After Chichen Itza we decided that it was time for a change of pace and a change of country. Belize is the sixteenth different country of the trip so far and it's probably the most laid back as well. We caught a bus straight into Belize City, the charmless capital city, and successfully negotiated the back streets on foot until we found what our guidebook described as the cheapest place in town - the North Front Street Guesthouse for US$15 a night. The sign on the front door stipulated that no prostitutes or gigolos were to be entertained in the rooms at any time - to which I laughed - and then gave more thought to as I had just met a bloke on the street called Byron who wanted to take me out for a beer, and insist I pay.
TROPICAL PARADISE
The following morning we caught a boat through the mangroves out to one of the islands off the coast. Over the last few days we've been doing nothing but sitting on the beach and enjoying the hot sun and cool sea breeze. We're staying at a hotel called Tropical Paradise (about US$17 a night) which fronts the south end of the main beach on the island which is frequented by pelicans for most of the day. Many of the locals are incomprehensible since, although English is the official language of Belize, they speak Creole, usually drunk Creole at that. To my untrained ear they use the word 'panny' far too often for it to mean just one thing. On our first night we at in a restaurant with a couple of older locals who were arguing at the top of their voices but we could barely understand a word they were saying. Sara was convinced it was a religious discussion but I knew they were disagreeing on whether Empire Strikes Back was better than Return of the Jedi. May the force be with you.
Tropical Paradise Guesthouse in the background
Our own little piece of beach
I found a really cool tire swing
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