Belizean Metal - Welcome to Belize!

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It's been a long day, but we are finally here! Our flights went well and ran pretty much on time. We landed in Belize at 2:55p and our luggage came out within the first five bags. Incredible. The airport is very small, and there was a reggae band playing music around the baggage claim. It was a kind of fun way to be greeted. We zipped through customs and walked outside and found our driver. We had read enough things about not staying in Belize City and decided to head straight to Orange Walk. The drive from the airport took about 80 minutes. Our driver was really nice and informative. The drive was nice - it's really pretty around here. Lots of lush green jungle/trees all around. It is definitely warm and humid too, but not unbearable.
On the way to the hotel our driver stopped and got us all some Coca-Cola. It was cold and refreshing and I swear it wasn't as sweet as American Coke...not that I drink soda that often at home.

We got to our hotel, Hotel de la Fuente. We are staying in the new part of the building in the back. The room is nice. It was clean, has A/C, a small fridge and a private bathroom.
We went out for a walk, and went to the local supermarket - The People's Store. It had a lot of groceries and snacks. We picked up some water and some Belikin and Belikin Stout. Also got some cookies for low blood sugar called bourbon cremes, but they weren't very bourbon-y.
We came back to the room and took a short nap. We picked up a map from the front desk and they recommended having dinner at Nahil Mayab Restaurant. It was a short walk - maybe ten minutes away. It was nice, but pretty touristy. I think the only diners there were tourists. I got some chicken fajitas and Belize's favorite cocktail - the panty ripper (known from my college days as a shipwreck), a mix of pineapple juice and coconut rum. Adam tried the Ke'Ken, a pork dish with a side of stewed pigtail and some small corn tortillas. Also a rum punch - another popular drink choice. It was a lot of food, but it was good.
Yvan, at the hotel, had told us there would be music in the main part of town at night, so we walked back there to see what was going on. We went into the park, and there were people starting to gather in front of a stage that had been set up. We waited awhile, and more and more people starting showing up. Finally the bands arrived. First up was Ascenthium, a cover band that played all Metallica songs. It was pretty sweet. After them was Lasher Zombie, which was two guys - one on guitar playing some thrash metal chords and the other wailing incoherently. They were passionate and rocked out loudly. We decided to head back to the hotel - and could hear them all the way back.
We took showers, and it felt awesome. Tomorrow we are headed to Lamanai, I think we are both excited.

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Photos

Nahil Mayab Restaurant
Rum Punch