Friday, March 9/12
First order of the day – showers. There are two – a gents and a ladies – both on the shabby side, but with lots of hot water – and both on the far side of the harbour, meaning that if you don’t need a shower when you start out, you need one by the time you walk there in the hot sun. Fortunately there are beautiful toilets and sinks very near the boat – part of the Old Belize Complex – for more frequent visits.

Black Sparrow – Yes that is how he introduced himself – came by because he had heard that we needed a diver to put a new zinc anode on the prop. When Jim removed the tangled bag a few days ago, he discovered there was nothing left of the anode at all, and he can’t hold his breath long enough to put on a new one. (And I would be hopeless at that!) $25 US and much conversation later, we had an anode and lots of ideas for excursions from here.

We bought lunch from the lady at the stand beside the marina office. Her special today was pig tail in yellow peas with rice and salad. Yep – a little piece of pig tail – tasted like ham – in yellow split peas with a bit of dumpling - all for $5 B. Not elegant food, but country food and nourishing … and I probably won’t have it every day.

We decided to take the bus to town to check out where things are – laundromat, market, grocery store. The buses are supposed to go by every half hour but we waited 45 minutes and then gratefully accepted a lift from a van leaving the marina. One of the passengers was from the Port Authority and in answer to his question, we were happy to tell him that yes, we were all checked in and had seen the Port Authority man – Mr Andrews – in San Pedro. The driver dropped us by the bus station in Belize City and we found ourselves immediately in the midst of a gritty, not particularly friendly third world city. It was a bit unnerving.

We knew from the guidebooks that Belize City with a population of around 63,000 is far from being the best tourist destination in Belize. Once the capital, it lost that status after Hurricane Hattie blew through in 1961. (The new capital is Belmopan, 50 miles inland.) It is tough, poor, and … well … gritty is a good word. There is a big Creole population, and Creole, Spanish and English are heard on the streets. Drug use and violence along with the petty crime present in many cities are part of life here, side by side with perfectly respectable and upstanding citizens, shopkeepers, and families just trying to make a living. Many find employment as hosts to the touristos who come here to take tours to the ruins and the reefs. My Lonely Planet Guide reports that upwards of 850,000 cruise ship passengers visit every year.

We took a little wander around the market beside the bus station. Lots of produce, but no vendors calling out to us to buy their wares; no smiles; not anything like the markets we so enjoyed in Cuba. We headed off in search of “downtown” and the famous swing bridge across Haulover Creek, and a bank and whatever else we could find. As we started down one street, thinking we could link up with the one we wanted, our old friend Black Sparrow spotted us and said, “You don’t want to come this way. Turn around and go back down the street to the corner by the market.” Who knew that our meeting in the morning would lead to a “rescue” and friendly direction in the afternoon? Once again, we were recipients of goodness.

Along the water, we took pictures of the fishing sailboats all lined up in the river. These are amazing boats with long booms and tattered sails – and small dories piled on the sides. As many as a dozen men will head out to sea on one of these boats and once at the fishing grounds – usually along the reefs - they will launch the dories and set about the fishing.

A number of men were busily polishing new model SUV’s behind the Supreme Court building and we asked if they belonged to judges and lawyers. Nope – bankers. School children in immaculate white uniforms walked up and down the sidewalks, in sharp contrast to the shabby look of many of the other shoppers. Shapely women in close fitting clothes eyed me as I moved among them, and I belatedly realized I would have been more comfortable in a skirt and a blouse with sleeves than in my shorts and sleeveless top (it wasn’t beach wear, but it wasn’t enough either.) There was never any threat; there were no rude comments; there was no pushing that might make us grab for our bags; there was just some uneasiness.

Along the waterfront, we found the Radisson Hotel and had a very expensive drink at the Baymen’s bar before wandering back through the mostly deserted “tourist village” – it was a non-cruise ship day – and encountering the genial and chatty Edwin who happily sold me a little bird he had carved from horn. We thoroughly enjoyed our encounter with him as we discussed his carvings, the results of the recent election (the incumbents, the UDP – United Democratic party won and he wished they hadn’t) and the difficult life here.

We stopped at a Scotia bank (CIBC is also here) and at Brodie’s - a well stocked grocery store, before making our way back to the market and the bus station. With bags loaded with papayas and pineapples, potatoes and cabbage and peppers, we hopped on a bus ($1.B per person) for the 20 minute ride back out to Old Belize. While I would love to have stayed to watch the opening of the hand cranked swing bridge at 5:30, it would have meant a twilight departure from town, and that was less appealing.

In spite of our new groceries, we went to the restaurant again for dinner – about $24 B for a large plate we could split between us seemed very reasonable. Once again the food was delicious. Excellent hummus, grilled fish, steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. On our way out we talked with Massoun – the manager and learned why the hummus was so good – he’s from Turkey! The restaurant is struggling, and we sure hope it survives. The quality is high around here – in the restaurant, the gift shop, the grounds and beach area, and the marina.