And I’m in Canada!

5 July 200913 September 2012 / H / Leave a comment

I’ve made it! Got to Vancouver!

I slept the night on Dallas Fort Worth airport’s floor, before security so there were no shops or benches. I watched Long Way Down to keep the spirits up then eventually fell asleep. I woke up in the night to find someone had put an American Airlines 1st Class Blanket and Pillow by me, that was great of them! Had 2 Breakfast Burritos the morning after and I regret the second one quite a bit!

Still, 4 hours on a plane full of OAP Cruise Passengers and I was in Vancouver. Promptly had the Work Permit Issued and jumped on the bus for Downtown. Checked into the Samesun and then ran off to get my SIN number reactivated as fast as I could! Then I chilled out with some Kokannees and watched BC Lions vs. Saskatchewan!

Today I’ve been on Skype most of the morning then headed to Metrotown for a look around, then I came back and realized I needed to get a phone… but I can’t decided between Fido and Rogers (even though they are owned by the same company!)

Anyway, here are the customary photos!

Robson Street

North Vancouver

The Skyline!

The Seaplanes!

It’s GREAT to be back!

Diving and Leaving Caye Caulker

5 July 200920 September 2012 / H / Leave a comment

The last blog post from this great place

I did my dives in Hol Chan Marine Reserve with Big Fish Diving and had a great time. The first suprise was that my air and depth meters were in PSI and Feet rather than Bar and Metres as I had been trained… so had to get a quick conversion done to work out the max depth and the warning air levels.

On the way I finally clap eyes on San Pedro. I think I made the right choice with Caye Caulker

The gear!

When we got down to Hol Chan I also realised this was my first roll entry as well. Fortunately this came naturally!

Down there the highlights included my first:

Turtle
Nurse Shark (and lots off them)
Stingrays that I actually saw (I have been on dives with them before but didn’t spot them when others did)

Was just great to be back in the water, banter with the Canadians I was diving with and have a little fun under the sea! When I got back I found that Vancouver is also excellent for diving so I think I’ll be doing some when I’m on my feet properly!

Anyway, the remainder of the day was chilling out!

The Hostel Yard - isn't it great!

Looking out to sea from the end of the Hostel's pier - the surfline in the distance is the Belize Barrier Reef - another contender for the best island scene shot

Tina's Hostel

That's the Caribbean!

And that's what the Caribbean can do to a harbour wall. A hurricane helped out

Chilled that evening and the next morning. In fact the only thing waking me up the next morning was the wind. It’s normal for higher winds in the evening but it was strange. That morning it was much higher!

Those palm trees are normally palm tree shaped!

One of the hostel dogs

It was then time to jump on the water taxi and head back to Belize City. Caye Caulker has been one of the surprises of this trip. So chilled and laid back!

Belize City on the otherhand, was still Belize City. Lots of taxi guys looking for attention, beggars and needs more cleaning. I found a great lunch though and got some cash before heading for the airport. I bought a few souvenirs, some Firey Hot, Belize Heat and Beware hot sauces from Marie Sharp’s! Oh they are going to burn!

Belize is worth a visit let me tell you.

Still on Caye Caulker

30 June 200913 September 2012 / H / Leave a comment

I’m still here.

I wondered around wondering what to do most of the day but eventually booked a couple of fundives for BZD190 with Big Fish Diving Centre. Doing Hol Chan Marine Reserve, exactly where I wanted to go! The Great Blue Hole is a bit too expensive, I’m not qualified/insured to dive deep enough and people have told me that the thing that really makes it worth it is seeing sharks there… in that case I would rather go to Hol Chan and know I’ll see loads of everything.

In the mean time, I’ve checked into Tina’s Backpackers Hostel since the Tropics was fully booked. Just BZD22 a night!

The WiFi is slow… but I’ll try a few photos