Wow, wow, wow! So from Flores we started following the directions of the awesome travel agency guy from our hostel. We got on a bus bound for the border, took a taxi from the border to the next bus, and then the adventure really began. Crossing the border into Belize was like entering another world: the signs were in English, the houses were made of wood, people actually had yards, people are speaking English and Creole, basketball is more popular than soccer, and most of the people are black (I'm not being racist, but in Guatemala there aren't really black people...like, none). If you've ever been to Guatemala you know that the buses here are many and they run to every part of the country very frequently. Well apparently when you go from a country populated by 15.5 million people who take the bus everywhere to a country of 340,000, the frequency of the buses significantly decreases. So our trip was like this: a micro-bus from Santa Elena to Menchor de Mencos (G-malan side of the border), taxi from there to Benque Viejo (Belizean border town), bus from there to Belmopan (the capital city), from there we had to wait in the terminal for like an hour for the next bus that was going to Dangriga and then down to Punta Gorda, but they said they'd drop us off at the junction for Hopkins. Cool cool. Naturally we assumed there would be a bus coming soon that would go into Hopkins (because it's like 5 miles from the highway junction into the town), plus there were a bunch of kids waiting there too. Well, we waited for like half an hour and then a pick-up truck came by and all the kids jumped in the back, plus some other people who were waiting, and then the truck took off. We quickly learned that the spotty bus service is supplemented by hitch-hiking (something I'd never done before) and about 10 minutes later another truck came by and we hopped in. [Side note: it's really hot in Belize! I had a plastic bag from a grocery store in Santa Elena and the ink on it melted and started transferring onto my leg!!!] Once we got to Hopkins we started walking toward where we wanted to stay (did I mention that we didn't make reservations anywhere, because it's the low season so there's always space...we hoped!) and we had a little difficulty finding it. It was a bit further down the road than we thought because there was a confusing sign...and I really had to pee! Well we finally got there and immediately went swimming in the warm Caribbean sea (apparently we're the only ones who go swimming at night!) then we went in search of food. We went to this little place a few steps down the beach from where we were staying and asked what the special was. "Fish balls with coconut rice, beans, and salad." "Fish balls? Like....the balls of a fish?" "Hahaha! No, they're like meatballs, but with fish." "Oh!!!! Ok, we'll have 2 of those please." THE RICE WAS THE BEST RICE I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But anyways, all the food was awesome and when we got the bill it was only $30BZ for both of us (the Belizean dollar is fixed at a 2-1 exchange with the US dollar), and it was so much food!!! We were happy. :)
We planned for a few days in each place in Belize, so in Hopkins we got to just relax, go swimming, see the town using the hostel's bikes, eat some delicious food. It was super chill! The first day I got really really really sunburnt! The worst I've ever gotten in my life! From the tops my thighs down to the backs of my knees was the worst, but also my back and shoulders and the little strip on my stomach and back that my swim-suit doesn't cover. Apparently re-applying sunscreen is really important when you go to the Caribbean! So we bought new sunscreen from the store (by the way, every market-like store in Belize is owned by Asians, I'm not kidding!!) only to discover the next day that it had expired a year ago!! We still used it anyways, we just re-applied more often. And we struggled to find aloe vera, but we went to a school bus converted into a store/home called Sew Much Hemp where the lady had some hemp oil, aloe, avocado, something cream that we bought and that seemed to help....but then all my clothes started to smell like that stuff mixed with sweat and it wasn't the best combination. But it definitely beat laying in bed at night trying to decide which position hurt less....I couldn't lay in a hammock for a couple days, you never realize how it puts all the pressure on your shoulders and legs until you're sunburnt in those places. Haha!
The next night we went to this little place on the side of the road and ate our fill of salbutes and fry tacos (they're just little 3-4 bite yummy things) and the whole bill came to $3.50BZ (so cut that in half and you've got USD)....that's cheaper than eating in Guatemala!!!!!!
Here's something we quickly noticed about the men in Belize: they ask a lot of questions! Ok, let me back up. In Guatemala the men are always whistling or tch-tch-ing or "Hola mamita!"-ing foreign women. But they just do it as you walk past and that's that. In Belize the men follow you/walk next to you/ride their bike next to you and ask you a ton of questions with a completely straight face: "Where are you from? How long have you been in Belize? How do you like it? Where are you staying? Do you like to party? What's your name? How old are you? What do you do in the states? Are you two cousins?" In Placencia (I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but whatevs) this guy road up next to us on his bike (we were walking, so he was biking super slowly) and said, "I saw you when you came into town." That doesn't inspire me to tell you where I'm staying!!!!!!!
Anyways, Hopkins was pretty chill. Not super touristy, which was cool, with awesome food!! Then we mentally prepared ourselves for the trip from Hopkins to Placencia (see above map to orient yourself).
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