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Besides the sea,Cenote diving and the joys of Belize On the island of Cozumel we were serenaded by two moustachioed unenthusiatic old mariachis who just stared at the wall while strumming their guitars. We were more interested in tucking into red snapper al Velacruzanco in green peppers, capers and olives.. 
Nursing our sun burn we had decided to take the boat across to the island of Cozumel made famous for its underwater reefs by Jacques Cousteau.
I took a refresher dive course off Villa Blanca beach just to remember the safety stuff like filling your mask with water and what to do if you run out of air. After we swam off for a relaxing swim around some sparten off shore coral we did see some cool life, such as a poisonous spiny scorpion fish the colour of rock, conger eel and puffer fish.
Cozumel is visited by up to 30 giant cruise ships in one day, yet very few people stay the night. The seafront is full of cartier and designer jewellery shops, a hard rock cafe, burger king and a chain of party bar clubs called Senor Frogs. I feel sorry for this lovely place that sold its soul to tourism.
Johanna and I went snorkelling from the dive boat in the afternoon to the main reefs such as Palenkar. The coral structures were huge, although I think hurricane Wilma in 2006 destroyed a lot of the more colourfull fragile coral and none of the renowned rays or turtles were about.
We had high expectations for snorkelling but the water was deep and cloudy and the current so strong that even with fins you could only move slowly forward and with a lot of effort.
The winds were changing from North to South and that evening became very humid. Rain was expected and the next day we decided to leave. The rain hammered down while we were in the boat, then later in the coach but when we arrived it was blue skies again and gloriously hot. 
Tulum beach feels quiet like in the desert at Zazin-Kin cabins. We stayed on beach surrounded by green coconut palms which you could help yourself to with a knife.
In our light turquoise hut with pink chair and light blue inside walls, 150 metres from the sea the fan and light were only available at night and powered by solar which was a good sign of environmentally friendly tourism. Still it was full moon while we were there and this reflected against the sand and it was easy to see at night without a torch.
On cliffs above stand the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum. The beach is mostly unspoilt and close on perfect, a little sea grass and several hundred metres out waves crashing on the second longest barrier reef in the world that stretches from Yucatan to Honduras. Snorkelling on the reef I saw a small turtle, yet even just off the beach I came across a metre long Southern Ray.
The ruins of the Mayan city of Coba lye surrounded by jungle about an hour from here, in the heat we rode bicycles between temples. There was an ancient V shaped sloping basketball court and two large pyramids. We climbed the largest pyramid with all the other tourists for distant views over the flat jungle below. Only a bit suprising we later hear that 2 to 3 people a year fall to their deaths here.
Nearby, known as cenotes to the Mayan, the natural limestone formations in the states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan were sacred places signifying entrances to the underworld. These are unique in the world as the only places where it is possible to go cavern scuba diving. The definition between cave diving and cavern diving is the distance one is from air. Plus the fact that in a cavern there is a certain amount of ambient light as opposed caves where it is pitch black.
With Tony from Essex and instructor Rob from Tooting working at the Cenote Dive Center http://www.cenotedive.com we took two dives at the cenote Dos Ojos (or 2 eyes).
Our first dive took us into the Bat cave a labyrynthe cavern that felt similar to a night dive using torches for signalling and travelling in line following a guide line.
We swam over and between stalagtites and sunken stalagmites that were formed during last ice age when water levels were lower, and towards the end we surfaced in the middle of the Bat Cave where vampire bats were nestling in the roof.
The second dive known as the Barbie line had a lot more natural light and granted 50 metre views across the cavern. Half way along a barbie doll sat clenched in the jaws of a plastic crocodile. No crocs in this cavern but we did see Cichlid (zebrafish!!), a Mayan Gobi and tetra fish.
Crossing the border in Belize was like going to a different continent not country. We felt transported back to Ghana with the familiar hand painted signs such as 'International hair salon, looking good will improve your self esteem' and 'me belly full' restuarant.
Belize is quite unique in the area, a British colony until 1981 it has a mixed population of African Garifuna orginating from slave revolt on St Vincents island, Mayan, old Britsh pirates, Chinese, Mayan and even high Germain speaking Mennanites and the odd Mormom. No to imply that Mormons are odd or anything.
Our first night we stayed in Belize city. It looked charming at first with its old run down wooded houses on stilts along narrow streets and swing bridge built in Liverpool. However a walk in the evening soon heightened our caution from the number of hustlers and tramps about.
We decided to eat locally and were rewarded at Neries on Queen street with a caribbean boil up of pig tails, fish, johnny cakes, cassava, plantain and Irish potato, washed down with the famous local brands of Belikin beer and spiced with Marie Sharp's hot habenero pepper sauce.
Outside we found a mixture of really nice genuine people and others that were either crazy, drugged or just bad. We zigzagged into the Hong Kong bar to avoid one loiterer to only meet a friendly but quite mad local having a beer who talked manically who he'd been over to England as a soldier but had been thrown out of the army for drinking even though he was the best sniper shooter. He went on talking at a hundred miles an hour about how the Queen had killed Princess Diana while another guy at the bar on hearing this kept shouting fuck the British as he slammed down his rum and spoke of their historical hatred of Muslims i.e. Mohammed Fayed. This was all a bit much and after someone else got thrown out for talking to us we decieded to leave.
The lovely owner of the Three Sisters Hotel explained how she preffered it here to the guerrila violence of her homdland in El Salvador even though they'd been 4 daylight murders in the last 4 days, and this is only really a small city. 
So with time pressure too our walking tour turned into taxi ride in a beat up old car that maxed out at 20 miles per hour, but was excellently led by our driver who'd been on the cabs for 35 years there.
Belize city is not the rest of Belize and the small town of
Dangriga was totally different. Its a relaxed Garifuna town of mostly wooded stilt houses just a few streets and the beach.
We stayed at Ruthie's cabins right next to the lapping waves. Ruthie was fantastic cooking us fish with rice and beans and freshly baked coconut and cinamon bread which we ate in her kitchen surrounded by photos of her family.
Tobacco Caye lies about 35 mins away by boat in the barrier reef. Approaching this paradise island one gets that dreamy view of an island that sits completely inside your camera screen with ribbon shades of blue in the sea from the coral and sand.
There is not a lot here really to do except lie in the hammocks and read, write this blog or go snorkelling on the reef amongst hundreds of different colourfull fish some quite large trenent, baracuda, speckled eagle rays, crabs and starfish. The island itself is tiny and there slightly too many cabins here, although there aren't that many people staying here which is nice. Mat a marine biologist from Portsmouth is working here, he is applying for funding to set up a marine education and awareness project with local schools.
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