On our last full day in Belize, we decided to take it easy and explore the town.  In the morning, we woke up late and had some coffee and toast from the complimentary breakfast bar.  Then we checked out a couple of bikes from the front desk and rode around the town on beach cruisers.  It was quite an adventure weaving through the narrow streets and trying to avoid the golf carts and taxis.  I had a basket in the front to carry my backpack, the t-shirts that I bought, and Jes’ beer from the convenience store.

We ended up at Fido’s, a beachside bar/restaurant where we grabbed a bite to eat. I walked around and met a guy who introduced me to pet iguana, Peter, that was hiding up in the tree.  I also met some boys who were selling handmade jewelry and had the cutest little 9-week-old puppy with blue eyes.

Back at the hotel, we grabbed our towels and headed out for a nice spot to hang out on the beach.  We walked past a few other hotels on the shore and found an awesome 2-person lounger right on the water’s edge.  We also realized that we were at Angie and Van’s hotel and they invited us over to their pool.  So, we pretty much mooched off their awesome facilities, ordered drinks from their bar, played in their pool, and enjoyed a few hours in the sun with a nice breeze overhead and a fantastic view of the Caribbean Sea.  Thanks to our new friends we got a little taste of luxury.

Later that night, we had dinner and went out for drinks with Angie, Van, and another couple from Vancouver.  We ended up at Fido’s again but it was much livelier with a live band and many more people.  We also met a little puppy that likes to hang out at the bar.  The waitress told us that he comes to Fido’s every night and doesn’t seem to have an owner.  It was the same dog that followed the couple from Vancouver around town all day.  He was so cute and enjoyed a cold cup of ice water that he got for him from the bar.  He was so content just sitting under our chairs and keeping us company.

“Last night I dreamt of San Pedro…” -Madonna

On Thursday, we left San Ignacio and headed towards Ambergris Caye/San Pedro.  It took a 2-hour drive to Belize City and then another hour and a half on the water taxi.  We arrived at the water taxi a little early for our 1:30 ride so we briefly wandered Belize City to find that it was too hot, too dirty, and too sketchy.  So, we opted to go back to the terminal to wait in the air-conditioned waiting room.  It was there that we met a couple (Angie and Van) also from SF.  They were on their honeymoon and also heading to San Pedro.  I guess we started talking when Angie noticed that Jes was wearing his zipcar shirt and was curious to know if we were from the Bay Area too.  Yeah, I’m sure the Timbuktu bag AND the zipcar shirt was a dead giveaway.

Once we arrived in San Pedro, we grabbed lunch and beer with our new found friends and then shared a cab to our respective accommodations.  After settling in and having dinner, we met up with them for drinks.  Since we all weren’t using cell phones, had no in-room phones, and we didn’t have a front desk person after 6pm, I had to resort to leaving messages with people.  With the help of our bartender, security guard, another bartender, and some luck, we managed to find each other and enjoyed an evening of ceviche and beer.  How in the world did I survive without a cell phone back in the day?!

That same afternoon, as I was exploring the grounds, we found some boys on the dock with a baby nurse shark wriggling around.  I guess they just caught it and weren’t quite sure what to do with it.  They were so proud that they caught it but scared that it was going to bite them.  The skinny one without the shirt was brave enough to pick it up by its tail and another one had a puny knife that didn’t look like it even cut cheese.  After all that hoopla, they ended up throwing it back into the water.