Well, I for one won't put one foot in Mexico again, I'm likely to get murdered as so many other North Americans have lately and the Mexican police will just cover it up. Maybe Jamaica again? Oh right, I can't get out of my 'compound' because I'll get robbed or just harassed to death and have to pay exorbitant prices for an 'excursion' which includes being put on one of twenty buses along with a hundred other tourists to see a 'point of interest' while being hit on by all the hustlers. Friends of mine went to Cuba recently but were very disappointed and say it's no Caye Caulker. I have introduced a number of friends to Belize and Caye Caulker in the last several years and every single one of them has felt safe and been absolutely blown away by the unspoiled beauty, the gracious and friendly people, the ability to get in touch with a different culture which in turn, allows them to educate their children about how other people live and allows them a hands-on experience with nature, and frankly, if you add up everything you spend versus what you get in return, it's an incredibly inexpensive experience when you factor in the permanent life-changing effect this all has on one's soul and overall life-experience. I don't get this 'full package' deal from anywhere else in the world and I have travelled extensively. I have never touched a stingray or shark before, or held an iguana. As someone, until now, who had a phobia of water, I am lost in amazement under the ocean thanks to some very skilled and trustworthy tour guides. I've seen and heard howler monkeys in their natural habitat, I can eat lobster on the beach, I can hang with the locals, I can't possibly list all the amazing mind-expanding things I've seen, heard and experienced.

I meet the most interesting people from all over the world in Caye Caulker and Belize in general, many I am still in touch with. I have never had that happen since I was a 20 year old backpacker. Belize attracts interesting people who want real life experiences.

Some people are made for all-inclusive compounds and Disney World facilities. All safe and squeeky clean with all the comforts of home. Personally, I'll take the stray dogs, the roosters far too early in the morning for my liking, the daily trips on the rusty bike to the local grocery store with the chain snapping off just as a rain storm kicks in, all balanced out by the sounds of wind and waves at night as I fall asleep instead of the overly loud 'forced' entertainment into the night at the Holiday Inn Sunspree, the 24 hour traffic of New York, the inconvenience of constant rain and bone chilling cold of London, being robbed in Rome, being highjacked on a bus in Spain, the rudeness and corruption of Mexico, beaches so groomed that children can't find anything of interest to discover, in fact I can find issues almost everywhere I have travelled, if I wanted to. And some trips just simply have better 'karma' than others, and that's my problem not the place I've visited.

No, I don't like the treatment of animals in Belize or in a number of other countries, the neighbor's noise late at night or early in the morning, but I think if one came from Caye Caulker and stayed in your home the traffic, the honking cabs, the constant glow of our city lights, our heating systems, the garbage trucks, the construction noises, the buses, might be disturbing their sleep as well. I have a friend who moved to the country and found the nights too dark and quiet so she couldn't fall sleep easily and then the birds too noisy in the morning. I think when you stay somewhere long enough you eventually get used to the noises in that particular place. Believe me, if the locals heard the noises the same way you did, they would do something about it. They are not being rude, they just most likely aren't bothered by it and most of them have to be up in the morning to work and their children need sleep as well. And if biting dogs were an ongoing issue, I'm sure the local children would be bitten as well and again, something would be done about it. Our children have had nothing but wonderful experiences with the stray animals. Fire happens everywhere, it's not even worth mentioning here as a reason not to visit. Nor is swine flu, which all the children had in my neighborhood last month in our big city community. If a dog is disturbing you at night in your hotel, I think it's more effective to talk to the hotel owner directly rather than posting it here. The last hotel I stayed at in Europe had TV issues so bad the guests had to turn them up loudly in order to make out the words, so you can imagine the noise through the walls late at night when you're trying to sleep before your neighbor is. A simple call to the hotel desk fixed the problem. They couldn't do anything about the constant honking and garbage trucks outside the window though since that was simply life where I was visiting. Yet I found no need to post anything for the world to see. Too often I see on this board a litany of minor complaints by travelers (tourists?) who could likely find a hundred issues anywhere they travelled in the world that would equal or far surpass what's noted here, but for some reason think that Caye Caulker should be exempt from these isolated issues. I don't mean to minimize any acts of violence, but has anyone read the papers recently??? And how safe is it where you live?

Is the crime going up in Caye Caulker? Of course, as it is in all areas of the world (my car has been broken into twice in the last four months sitting in front of my house). But nowhere have I seen so many citizens stick together as a community and make positive changes when things do shows signs of change for the worse. I don't see that in my own city community. There is not one negative thing you can say about Caye Caulker that you can't say tenfold about almost every other place in the world, yet few places give so much in return.

So yes, Caye Caulker, be vigilant, your paradise needs to be protected, there is always room for improvement, but you are still at the top of the list for us and many others.