Up and at ’em…at 10am the next morning, the four of us headed for breakfast at the Sand Box, a restaurant at the top of the strip overlooking the water:
The view from the breakfast table
Starving as we were, this place was perfect: huge portions, affordable prices. I opted for the huevos rancheros while J went for the 2-egg special with ham and fry jacks. J’s cousin went for the same dish while her friend decided on the breakfast burrito which, when it arrived, looked to weigh about 10 pounds. We were also sure to ask for some of their mind-blowingly spicy hot sauce. Last year, much to the amusement of the staff, J ordered some and proceeded to douse his breakfast with it. I watched as his colouring went from tan to beet red in roughly 7 seconds. Lesson learned, we just put teeny amounts all over our breakfasts this time.
Eggs & big, puffy fry jacks
Huevos rancheros
Hot sauce of doom
We wrapped up breakfast and wound our way through the back streets until we came to a golf cart rental store. J’s cousin and friend thought it would be a great way to show us the rest of the caye, since we’d barely seen the south end at all. We bounced and bumped our way around the place, outwardly gawking at the natural beauty of the place, drinking in the atmosphere. (And maybe secretly hatching plans to live there forever.) We passed children in their school uniforms playing on their lunch breaks, friends chatting in the street, fascinating houses (like the Rasta house…’nuff said), landmarks, signs and untouched, unspoiled coastline beauty.
The road less travelled
You make sure you mind your signage.
After our very entertaining – and informative (see pic above) – tour, we went for one last dip up at the Split with our company and then saw them off, back to Belize City. We’d planned to go on a sunset cruise that evening, so we checked in with Raggamuffin Tours and booked our spots. I had wanted to do this last year; unfortunately, due to time constraints we weren’t able to make it. I was so excited to check this off my list of things to do in Caye Caulker and it did not disappoint. Asked to be there 15 minutes ahead of time, we arrived and promptly began chatting with Ish: captain, bartender and salsa-maker. Good person to know on the caye!
Cap'n Ish, hard at work.
Fifteen or so of us piled onto the boat around 5:30 and half of us were asked to sit out on the prow. I leapt at the opportunity and J and I scrambled up to the top of the boat and perched ourselves, ready to be awed. I was a little concerned by the intermittent cloud cover, thinking it might mar a spectacular sunset. I needn’t have been so worried:
Tropical sunset
Gobsmacking. Awe-inducing. Stunning. If you were so inclined, perhaps religious.
Once the sun fully set, chips and the most delicious, simple salsa ever were passed around along with copious amounts of rum punch. The first hand was very chatty, but we found ourselves mostly talking to a charming, fun couple from Kansas. We talked for hours about travel and food: they had decided on a whim to come to Caye Caulker with their friends. They were quite clearly enjoying themselves – and really, how could you not? We implored them to take the short trip over to San Pedro since they had plenty of time to explore.
Back into port around 8pm, we found ourselves in need of dinner. We thought we’d head up to a little place where we’d seen whole suckling pigs roasting away, but found it sadly lacking. The host was also extremely pushy, so away we went, back to where we had disembarked: Sabre Los Olas, or “Over the Waves.” We considered sitting outside on the swing chairs, but after rocking around on the boat, sturdy chairs were more appealing. As we arrived late, a few options were off the table (at least you know the food is fresh!); however, we were still able to order conch fritters, blackened fillet and shrimp creole. Those fritters were certainly the best part of the meal, though the shrimp & fish were good, too.
On our way home, we popped into a grocery store to pick up some mix for the gold rum that we had in our hotel room. After taking what seemed like an eternity to decide on said mix, we ended up with pineapple lemonade. When we got back, we searched for glasses and found…tea cups. Okay. You make do with what you have. Pinkies out, we finished off our last full day with a night cap you’d only have in Caye Caulker.
Food Nurd 
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