The Big Trip - Belize

There are places in this world that I had never even thought about visiting, let alone knowing of their existence. Caye Caulker was one of them. An island off Belize, it was exactly what I needed after the busyness of Mexico. The mantra in Caye Caulker is 'Go Slow'. I had seen this on signs and t-shirts in local shops, the island clearly being proud of the fact. We had an experience with a local man one day as Declan and I were walking down a sandy path towards our hotel. The man asked us how we were and we replied with the typical ''Good, thanks! And you?'' He smiled and replied, ''Well, I'm going slower than you!'' and walked off, head held high and with a pep in his very slow step. 

Sleep

Whilst in Caye Caulker we stayed at Popeye's Beach Resort. We did have a slight problem with our room checking in but the staff were so friendly and sorted us out straight away. We had our own private room with an ensuite, kitchenette and sofa which was a lil basic but met all our needs. We (mostly I) had a slight mishap (more on that later) where we ended up having to stay an extra night and they accommodated us which we very much appreciated. 

Wear

Minimal clothing and ALL the SPF50 EVERYWHERE. 

Transport

To get from Tulum to Belize City we had to take an overnight bus in which we crossed the Mexican border. I had been warned by my good friend, Nicola, that you needed to have proof of travel tax paid leaving Mexico, which is normally included in your airfare. It was indeed included in ours and we had the proof all ready to rock and roll on our phones. Now, once you get to the Mexican border you are asked to leave the bus in the middle of the night and line up outside a very dodgy looking border control building. Waiting outside the door to the building, you can hear your fellow travellers inside; some crying, some arguing with border officials and others pleading to let them through without paying. Upon entering the office, arriving at a desk and looking into the eyes of an unsympathetic guard, we were told that our proof was inadequate as we had to have it printed out. So, much like the majority of our bus companions we had to pay $500 Mexican Peso to cross the border. The five hour bus journey ended up taking eight but we finally got to Belize City. Once in the city, take a taxi to the ferry port and hop on a ferry with Belize Water Taxi. The guys in green t-shirts take your bags and you board the boat, arriving in beautiful Caye Caulker a short time later.

Once on the island, you can walk wherever you may please. A lot of the locals use golf carts to get around on the sandy paths as there are very little roads. I think I only saw two vehicles the whole time we were there. 

Eat & Drink

Rum punch was my drink of choice in Caye Caulker. Those Caribbean vibez. Try The Lazy Lizard located at the Split for good cocktails, music, a nice place to watch the sunset and diving boards for during the day if you feel like a dip. A lot of the restaurants on the island do amazing seafood that's caught locally. We loved wahoo and red snapper. I also highly recommend the only bakery on the island for breakfast treats. The Guinness is nothing like the stuff at home but that's to be expected. The #1 restaurant on TripAdvisor in Caye Caulker is an Italian one, Pasta Per Caso Anna & Armando. We didn't get to try it as it was full at the time but I could use this as an excuse to go back to the island one day! 

Do

The best thing we did whilst on Caye Caulker, and one of the best things I've done in my life so far, was snorkelling in the Caribbean with Stressless Tours. It was an unbelievable day out on the water. We saw manatees and turtles and swam with nurse sharks and stingrays. We snorkelled over a ship wreck and Hol Chan, a marine reserve, where we saw beautiful coral and other sea life. The water itself was just incredibly blue and beautiful all on its own. We were given a hearty lunch and some rum punch to keep us fuelled during the day. However, I've never felt the urge to pee as much as I did on the boat ride back to the island. I'll never forget it. And then what happened? The boat ran out of fuel. Heh. Upon eventually arriving back on the island, I used a local man's loo and promptly noticed how red my arse was. This being the mishap I mentioned earlier. I had been layering on the factor fiddy THICK, forgetting to cover the one part of my very pale body which was protruding out of the water all day. This the reason being us staying an extra night as the whole next day I was laid on my tummy alongside my new best pal, a refreshingly cool bottle of Aloe Vera. The final few days of the holiday were spent watching GoT, sheltering from the sun, then braving it with a few dips in the pool. All in all, the burnt bum was worth the experience and I look back on it with great fondness and a lesson learnt in suncream application. Don't.forget.ya.bum. 

Our time in Caye Caulker was one of my favourites of The Big Trip. Take a lil time to go slow my friends!

Next up, Guatemala.

Ciara 

X

The Big Trip - Mexico

Cancún

Cenote Cristalino, Playa del Carmen

Cozumel

Valladolid & Chichen Itza 

The beach at the Ruins of Tulum & Grand Cenote, Tulum

Well hello there! Hasn't it been a fine minute? Here I am a year after us setting off on The Big Trip and I'm finally getting around to posting about the Central America part of it. So, vamos Mexico!

Sleep

For the whole of The Big Trip, we booked our hostels/hotels on Booking.com, primarily because a lot of places had a free cancellation policy which we could utilise if needed. We also used hostelworld.com who have a great app that's really easy to use to find a nice cheap spot for the night. To be honest, there was no stand out accommodation for me in Mexico. The average cost of a private double room was €10 each per night. Most had AC too. Essential. 

Wear

If you can, nothing. The heat, lads! It lead to a major culture shock for me. The strength of the sun, the sweat and sometimes a 16kg bag on your shoulders on top of all that. I just couldn't believe how hot it was. I expected it, but my goodness. I may have cried about it. A few times. Adulting is going swell.

Transport

Our route through Mexico was Cancún - Playa del Carmen - Cozumel - Valladolid - Tulum. Mexico has an excellent bus service in Ado. The buses are run from major towns and cities on the Yucatán Peninsula. They're comfortable and the few we went on almost always had some kind of movie on for the drive. One of my favourite experiences in Mexico was hopping on local collectivos. They're these little white vans that drive all around the local towns or places of interest. To get on a collectivo you basically stand on the side of the road and hail one down. An angel in the form of a white van. My favourite thing about them was the fact that the locals used them too. There was many a time that I was squished in beside an elderly Mexican lady, decked out in traditional dress. And at 12 Mexican pesos (50c!) it's a treat. To finish, a little mention for the company we used to ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel, Barcos Caribe. 

Eat & Drink

The food in Mexico is always best served in a local market square. It's cheap, delicious and the markets are a buzz with a lovely atmosphere in the evening. Our favourite such place was probably El Parque de las Palapas in Cancún. Listen to some amazing Mexican guitarists and try a marquesita. There are also some very cute market stalls where you can pick up some souvenirs and gifts for people at home. An authentic Mexican experience amongst the very touristy hotels and restaurants. In Tulum, we were those tourists that went to an Italian restaurant (La Nave) and, dare I say, I had one of the best spaghetti bologneses of my life. Also in Tulum, head to Kahlua where you get a bucket of beer for 100 Mexican pesos and free nachos!

Do

Partial to a dip and not a lover of the heat, visiting a cenote was my favourite thing to do. They're spectacular sinkholes that have turned into underground swimming pools. The water is so refreshing and it's something that I had never seen before so loved exploring. We went to Cenote Cristalino in Playa del Carmen and Grand Cenote in Tulum. In terms of ruins, I would recommend the Ruins of Tulum to Chichen Itza. The Ruins of Tulum are situated on the coast so you can take an afternoon dip at the most gorgeous beach at the bottom of a few steps from the city ruins. Also, the line to get in there was short compared to our wait to get into Chichen Itza. One of my favourite places in Mexico was Valladolid, the town close to Chichen Itza. It had the most beautiful pastel coloured, earthy colonial buildings and we got caught in a rain shower there. A great cooling off. 

All in all, the Yucatán Peninsula is full of colour and beautiful places. I'd like to go back to Mexico to spend some time in a less touristy area and maybe at a time of year when it isn't so hot. This Irish gal just isn't built for it. 

Next up, one of our favourites of the trip, Belize.

Ciara 

x

The Big Trip - San Francisco

Hello dearest friends! It's been a while since I've been on this here blog. I've been thinking recently about that and you know what, writing on here is just not a big priority for me at the moment. And that's okay! I'd rather post in my own time and have some fun with it. So that's what I'm doing with my little space of the internet in 2018. 

Declan and I headed off to Central America from June to September of last year. 7 weeks in total. We hit up the US first with Chicago (family wedding) and San Francisco (Aoife and Aisling were there for the summer and I would honestly make any excuse to go back there). Then onto Central America starting in Mexico, then onto Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and ending in Costa Rica. In The Big Trip series, I'll share my photos, thoughts and recommendations on some of the places. Luckily, I wrote a brief summary of most of our days at the end of each day on good old Google Docs so I still have names of places, restaurants and memories (that I might have forgotten in the mean time) all to share! 

We're starting off the series with San Francisco as our stay in Chicago was brief and filled with wedding shananigans. We stayed in a lovely Airbnb in our native Berkeley and just enjoyed being back there again. Highlights included: Trader Joes (their food samples are the best), Toss (noodle bar), Cream (ice-cream cookie sandwiches) and The Sunny Side Cafe (breakfasts, brunches and dreams come true). We did discover a few new spots which Aoife and Aisling introduced us to - the highlight for me being Maison Bleue for gorgeous crepes. 

Our biggest day out in SF was biking the bridge. Myself and Dec had rented out bikes during our SF days but had never actually made it across the bridge. Well, he did a different day and I went across it on a very windy tourist bus. Anyway, I was really looking forward to the views and stopping to take them in and it didn't disappoint because we saw numerous whales! I was also excited to reach the other side and see Sausalito as a good few people had told me I would love it. They know me too well. I would highly recommend going as it's the cutest town you have ever seen and the view looking back on the city is great. We stopped for dinner and a beer in a restaurant near the water and it was wolfed down. 

We'll continue with the journey in the next post with Mexico and a lil culture shock. Delightful.

Yay to the end of another January,

Ciara

x