Caye Caulker, Belize

I needed a vacation; there was no question. I'm not sure why, as this semester definitely hasn't been very taxing. Grades came back (the grades are posted, they posted grades!), and given that like 99% of students get B minuses or higher, it was very difficult to be worried. But I needed a vacation. So I went to Belize.

When Hurricane Ernesto hit in August, the cheapest option was to switch my ticket to Belize to January. So for a nominal fee, I sighed and accepted the fact that I would have to take another trip to Central America. Given that all I really wanted was a week for R&R, I decided to spend my entire time on Caye Caulker, an island off the coast known as the chill caye ("No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem"). Here, the young lie on the beach, snorkel, smoke weed, and eat lobster. I did three of the above, leaving the pot smoking to rest of the island (and by rest of the island I mean everyone else on the island).

I got off the boat and wandered into my funky little hostel, Yuma's House Belize. For $13 a night, it was a great value. Dorms of only four, cold showers (which were lovely), and quiet time beginning at 11pm. The clientele was chill. There I met a couple of Americans ("Snacks" and "Biscuit") with whom I spent most of the first half of the trip. We played volleyball with the locals, ate Fran's lobster special (a large tail of lobster with butter sauce, rice, fresh veggies, chocolate cake, and a stiff rum drink for $12.50 - the chicken special was ten bucks), and played hours of spades. I read in the hammock on the dock, and watched the sunset. It was glorious.

The main reason I went to Belize originally was to dive. So I took a trek to the Blue Hole, one of Belize's natural wonders. There, tens of sharks circled beneath us as we marveled at the limestone walls and local biodiversity. A barracuda followed us from a distance, curious but wary, mouth slightly open to show us its sharp teeth. On the shallower dives we saw turtles grazing, moray eels, sting rays, and a plethora of colorful fish. On the way home, we paused to watch a group of four dolphins showing off, jumping and splashing in and out of our wake.

I ended the trip in the same fashion as I started. I met two more Americans, and we relaxed. We drank and watched the Redskins game (screw you, Seattle) and the BCS National Championship (ROLL TIDE). The morning before leaving, I was approached by a very nice (and high) gentleman who wondered if I wouldn't help him and his friends run cocaine into the country. I politely listened to his sales pitch, drinking my morning coffee on the beachfront. When I told him I wasn't interested in helping, he asked me for a "donation" to the cause (now that takes balls). I replied I think I'd rather spend my money on coffee, and he left disappointed but undeterred.

And so I returned to the real world, which is much colder than I remembered. A new year and a new semester is upon us. I can't help but think that swimming with sharks wasn't a bad way of getting it started.