The boat ride from hell had at least one upside: it took us back to Belize.

Let’s face it, Hon­duras was rough. Excepted when in Copán and Utila—two small towns—we had to be really care­ful. The coun­try has a gang prob­lem and the  ingrained gun cul­ture doesn’t help either. Not being able to walk around at night in San Pedro or Puerto Cortes was a pain and gen­er­ally speak­ing, we had to watch our backs.

The peo­ple were very nice and wel­com­ing though. The papers are full of sto­ries of Hon­durans being deported from the U.S. and even though most peo­ple don’t want to admit it right away, they seem to long for the Amer­i­can way of life. No doubt the coun­try being used as a U.S. base left some scars and a twisted idea of what the U.S.A are. Too bad most Amer­i­cans prob­a­bly can’t locate Hon­duras on a map. Talk about being forgotten!

Our first stop in Belize is Pla­cen­cia, a small town some­what pop­u­lar with British, Cana­dian and Amer­i­can tourists. It’s quiet, pic­turesque and the pace of life is Caribbean-slow. Rows and rows of colour­ful wooden houses, more or less dam­aged by the humid­ity or the rain, kids in oh-so-British school uni­forms and clus­ter of tourists at the bars.

Not all cities or towns in Belize are as sedate but Pla­cen­cia is per­fect to recover from the boat ride and being able to walk around freely even in day­time is a lux­ury we forgot.

The beach looks great in pic­ture but the water was very dirty—the mix of sea­weed and garbage washed upon the shore didn’t make it very appeal­ing for a dip. We just relaxed on the sand, watch­ing the birds above our heads and read­ing. Didn’t accom­plish much but that was what we needed.

Booze Shop

Belikin Beer

Pla­cen­cia

Pla­cen­cia

Fruits and Veg­gies Shop

The Dock

Amen!

I Feel Tiny!

Early Drinker

Early Morn­ing Storm

Birds Above Our Heads

Road Kill Tire Shop

Pla­cen­cia Police Station

Pla­cen­cia Street

Pla­cen­cia Street

Pla­cen­cia

Colour­ful Chairs

Related arti­cles:

1. Dan­griga
2. Beach Bum­ming in Tulum
3. Belize City
4. Orange Walk, Cross­ing to Belize
5. The Boat Ride From Hell