Imagine a place where palm trees sway in the warm sea breeze, waves break over a world-class barrier reef just offshore, the motto is “go slow,” and cars are not only uncommon, they are actually illegal. An island where bicycles roam free and easy as the vehicle of choice on just five miles of sandy unpaved roads.
Rush hour.
My friends, I’ve just returned from such a place, and while some may tout Amsterdam or Copenhagen as bicycle Shangri-La, let me tell you, it’s pretty awesome to be somewhere that simply has no cars at all. I’m talking about Caye Caulker, a very small island off the Caribbean coast of Belize, on the southern end of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Granted, on Caye Caulker you can’t go very far; bicycles bring you slightly more efficiently to your destination along the five mile stretch between the north and south ends of the island. A bike can also facilitate getting across the island, but since that distance is best measured in yards not miles, bicycles are not really much of an advantage in the traverse.
And admittedly, you might be too busy diving the Blue Hole, or snorkeling the fabulous Hol Chan Marine Reserve, to spend much time in the saddle anyway. (We snorkeled a lot, and the quality and quantity of coral, fish, rays, manatees, dolphins, pretty much blew our minds.)
Those waves are breaking over the Belize Barrier Reef, snorkeling paradise less than a mile offshore.
And to be completely honest, there are a fair number of golf carts on the island, and the salty, humid conditions are a little rough on components.
Still, it’s pretty great to be somewhere without cars, where the only major vehicle you see is the tractor used to deliver beverages to the restaurants.
The employee parking area at the beverage distributor.
Caye Caulker. A little slice of car-free paradise.
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Wow! Looks great! If I ever could afford a vacation home, I now know where I would want it.
Yea LOOKS fantastic. I want to buy or build here when I retire. My question is.. How do you get groceries and supplies with NO autos?? Just curious and how much does land or a house cost here?? Cant wait to move now
You can buy a lot for about 40k us and build a simple house on it for 60k. So for 100k us you can have a dream home in paradise
More development is that last thing Belize or any Central American country needs. Especially by expats. The reef off of Caye Caulker is already in danger. The more expats keep buying down in C.A. the less chance the locals will ever have to afford land. Yes, Belize has less of an economic problem then Guatemala or El Salvador, but most citizens there can’t afford cars let alone land. (And yes, biking is a great way to get around, but not so great if you don’t have an alternative to carry the heavy stuff when you needed.
I’ll stay agnostic on the development question, but for an interesting perspective on the complex and insular politics of Belize, The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw is a good read.
I love that the bikes for rent are not locked up.
Please don’t move here. You’ll muck it up for everyone. Then you’ll wonder where all the modern conveniences are. Where’s my Starbucks soy latte? Where’s my organic wheet grass? Waaaah
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