canadians and even people from the UK, who come and stay in the numerous ad lib hotels and cottages not occupied by natives. These are the rice'n'beans of Caye Caulker--and I suspect THEY would like to continue to have a relatively quiet place to stay, with prices not quite out the roof, as Sheila and I found on Ocracoke Island so many years ago, and in Caye Caulker in January--and could not find today in Ocracoke. Things are GOING to change--as I think I observed earlier--but it isn't up to each of US to wash our hands there, heavy tippers and gross consumers of tourist trinkets as we may be. There will be plenty to go around and more besides.

[MrsLeo]

I think the one thing I do agree with you about, is that I would likely not go to Caye Caulker just for the sake of lounging on the beach, and I surely would not go there to buy trinkets. However, I will likely give my business to local vendors there again, but will try to "hold it" until I get back to Belize City because the last thing I want to do is over burden the septic system.:D

 

You don't have to tell me about Canadians, I am married to one. He is so full of it, I had better tell him to hold it too LOL!

[JenDalessan]

Why TRUDY...I am not at all surprised to find you on this thread. Do me a favor will you? I am serious here....when you get to CK next time,

 

 

 

go that the one restaurant....the one that offers "Beagles and Cream Cheese"...http://family.webshots.com/photo/2331509450084625571rldnlW

 

 

Go out in the little oceanside courtyard. Go to the left corner of the wall (while facing the ocean) and take a look at the PVC pipe that is sticking through the wall and emptying into the water. Follow that pipe to see where it begins....right at the restaurant....meaning some time of sewage is coming from the facility is being piped directly into the water. What's that about?

 

now tell me....are you still ok with your kids in the water there? I saw this AFTER my husband had taken my child in the water. I never would have allowed it if I had known. For the record, this restaurant had a very clean and well stocked bathroom.......

[MrsLeo]

I will be in Belize in a couple of weeks Jen, but am pretty sure I am not going to be spending my vacation chasing down a PVC pipe coming out of a restaurant or eating Beagles and cream cheese (dang that is funny though).

But I am curious how you know it is some kind of sewage drain? The reason I ask is that with the Reverse Osmosis process there is a large portion of water that is basically sacrificed for the small amount that actually becomes purified. That water, while it is not contaminated it does have to drain, and if they are purifying a substantial amount of water they would have a good amount of run off and would not want it draining into an already over burdened septic system. That to me could be a likely scenario for the pipes existence. However if that is the case I would think you would have smelled or seen something more incriminating.

[JenDalessan]

I just realized that I have a picture of the pipe. I am not sure it will show up here. I have it in my webshots too: http://family.webshots.com/photo/2822379180084625571HauGhl

The pipe is white and running along the wall and you can see it under the white chair. It helps if you make the picture bigger. When I was there I followed the pipe and it lead to the restaurant. I have no idea what it meant. I looked over the wall and just saw that the pipe ended in the water.

 

When I was talked into going there, I was told that this was a nice beach. It's not. I have already said that the little town is cute. It's not a hopeless place but it is not a place I would visit again on a cruise.

[MrsLeo]

To be fair, if someone sold Caye Caulker to me as a great resort type place with a beach, and they set those expectations, I would be very disappointed (pissed, frustrated, unhappy) as well. Caye Caulker to me is a place of adventure, not a place to lay around in the sand. It is a place to encounter nurse sharks, sting rays, and barracuda and a host of sea life up close and personal. It is a a jumping off point (as the other gentleman stated) where you can eat some very yummy fresh seafood (if you choose the establishment carefully) and drink some cold local beer. I think of Caye Caulker as what what Key West was like 50 years ago, with lots of neat things to see underwater.

 

The bathroom issue is just nasty and intolerable, in honesty though, I have seen the same thing here in the U.S. (not often, but once is too much) and no matter where you encounter it, it is unacceptable. I did look at the pipe and after zooming in on it, it is only about 2 inches in diameter, so I really doubt it is a sewage pipe, because it is just not large enough to get the job done. It would be perpetually clogged, most likely it is a waterline of sorts, either drawing water in or draining it out.

[JenDalessan]

I agree with the rest of your comments. The only thing I want to add is that the pipe was going down, toward the water. It was definitely draining. On the other side of the wall you can see that it is draining something into the water. It might be as simple as the water from the sink.....who knows?

[MrsLeo]

My guess would be it is draining water from the reverse osmosis. We live in the country and at one time I had a small reverse osmosis system here to purify the well water and it was amazing to me how much water was wasted to fill a one gallon tank of purified water. I didn't realize it until I developed a leak in the drain line. For them to process saltwater and in larger volumes it would be even more pronounced.