11/8/2014

We left wonderful Caye Caulker this morning bound for Flores Guatemala. We did not leave before we got a Cinnamon Roll from the bakery, one of our enticements.. When we arrived at the bus terminal/water taxi terminal in Belize City we found that the only bus for Flores had already left. I talked to a taxi driver and he said he would drive us to the border for $100 US, three times more expensive than the bus. He also offered to take us to the other bus station which may have a bus to the border. We decided to walk to the other bus station. It was 12 blocks away. The streets are full of open drains, water, and traffic in B.C. but we found the terminal. I realized these were the famous chicken buses. We fought through the taxi drivers and found a bus bound for Benque. The bus was crowded so we waited fire the next one. An express to Benque finally showed up. We elbowed our way to the front of the line and grabbed a front seat. The conductor took our money. Only 20 Belizean.  The ride was super and we saw mountains for the first time in months. We stopped in San Ignacio because we wanted to cross the border in the daylight. We elbowed our way though the Taxi drivers to the tourism center. There we found the most helpful man. He told us where we might stay, how to cross the border, and a few fun facts about the town. We ended up at Bella’s Backpacker Hostel for the night. San Ignacio is a gem of a town. We met a Russian American who said Placencia was the place to be in Belize with cheap food and lodging. We took note for future travels. Jill and I watched the movie Frozen tonight at a free screening. It was outside and in the street on an inflatable movie screen. We ate a big sold that jill picked out of the market. Now we are going to bed.