Tobacco Caye

If Newark and New Orleans got together, Dangriga might be the love-child. It looks a bit run down, but this is a chill spot-- even at 8 a.m., everyone's either got a beer (Belikin) or a joint (or both). Really, everyone just wants you to join in the party. Once Sara and I got a chance to walk around for a bit and meet some locals, (and chat with our favorite aunt Judy), we decided to stay.

We moved to Val's, which is a really comfortable hostel run by friendly owner Dana. We've mostly got the place to ourselves, except for this guy staying in our dorm who just bought an island off the coast of Belize. He's currently surveying the land and designing a square house. Sara was trying to see if he'd hire her as an architect, but he's in love with his design (though Sara says the roof will probably cave in). He's a vegan and says that this makes him wise and able to exist without companionship. He explained to us that if we weren't meat-eaters, we wouldn't need other people.

We split and shared a breakfast of eggs, bacon and fryjacks (sort of like funnel-cake pockets minus the sugar) at Riverside Cafe. There, we met fisherman Clifford and his homies (as he calls them) and jumped a boat to Tobacco Caye (pronounced key).

This island is the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my entire life. White-sand beaches, aqua-blue water, no roads, no cars. We rented some snorkeling equipment and went to check out the amazing fish and coral. I even saw a pre-historic looking barracuda.

Around noon, we went looking for food and met up with Devon, a scuba instructor (currently listening to The Alchemist on his i-pod). He taught us how to play dominoes. We lost every game, but I still consider that goal #8. The rest of the day, we chilled snorkeled, and skipped lunch because the island doesn't serve food during off-season. There's plenty of liquor, though. When I got a half-inch splinter in my thumb from jumping off the pier, Clifford pulled it out and then he and another guy poured rum to dissinfect it.

Today we spent our hours at Pelican Beach-- swimming, swinging in hammocks, and reading. I'm halfway through Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (it's so good that it literally makes me weep). We were hoping to get back to Raati's for dinner, which is a new spot operated by a family and offering just a few options, but they were closed. (Note: In off season, all of the restaurants close whenever business is slow, so almost nothing was open to us).

Tomorrow, we are heading to San Pedro (the same San Pedro in that Madonna song) and staying with Kate, who is very generously letting us crash for free.