Caye Caulker, Belize

We've just spent an incredible 3 days on Caye Caulker island in Belize, snorkelling, meeting the locals, eating great seafood, drinking, and relaxing in hammocks. It's a tiny island with no cars on the east coast of Belize close to the Caribbean and we could've stayed there forever.
We arrived early in the morning and checked in to the lovely hostel Yuma's which is right on the sea and has a very relaxed vibe. We walked down to the The Spit which is at one end of the island and is where everyone hangs out, drinks beers and swims or snorkels. The water here is a perfect turquoise colour and it feels like we're in the Caribbean. That feeling is enhanced by the fact that everyone on the island speaks a creole English which is very familiar if you've ever seen the movie Cool Runnings. We walked the entire island which took all of 20 minutes and saw how friendly all the locals are. Everyone shouts at you, in a friendly way, to "Go Slow" and that is the motto of Caye Caulker with signposts even encouraging it. We spent the evening chilling on hammocks and playing scrabble at the waters edge before going to Roys Grill for some jerk chicken and garlic shrimp.
We did an awesome snorkelling trip with E-Z Boy Tours on the 5th for Lou's birthday, which will have its very own photoblog entry.
We spent our last day on the island with Chris and Faaria, who we'd met on the snorkelling trip. It was similar to our first with most of the day spent down at The Spit, only interrupted by fried jacks (a cross between an empanada and a pancake) for lunch followed by some ice coffee. That night we ate on the beach at Fran's, a cool little pop up BBQ restaurant. Fran was a formidable but jolly woman who set up tables and chairs along the beach each night and barbecued delicious red snapper served with rice and potatoes followed by caramel cake. Fran seemed to know everyone on the island and shouted at everyone going by. We got the feeling that she wasn't a women to be messed with but her food was great and there wasn't a free seat to be had.