Leaving Punta Allen to Corozal, Belize

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Woke up early today, with our first alarm yet, to pack since we didn't last night. Procrastinators for sure. It was still dark out. Weird! And raining! Awesome! Oh well. We took a cab to Tulum with our Montreal neighbors. They still have 10 more days of travel ahead. They are an inspiration for sure to travel with the little ones. It was quite the cab ride. We left at 7am with hugs from Sirena & Tina. After driving approx 50km for 2.5 hours we were all grateful to get out of that cab. It was a bouncy ride & rainy still but interesting conversation for sure.

We arrived at the bus depot in Tulum & our bus to Chetumal was leaving right then, so we hugged our friends & caught the bus. After a 4 hour bus ride we arrived in Chetumal. The rain had stopped & it was hot again. We were directed to another bus by the ice cream guy to catch yet another bus out of town to Belize. Sadly we missed our stop & got the full tour of Chetumal because the bus driver said it'd be easier than getting off & catching another bus....tee hee hee. Our unexpected 45 minute tour of Chetumal, which was quite interesting & we got off at our correct stop, which would have been in the first 10 minutes we had gotten on the bus. Ooopsss... 😉 Some things you just don't know until you do it right? So, we found our way to our next bus, which was an old US School bus that anyone who rode the bus to elementary school has been on. It was hot & the seats were made for 6 year olds but the ride, even with the quick border crossing was only about 1 hour.

At the border we showed our passport, walked over to the bag inspector guy, who asked us in a heavy jamaican-like accent where we were from, & after answering & not even touching our bags, gave us a smile & said "have a great time here in Belize." Seems like it won't be tough.
We arrived in Corozal, Belize & were pointed in the direction of the boat terminal & began our walk. On the way we met Mike, who was on his bike (without a shirt, with saggy shorts & tighty whities you could see alot of, yikes!) & asking us where we were headed. After learning from him that the last boat had already sailed, he showed us to the nearest hostel. The town was big but quiet. It was a bit strange. After getting us into our hostel Mike showed us where to eat & offered us marijuana (numerous times), which from everything we've read sounds like quite the normal occurence. Mike talked to us about the Creole language & his families history & went on his way after making sure we had everything we needed. It was funny.

We took a hot shower, our first in days......! woohooo!! I don't care how hot it is outside, it's still cold in a cold shower! We headed out to find food. Apparently on sunday night everything is closed. It was getting dark & the town had a slightly sketchy feel so when we were about to give up I asked for directions to somewhere to eat & the woman pointed to the house we were in front of which turned out to be her family's taco stand in the front. They were cooking dinner for themselves & sold us some delicious tacos & salbutes (which are kinda like tostadas), another delicious dinner for $4. We talked with Jose, from Honduras but living in Belize for 15 years, who told us all about the history of Belize & talked about places in Honduras. It was very interesting. He said Belize is a melting pot where Mexicans, Mayans, Central Americans from all countries, Caribbean Islanders all live. It was the first time I'd seen an Asian person in some time (apparently they're all Chinese we're told). With our full bellies & a couple Belican beers we headed back to our room. It had a tv. The first we've had since Sandos & we saw the Seahawks lost & the Jets won!? What is happening in the NFL? It's crazy. After that TV off & back to the books. We are hooked.

This room was a room that was literally on the backside & downstairs from where the family lived. They also own the restaurant attached to the front. I think we were their only patrons based on the fact they were the only people in the restaurant that night, playing cards. And I sort of imagine they don't get a lot of repeat customers. There weren't a lot of smiles involved & it wasn't super welcoming. Oh well, hot shower!

Again, Hot Shower! yippeee!

Ahh reading & sleepy time!

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