Thursday, July 12, 2007

in the hills

having not been very positive about Belize City (and justly so) it is with relief I can at least say some really nice thngs about San Ignacio.

I arrived at lunchtime on a chicken bus (the local bus) which at one stage was so packed I had to sit with my backpack on my lap with my knees pressed up against the vinyl back of the seat in front as the leg room was made for midgets.


the bus


At least I had no half child to deal with. However it started to piss down with rain and the conductor shut all the windows which instantly turned the interior into a sauna.


before it began to fill up


Eventually people began to leave the bus at villages along the way and I soon had two seats to myself. The scenery was fairly unspectacular except for the odd highlight such as when the road passed right through the middle of a cemetary - there were even graves in the traffic island between the lanes but I wasnt quick enough with my camera.


the bridge into town



I immediatelt felt quite uplifted by the town when i arrived for no obvious reason - I guess it just had a good 'vibe'. This continued when I found an excellent hotel almost immediately and booked my tour to the ATM cave tomorrow. (More about that in the next post).


settled in on the hotel verandah with a book and a real coffee


I have just eaten in a semi veggy restaurant and am about to head back to the comfort of my hotel (which is more like a hostel with a communal kitchen and dining area) to see if I can talk the ears off some poor unfortunate wayfarer.

I will stay here at least 2 days and so am feeling very relaxed and happy. Happy that Belize didn't turn out to be a complete sewer!

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