THERE ARE TWO HOSTELS IN BELIZE! BOTH OWNED BY THE SAME FAMILY MEMBERS. THE AUXILLOU'S.
( update for Jan. 2007 - There are now two more hostels on the back streets of Caye Caulker. Another 40 bed hostel is
reported on San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. FALCONVIEW TOURIST BACKPACKERS ADVENTURE HOSTEL is the only one still anywhere else
in the country at 2007 rates of $9 a night, cook your own in a communal kitchen.)
THE FIRST HOSTEL IS TINA'S BACK PACKERS HOSTEL, right on the beach at Caye Caulker just inside the Great Coral Barrier
Reef. Prices range between $10 usa and $20 usa a night depending on choices. Plus tax of about 10%. From here you are right
in the center of all the activity on the island. Lots of restaurants. Snorkeling trips, scuba lessons, skydiving, Blue Hole
trips to the offshore Atolls, moonlight cruises, weddings on the beach. You name it! Tina's Hostel has seen it all. This
is a funky place and a great favorite. There is a waiting list for beds or rooms, when the island is full. Tina could tell
you a lot of stories. She worked the diplomatic circuit in Africa, ran Safaries in Kenya, scuba instruction and chartering
tourism in St. Barts in the Eastern island chain of the Caribbean, tourist operations in Curacao. Tina is an adventurer sailor
and does boat charters and is a dive master/instructor for SCUBA.
The second family HOSTEL is out in the foothills of the Belize Alps in Santa Elena one of the twin towns straddling
the Macal River draining the Belize Alps. This is FALCONVIEW BACK PACK ADVENTURE HOSTEL. Prices run from $7 usa a night
to $20 usa depending on privacy issues. This one is more of a Spanish Hacienda and here you can book low budget daily trips
to the major local hilltop Mayan ruins. You won't get a better trip for the price anywhere else. This is Tina's father who
is retired here. They can get you into ACTUN TUNICHIL MUKNAL a restricted expedition into a 3000 year old underground cave
system with skeleton and pottery. Fabulous spooky adventure! You have enough in a group, they can arrange trips to the Belize
Alps, canoing the Macal River Gorge and all kinds of funky stuff. They do an AUGUST Mountain Bike race ( Tour de Belize )
Also an Annual MAYA MOUNTAINS FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL on flutes and marimbas mostly around Christmas. The old man is into doing
all kinds of community development, with old Mayan Pottery techniques, wood carvings,original oil paintings, solar ovens,
organic garden, poverty fighting vegetable hydroponics. Fascinating old guy of 68 years. His wife is much younger. Great
place! The old man delegates most of his adventure trips now to young guides. But in his day, he pioneered the tourism industry
in Belize back in 1964. Introduced scuba diving, the famous BLUE HOLE dive, Hol Chan channel, island camping trips, marine
biology expeditions and anthropology expeditions into the interior. He may be slower, but he is still parafoiling in the
mountains and doing lots of new adventures opening up new tourism sites in the interior. He even scuba dived to the bottom
of the Blue Hole in 1972 with a friend. (387 feet thereabouts before mixed helium gases ) He loves the challenges!
The old man's other three daughters, Sharon, Diane and Wendy each, have either condo's or guest houses and other rentals
on the beach. They are all into adventures.
Wendy's AUXILLOU BEACH SUITES ( 4 condo's ) |
|
Diane's guesthouse on the beach at Caye Caulker |
|
|