ext212 > americas > belize 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 Ambergris Caye: - A storm brewing, only to get angrier and angrier - Back to Caye Caulker after a whole day of snorkeling 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

A dark cloud was hovering over Caye Caulker when we met up at the docks. Carlos knew the storm was heading this way and decided we will let it pass by waiting another hour. It did and it was furious! The boats rocked and the water rose. The rain was warm but we wondered how we're going to cross the channel with such strong winds. When it let up, we continued to the nurse shark stop closer to the Caye. The strong winds continued. As soon as Carlos stopped the engine, our boat was surrounded by sharks and yellowtails. Plenty of them! I could hardly put my mask on in excitement. I realized I really needed to pay attention and secure my life jacket because of the current. I watch the boy excitedly jump into the water and being surrounded by the nurse sharks right away, thinking he was the man with the food. It seemed insane to be snorkeling while sharp rain drops pelted our backs but it was much warmer underwater than staying in the boat and battling the strong winds with only a wet towel. Even with the tropical storm, it was still the best day out of all the three. We swam with manatees and we ate really good food, only to swim with sharks during a storm. We couldn't have imagined a better last day for our vacation. The rain had stopped when we returned to the Caye but it continued again throughout the night. We had dinner at the local Chinese restaurant and were pretty amused that Chinese people straight from Quangdong Province would settle in Belize of all places. The Belizians at the Lazy Iguana Bar told us the Chans have been in the Caye longer than most Belizeans. As with most Asian families in countries other than their own, they were owners of the biggest grocery shop or the only Chinese restaurant in the village. In one of the grocery stores where we stopped by to refill our water gallon, a few Rastafarians chatted with us. They easily offered us sips from their Anise drinks (gross!), smokes from their cigarettes and joints while we talked about New York, Caye Caulker, American tourists and of all places, Amsterdam. One of the Rastas used to live in Amsterdam and it was a trip to listen to the boy rapping with him in Dutch. China Restaurant Your usual take-out Chinese food: oily, oily and oily, but oh, do they make good fried chicken! We wanted to support our people so we had dinner here and ordered the lobster omelette and the vegetable hot soup. Albert's Grocery It is essential to buy a gallon of water for about US$3 and then just refill it at Albert's for half the price. The Asian teenager who sometimes looks after the place is too hip hop even for our taste. We find it pretty cool that he looks just like us but was born in Belize City. Amsterdam, The Netherlands See our trip to The Netherlands.