La Isla Bonita

Travelling all the way here to beautiful San Pedro Island in the pristine of the Caribbean was quite an unique experience to say. Just merely a day and a half stop over in the country of Belize and for 2 equally important reasons. The first was the route. Back in Merida, Mexico, we started to travel overland and while some routes could have been done by plane, this would have set the costs really high. Also, between Cancun and Flores in Guatemala there is no airline connection, leaving the only possible option the bus. We were travelling from Mexico to Guatemala via Belize.

The second reason, getting on a flight over the UNESCO World Heritage Site listed second largest barrier reef in the world to Caye Ambergris and the famous San Pedro Town. The hundreds of paradise coral islands is what we have in mind when talking about Belize and we wanted to experience it first hand. And as an extra, a curious fact this time, who have never heard of Madonna’s song La Isla Bonita? Last night I dreamt of San Pedro… Well, this is said to be the island she might refer to.

Infrastructures are still old and poor and thankfully there are no big hotel properties. This is perhaps one of the reasons the place has retained its charm and laid back attitude. Unfortunately, I guess this is due to change with so many North Americans buying properties on mass and owning business as we experienced first hand, and the ever increasing number of tourists of course. Still, you can enjoy the quietness and tranquility here than if going instead to the over-touristy and also over rated, Caye Caulker. (more…)