When I arrived solo at Belize City Airport, my ride didnt show up. This was concerning because there was no bus leaving for San Ignacio that late in the afternoon, so I was pretty much screwed. After an hour, in desperation, I asked a couple that was waiting for their ride if they were heading west? They were heading to San Ignacio, and said I could ride with them! I was so psyched. Not only did I have a ride, but now I didn't have to pay the exorbitant fee of $90 for the shuttle. Then, just before we left, a young kid shows up in 1987 Toyota Corolla with a smashed windshield, one headlight, and no gas, and says "Does anyone know Sam?" Damn! I left my new friends, and got in the kids car. He said he got a flat and that's why he was late. Might have been true. Then he wanted to stop for beers! I said no, that I'd wait until I got to my hotel. The Casa Blanca in San Ignacio is very nice, squeaky clean, with TV, plenty of room, and for $24 a night, probably the best value I've ever had. Belize has a great local beer, Belikin, which I had a lot of. Food is OK and really cheap. I spent the first day just hanging around San Ignacio. The town is pretty dull. Nothing going on, no shopping, no decent bars, nothing. It looks nicer than Mexico, but not as nice as Costa Rica. People are very friendly, and I feel completely safe. In the morning I ran to some small Mayan ruins. In the afternoon I saw the whole town in about one hour, and then just sat in a park and read a book.
Today I took a tour to Tikal in Guatemala. It is an awesome sight. The temples are enormous, very well preserved, and you can climb to the top of two of them. The Maya had more advanced cities than anything in Europe as of 900AD. It's crazy that people lived better 1100 years ago here than they do now. Guatemala seems OK, not dangerous or noticeably poorer than Mexico or Belize. The border was a piece of cake, the passport people even smiled! I was expecting Nicaragua again. People all have livestock in Guatemala, so the van is constantly swerving to avoid pigs, cows, horses, chickens, dogs, goats, sheep, and children. The driver told us that there is no auto insurance in Guatemala. If you hit anything you pay for it on the spot. If you hit someone's horse, you have to pay for the value of the horse then and there, or you go to jail, until someone comes up with the money. Yet we never braked to avoid animals, just swerved and hoped for the best. Ive never seen so many domesticated animals running wild before. Also, we changed vehicles and drivers three times, to avoid bringing a van across the border. By the time I got to Tikal it was some guy I just met saying, "Hi Sam, I'll be your guide, and then Hernando will drive you to Melchor e Mencos, then Francisco will be waiting for you, then he'll take to the border, and after you cross Jose will be there with the van." And I'm thinking "What?, which guy was Jose?" But it all worked out like clockwork. Good people here. I was with four other Americans in my tour group, two couples from California, and we had a fun trip. At the end of the tour we bought beers and carried them up the highest Mayan temple and drank Belikin with a view over the jungle. We all had dinner together last night and went "bar hopping" in the 3 empty bars in town all blasting horrible reggae music.
Recognize this shot? It's the exact same view seen at the very end of the movie Star Wars as the rebels are landing at their base after blowing up the Death Star, right before Han and Luke get their medals.
Today I took a tour to Tikal in Guatemala. It is an awesome sight. The temples are enormous, very well preserved, and you can climb to the top of two of them. The Maya had more advanced cities than anything in Europe as of 900AD. It's crazy that people lived better 1100 years ago here than they do now. Guatemala seems OK, not dangerous or noticeably poorer than Mexico or Belize. The border was a piece of cake, the passport people even smiled! I was expecting Nicaragua again. People all have livestock in Guatemala, so the van is constantly swerving to avoid pigs, cows, horses, chickens, dogs, goats, sheep, and children. The driver told us that there is no auto insurance in Guatemala. If you hit anything you pay for it on the spot. If you hit someone's horse, you have to pay for the value of the horse then and there, or you go to jail, until someone comes up with the money. Yet we never braked to avoid animals, just swerved and hoped for the best. Ive never seen so many domesticated animals running wild before. Also, we changed vehicles and drivers three times, to avoid bringing a van across the border. By the time I got to Tikal it was some guy I just met saying, "Hi Sam, I'll be your guide, and then Hernando will drive you to Melchor e Mencos, then Francisco will be waiting for you, then he'll take to the border, and after you cross Jose will be there with the van." And I'm thinking "What?, which guy was Jose?" But it all worked out like clockwork. Good people here. I was with four other Americans in my tour group, two couples from California, and we had a fun trip. At the end of the tour we bought beers and carried them up the highest Mayan temple and drank Belikin with a view over the jungle. We all had dinner together last night and went "bar hopping" in the 3 empty bars in town all blasting horrible reggae music.
Recognize this shot? It's the exact same view seen at the very end of the movie Star Wars as the rebels are landing at their base after blowing up the Death Star, right before Han and Luke get their medals.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave me a comment on my blog!