Things Take Time

Timekeeping in Guatemala isn’t taken too seriously. We waited 25 minutes for the minibus that was supposed to take us to Belize today. “Very normal,” they said when we asked how long until the bus would arrive :) A ticket from Flores to Belize City costs 20 dollars per person. It turned out to be quite an eventful day. The journey from Flores to the border went smoothly, but the last 30 minutes were a bit bumpy since the road wasn’t paved. We crossed the border without any issues, although there were quite a few Guatemalan women trying to sneak ahead in line. It was easy to keep them at bay since we’re much taller than they are. Just stick out an elbow, and they can’t squeeze by :) It costs 10 quetzales to cross the border per person, and it’s not worth exchanging money until you get to the border. A little ways past the border crossing, our adventure began. One of the bus’s front wheels started making a strange noise. When we stopped, we could see smoke coming from the wheel, and brake fluid was leaking everywhere. It would take four hours for a new bus to arrive, so we decided to continue on our own. We stepped to the side of the road and stuck out our thumbs. Luckily, the first car that passed stopped for us :) They weren’t going exactly our way, but they took us a good distance. We were dropped off at a bus stop where we could catch a bus the rest of the way to Belize City. People speak English here, but their first language is Kriol, which is English with a strong dialect. They refer to it as broken English. The locals are very friendly and chatty, so we quickly struck up conversations with others waiting for the bus. It was quite a mixed crowd, including a man with a monkey on a leash. The monkey was wearing a diaper :) The local bus only cost 1.50 Belize dollars. Most people here resemble Bob Marley, which is pretty amusing. Not many people have nice things to say about Belize City. Most just use it as a base to get to the islands. However, we wanted to see a bit more of the city, so we found a hostel—Freddie's guesthouse, which was located in the basement of a private home. It cost 40 Belize dollars for a double room. We wandered around to explore more of the city. There were a lot of homeless people sleeping along the buildings and on the steps. Unfortunately, we have to agree with others that Belize City doesn’t have much to offer. There are no attractions or cozy squares or pedestrian streets that invite you to linger in the city. Belize City has big hotels. Princess is one of them. It has a casino, a bowling alley, a movie theater, and restaurants. It was close to our guesthouse, so we headed there in the evening. First, we bowled, and then we had dinner. We chose the buffet restaurant. Unfortunately, the buffet was a disappointment. Considering it was a nice 5-star hotel, the food wasn’t great. It cost 28 Belize dollars per person. We ended the night at the casino. Let’s just say we left with less money than we came with. On our way back, we decided to walk since we knew there was a bar on the way. We’re not quite sure if it’s safe to walk around here or not. There were quite a few people on the street, so we went for it. The bar was a very local spot. At first, it seemed like an okay place. But as more guests arrived, it started to feel a bit gangster-ish. Hmm, we weren’t quite sure how to get out of there. Many people were talking to us, but it felt more like commands. “COME OVER HERE and play pool with us.” There was even one guy who INSISTED we come stay with him. We couldn’t get a taxi, so we ended up walking/running away from there. Maybe not the smartest move, but we did what we had to do. We just needed to get out of there. With our hearts racing, we thankfully made it back safely. Belize City is not recommended! There are so many other beautiful things to experience in Belize, so don’t waste your time here.