Anyone have any good suggestions for a day trip and snorkling to caye caulker?

The Winnie Estelle out of Paradise docks. We almost always take newbies on it. Several scuba stops, a couple hours on Caulker. (On your own for lunch at Caulker...follow the Captain's advice about resturants VERY carefully) The boat is wonderful and very unusual for AC. Capt. Roberto is a trip. The boat spends the "windy" season in Guatemala and usually won't be back until sometime late October early November.

We are thinking about taking the Winnie
Estelle trip also, what restaurants do
you recommend on Caye Caulker?
Does the boat have any shade at all, we will
be bringing our 7 & 10 year old.

Thanks for the advice Choochoo.

The boat has a bimini style top that can be put up when the sun blazes. There are only a small number of restaurants on Caulker. We have always ate at the one with the cemetary as decorative landscaping on the side yard.

We sailed to Caye Caulker on a Catamaran with Hustler Tours. The rum punch and guides were fabulous. They even let my avid fisherhusband drag a line off the back of the boat. Caught a few small things, and were used to attract and feed the rays later. Was a very pleasant day. Sailing home at the end of the day, we got into a bit of a squall. It was really exicting, and since I could see land I was not worried in the least. But my boys thought it was their own brand of "The Perfect Storm". They talked about that for weeks. The best food I had while on my trip was at a little place on Caulker called The Sand Box. Conch fritters to die for. Hope conch is still in season when you go. Don't miss them......
Debbie

We wre planning on doing some snorkling during our visit, but I have a small problem. While I have been diving since the 60's I've never been able to get certified, I am a died in the wool non swimmer. Even in salt water I have the boyancy of a cinder block!

Even so I really enjoyed diving. Now for a variety of reasons I've given up diving for snorkleing, but with the same problem. On a number of occasions I've found guides that had, what I call a snorkeling vest. These are mouth inflatable vest that can be worn comfortably and inflated or deflated as the individual needs/wants. (they work the same as a BCD but are not so fancy and are much easier to use.)

What I'm trying to find out is if anyone knows of any of the guides on AC that would have something like this for a "swimming challenged" person like myself? I am not interested in the flotation type life vest these are much to bulky and uncomfortable to wear.

Thanks for any help any of you on the board may have.

Byron,
Captain Roberto, for one, has those on the Winnie Estelle. I know first hand. Nothing wrong with that,just enjoy the water any way you want. I'll take mine with an properly aged distilled spirit, thank you!

I know the gear you are speaking of, I saw it here, in a dive shop, yellow plastic pillow so to speak, that you put under your chest and a collar around your neck, with a back strap, priced at $72.00. I looked to see if anyone was using them in San Pedro, did not see any, but I did not look too hard.

[This message has been edited by Chloe (edited 09-18-2000).]

ByronV:

Check this place out:
http://diversdiscount.com/indexaspcart.asp

I'm sure there are other places selling them. They are $40 here. Click on "Bouyancy Compensators" then "Jacket/Vest Style" all the way to the bottom.

Parrothead



[This message has been edited by Parrothead (edited 09-19-2000).]

We used those same type vests in Mexico. They ARE wonderful. My kids especially loved them. My older boy liked the flexability of deflating them so he could dive down to inspect something of interest. You can't do that with a regular vest. The valve to reinflate them is very conveniently located and so simple to use. I say buy your own and bring it with you. It would pack flat enough. No sense in missing out on the beauty of the reef and sea creatures due to being uncomfortable and uneasy.
Debbie

[This message has been edited by Debbie (edited 09-19-2000).]