It rained hard throughout the night, with fairly constant thunder and lightning. One particular strike sounded as though it was a direct hit bomb on top of the hotel. I’d never heard thunder so loud before.
Kate, Chris, Suze and I walked around and ate some good Belizean breakfast (beans, eggs, sausage and fry jacks [mine all covered with a healthy dose of Marie Sharp’s habañero sauce]). On the way back, I found the Hokey Pokey water taxi schedule and decided to move on, saying goodbye to my Aussie/English-Irish/South African pals.
I’d take the 15 minute trip to a small town on the mainland called Independence. Once there, I had to wait for an hour and a half before catching a three and a half hour bus ride alongside the mountains to Belmopan. From there I’d wait until the next bus to San Ignacio on the western border. A long day of travel, to be sure, but I did essentially cross the entire country. Also, the thick clouds hanging over the lush green mountains and the occasional lightning storm made for some nice eye candy on the way.
San Ignacio has a distinctly different feel than the rest of Belize. Where most of Belize is very relaxed, SI is bustling. Though that’s not necessarily a good thing. Within the first 10 minutes of arriving, I was approached by 5 different tour solicitors. The other big difference is that far more Spanish is heard than in the rest of Belize.
I walked into the first restaurant I found: a Sri Lankan restaurant called Serendib. All my time in NY, the international food capital, and I had to come to Belize to try Sri Lankan food. The meal was great (beef curry on rice) but the Watalappan was the highlight. It’s just like flan, except instead of a flavorless gelatinous mess, it’s a good dessert. It has ginger, cinammon and cloves and really did a good job neutralizing the spiciness of the dinner.
Once again, the travel day took a lot out of me. I retired fairly early, eager to get a quick start to the next day.