I was off to a country I knew nothing about. We “planned” our trip the best we could, but a lot would be up to us to figure it out when we arrived. Belize? When would I ever travel to Belize? Well, to renew my visa that’s why. Every 90 days I have to leave the country to get a new tourist visa. Of course Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are considered “one” country visa wise. So you have to travel outside these four to renew your tourist visa.
Sunday morning, Cristina, Janna and I left the beach house and made our way through the country to Puerto Cortez, on the northwest coast of Honduras. We spent the night in a hotel and woke up early the next morning to take care of our visa business. The ferry guy came to pick us up, take us to immigration and then to the boat, only 3 hours ahead of time. Nothing like sitting on a boat, with the smell of fish around you, and nowhere to go, for 3 hours, right? Around 11:30 am we finally got going to begin the two hour ferry ride to the coast of Belize. We pulled into Big Creek, Belize, which was actually a big shipyard with boxes and boxes of cargo all around us. No “Welcome to Belize” sign, no one around, not even a dock. The immigration lady came onto the boat, pulled the immigration stamps out of her purse and stamped all our passports. We jumped on shore where a different lady checked our bags, on the ground. We were told to keep walking to the gate where we could find a taxi to the bus stop. So we walked. Keep in mind this was all outside, through cargo box after cargo box. We got to the “gate” and got in a taxi where we were dropped off at the “bus stop”. It was an open dirt lot, someone’s house and a small run down restaurant. No sign saying it was a bus stop. So we sat and waited. About an hour and half later we figured out we should walk across the street in front of the grocery store to wait for the bus. Makes sense? The bus comes, we jump on and make way for our 5 hour ride to Belize city.
The scenery is beautiful. This country amazes me. Rolling mountains beyond mountains in the distance. Im trying my best to figure out the culture. The official language is English. I see a Hispanic lady and start asking her a question in Spanish (forgetting they speak English here) and her response is “I speak English”. This is WILD. On the bus I hear dialects of English, Spanish, Creole and what it seems like, a million other languages. This is so weird to me. Im in awe. I feel like it’s a hidden country of wonders that no one really knows about. On the bus comes an Amish Family. I feel like Im in a movie. If I woke up and found myself on this bus, I would really not know what country I was in. I honestly felt like a representative of each country was on the bus. On comes a family, all with dreads. From the toddler and the older girls, to the parents, they all had dreads. I can only laugh. I think I’ve found my new favorite country! We finally arrive at our hotel in Belize city. Were right on the water, it’s a beautiful night.
Tuesday morning, its cave tubing time! We strap on our life vests, secure our head lamps, sit in the tube and we begin our adventure! We enter the cave, see natural sculptures of rocks all around us, waterfalls and openings. All we do is sit and relax in our tube! We float a bit down the river and its all over so quickly! Short and sweet :)
Once we get back to Belize city, we must catch the boat over to Caye Caulker, an island off of Belize in the Great Barrier Reef. Not before catching the boat are we attacked by anyone and everyone wanting to sell us stuff. Everything from nail paintings, to jewelry and bags. Oh yeah, we even made some new friends. “Hi, they call me Weed. Ya want some?” …. So we get to Caye Caulker and immediately fall in love. I don’t even care that we had to search for a hostal for an hour, the island is just so adorable and the weather was great, it was so worth it! We get settled in our hostal for 6 dollars a night and eat dinner in a restaurant on the beach with swings for chairs! Mmm, this is the life!
Wednesday morning we wake up to sunshine. I eat breakfast in the hammock by the beach. I could definitely get used to this. We sign up for a full day of snorkeling and lay out for an hour before the snorkeling tour begins. As were getting on the boat, it starts to rain…bummer. “No worries mon” were still going out to sea! By this time its pouring. They encourage us we will still see everything we normally would. We start out, in two sailboats, to our first destination. Not before long does one of the sailboats break down so we all have to cram into one boat….in the pouring rain. However it turned out to be a very fun day, even with the rain! We saw and even touched sting rays and sharks. We also snorkeled with eels, turtles, and a ton of huge fish. They fed us on board with chicken or fish sandwiches, fruit, ceviche and drinks. Even through all the rain, it was an amazing day at sea, one I will never forget!
Thursday morning, it was still raining. We found a nice bakery with 25 cent cinnamon rolls, exactly what we needed. We got the boat back to Belize city where we took another 5 hour bus ride to Placencia, a beach town to the south. We stayed there for the night in a rickety-rack room so we could catch the ferry back to Honduras in the morning. Friday morning we woke up at 6:30 am to take advantage of the town, since we arrived once it was already dark the night before. The beach was beautiful, even on a gloomy day. Everything was so colorful and calm, giving it a nice beachy feel to the town. That “calm” feel didn’t last very long. We boarded the ferry and started to make our way back to Honduras. Well, this tropical storm, that was bringing all this rain, also upset the seas. I was honestly scared for my life. Not only was the boat quite small and the seas rough, the engine kept turning off. I don’t normally get sea sick, but I was this time. The waves were as big as our boat, on both sides. Then the engine would turn off and we would just be chilling in the middle of stormy waters. The waves would toss and turn the boat dramatically. My hands were clenched to the seat. I tried to put in my ipod to take my mind off it. The lady next to Cristina was throwing up. The passengers facing me on the other side had eyes wide open everytime we would crash into a wave or turn sideways a bit too much. I honestly considered what I would do if the boat tipped and we went underwater. Let’s just say, it was good to be on land. Back in Honduras! Now just two more bus rides and a taxi and we would finally be home…9 o’clock at night and we finally arrived. Ah, the feeling of being back in El Porvenir, so gooooood!
Overall, I enjoyed the trip to Belize. Everyone we met was exceptionally nice. They would go out of their way to help us. The country was a melting pot of cultures. I was in awe the whole week, one thing after another was just so amazing to me. Its beauty, the people, the languages, all of it. Incredible. I guess you could say it was…unBELIZEable.
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