We left Caye Caulker at 11:30am by boat, arriving in Belize City about 45 minutes later. A quick taxi ride to the bus stop and we arrive just in time for the chicken bus to San Ignacio. I was looking forward to getting into the country deeper. I love sitting on tropical islands, but after a few days of drinking it´s time to move on. We make our way to the back of the bus. It´s packed full and making frequent stops, but the windows are down and there is a warm breeze blasting in my face. The back of the bus there are a couple of people from Germany, a couple from Montana, and a couple from Montreal. We had all been in Caye Caulker and were now all going to San Ignacio. It´s so easy meeting people, since you have something in common: traveling. Everyone shares their stories about where they´ve been, where they´re going, and a few recommendations. When we get to the bus stop we say farewell to our bus friends and hope to see them again soon.
We end up getting a room on one of the main streets called the Mallorca (My-Orca) Hotel. It´s pretty cheap at about $30 a night and the family running it are extremely hospitable. We go down the street to a local food place called Rosita´s for lunch. It´s own by a husband and wife. The husband´s named Hart, he is a large friendly Belizean fellow. He lets us try some of his special hot sauce. Now I learned my lesson last time, but it doesn´t seem too hot at first. Well of course it takes awhile to burn my mouth but good. Cramer is laughing, because apparently it´s not hot for him. Later at night we walk around the town.
San Ignacio is pretty small at about 15, 000 people. It has a few main streets where all of the bars and restaurants seem to be on. It is on the western part of Belize and is the capital of it´s district (Cayo District). It seems to have a lot of character, but I´m not liking it as much as I thought I would. The guide books described it as quiet during the day and more lively at night. I felt it was extremely busy with cars and trucks and people during the day and more chilled at night. Going from Caye Caulker to San Ignacio is a little bit of a shock mostly due to the cars. I guess I never realized how much more chilled things are when there are no cars and trucks rumbling by and beeping at you constantly. San Ignacio is definitely not the quiet little town I imagined.
Late night we hit a little place called Mr. Greedy´s Bar. It´s an Italian restaurant during the day and a bar at night. We start talking to two local women named Gina and Carla. Both ladies are exremely good looking, well educated, and sophisticated, definitely much classier than either Cramer or me. We talk to them for awhile about Belize. As the night progresses the bar is invaded by archaeologists. Summer college archaeology students are all in the area on various digs. Apparently they have the weekend off to get wasted or something. They´re all from the US and don´t seem very willing to talk to us. One guy named Mike is an older guy with a big grey beard and grey balding hair. He tells us he´s from New York. Manhattan to be exact. He must be close to 70, but has been doing these digs with college kids for the last few years. He is quiet a interesting and inspiring guy. He´s all about siezing the day. Telling us stories about sky diving, being on stage in the New York Opera, and other things. We finally head home after quite a few Belikin Stouts.
The next day we wake up a little groggy. Sleeping in all these different beds without AC in warm humid envirnments can take its toll. It´s Saturday and the town has a large market going on. We go down and check it out. There are a lot of vegetables, fruits, meats, clothing, and all sorts of other items. It´s kind of like a farmers market crossed with a rummage sale. We walk down by the river and watch the kids swim while the adults take buckets of water from the river and wash their cars. After looking at trip advisor online I find out that their are some nearby Mayan ruins about 2 miles out of town. Cramer and I are both up for some physical exercise since we´ve been mostly eating, drinking, and sitting so far this trip. The ruins are a challenging hike up hill out of town. It is a small site, but there are still some impressive building. Plus there are only a few people around so it seems a little more inclusive. The ruins are called Cahal Pech and date from around 900BC to 800AD. After awhile we head back to town, sweating all the way.
Later that night we go across the street to the restaurant called Ko-Ox-Han Nah. It is the top recommendation in the Lonely Planet guide. When I go in I see Stephanie and Markus, the German´s we met on Caye Caulker and who were on the bus with us. They are playing Yatze and invite us to join them. After having dinner we play a game of Yatze then go to the Blue Angel to play some pool. The Blue Angel is some kind of dance club, which is playing terrible music, but it´s the only place with a pool table so we stay. After playing well the first game I fall apart and the German´s beat us 3 games to 1. So sad. We play on final game of Yatze down at Mr. Greedy´s bar and then call it a night. On the way home I end up buying a hotdog from a street vendor, since I´m now a little bit sick of tacos and rice and beans. Maybe it´s karma, but it turns out to be a big mistake. 4am I´m up running to the toilet. Montezuma is definitely having his revenge now. I´m praying I´ll be ok by 7:30am when we leave for the cave tour we booked the day before.
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