Just a hop, skip and a jump to our island paradise - Flores to Belize

Once again we were up early. The bus was due to pick us up around 7:30 in the morning and we knew we'd have yet another long day of travel ahead of us.

We opted for breakfast at the hostel while we waited, content to enjoy the last moments in Flores before heading somewhere completely different.

This bus arrived and we got on. As with all the other buses it was packed with other travellers on the same route as us. We made our way to the border, where we had to get off the bus, grab our luggage and make our way through customs before meeting the bus on the other side.

We were handed tourist cards to fill out, which were once again not in English, and the border guard seemed to find this quite amusing. (Not sure what it is with me, but the guys at customs always seem to find me thoroughly entertaining and laugh...)

Back on the bus we got, making our way to Belize City. There was a distinct change in landscape and architecture as we neared the city - gone were the wooden/tin shacks that we'd seen in the Guatemalan jungle and here were large wooden structures up on pillars, presumably to prevent flooding.

image courtesy of Google Image search

We arrived at the water taxi station and a man took our bags, asking if we were going to Caye Caulker. We purchased our tickets and waited to get on the boat. There are two main islands off the coast of Belize that people visit. The smaller, walk-it-in-20-minutes Caye Caulker and the larger San Pedro. Somehow, perhaps due to the massive amount of people attempting to get to the island at the same time as us, we ended up being put on the San Pedro boat, which then stopped at Caye Caulker.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't convinced we'd once again be without our luggage.

Once on the small island we set out to attempt to find a hostel. We had a few ideas but all of them were full. Eventually we settled on one, though I can not remember what it was called. Likely because there was confusion over whether it was called Jim's Guesthouse (it was not). Either way, it was a cute little place tucked back off the main strip with close proximity to a cafe with free Wifi and a bar around the corner.

It was incredibly hot on the island and we weren't sure if we were hungry. So, we decided to grab a drink at the wifi-cafe across the street and plan our next day and a bit. We split some lobster quesadillas and had a drink before setting off to book a snorkelling tour.



With only about 48 total hours on the island we knew we couldn't waste any time. Snorkelling was high on the list of things we wanted to do, as well as have some decent seafood dinner and just relax and enjoy island life.

Caye Caulker is actually an island that is split in half - it used to be joined but now there is a section in between where boats can pass through... not surprisingly it's known as "The Split". Snorkelling tour booked, Meg and I set off to wander the island and see what it had to offer. We walked up to The Split, stopping to admire some cute little sand crabs scurrying in and out of their holes in the sand. Due to the heat we opted to put our feet in the water and take in the sights before venturing off to find some dinner.

Ancient People, Language Barriers and Coffee Shops - Tikal and Flores

We woke up early. Unfathomably early. 3:30 in the morning early.
We got dressed, headed downstairs and had to let ourselves out of the hostel, feeling bad because we had no way of locking the door again once we were outside. We sat on the stoop outside the hostel waiting for the van to arrive to pick us up, not 100% positive the bus would arrive.

Eventually, however, it did. We got on board and I immediately fell back asleep, as was becoming the norm when it came to me and buses. About an hour later we arrived at Tikal and waited for the group to gather. What was to be a "small" group was actually about 30 people. We were met by our guide who started us off on our walk.

One of the largest Mayan civilizations, Tikal is wonderfully preserved/restored, if not a complete maze if you're left on your own. Our guide, who's name I unfortunately forget, was hilarious. He got his information across by relating it to current day events and made references to Indiana Jones as well as Star Wars.

We were able to climb one of the high pyramids and were given an amazing view

After the tour we were able to wander around a bit before having to meet the group back at the cafe. Meg and I relaxed in the main square of the ancient city before venturing back to meet the group. While sitting at the cafe we amused ourselves by watching an enormous colony of ants work their way along the ledge behind us, through a sewer grate and back up on the other side of the walkway and into a different flowerbed.

I came across this list detailing our time in Flores... 

Shower. Cool Beans. Wander (find bank). Shop (buy snacks for tomorrow's bus ride). Wander (back to the hostel, try to pay). Shop (Souveniers). Mojito (Hard work, all that wandering). Shop (more souveniers). Cool Beans (dinner and free wifi). Wander (one last look at Flores).

Yup... that pretty much sums up the rest of the day, with the exception of it not detailing the experience of attempting to pay the woman at the hostel for our room. The hostel, as I mentioned, was above a restaurant. The women who worked there were very friendly and accommodating, however they knew very little, if any, English.

We wanted to pay for the hostel but we were having difficulty knowing how much we had to pay since when I'd booked it there had been a deposit. The older lady  quoted us the normal rate, but because I'd paid the deposit I didn't think that was correct. Between my flipping through my phrase book frantically and her not wanting to upset us, it was eventually decided that we could pay when the younger woman was back in the building. So we went out to wander some more.

Such a small little city, but very welcoming. We walked around the perimeter and watched the lightning of an impending storm in the clouds before seeking shelter at Cool Beans for one more serving of their amazing nachos supreme. Imagine our surprise when we ran into Teoma, a girl we'd made friends with a couple days earlier in Lanquin. We caught up on our days apart, enjoyed some drinks and eventually headed back to the hostel to get our bags ready for the next day.

So long Guatemala, we're off to Belize!

"I know I'm happy to be on the road again, but now I'm worried my luggage will fall off..." - Lanquin to Flores

Our ride from Lanquin to Flores was LONG. Incredibly long.

We were up early, ate some amazing breakfast at the hostel restaurant, and picked up our bagged lunches that we'd asked for the number before. Curiously enough, mine was tagged with "Aranna". Even when I write my name out, it is still somehow confused. 

We argued with the bus drivers that showed up to pick up passengers (all going to different places) about what bus we were to get on. Again, not having printed vouchers was becoming an issue. He didn't believe we had paid, I showed him the confirmation on my iphone. Eventually, however, it was decided we would be on the already very full bus.

The trip started out fine, slowed down by a street market but generally seemed to be making decent time. However, soon enough things slowed down completely. 

The bus started making questionable sounds and after a bit more driving we stopped on a gravel road in the middle of a banana grove to investigate. First it was assumed our tire was flat, but that didn't seem to be the case. I took a guess that it was the axle and it turned out to be the case. Without any other parts available, the rope that was currently being used to hold our luggage on top of the bus was removed and used to secure the axle until we could get to a garage. 

Back on the road we drove for about an hour. Tired and exhausted, the hungover other travelers were grating on our nerves (well, mostly mine, as Meg has the divine ability to not have to hear them). We came to a garage and pulled in. Somehow they had a part to fix the bus with. It took about 2 hours but they fixed our bus and we were back on the road, luggage once again secured and making decent time. 

back on the road, thank god!

11 hours later we arrived in Flores, a small town that is something of an island, although it is connected to the main land by a road. The town itself is comprised of 3 different towns, but we stayed in Flores proper. 

Once again, we were happy that we had booked our accommodation ahead of time, as it seemed to be difficult to find somewhere to stay. We opted to stay at the Hospedaje Yaxha, a small guesthouse situated above a restaurant. The people running it were expecting us, and though they didn't speak any English were happy to try to communicate with us. 

Tired and starving we showered and went for a walk around town in the hopes of finding somewhere open that we could get a drink and some food. We managed to find both at Cool Beans Cafe. The free wifi, cheap beers and amazing nachos were enough to entice us in. 

It wasn't a late night, however, as we were off to Tikal in the morning... and had a 4am wake up call to contend with. 

The Things You Do When Your Bus is Broken Down

1. Play memory on your phone. Start with Flags and the play Fruits and Veggies
2. Eat the bagged lunch the hostel provided for you.
3. Discover the life story of the 8 year old on the bus.
4. Play 20 questions with aforementioned 8 year old.
5. Compare the photos on your iphone with 8 year old.
6. Have aforementioned 8 year old point out that your phone consists of 3 things: your cat(s), food you've eaten and yourself
7. Play "Cupcake Factory" with 8 year old.
8. Use your limited car knowledge to place bets as to why you're broken down.
9. Explore banana grove in search of secluded spot to pee
10. Once up and moving, try to ignore your fear that your luggage will once again be lost because the rope that was once holding it to the top of the bus is now wrapped around the axle.