Slowing down in Caye Caulker

I imagine Mauritius to have looked and felt like Belize: a slowed-down tempo, a proud cultural mix, and icons such as the 'Chinese shop' emphasising the social diversity of the place.

Our arrival in Belize City was planned at the last minute. After the wedding, we took the ADO bus from Cancun and froze our butts: the driver insisted on blasting the airconditioning at us at 17 degrees. We turned up in Belize City and realised that.. the place was dead. It was a Sunday, and unlike Mexico, everywhere was closed.

Which, as it turned out, was not a particularly bad thing. Having frozen to death, we were on the verge of catching a cold; Kris was feverish and we spent a very relaxed day. We stayed at Mario's AirBnB, which I highly recommend, and popped out for lunch at the Radisson Blu. We treated ourselves to the sweet potato cake - it tasted like a tropical Christmas.

We even had the privilege of meeting Prince Charles Perez. If you're planning to go to Belize City, you might bump into him; he's a hobo-historian-ambassador who will corner you for a drawn-out historical lesson about Belize's origins, before dubbing you Ambassador of Belize and asking you whether he deserves his 'cheese'... or 'rat poison'. Highly entertaining, but I suppose the few Belize dollars we shoved in his hands counted as rat poison. Oh well. Here's a video of him taken by someone else.

The next day, we took the water taxi and headed, as everyone does, to Caye Caulker - we would have loved to go further down the Peninsula to the less touristy areas, but simply didn't have enough time and money.

The motto on Caye Caulker is go slow. Who were we to argue?

The accommodation is basic but overpriced, and you can cross the windswept island on foot in 15 minutes. To get around, people walk, or use bikes or... golf carts.

It cracked me up each time one of them trundled past. There were no cars - true to the spirit of going slow; the loudest sound is that of the tide and the wind.

You can often see people dozing off on their hammocks or even their boats... It was such an incredibly chilled - though touristy - vibe. We got into the swing. Metaphorically and literally.

During our three days in Caye Caulker, we splashed in the water at the Split and watched people somersault into the water;

Made a few furry friends, including this one;

Just look at him.

Drank coconut water in the golden hour;

Watched the sun set in the Mayan reef;

So romantic.

Gazed at the sky changing to a deep, calm blue;

Enjoyed the drumming and the 'nightlife' amid the smell of BBQ and the sound of the tide.

Oh and we visited the animal shelter, which is well worth a visit and a few spare dollars as donations.

I attempted to befriend one lil guy, called Chico:

The main reason we went to Caye Caulker was to dive. The famous Blue Hole was way too expensive and - we heard - not worth the hype so we opted for Turneffe Atoll instead, where we encountered glorious corals, eagle rays, nurse sharks and myriad colourful fish. Ravenous after diving, we decided to go for the BBQ by Fran, an entrepreneurial, no-nonsense lady who sets up shop on the beach with a few tables. Her garlic bread is astounding.

For dessert, there is only ONE thing worthy of its name on the island, and we went for it: the 'Caye Lime Frozen Pie', home-made at Bondi Bar on the far side of the island. It was stunning; the zingy flavour of lime hits you with the first bite, and the smooth frozen filling beautifully complements the crunchy base. I've never had anything like this - it wouldn't be out of place in a gourmet restaurant. The picture doesn't do it justice.

I could get used to this rhythm of life... maybe.