Trouble Leaving Paradise

Belize is a fascinating country. Crossing the border from Mexico, the change was immediate. First observation: black people. Second observation: English. Actually Belize is a multicultural mix of the original Mayan inhabitants, the Kriols (mostly slaves from Nicaragua brought by the British to work in logging camps), the Garfuna (mixture of African and indigenous Caribbean Island heritage), Mestizo migrants from Mexico and Central America, Mennonites, Indians, Chinese and more recently, Canadians. Although English is the official language, Spanish is more common in the north of the country.

Our 'Blue Bird' bus to Belize

Robin on the bus

The national beer

Following a tip from some Montrealers we'd met on the bus in Mexico, we decided to head directly to Sarteneja, a fishing village in the north. The real attraction was a hostel, restaurant and small farm appropriately named the Backpackers Paradise. Run by Nathalie (from Switzerland) and Ed (France?), the paradise has a number of little cabañas, an awesome common room with hammocks and kitchen, bikes for rent, horses, puppies, chickens and vegetable gardens. By far the best part was Nathalie's cooking though, which is a combination of Belizean, French and everything in between. During the day we rented kayaks and took a tour of the Shipstern Nature Reserve. We ended up having so much fun with our new French Canadian friends Max and Steph, and Tokie (from Japan), that we stayed a little longer than planned. A minor hurricane also delayed our plans and in the end we spent five days in Sarteneja.

The kitchen

Bike rental

Los baños

Sarteneja village

Lagoon observatory

 The bat cave

Butterfly sanctuary

Hallucinogenic frog

The hostel common room

When we finally managed to leave, we decided to part ways with our new friends and spend a day in Orange Walk while taking a tour of the New River and the Mayan ruins of Lamanai. This was another great experience and we were thoroughly impressed by our guide's ability to spot wildlife amongst the vegetation. He was also quite knowledgeable about the ruins and Mayan history. If you ever get the opportunity, it's called Lamanai River Tours.

Our river boat

 Baby crocodile

Feeding the monkeys (same monkeys every tour)

Atop the tallest buildings in Lamanai

The building we climbed

Another building at Lamanai

We're now heading to one of the islands off the coast of Belize called Caye (pronounced 'key') Calker to reunite with Max and Steph, check out the beach and do some serious snorkeling.