I had met a school teacher on the plane from Mexico City to Chetumal. On Friday, it was the fiesta of the three kings, and he invited me to his house in a nearby town to celebrate it with him. I went, and we went around to various houses of his friends where they had made food. He told me there were 12 stops on the route, but we only had room in our stomachs for three of them. At the last one, they taught me how to make tortillas over an open fire. It was fun.
I stayed the night at his place and took a bus back to Chetumal, in the morning. For breakfast, I drank oaxytl, (I think it's called), which I had not had before. It is a pale, warm drink made from corn and is slimy in texture. For the untrained, it is pure laxative, which caused me much discomfort because the whole rest of the day, I was stuck riding buses.
At the bus terminal, in Chetumal, I asked if there was a bus going to Belize. They said there weren't any buses, and that I needed to take a cab. (Later I learned that the Belize Buses leave from the market downtown.) So I took a cab to the tarif free zone at the border, where I caught a bus coming from Chetumal to Corazol. In Corazol, which is where I planned to take the ferry from to Ambergris Caye, I learned that it would have been better to just stay on the bus to Belize City and take a water taxi from there. The ferry from Corazol would not be leaving until 3pm and it was about 11 am, and it cost 45 bz. The water taxis in Belize City cost 15 bz and leave every 2 hours. The bus fare would not have been more than 5bz more. Since I was already in Corazol, I decided to wait for the ferry. I met a guy there who showed me the town. I bought 3 red snapper from a fisherman, and my new friend helped me get them prepared. Then we bought some coconut bread and cokes. We ate our lunch, and I saved one of the snapper for later. Belize had just finished with their hundred year flood a couple months before and there was still water draining off. The last time they had a flood so high was in 1968.
The ferry ride took about 2.5 hours. I was staying at the Costa Maya Reef Resort, which was six miles north of San Pedro, the main town on the island. They had a complimentary water taxi come pick the guests up. It was dark when I finally arrived.
My family had planned to meet me here, but couldn't make it. Therefore, I had the biggest room in the place all to myself. The reef was just a little ways off the beach in front of the resort. They had kayaks, bicycles, segways, and fishing gear available to guests. Snorkel gear was available for rent. While there, I went sea kayaking, snorkeling, and fishing. A lady I was kayaking with capsized the kayak, so my cell phone died from the water. I hope the pictures in my disposable camera, which also went over, turn out. They also had guided tours leaving from there everyday to different parts of Belize. I didn't go on them because they were so expensive and I was going to do that stuff later anyway.
I went lobster and conch hunting but didn't get anything. I baught a spear gun in town, which was way too expensive. I went fishing with it. While down under the water, I found a shark sleeping. Luckily, he didn't wake up to the scent of blood from my fish.
In town, I rented a motor boat one day and took wind surfing lessons another. I also got to pet a wild crocodile on the snout. They can't see you if you stand directly in front of them.
After leaving the Ambergris Caye, I took a bus from Belize City to Belmopan and stayed there. Near Belmopan, I went to the Jaguar Paw resort to go tubing on the Caves Branch River and rock climbing and zorg balling. It was raining though, so I couldn't do the rock climbing. Zorg balling involves being strapped inside a giant inflated ball and rolling down a hill. I went in the Crystal Cave with the inner tube. The guid let me hike around some areas inside the cave and see broken pottery. After 1 hour, I got bored and went back out.
Also in Belmopan was the Banana Bank Lodge, which is a working cattle ranch. I went horseback riding there. I got to gallop around and ford rivers and climb cliffs with the horse. I felt like the Man from Snowy River. After, I asked the owner about working there. They said they could use me during next holiday season. The owner also offered to give me a ride into town if I waited a couple hours. The trip was long and taxis were expensive, so I decided to wait. I went to see if the head cowboy needed any help with the horses. His two helpers had not showed up for work that morning. I ended up helping herd som mares into a coral and giving them medicine. It was fun.
After I stayed in Belmopan for two days, I went to San Ignacio. Lodging was only 20 bz per night, so I stayed about 5 nights. While there I went on a tour of the Actun Tunichal Muknal cave. It was probably the funnest of the several caves I have visited in Belize. I had to wade/swim through the stream into the cave for awhile before climbing up into the ceremonial chamber, where there were many pottery shards and human bones from sacrifices. On that tour, I met some Israelis who said that in Hebrew, my name means "He Has a God."
The next day I went to Tikal. I took a taxi to the border, then two Guatemalan minibuses to Tikal. Tikal is very big and has many temples. I climbed many of them. At the top of the tallest were many people talking on cell phones or trying to get service. I walked so fast that I covered the whole place and climbed all the temples in three hours, though most people take all day. On the way back, I got fined 50 bz by the guatemalan border officials for not getting my passport stamped on the first crossing. I split a cab with two other tourists to San Ignacio.
The next day was Christmas and it was raining and everything was closed so I didn't do anything. After that, I rented a dirtbike and went up to the pine ridge. It was fun riding. Alot of the roads become stream beds during the rainy season. I saw the Thousand Foot Falls and Baldy Beacon on the Pine Ridge. The guy who I rented the dirt bike from told me that he knows many very arduous trails up there, which he takes people on for tours.
That night I tried to go Salsa Dancing with a plant researcher from a university in Scotland. I got a quick lesson, then left early because us and one girl were the only ones there and my friend already new how to dance.
After leaving San Ignacio, I went to Sittee River and stayed at Glover's Hostel. There is a bus that goes through Hopkins and Sittee River Monday, Wednesday and Friday twice per day. It was Sunday, so I had take the regular bus which only goes by the junction from the main road. So I had to Hitchhike the 5 miles in with my 70 pound pack. Between rides, I carried it a couple miles. The hostel has bicycles and kayaks available for guests and the room only cost 18 bz per night. There were a lot of bugs though. I went kayaking on the river and saw an iguana swim in the river. The next day, I went to Dangriga to get some money, because there are no ATMs in either Hopkins or Sittee River. Then I went to the Cotscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve. While there I went hiking then tubing down the river. I was glad when I left that area to return to Chetumal because of all the bugs. I did not have any bug repellent, and even though the hostel provided nets to sleep under, I still got eaten a lot. My ankles are one solid mass of bites. The worst were the tiny bugs that bite instead of drill like mosquitos. I have now been in Chetumal three days and have used an entire tube of itch relieving skin cream.
I was going to meet a friend for New Years, but couldn't reach them on the phone, so i didn't. I am going back to Guadalajara tomorrow. More pictures are coming soon.
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