garyandpearl

We arrived in Belize on Saturday, January 24th. Going through customs was a breeze, and by 1 pm we were in our Kia Sportage rental car and headed south. We are renting a home in Hopkins Village for a week. Our landlords gave us great instructions as to how to find our way here. We stopped for lunch at a delightful roadside restaurant called “Cheers” and enjoyed BBQ pork ribs with rice and beans. We were encouraged to purchase some of their freshly baked cookies and muffins which, of course, we did! Our travels took us through Belmopan and we stocked up on fresh fruit at a fruit stand. Our haul included watermelon, bananas, oranges, papaya, and pineapples, all for $9 US.

Tourists are encouraged to make it to Hopkins by dark, and now we know why. There are random speed bumps on roads throughout the country. Some of them have signs to pre-warn you, but many of them don’t. We saw evidence of many vehicles whose drivers had not noticed them in time. Pot-holes are plentiful, signs are a luxury, and street lights are minimal.

By the time we had arrived in Hopkins at 4:30, we were rethinking our decision. We are staying at Los Mangoes, a cute home owned by Ned and Dia. The road getting into the town is in such bad shape that 20km per hour is the top speed. Many homes are basically wooden shacks, dogs and chickens run wild, but children happily play outside.

We were a little nervous at staying in such a sketchy looking location, but we were told that violent crime is non-existent. Theft is common, however, because of the poverty of the people. The WIFI in our home stopped working earlier in the week, but we were given a laptop to use to let family know that we had arrived safely.

After a short walk from our house, we found a corner store and stocked up on a few groceries before settling into our home. The sand flies and mosquitos come out at night, so we relaxed indoors, grateful to have arrived safely. Now what will the week have in store for us?