Laughing Bird Caye is a tiny island, a sandy speck with a few palms, sitting on a barrier reef about sixteen kilometres off the coast of southern Belize, and it was named for the laughing gulls that once nested in huge numbers. The birds, whose call really does sound like a cackle, are mostly gone, driven off by hurricanes and people, though the name stuck. The island itself has shrunk, too. Hurricane Iris, in 2001, washed away much of the sand and the old palms, and since then conservation groups have worked to protect what remains.
The reef around it is the point, and it forms part of the Belize Barrier Reef system, which UNESCO listed in 1996, and later added the nearby Sapodilla Cayes. Snorkellers drift over colourful coral gardens, with parrotfish, rays and turtles, while divers go further out to the walls. Each spring, around the full moon from March to June, whale sharks gather at Gladden Spit, off the coast, one of the great wildlife sights of the Caribbean.
You reach the caye by boat from Placencia, a village at the end of a long, narrow peninsula between the lagoon and the sea. A paved road runs down the peninsula for about thirty kilometres, flat and straight, with palms, small hotels and the odd dog. Placencia itself, a village of around four thousand, has fuel, restaurants and boat operators, and the beach is a long strip of pale sand. The road to it leaves the Southern Highway, which is paved and fairly empty, but has speed bumps at every village and potholes after rain. This is easy riding, not demanding, though trucks hauling citrus and bananas use the highway.
The dry season, February to May, is best for calm water and clear days. June to November is the wet season, with heavy showers, strong winds and hurricane risk. Bring reef-safe sunscreen, a rash vest and cash, since boats and restaurants often prefer it. Eat fresh fish and lobster in season, which closes in summer, and finish with rum punch and a sunset over the lagoon, because every ride deserves a decent ending.