rain of terror
it may not be the official monsoon in belize until june, but it is absolutely chucking it down in san ignacio, a small village which is swamped by travellers and ageing hippies because of its relaxed ambience and proximity to the rainforest. sadly with hiking out of the question because of the wet and slippery conditions, and the luxury of just chilling out and enjoying the atmosphere unavailable because of time constraints, we are going to be shipping out to flores in guetmala tomorrow morning, and desperately hoping the weather picks up... if i'd wanted grey skies and wet feet i would have stayed in london: at least i could have watched the bb crisis unfolding live on tv.belize is an amazing place. we had got on a local bus at chetumal on the mexican border, and as you trundle down to belize city, stopping every couple of minutes to pick people up or drop them of, you get a vivid snapshot of what makes the country so unique. it is incredibly ethnically diverse: from dark africans, to hispanic and mayan indigenous peoples, to hardcore white puritans in dungarees and straw hats (no seriously). this would be noticeable anywhere, but in a country which is so small both geographically and in overall population it is stunning.
unfortunately the bus ride highlighted one of the other facets of belizean society, a penchant for petty theft as some opportunists snuck their hands into vicki's rucksack and pinched a small bag containing various odds and ends of varying value. distressing for vicki, but there was minor comfort in the fact that the thieves had nicked toiletries, but left her wallet which was immediately below and which contained $100.
anyway, today is being spent just lingering in the rain before we head off towards tikal tomorrow. if the sun's not shining i may cry...
posted by bicrom @ 6:25 pm
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