Xunantunich

Today we made it to San Ignacio - left Placencia at 6:45 and got in here at 11:30...a bit of a ways, but not too bad. Thankfully we made all of the connecting buses in time and didn't have to sit around too long at the crazy bus depots. They are hot and dirty -- and chaotic. There's really no such thing as a bus schedule around here, you kindof just wait around until one headed in your direction comes along. So, thankfully it wasn't too bad! The buses here are simply old school buses. There is a driver and then a "conductor" who helps with luggage (tossing your pack through the back emergency door) and comes around to collect fares. You don't buy tickets before you get on, so you never know how much it's going to cost. The conductor simply makes his way up the aisles and stops next to your seat and stares. Then you pay him. If people want to get off along the highway (there are really only 2-3 main highways here in the country), they just whistle. The bus comes to screetching halts to drop people off or pick people off who are standing near the road and difficult to see too far in advance. Apparently "express" buses do exist that only stop at the main cities and bus depots but I've yet to see one. We have been told that one leaves from here tomorrow morning at 7:30am and goes to Belize city. We'll see about that. I'm hoping to catch some of the people who vend Empenadas on the street before we head out. I'd really love to eat an empenada and since we're closer to Guatamala right now (the Spanish is coming in handy), they are more common. SOunds like they start selling around 7:00am so perhaps it can be my breakfast.

At the stops there are people that hop on and sell various food and drinks~ people drink a lot of pop and juice around here and seem to eat a lot of cheetos. For the most part, a very impoverished country. People live along the highways in what we would consider shacks.

I've come across several HIV/AIDS campaign signs throughout the country. I've also passed one or two hospitals or health places, but nothing ever seems to be going on. It will be interesting to begin with the red cross.

So, we got in and found a place to stay, got some lunch and then hired a taxi to take us to Xunantunich (mayan ruins). We were told by some that they are right in town and we could walk. Thank the Lord we took a taxi because it was about a 15 minute drive at decent speed. We would have been walking for a long long time. We had to cross a river on a hand-cranked ferry in order to get there. They were amazing! We stayed for a few hours until they closed at 4pm and the military with their machine guns closed up behind us.

So, back to town get some dinner, buy water and a few bags of cheetos for the trip tomorrow and now I'm in an internet place w/ A/C. It's tricky to find rooms w/ A/C around here. Our hotel tonight simply has a ceiling fan.........

All in all, san ignacio seems like a fun little town. Tomorrow we are busing back to Belize City where we are taking a water taxi out to Caye Caulker. Honestly, I'll be glad to get back to the ocean. I like it out here in this area...there are pretty hills and rivers - it feels more like the countryside than the jungle to me. The vegetation is not as thick as some other parts of the country, and they actually raise cattle around here.

Okay, that's all for tonight. Love~