Un-Belizeable
Sorry. We’ve been too busy having adventures of late to update the blog. Adventures that have included zip lining, cave tubing and, most incredible of all, snorkelling with sharks (which will have a post of its own once we get the underwater pics developed). And all of this in the fours days since we arrived in Belize.
The hop across the border at Chetumal was the easiest crossing ever. Three terrifying Mexican military personnel, armed with fully-automatic machine guns the length of my leg, wandered past our bags, nodded, then we were piled on a small ferry, where they inexplicably decided to play a DVD of Lake Placid 3* and 2 hours later we arrived at San Pedro, Isla Bonita, Belize.
If the people here were any more relaxed you’d have to step over them on the street. The only things that rush anywhere here are the iguanas. It’s like everything you’ve seen in A Malibu add. And then some. It’s been a nice respite speaking English again, even if the Belizians (is that a word?) do delight in taking the piss out of us ‘Brits’, but it’s all done with good nature, an enormous smile and the offer of coconut rum.
We’re staying in a lovely place called Change in Latitude run by two very cool American women, called Cindy and Reneta. They very sensibly left their high powered jobs in the states to live a life in Belize. And if you want to know where to go anywhere in Belize (or most of Central America) and the best way to get there, they are the ones to tell you.
Last night we hung out with a fantastic American couple we’d met on the ziplining trip earlier and they introduced us to Beer Pong. A game we will be taking home with us. Amanda (the female half of the couple) was a master at the game and kicked the owner of the bar’s butt. The owner himself was called Mellow and was enormous fun, trying to get us as drunk as possible. We shall most likely be returning there tonight.
The best bit: hanging out with other people. As wonderful as spending all this time with each other is, we are getting a little bored of only having each other to talk to. After nearly 20 years together we have heard all of each other’s stories. More than twice. Which is why we’re away – to get new stories to tell each other repeatedly for the next 10 years!
Tonight we shall be experiencing the infamous Chicken Drop – a game where they drop a chicken on a marked out area and you bet on where it’s going to do its dropping. Seems like they will bet on anything here.
If we win the rumoured $1,000 up for grabs it will be rum all round.
* A film where lots of tourists get eaten by giant crocodiles. And give the stretch of water we were crossing is filled with salt-water crocodiles, an interesting choice of film.
