You'd better Belize it.

Okay so new day and new country. The border crossing this time was not as scenic as the previous one but still rather hilarious in that we had to walk over the border and suddenly we were in Belize and speaking English once again.

Our first stop was in San Ignacio as we heard it was a nice little town so thought we'd check it out. Once we had checked in we headed to a local water spot at Branch Mouth to cool off as once again it was really hot and humid. Before the walk along the dirt track I purchased my 4th pair of sunglasses since the beginning of the trip. Luckily these have so far survived.The lake was very refreshing but I wasn't very keen on the sludge at the bottom as wasn't quite sure what I was putting my feet into - yuck. That was pretty much it was San Ignacio apart from generally wandering around. We arrived on a Sunday and the Monday was Commonwealth day so everything was closed. We did, however, have an awesome meal of quesadillas which I finished off for my breakfast the next day.

Next stop was Caye Caulker. Caye Caulker (pronounced as "key Caulker") is a small island off the coast of the mainland. It is a popular place amongst backpackers and tourists alike with the main attraction being it's amazing snokelling and diving opportunities. To get there we took the local bus (only cost $7 Belize = 1.50 pound. Not bad for a 3hr journey) to Belize City. Now I heard some pretty awful facts about Belize City before we arrived and looking at the local area it seemed to fit the picture I had already created in my mind. Their murder rate is 34.2 per 100000 citizens so you can see why we by-passed this to head straight to the caye.

The Caye was beautiful and the surrounding waters reminded me slightly of BDA. We spent four days on the island, mainly chilling out. We did a snorkel trip which is definitely one of the highlights so far. We saw manatee from the boat and swam with a turtle, nurse shark, rays (Katie even held a ray and we both stroked the shark). The captain was hilarious and was like "I have a shark in my hands, come and say hi if you like!). We also saw loads of tropical fish, some sergeant majors, angel fish, butterfly fish, parrot fish, blue headed wrass, groupers etc. We visited three sites in all and were thoroughly exhausted afterwards. On the way back we ate shrimp ceviche which was totally delicious.

One night we sampled the caye's nightlife and headed to a few bars. As we are on a budget and also the fact we are pikeys we took our own rum in Katie's hip flask so bought soft drinks for most of the night. The bars were really cool and had open top terraces and swings to sit on at the bar. A couple of the locals took a liking to Katie, in particular big Steve who coerced her on the dance floor with me and some others we had met. The locals were really friendly and chatty (as long as you don't give them the wrong impression!).The hostel we stayed in was really nice and uber clean (not surprising as it was run by a German laday). It had loads of hammocks to hang out in, even on the pier outisde the hostel. Totally bliss.

Our next stop was Punta Gorda to visit a friend of mine, Ruth, who I actually met in Vietnam on my last escapades. She is now living her permanently and is married to a local who I have to say is named Ronald MacDonald. Brilliant! The trip down was 6hrs on another local bus which wasn't too bad really, apart from when laods of amry guys got on and piled all their bags around us so we were completely stuffed in. We passed along the Hummingbird Highway which is totally pictoresque as you pass through small villages with amazing views of the sprawling jungle with banana plantations and other amazing flora and fauna.

So we have spent the last few days staying with Ruth and Ray (as he is known locally) which has been so nice to spend time with people who know the area. They drove us out to Blue Creek which is a beautiful water spot with mini waterfalls and even a giant cave which goes back about 20km. We only swam in the first part as we got freaked out by the darkness around us and what might be swimming in the depths below. I think I have watched too many scary movies! We also ate home-made quesadillas which Katie and I both helped to make (well the tortillas anyway). So yummy and so going to make them when I get home. On the way back to the car we saw not one but three green snakes. One gave Katie a bit of a fright as it slithered right in front of her within the fallen leaves - eek!

We have been spending the evenings at the bars and watching Ray drum. He is a professional Garifuna drummer and so talented. I swear his hands move so quickly you can barely see what action made the beat. He plays with his extended family and play Punta music which is a particular beat made by the drum. His dad sings alongside while his other family members play other percussion instruments.

One night we walked past a Wake that Ray was drumming at. It was a huge celebration in the evening with hundreds of people there. Apparently they don't see death as a sad time as they believe in the afterlife so the Wake was mainly a celebration of the deceased's life.

Last night both Katie and I tried our hand at Punta dancing (after a few rums I might add). The idea is to shake your arse. The bigger your arse the better, so I thought great, mine is huge so won't have a problem. Unfortunately it was a little too much out of control and I couldn't quite control the vibrations of the movement. I have to admit though that I have serious competition here in terms of arse sizes. I mean some are so huge you could stand a cup of water on it without it spilling. It bedazzles me where they find the jeans to fit. But to be slightly larger here is a good thing. Ruth said that if you lose weight here they say "My you look ill" and if you put on weight they say "Wow you're looking sexy"! Sounds like my kinda town.

So to explain a bit more about the culture in Belize as there is a mix of Creoles, Mayans, Spanish, Mestizos and Garifuna. Ruth's husband and family are Garifuna which stem from African-Caribs who settled in Belize. In 1796 they were exciled to Roatan in Honduras where they stayed until around 1802 when they started to drift back to Belize, in particular Dangriga and Punta Gorda. However in Belize 19 November 1832 is the date officially recognized as "Garifuna Settlement Day" in Dangriga.

It is a really rich and colourful culture with music at its heart. You cannot walk around anywhere in PG without hearing music of some variety or another.

As you can see I have totally loved Belize. The people are really friendly and they are so proud of their country and culture. Our next stop is back to Guatemala where we complete our Guatemalan adventures.