I breakfasted whilst a gentle storm stirred itself in the mid-distance, enjoying refillable coffee and a carb-loaded egg muffin-type situation to prepare me, just in case the fish had a change of heart. They didn't.
Travel eh? What a privilege it is to be able to just wander, read, write, just be. WiFi everywhere means that one is never really cut-off for any length of time. How surreal that I can be lying in a hammock in Belize City and exchanging instant messages with people in the UK.
I took the San Pedro Water Taxi at 10am, enjoying watching the set-up of the smooth operation by the bottle-green clad bunch who considered our every need. The boat was a sound balance of tourists and locals, variously travelling to or from work, to their next destination, all whilst chatting or dozing in the ocean breeze.
I was sitting next to a human guinea pig - he had little rounded cheeks, a tiny guinea pig face with beady eyes and limited facial expressions. I could just imagine him munching on a lettuce leaf - is that what guinea pigs eat? That's what Peter Rabbit enjoyed, but probably best not get me started on 'What's Wrong With Peter Rabbit the Film' - I can almost hear Beatrix spinning in her grave, poor woman.
Mr Guinea Pig was married to Mrs Guinea Pig and they had two little Guinea Piglets, one of whom had the classic guinea pig features, the other, well, one could not be entirely sure. The Guinea Pig family were francophone - my heart sank when one after the other, they plugged headphones into their various devices, in order to isolate themselves from each other and the other boat-goers. Honestly! Talk about epitomising the breakdown of society! I wanted to say,
"For goodness sake, Famille Cochon d'Inde... (note to readers - that's French for Family Guinea Pig - it translates as 'Pig of India' you know) - you are in Belize - BELIZE!! Is this really the time to shut yourself off from humanity?! Tear yourselves away from your devices and embrace these incredible and beautiful surroundings!!"
I decided on balance not to say this.
I had chatted with a lady in the boarding queue where we shared our disappointment at this tiny girl, who can't have been more than 6-years-old, made up in full adult make-up - foundation, eye-shadow, eye-liner - we both did a double-take, thinking that it was our sunglasses confusing our eyes, but no, she was fully made-up, like a fully made-up adult. The lady in the queue told me about a friend of hers who did this from a very young age and now has volcanoes in her skin! I surmised that this may have been a slight exaggeration. I never exaggerate.
The boat journey was smooth and as organised as you'd expect from people wearing bottle green (Newstead reference). We changed boats at Caye Caulker and I watched them load my rucksack into the second vessel - I've tweeted a few pictures of this trip here - I don't put pictures into my blogs - I don't think they tell a thousand words and they certainly don't convey my thoughts.
I took a taxi to the Red Hut Inn, a basic guesthouse on the outskirts of Belize City. I was early for check-in, so spent some time sipping Coke, reading parts of Lonely Planet Belize which was in the Red Hut Inn library and swinging in a hammock on the roof terrace - I love roof terraces. The guesthouse is simple but cosy - I booked it through Expedia - did I mention that doing so generates a donation via easyfundraising?
And now? I write to you from 'Belamari at Seashore', a quirky restaurant which is actually in the sea - the water is seriously choppy and the palm trees are struggling, but the staff assure me that a hurricane is not impending and that all is ok. I'm not so sure.
It was interesting reading Lonely Planet retrospectively - whilst I used to be a Lonely Planet stalwart, methinks on reflection that prospective consumption of Lonely Planet and their travel guides can influence one too much - that said, on previous travels, I have lived by these guides, highlighting bits, ripping out particular country chapters; I even feature in Lonely Planet West Africa (check out the listing on contributors at the back), plus I'm in four editions of Phillip Briggs' Bradt Guide to Ghana - I have my very own grey box about travelling in West Africa as a lone woman.
It's hard to know how safe it is here - Lonely Planet mentions that violent crime is not unusual in Belize City, but it's not that uncommon in Plumstead ether. So realistically, one just has to be sensible and savvy everywhere. Walk positively and people think you know where you're going - story of my life. My valuables are stashed about my person, so even if my bag gets snatched, they'll end up with a book of my ramblings, insect repellent, suncream, hand sanitiser and an extremely useful Girlguiding Buckinghamshire drawstring bag.
Sleep tight friends.
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