Belize it or not...Bear & Em in Belize!
  • BeBelize Blog
  • How we got here (2010)
    • Work
    • Play
  • Construction
  • July 2-8, 2011
  • July 9-16, 2011

Our first trip to Placencia - travel home day and Paisley's 4th birthday (day 4)

2/6/2012

6 Comments

 
It seems like we just got to Placencia, and it was already time to head back to Ambergris Caye.  It was another early morning as the alarm rang at 5:45 am.  We made coffee and ate oatmeal cookies for a quick breakfast.  We had decided to go back a slightly different way, so we could experience two different ways of traveling between the same points.  We would take the Hokey Pokey water taxi from the lagoon side of Placencia over to Independence and catch an express bus to Belize City there, avoiding the bus change in Dangriga and all the extra stops of the non-express bus.  

Jacki kindly gave us a ride to the water taxi dock.  This turned out to be a very good thing because the dock was not where our map put it, and we might have missed the boat if we'd been walking.  We said our goodbyes and waited for the boat to pull up to the dock.
Picture
Cute sign!
Picture
Emily waiting for the Hokey Pokey
Picture
Hokey Pokey water taxi dock
Picture
Boat from Independence that we would board to go back there
Right as the boat got going, it started raining HARD.  There was a large piece of plastic beside my seat that all the passengers pulled over ourselves to keep from getting soaked.  Barry and I were sitting in the front row, so along with another couple, had to form boat's "windshield" by holding the plastic down in front.  Because of this, we didn't get to see anything along what was presumably a very pretty boat ride.  Disappointing, but yet another reason to go back for another visit!  By the end of the twelve-minute boat ride I also ended up sitting in a puddle of water that leaked in, so the butt of my skirt was soaked and looked like I'd peed myself.  Classy!
Picture
I tried to peek out, but once the boat got going fast, I had to pull the plastic down completely.
Picture
Our boat after docking - hard to tell, but it was raining hard
It was still pouring when we got to Independence, so we waited awhile in the covered ferry shelter as we had plenty of time, or so we thought, before the 7:30 am James bus.  Finally, we could wait no longer and shared a taxi with a couple from Madison, WI we'd been talking to ($2 BZD per person).  Unfortunately, when we got to the stop, the bus had just left -- 15 minutes BEFORE the posted time of 7:30 am!  I didn't realize anything was ever early in Belize!  Our cab driver was great, though; he sped off after the bus honking his horn and finally got the bus driver to stop and pick us up.  We were lucky as this was an "express" bus, so the driver could have refused, but fortunately he wanted our fares. 

This bus would take us all the way to Belize City for $22 BZD each ($11 US) with a minimum of stops (only in the cities of Dangriga and Belmopan, not all along the way), so it would be faster than our trip down.  Also, the bus was air conditioned and the seats were nicer than the buses we took down.  The A/C was set to sub-arctic temperatures, though, though, so I was glad for my wind jacket, and Barry wore his rain jacket the entire bus ride to stay warm. One time we dared to open our window to try to let some warm air in, and the attendant came by and promptly shut it! 

This bus driver didn't have the radio tuned to the terrible "mash-up" station we'd been subjected to on the the Ritchie's bus on the trip south, though he kept changing the station for the entire ride.  He was also "horn happy" and gave long blasts of the horn at just about everyone we passed along the way, whether car, truck, pedestrian, or cyclist. I guess he was just being a bit overzealous in his safety warnings, but it was really annoying.  We even saw locals outside turn and give him dirty looks.  If I were biking on the road and heard that kind of a blast from behind, I would jump out of my skin! 
Picture
Definitely the nicest bus we took on the entire trip, and the least crowded
We stopped at two different bus terminals along the way, and Barry and I each had to use the facilities at one of them.  The bathrooms in Belize bus terminals are not free -- Dangriga charges $1 BZD, and Belmopan charges $.50 BZD.  This fee doesn't buy you any toilet paper, hot water, or a paper towel, just a toilet and cold water to wash your hands.  The money is obviously lining someone's pockets b/c it sure isn't put to use maintaining the rest rooms!  
Picture
Bus terminal in Belmopan, the capital city of Belize
Picture
Our express bus from Independence to Belize City
Picture
Belize City bus terminal
We finally got to Belize City (called "Belize" by the locals and those in the know) and grabbed a taxi to the ferry terminal for $10 BZD.  It was lunchtime, and we had an hour to kill before the next ferry to San Pedro, so had a nice lunch of Belizean stew chicken, stew beans and rice, and veggies and shared a huge Michelada at one of the small eateries in the ferry terminal.  Unlike in a US airport, where food prices are inflated, the restaurants in the ferry terminal are quite reasonable.  Our lunches cost just $8 BZD ($4 US) each.  The Michelada was a bit pricey at $10 BZD, but it was huge.
Picture
We ate at Anna's Lunch Box in the ferry terminal
Picture
An $8 BZD lunch - tasty and plenty of it, with homemade hot sauce
Picture
We thought we were going to be on the same large ferry boat back to the Caye that we came over on several days earlier, but the number of passengers waiting to board was on the small side, so we all had to pile onto a boat not much larger than a Coastal Express water taxi.  If it had poured rain, we would have gotten wet as there were no more seats inside.  Fortunately, there were only a few spits of light rain on the boat ride, despite the ominous looking sky.
Picture
Our little green boat back to San Pedro
When we arrived in San Pedro, we walked over to Pampered Paws to pick Paisley up.  She was in the play area when I got there and started jumping over and over when she heard me come in. She had made a friend, "Biggie", who was super cute.  He appeared to be some sort of bulldog mix.  Kathy told us that they had a blast playing together and posted this funny photo on Facebook earlier that day.  He looked really sad to see her go. 
Picture
Paisley and Biggie playing tug-o-war
While I was paying, Paisley found a large rawhide bone in one of the bins of merchandise for sale in the storefront and carried it over to us proudly.  We couldn't take it away from her; after all, it was her fourth birthday on this Groundhog's Day!  So, that was her birthday gift.  She carried it all the way through town on the walk to the Coastal Express water taxi terminal.  

We got a lot of comments and smiles from people as we paraded her through town on her leash with her bone.  We could tell she wanted to find a place to "bury" it.  Sure enough, when we got home, she quickly located a nice hiding place in our shower, and then crashed to sleep off her exciting visit to Pampered Paws.  Glad we've found a place to take her where she is safe and well-treated, and can find new friends to play with too!
Picture
Paisley showing her new bone to "Biggie"
Picture
Okay, time to go home, and me with my bad new bone!
Picture
Leaving Pampered Paws -- so glad they are here in San Pedro!
Not long after arriving back at our condo in Chico Caribe, the heavens broke loose again and we got a heavy rain.  People here said it had been raining every evening as well (though not as much during the day as in Placencia).  We are still waiting for dry season to kick in!

All in all, even with the disappointing Scarlet Macaw hunt, it was a great trip, and we loved Placencia.  For those who are interested, here's a summary of our trip expenses:

Transportation (ferries, buses, taxis to/from Placencia):   $278 BZD ($139 US)
Lodging (3 nights):                                                        $392 BZD ($196 US)
All meals out:                                                               $337 BZD  ($168.50 US)
Car rental, gas, and tour guide + tip (Red Bank trip):        $290 BZD  ($145 US)
Miscellaneous (snacks):                                                 $8.50 BZD ($4.25 US)
Pampered Paws (boarding + food):                                 $100 BZD ($50 US)
                                                                                ======================
TOTAL:                                                                       $1405.50 BZD  ($702.75 US)
6 Comments
Sabrina
2/6/2012 07:17:26 am

What a fun trip. Thanks for taking us along.

~~_/)~~
Sabrina

Reply
A King's Life - Traveling the globe with a 3 & 1 yr old link
2/6/2012 09:12:43 am

Super report! I loved your pictures...mind sharing what type of camera you took them with?

Reply
BeBelize Emily
2/6/2012 10:18:54 am

Sure, it's a Canon Powershot SX200IS with 12x optical zoom. Not terribly expensive, but does a good job overall. Glad you enjoyed the photos!

Reply
JoAnn
2/7/2012 03:37:06 am

Emily, nice trip report. Sorry the weather wasn't better for you. This sounds funny but I guess this was your first vacation while being retired :)

Reply
BeBelize Emily
2/7/2012 04:33:23 am

You are exactly right, JoAnn...any time we can leave Paisley behind (as much as we adore her), it is truly a vacation for us!

Reply
microsoft outlook errors link
7/31/2013 07:18:07 pm

I believe this was a fantastic trip for you guys. With the cost that you have shown here, It was pretty much economic too. I am happy that you had to get caught in the rain or else it would have been a pretty boat ride too. The photos are really nice.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    UPDATE!
    Traveling Twosome

    If you're interested in following along on our post-Belize travels, please visit our blog:
    http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/

    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

    living in Belize

    Emily & Barry

    We're an adventurous couple, married 27 years, who decided to move to Ambergris Caye, Belize from Chapel Hill, North Carolina for retirement.  We built a condo on the beach  north of San Pedro Town and moved in with our Boston Terrier Paisley in August 2011 and lived there until March 2013.  Ultimately, we decided to return to the US, but we have no regrets and MANY good memories of our time in Belize.  We hope our blog might prove helpful to anyone interested in this lovely country.

    Archives      

    March 2014
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011

    ©2013 by Barry & Emily. All rights reserved.       

    Categories  

    All
    Airline
    Architecture
    Beach
    Beer
    Belize City
    Bikes
    Biking
    Birding
    Birds
    Birthday
    Boating
    Boats
    Bridge
    Budget
    Bugs
    Caving
    Caye Caulker
    Celebration
    Chetumal
    Christmas
    Churches
    Cleanup
    Coconuts
    Color
    Cooking
    Cook-off
    Crime
    Curtains
    Daily Living
    Dinner
    Doctor
    Dog
    Dogs
    Expenses
    Ferry
    Film
    Flowers
    Food
    Friends
    Fruit
    Fun
    Fundraiser
    Guatemala
    Haircut
    Health
    Health Issues
    Healthy Eating
    Hiking
    History
    Holiday
    Holidays
    Home Improvement
    Home Improvements
    Hopkins
    Independence Day
    Insects
    Kayaking
    Lamanai
    Library
    Living In Belize
    Logging
    Maya
    Medical
    Mexico
    Moon
    Movie
    Moving In
    Music
    Nature
    Paisley
    Palapa Bar
    Parade
    Parks
    Parties
    Pets
    Photos
    Placencia
    Pool
    Pool Time
    Projects
    Punta Gorda
    Race
    Rain
    Rainbows
    Rainy Season
    Recipes
    Reef
    Restaurant
    Restaurants
    Road
    Running
    Saga
    Sailing
    San Ignacio
    Shipping To Belize
    Shopping
    Storms
    Sunset
    Thanksgiving
    Tourist Visa
    Traffic
    Transportation
    Travel
    Vendors
    Walks
    Waterfalls
    Water Taxi
    Weather
    Wildlife
    Yoga

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.