The KiwiCampaign

Turns out, Good Friday is indeed a terrible day to travel in Central America.

My goal for today was to escape the entrapment of the 2-acre island of Tobacco Caye (just as the weather turned perfect, as it would), and bus it to Corozal, a small town just south of the Mexican Border.

If not the lack of morning ferry was a sign, the lack of buses at the Dangriga bus terminal certainly should have been one. I finally caught a boat from Tobacco Caye to Dangriga around lunch, reached the bus terminal around 1, only to find out that the next bus heading to Belize City would not leave until 3:30. Rats.

My fat travel novel is coming to an end quickly, so I decided to utilize my Ipod games instead, so as to stretch out my juicy book for a few more days. The cheap bastard that I am, my Ipod only contains the factory games, which pretty much all suck big time. At the end, I spent two hours in disbelief of how difficult Solitaire ended up being. Of my fourty-or some games, I won once. After all this effort, I was expecting some sort of fireworks show on my 2-inch screen. Alas, a small line of text announcing “We Have A Winner” was the chosen award by Steve Jobbs. I made a small note to invest into some more rewarding games prior to my next bus-based travels.

I knew it! I arrived in scary Belize City just around sunset, 6PM, only to find out that there were no more buses leaving for the day. Something about a holy day and the bad luck that would come from working on this religious holiday. Well, looks like I will be spending this Good Friday in beautiful Belize City then, I rejoiced!

One of the major differences between Guatemala and Belize is the lack of public pump action (PPA). In Guatemala, every street corner is normally adorned with a juvenile rent-a-cop armed with a very intimidating shot gun, the weapon of choice in this area. Very rockstar! In Belize on the other hand, you don’t see any form of law enforcement, no shotguns, not even machetes. Funny enough, Belize City could certainly benefit from a bit more PPA. This city is pretty scary! And here is what confuses my simple mind the most: How is it possible that a country, which seems to be charging prices similar to what we are used to in the US, gives birth to a city as poor as Belize City?

Apparently there is one safe area in Belize City, but the bus terminal was certainly nowhere near that area. A cheap and quick cab ride dropped me off at some guest house, where the combination of street atmosphere and security doors communicated in a clear voice not to ever think about leaving this place after dark. Hah! I did anyway.

The guest house had a subtle urine smell emanating from its walls, but under these conditions, it had to do. My room was a dirty little hole with a humorously small pad-lock on the door. After unsuccessfully attempting to buy a couple of the Beers (and why are Belize beers bottled in 284ml bottles???) from the owner, someone mentioned a Chinese restaurant two blocks away that might be able to help out. I mustered all my bravery, and embarked on my journey into the mouth of Belize City’s terror of darkness.

The first two men I encountered were unmistakably gangster types (the beach cruisers could not fool me), but instead of guns, they brandished big smiles. I loosened the grip around the concealed camp fork that I carried in my pocket, and bee-lined to the designated corner. The lack of light and padlocked steel doors did not look promising. I ran a small bell without much hope, but to my surprise, steel curtains were raised, and this time I felt reinforced in my trek through the belly of the beast. Not only one steel door, but two separated me from the objects of my desires. A small Chinese lady who spoke neither English or Spanish took my money through the cracks in the first steel door, walked across a dimly lit shop/restaurant floor, opened a second steel security door, and shortly returned with my beer and change. Now that felt more like Belize City!

I returned back to my guesthouse with my loot like Julius Caesar from victorious battle. Tomorrow I might even dare to seek out some local breakfast.