Wait a second, what country are we in??

How have we crossed into Jamaica without ever getting on a plane or in a boat? There is Courts Store in the center of each city, Digicel credit being sold, patois ringing in our ears, the same fruits and veggies we were so used to, and in place of the Mayan features of the people we see the look of Africa, or to our eyes, Jamaica (except for the Mennonites- we weren't expecting to see the beard and suspender clad white men with long beards in horse-drawn carriages!). It feels good to be in Belize. Crossing the border the difference was immediate and we felt strangely like we had come home.

After the third time the customs clearly explained to us that this is an English speaking country and we did not need to speak to them broken Spanish, we started our trek through the countryside ending up in the quaint little town of San Ignacio. With a day and a half to explore the small town, we spent some of our most relaxing time of the entire trip sitting on porches with our hostel family, walking through parks and just stopping and chatting with the locals. This is our type of traveling.

And of course a trip to Belize would not be complete for us without getting to see a part of the second largest barrier reef in the world. So next stop was hopping a ferry to Caye Caulker- white sand beaches and the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Again, we were feeling at home. An island that you could nearly spit to the other side of, Caye Caulker is a long stretch of laid-back paradise where we had the good fortune of making some great new friends.

Back to the reef part, the snorkeling was beautiful. It was wonderful to see that Belize is filled with reserve after reserve to help to protect some of the remaining corals we have left in this world. While this does come with a price tag we were able to splurge a little with an all day sailing and snorkeling trip that was amazing and will definitely be one of our highlights. A stark difference from the seriously damaged Jamaican reefs, in Belize there is a plethora of everything and it is all much bigger! From nurse sharks and southern sting rays, green sea turtles to giant groupers, the wildlife in the marine parks were some of the most beautiful and plentiful we have ever seen. So thank you Contessa, the snorkeling was wonderful!