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Useful Information AboutCaye Caulker |
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Thanks
to so many people that have stayed with me over the years, I have decided
to put together a page of useful info and links to other great sites for information.
Click on the headings below to go to a particular part of the page. Lots of
info and words - be patient!!
CLIMATE
Typically a tropical lowland climate. Rainforest to the south and west of the lowlands. Island temperatures drop in the winter months, and average mid/late 70's in the day and dropping about 10 degrees at night. Summer months are hotter and much more humid. The temps still drop by about 10 degrees at night, and average daily temps are around 85 - 90's. The islands usually have a sea breeze that can feel like air-conditioning when the rest of the country is sweltering! The rainy season is supposed to start after Easter sometime and carry on till Oct. This has not been the case in recent years and we are seeing more rain later in the year. Usually great thunderstorms with massive lightening shows in the late afternoon or at night. Climate around the world is changing - so no promises!
For today's weather, click on here:www.belizenet.com/weatherix.shtml
LANGUAGE
English is the official language but you will hear all kinds of other ones too. Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna, Creole, to name but a few.
MONEY
We have the Belize Dollar. BZD$. It is pegged to the US dollar at 2BZD:1USD. There is one ATM here, which accepts foreign cards. The bank (Atlantic Bank Ltd) will also provide cash advances with credit/debit cards and charges $10BZD commision however large the transaction (need to show your passport). US currency is widely accepted and your change will come back in BZD dollars. Travellers checks are a good idea and you can spend them as 'cash' at most places and also change them at the bank ($IBZ per check). Again your change will be in local currency. Remember large notes are always a problem for smaller vendors.
THE ISLAND AND FACILITIES
As with all places now, the climate changes are going to affect us as well as everywhere else. Although we provide such luxuries as air-conditioning, I ask all my guests to be aware of the small things that will make a difference and hopefully give the island a few more days of survival. This is how it works - so that you can better understand what we are up against! Tourism is good, but let us be responsible.
WATER here is well water, a shallow 4-6 feet hole where the fresh water sits on top of the salt water. There is only so much to go around. The only other water we have is collected rain water. The less we use the better we all are. Please take shorter showers and perhaps not flush the toilet every time?! Toilets use more water than any other household appliance! If you hear a toilet running or see a shower dripping, please let me know as soon as you can.
POWER: we have deisel generators here on the island that supply all of our power. The less we use the less greenhouse gases we produce. Please turn off A/C's, fans and lights whenever plausible.
RECYCLING: there is no official recycling here, but we do a number of things as responsible foreingers that may help at least! Glass bottles like beer, sodas are returnable. When buying drinks, try to use the glass bottles instead of the plastic. Leave them next to the trash for the kids to take back and make some pocket money. Plastic bottles we reuse in the guise of the fruit lady and her juices. Keep them seperate too. Whenever possible reuse shopping bags as trash bags or some other use, like toilet trash bin liners. Many 'take-out' food containers are polystyrene, please crush and dispose of in the trash or better yet, take your own container!
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POST/INTERNET
There are two internet cafe's on Front St. Just ask anyone! The Post Office is on Estrella Street, just off Front Street or Hicaco Drive which we are still getting used to calling it!
GETTING HERE FROM THE MAINLAND AND SAN PEDRO
TAXI FROM THE AIRPORT TO THE WATER TAXI TERMINAL: If you let me know when your flight arrives at the airport I can set up a driver to meet your flight and take you to the water taxi. It is a 20 min journey (there is no bus or other options - except walking!) and the standard posted rate is $US25 for a couple and $US6 per extra person. My driver charges the same, but you have the comfort of being met by a reliable driver who also lives here on the island and knows the water taxi drivers etc, so can answer any of your questions. There is also a taxi rank there at the airport if you feel more comfortable doing that.
WATER TAXI - is the traditional way of getting around. The roundtrip from BZ City to Caye Caulker is $US15. It takes 45 mins between Caye Caulker and BZ City and 30 mins between Caye Caulker and San Pedro. There is also a company called Triple J that also drops passengers off here, they are just across the river from the Caye Caulker Water Taxi Associatoin. Here is the timetable;-
Caye Caulker to Belize City: 6:30, 7:30, 8:30,10am, Noon, 1:30, 3, 4pm (&
5 pm on weekends and holidays)
Belize City to Caye Caulker to San Pedro: 8, 9,10:30am, Noon,1:30, 3, 4:30, 5:30pm
San Pedro to Caye Caulker to Belize
City: 7, 8, 9:30,11:30am, 1pm, 2:30, 3:30pm
Caye Caulker to San Pedro: 7, 8:45, 9:50, 11:20am, 12:50, 2:20, 3:50 pm
For more information go to www.cayecaulkerwatertaxi.com
AIR - we have a newly fixed up airstrip here now! There are two airlines that fly here. Tropic Air, and Maya Island Air. I am an agent for Tropic Air. The roundtrip from BZ International Airport is $US109.75 and the flight takes about 10-12 mins. Here is the link for Tropic Air who have a great and easy site to book through. . www.tropicair.com.
BUS FROM CHETUMAL OR FLORES
I think that all the bus's now stop at the water taxi terminal on arrival into BZ City. If not, the Bus Station is not far away and you can jump in a taxi for $US3 and ask for the Water Taxi. You can walk too, but it is a bit of a complicated route without a map!
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER
If flying out of Belize, remember that there is a $US35 departure fee from Belize. Usually this is included in your ticket, but be careful to save enough cash if not, as they do not accept credit cards. They say they want it in US dollars, but I have often paid in local currency.
