Welcome to Playa del Carmen!

If there was only one downside to all our travels, it was the handful of LONG travel days we had to do. But it was completely understandable given how much ground we were covering over the three weeks. Alas, today was another epic travel day, but our last (not counting the journey home) of the trip.

So with another early start, it was back on the water taxi to Belize City for our journey back into Mexico. What made this epic was not only the distance, but that we had boat, then bus, then border crossing, then public bus, all to get to our final destination of the tour, Playa del Carmen.

A minor delay slowed us down early on in Belize City, but after that it was relatively smooth sailing all the way. The border crossing was a bit of a pain, but nowhere near as bad as it could have been. In fact aside from some small delays from the number of people travelling, it all went super smooth, and next thing we knew we were back in Mexico and boarding another luxurious ADO public bus for our 5 hours to Playa.

This little mermaid greets us in our hotel room

All quite drained from the travel day (about 12 hours by this point), it was a quick freshen up and out for dinner.

Playa del Carmen was quite a different experience from our previous Mexican experiences. Located about an hour south of Cancun, we were staying in the heart, and it was definitely the most touristy experience we had to date. In fact downtown Playa del Carmen felt just like Surfers Paradise back at home, complete with the endless junky tourist souvenir stores, normal shopping stores, and bars offering cheap drinks.

Kate hangs out with the locals

Kate and I wandered the main strip for a bit, but felt that by the time we did one side we had seen all it had to offer. It was 11pm by this point, and we felt we needed some rest before another big day of exploring tomorrow.

Hanging With The Locals

Howdy all! Here is another flurry of catch up posts. Today was Jan 1st 2014, and was our third day in Caye Caulker. Since it was a late night and we had done quite a lot the day before, this was all about chilling out, Belize style.

Kate pays attention to the sign

So with a very late start, it was off for a wander for some breakfast/lunch.

The nightclub looked a little empty the day after

And to be honest, you know what? We didn’t do much else for the day. We just wandered around, relaxed by the water, wandered, relaxed, etc etc. While we could have done a little more, we were hampered by being New Years Day, meaning a lot of the tourism companies were closed for the day. We didn’t mind, we were happy to slow down.

I could get used to this

So we enjoyed a Caribbean sunset again and a lazy dinner, watching the pelicans come and go. We knew we had a busy day tomorrow travelling back into Mexico, but regardless, it was nice to set the tone of the first day of the year.

Seeing out the first day of 2014

Here’s to many more of these days in 2014.

Our sailing companions

It’s New Years Eve! Hard to believe as to be honest I had not really been paying attention to what day it was let alone date. But we had an action packed day ahead.

What a motley crew

We had a full day boat tour booked. There was a lot of reef to explore, so most of us from the tour decided to jump on the sail boat and head out for the full day. This gave us 3 separate places to snorkel with lots of opportunity to see the local marine life.

Cap’n Rob looking very relaxed

So on we jumped the Ragga Gal with our two crew and sailed out for an hour to our first stop, the Coral Garden. This was a relaxed place to explore the coral, look out for fish, and get used to our snorkeling gear. It was great to see all the small and mid sized fish poking around and darting all around us.

I swear they have pterodactyls here in Belize

After this we had a chance for some lunch (mmm, fish stew) before a quick jaunt to our next stop. This was ominously named Shark Ray Alley, and when we arrived we saw why. At the bottom of the ladder into the water were both sharks AND sting rays. Oh man!

Yeah, that’s a nurse shark where I’m about to jump in

So what did we do? In we jumped! The Nurse Shark hanging around the ladder was quite unnerving, but after a quick while we got used to the presence of the sharks swimming about, only a couple of feet away. The sting rays were also incredible, swimming right up to us. our guide fed some and next thing I knew I had a massive sting ray only inches away from me. It felt super soft, like velvet, and was another of those awestriking moments. In the Caribbean, swimming with rays and sharks.

I survived the sharks!

The last stop was Hol Chan Marine Reserve. This gave us a chance to see some different marine life… turtles! in our 45 minute snorkel around we got to see a beautiful Green Turtle, just hanging out, eating some plants off the bottom, and coming up for air. I could have watched it for hours. We also saw some spooky Moray Eels (man they are evil looking) as well as a Spotted Eagle Ray which was majestic. Its spots were incredible and was possibly the most amazing this I saw (and that is saying something).

Kickin’ back on a sailboat in the Caribbean

Alas it was time to get back in the boat and head back to Caye Caulker. To swim in the coral and with the marine life was a perfect way to spend our New Years Eve. To cap it off the Rum Punch flowed freely on the boat was we sailed in.

Our feathered guardian

On the sail home we had fun throwing food to the gulls following us. One had no feet which was super crazy. Our first mate called him our guardian, keeping us safe. I liked to think so.

In we docked and we had some time to chill before our next engagement… group New Years dinner. There was a bunch of G Adventures groups in town and we all spent it at Wish Willys BBQ joint. There we were treated to lots of meats and seafood coming off the barbeques. So. Much. Food. Oh, and also lots more Rum Punch.

Fish on the grill

The dinner culminated in the smashing of a pinata (of course) which was then our cue to head back to the Split to see in the New Year. While busy Kate & I were expecting way more people out and about. Bu the vibe was relaxed and we danced our way to 80’s classics and the stroke of midnight.

And with fireworks on the pier and a balmy Caribbean night, we said hello to 2014.

Bit of an extreme from yesterday huh?

Now that was a day. I woke up feeling remarkably good after my epic 12 hour day of spelunking. The latish start certainly didn’t hurt.

This was another travel day but not a huge one. The destination… the Carribean! Specifically Caye Caulker. Oh yeah! Talk about extremes … from the jungle to the sea.

The most exciting thing about today was that we were riding some public transport, namely CHICKEN BUS! It was not the extravagant chicken buses of Guatemala, but still a chicken bus nonetheless. It was a crazy experience. Basically we all stood on the side of the road hoping that the next bus heading to Belize City would stop for us all. Thankfully, with the rain starting to fall, the first one did and in we piled.

The bus then got chock full of people on the way to Belize City. The ride was not as crazy as I thought it might have been, and alas there were no chickens riding the bus, but it was still fun. After a couple of hours we arrived in the city and headed straight to the port for a water taxi.

The weather straight away hit us. Nice and hot and humid. We were on the coast alright! Along came the water taxi and we headed off the coast to glorious Caye Caulker, our home for the next 3 days.

We’re in Caye Caulker!

And oh boy. Palm trees, reggae music, beautiful blue water… this was it! We dropped our gear off at the hotel, and headed straight to the water’s edge for some lunch, whilst staring out into the gorgeous waters.

After lunch was a quick briefing about snorkeling options for the next day. Being located at the second largest barrier reef in the world meant we had plenty to do. With tomorrows trip locked in it was time to settle in with some beers in the sun.

Hanging out at the Split

We hung out at the Split… a bar where the island actually got split in two during a hurricane in years gone by. It was the perfect chance to drink cheap beers and dive off the pier into the beautiful waters.

Sunset over the water

Sunset came and went. Some time to freshen up and then off for dinner and then next thing we knew the evening wound to a close. I could get used to this.

In the bowels of the earth

I was pretty excited for today. It is not often you get the chance to go exploring caves (aka Spelunking), but in this case, I was not just going to be having a casual wander in… this was going to be 5+ hours underground in the middle of a huge and tricky cave called Crystal Cave. We were told to be prepared to come out filthy, so in my cargos and hiking sandals, I met the group and away we went.

After an hour and a half we arrived at the entrance to the jungle. It was not going to be as simple as heading straight into the cave. Rather it was a 45 minute jungle hike to get to the entrance. Talk about feeling like Indiana Jones!

A little muddy, but full of energy

So we all got suited up in our helmets, loaded heaps of water (it was very hot and humid) and in we trekked. We were all being careful not to get too muddy on the way in. The guides laughed and said we wouldn’t care by the end. But still, we trekked through the tough muddy path for 45 minutes to get to the entrance.

With our helmet lights on, it was on to the end of a rope and dropping into the cave. Oh boy… this was going to be crazy.

Looking back at the entrance

Just after we were inside, with still some small light from outside visible, we sat down for some food and to prepare for the next 4-5 hours that awaited. Since I had not done caving properly, I was not sure exactly what to expect. This was seen as the most difficult cave to explore. but what did difficult really mean?

Every sight a wonder

Holy cow. It was tough. The conditions remained hot and humid, with the air getting more difficult the longer we went. In complete darkness, with only the headlamps of the 10 or so in the group, we had to clamber, climb, slide and squeeze our way through the cave, relying on our guide to help us and show us the path. At times the mind did not want to make some of the precarious leaps to get from one part of the path to the next, especially given the slippery conditions and what looked to be precarious drops. But our guide, Junior, was great, supporting us along the way.

Rock Jellyfish

And what could we see? It was beautiful, with amazing formations everywhere. We were pointed out to different types of formations, how they came about and so on.

Mayan Skull

What was also incredible was that the cave was used by the Mayans, so throughout you would see broken pottery and even the odd human skull. If it wasn’t creepy enough to be in the depths of a cave, with no idea how to get out, just add human remains into the mix!

Still full of beans

We kept going further down and down in to the cave. We were all getting tired and covered in mud as we went. It was amazing and challenging and tiring and scary all at once. You would be scared by some of the climbing but then amazed by seeing things you would probably never see again.

After about 4 hours we were in a huge chamber where we had an option. We could spend another hour of even faster and more challenging cave exploring to get to “Wonderland”… a small incredible chamber full of even more new formations, or head out. I was not sure. I was loving it, but was a little tired and remembered some of the difficult climbs I had to make, especially for someone 5 foot 6. But the guide said I was doing well, so bugger it… in I went!

In Wonderland

Two groups combined to head into Wonderland. After about 40 minutes of fast, difficult climbing we found ourselves in an amazing chamber of beautiful rock formations. Like I have posted a bunch of times, photos can never do something like this justice. First of all, I had my pokey little camera inside the cave, as it was getting covered in mud. Secondly, a flash doesn’t give the same experience as shining your head lamp on amazing features all around you. It was breathtaking.

Exploring Wonderland

After another 30 minutes were were back where we broke with the others. We had about 45 minutes of climbing still to go to make it out of the cave. It was at this time that the reality of what I was doing hit. I was tired, in the middle of a cave in Belize, surrounded by natural wonder, and relying on a complete stranger to get me out. Life is funny sometimes.

I made it!

Eventually we saw light! We were all exhausted so it was a sight to behold. Weary, we clambered out with the thought of 45 minutes of jungle trekking to get back. As they predicted, none of us cared about the mud or insects at all. We made our way out of the jungle, with the light fading fast.

The final part of the day was a visit to a cenote for a clean up swim. Sadly with was super dark by the time we arrived, so we only had time for a quick dip to cool down and clean up a bit before heading back to the hotel. During the drive my brain couldn’t really comprehend the craziness I had just done.

Kate heads out tubing with the lads

I got back to Kate who was eagerly awaiting me for dinner. She had a great half day tubing through caves and down rapids with a couple of of others on the tour. She sounded like she had a great time and said she saw enough of some caves, and in a much more civilised manner then I had, so was super happy with her day.

I could barely manage some dinner before collapsing, and looking forward to tomorrows destination.