30BE Part Four: Belize

Once Mike recovered from his hallucinatory bender (it took a few days before he felt well enough to travel), we continued south on our journey. It was June 20th, and we were scheduled to meet his son, Mick, that evening in Belize City. As anyone knows who has travelled in the developing world, distances on a map are deceiving. What might be a simple 4 hour drive by interstate here in the US can often be a day-long safari elsewhere. Mike describes our trials and tribulations in great detail here. The important part is that through perseverance and adaptability, we made it.

Belize is the one new country I got to add to my list on this trip. Mike and Mick (M&M from now on) agreed to head out to Caye Cauker for a day, then wanted to move back inland to see Mayan ruins in Guatemala and Honduras. I'd seen these ruins - Tikal and Copan - on a previous trip, so I was leaning towards staying in the islands a few days and meeting up with them down the road.

So, we went in town to grab a bite and scout rides to the island. As Mike says here, we should have just checked out of the hotel. Since we did not, we had to go BACK out to the hotel, grab our stuff, and go BACK to the boat launch. Here is the thing: our hotel is next to the airport. The local cabbies (thieves) have decided (conspired) to charge a standard $25 US for rides to and from the airport. They have signs and everything. The cabbie we were talking to was going to charge us 50$ for a ride to our hotel and back, since it was next to said airport. Through stiff negotiation (which I was quite proud of), I got it down to $30, which the peanut gallery of other cabbies hanging around said was quite a good deal. We hopped in. We had to share the van with a "brother" of the driver, who would not shut-up the whole time. Here is a sample of their annoying patois:



So we get back to the boat launch. The driver actually puts his hand out and asks for his tip. Mike referred him to me. I happily said, "No." That was it. He was actually smart enough to realize that further effort would get him nothing.

The waiting room for the water taxi is crowded. As we wade up to a snack bar, I hear someone yell my name. I turn around, and who is it, but a guy that I shared a house with in Antigua, Guatemala back in 2003 - Kung Fu Mike. Turns out that KFM was still in Antigua, still bartending, and was going to Caye Cauker to visit his sister for a few days. Cool.



So that decided it. M&M left the next morning and I stayed on the island to chill out for a bit, with help from Kung Fu Mike and various others I met during my stay. It was quite peaceful. There are only about three automobiles on the island - the police truck, the delivery truck, and the fire/mosquito truck. Feet, bikes, and golf carts for everyone else. Much time was spent at Barrier Reef Sports Bar, eating, drinking, and watching World Cup (or El Mundial). There was also a good bit of rain, so I felt fine sitting in my room reading for long spells. Still, we managed to kayak out to the barrier reef one day for some snorkelling. Great fun. It reminded me how wonderful the simple life can be.


My Hideaway ($12 per night)...

Main Street at night...


After a few days it was time for me to take the boat taxi back to Belize City. Luckily I was able to find a driver other than our previous one to take me to the airport (I threw in with a family of four from Montanna). There, I bought a ticket on a puddle-jumper to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. We had to wait an hour or two for the heavy rain to subside, but then we were off. In SPS, I pulled out some ATM money (leaving my card in the machine, dammit) and took a cab in town to meet back up with M&M at the arranged spot. What do you know, they were there! Check here, here, here, and here to see what they got up to.