We had a hilarious beginning of our journey towards Guatemala yesterday! As planned, a guy with the megaphone announcing our destination was waiting at the port. So far, so clear. Our minibus was supposed to leave Belize City at 10am. We had our tickets checked 3 times (by the same person) before we got on the bus. All the luggage was piled up across the last row of seats. 17 of us made for a nearly full bus and we set off around 10.30. Great! We're off to Guatemala! All the way to the first traffic light :-/ where the minibus parked and welcomed more passengers from the dock next door! The following strategy was applied: all the luggage (that was just loaded) was offloaded with the help of some of the passengers who also passed it on to the driver, now piling up everything on the roof. The remaining 10 passengers came in and this is when we discovered that the minibus has the auxiliary seats that cleverly use the space to its full capacity. Finally, around 11am, we started our 5-hour journey. The roads were ok (no motorways) and the bus driving style was familiar to us from back home (i.e. Using the mobile or finishing the paperwork whilst driving), so we were not overly concerned. All in all it felt like a safe trip.

The experience at the border was not as eventful this time, however, the hotel in Flores was not such a pleasant experience. We were aware that it was a low budget option, so were only after a clean, modest space. It did look clean and recently painted, but than the reality struck. I pulled the bed cover, only to see 'la cocaracha' creeping out of my sight! After about half an hour a smell of sewage overwhelmed us and we also realised that the fresh paint actually concealed the dump. Without delay we went to a nearby travel agent and asked them to help us find a different place. Everything was resolved reasonably quickly, so we had our much needed rest and a good night's sleep in the end :)