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Published: November 27th 2008
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Tikal
... completely in the middle of a massive Jungle... just amazing! Hello,
Entering Belize meant back into the world of English... if only for a moment. We made our way through Guatemala, camping out at TIKAL (one of the most famous ancient Maya ruins) before arriving, and falling in love with Belize. Unfortunately, it is a short lasting love. You see, Belize is a Caribbean world. The Garifunan culture is hugely present and the drums, and Caribbean beats fill the air, complimenting the bright colours and smiling, open people. As soon as we crossed the border, we started up the road and were picked up by some locals driving that way. We shared some stories and laughed and sang some local songs. Shortly thereafter, we were deposited at a bus stop, and boarding another chicken bus, headed out to a small town. It would have been perfect had the bus not broken down! But, alas, after a few more minutes with our thumbs out on the side of the road, a lovely missionary couple picked us up and took us along past our initial destination to the little one road town where they were headed (a short bus ride back for us to get to ours and a nice place to
Hitching!
check out the Belize town... spend a few days...
Once we arrived at our small town destination, we were warmly received and welcomed to a nice (read budget) hotel for only $7.50 a night. We were spoiled with freshly-caught, home cooked seafood, and hot water - not to mention, we were right on the beach and there were hammocks slung right in front of the hotel. We were the only guests and decided to embrace Garifunan culture and stay a few days, just swinging in the hammocks and munching on fresh fish...
Mind you, that clam relaxed lifestyle wore thin after a few days, and despite my favorite evening (finding a local pub with an outdoor TV with boxing!) we were ready to seek out more adventure as the boredom started to set in. So, we opted for another chicken bus and aimed for the coast to catch a boat to Honduras... ideal in theory, but no one mentioned that buses did not run on Sundays! So, we back to hitchhiking again, and soon piled into the back of a local pickup truck to get to a bus station. We waited for hours and manged to board a local bus making a bunch
or random and haphazard connections through sheer luck and landing on a rapid and shockingly rough boat to Guatemala with a American Missionary family living in Honduras. He caught a ride with them, through Guatemala and finally, into Honduras.
Sadly, Honduras was not what we had hoped. The streets were unfriendly and the country by and large unsafe after dark, so any time we showed up in a city, since the roads are bad and transportation takes forever, we would be stuck in a low budget room, not really able to wander to find food or see anything. We arrived in the evening, after a long bus ride that was interrupted by local police for a pat down of all men, and more or less extortion of bribes to let the bus pass, and finally arrived, only to find the atmosphere like Guatemala, but worse. We were back to a country with armed guards at every doorway. This time, not only the security guards at banks and large restaurants, but every small store or entryway had a man holding a shotgun with loads of ammo around his belt. Passing trucks loaded with propane tanks would have at least two,
perched like snipers, riding on top of the cargo... this also attest as to why there are no photos... not only was the atmosphere such that pulling out a camera seemed a bad idea, but also, with the scenery, there was really no reason other than to caputre a few gritty images....
In fact, in two days we had to hit up fast food restaurants twice for lack of anything else we could find... even after asking around! We also felt rather unsafe with the company we had in our hotels and soon learned that not only was it not safe after dark, or alone, but there really is not that much to see... there are a few Garifuna villages (though that is what we just experienced in Belize) and they are a challenge to get to. Or, there are some amazing bay islands up north, but due to the fact that we showed up in rainy season, the beautiful beaches, which are the one treasure here, did not appeal to us. Especially after the sharp contrast of the relaxed friendly Caribbean Belize with lovely beaches. So, after a few short days, we decided to find a chicken bus
heading towards El Salvador...
Trish xx
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Darren Glynn
Excellent blog....
Thanks Trish currently in Antigua Guatemala and not sure where to go next....your blog has given me some food for thought. keep it coming