Belize City

Wednesday, May 18, 2011--Placencia to Belize City

We were so far south, we knew it would be a long and difficult ride to get anywhere else.  We caught the 6:15 bus from Placencia and suffered through the bad brakes, the many rumble strips in the roadways, the many stops to pick up/let off passengers, etc.  We arrived in Belize City at 10:30.

After getting our orientation, we walked to the Mopan Hotel where we had reserved a room.  Most of the places where I have stayed on the trip have had a 15:00 check-in time, but they have had rooms available when I arrived.  Today, we had to wait.  There had been a big group here that had just checked out.  We dropped our luggage off in the storage room and left knowing that the room probably wouldn't be ready until 13:00.

Since we had eaten nothing, we headed to a restaurant that was supposed to have cafeteria-style service starting at 11:00.  There was still no food there.  The lady said that it is cooked away from the place and brought in a car.  So we waited outside while one particular beggar bothered us in hopes we would give him money.  It wasn't until 11:40 that the food was there and set up.  We had chicken, beans, scalloped potatoes, etc.  It was good.  The potatoes were especially nice as a change.

Fortunately, the room was ready when we returned at 12:45.  We turned on the air conditioner and spent the afternoon inside.  Wes napped.  I watched CNN and read newspapers on the computer.  It was so nice NOT to be uncomfortable!!

Around 16:30, we went out again to explore.  Belize City is not a pretty town, nor is it a nice town.  We took photos in the area and downtown.  We got information about the ferries to the islands tomorrow.  We bought ice cream cones and ate them.  We wandered the streets looking at the shops (many owned by Indians) and went inside the big, old-fashioned department store called Brodies.  My first impression of Belize City was that it was like a city in India (not just because of the Indian shop owners, but because of the oldness and the dirtiness of the place).  Then later, I realized that it reminds me somewhat of Colombo, Sri Lanka.  It is a small place with very old stores that are not well maintained.

Eventually, we went to find Bird's Isle Restaurant just south of our hotel on a small island.  What a find!  It has the atmosphere of Snoopy's in Corpus Christi with it's outdoor seating beside the water.  They had their burgers for half-price, so we ordered 1 1/2 burgers each along with liter-size drinks of fresh watermelon juice.  It was so nice and relaxing sitting on the deck with the sun setting and the cool breezes off the water.  It was humid and warm, though, so it was a relief to return to the room afterward and watch a film on TV with the a/c running!