The bus journey from Belmopan to Dangriga took me along the magnificent Hummingbird Highway. Skirting the eastern edge of the Mountain Pine Ridge, the narrow highway meanders through lush scenery and across vast flood plains, which provide a spectacular backdrop for the 2 hour ride; easily the most beautiful road I have ever driven along.

I arrived at Dangriga late that Saturday evening, the town was shutting up for the night and the only hostel in town was a fair walk away from anything that resembled life. As I settled into an empty hostel it struck me that I was alone for the first time in a couple of weeks. 'Not to worry' I thought as I planned to head to Hopkins the next day anyway, so I settled down to watch a film on my laptop.

Falling foul of Sunday bus times I ended up catching a relatively expensive taxi rather than stay in Dangriga another night.

In Hopkins I stayed at a hostel called 'The Funky DoDo' under recommendation from a friend in Caye Caulker. The hostel was right next to the beach, it was very basic with an outdoor kitchen and there was sand everywhere but the beds were clean and it had a good group of friendly guests.

Hopkins is a quiet little Garifuna (Garifuna people are of West African decent and speak a mix of English and Creole) fishing village where the sound of traditional drumming echos down the streets at night.

The plan was to stay for a couple of days before heading south to Punta Gorda ready to start my time with Reef CI