Day: February 2, 2010

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Belize: First Impressions

So, I finally made it to Belize. And my bag made it to the Dominican Republic. If only we could agree…

The Smokin Balam guest house is clean and small. Everyone I have spoken to is a family member and friendly. they are honest and straightforward and seem to be constantly cleaning or socializing.

There is internet in the lobby of the guest house and it seems to be on par with most slower dsl links from the states with one exception. Skype will not work in Belize.

The local telcom company, BTL, doesn’t feel like letting free telephone calls slip past them, so the internet connections filter out skype calls. I seem to be logged in to skype, but when i try to place a call, it just sits there and will not dial.

I’m about to go out walking through the city, though I am told I should be off the streets by 9 or take a taxi and I need to be back in the Balam by 11 or they lock the doors.

As my bag with all my clothes, tools, computer and tech bits has gone to an entirely different country, I find myself in need of some basics. I’m about to scarf down the last bit of food i got from my AA food vouchers from MIA and go out looking for some things to photograph..

Continued…

Belize City is small. I walked across half of it and back this afternoon in search of American Airlines offices and sights to see. Not much I’m afraid.

I’ve hit couchsurfing.org pretty hard tonight and hope to have some folks to chat with and check out the surrounding area tomorrow. I’m staying at the Smokin Balam guest house right off the river that cuts the city in half and it’s quite nice. I do notice that the guest house across the street seems to be the place of choice for backpackers, though. If I had a backpack (grrr) I would be tempted to go over there.

There has been a story running on the tv in the background for the last hour about how people are getting shot all over Belize City. makes me a little less than thrilled about heading out on the town tonight. It’s been a long day and I think I’m going to stay close to home, as it were.

God has a huge presence here. every person I have spoken to says something about God or prayer, or this or that church. The oldest Anglican Church in Central America is right down the street and I was delighted to see a Japanese Christian marker outside the church very similar to markers I saw all across Japan.

I’m starting to yawn. time to turn in.

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More from the Land of No…

Miami has welcomed me with open, albeit rainy, arms.

I’ll be staying here for the night at the Crowne Plaza courtesy of American Airlines. I’m eating a leftover southwest tuna wrap from Au Bon Pain, courtesy of my wallet. I’m reading through the Central America Lonely Planet book in preparation of what I hope will finally be my arival there on the morrow.

Coffee is a little hard to come by in Miami International Airport. So is a flight apparently. I saw lines of disgruntled canceled customers everywhere I went. The line for people with problems needing resolution was about 7 or 8 times the size of the line of people trying to get boarding passes and get on their flight. Normally, I would have considered this a bad sign, except this has been my reality for the last 4 days.

I spent the majority of the day waiting in lines at the airport, watching people throw temper tantrums, and being told that other people were sorry. The Miami Hilton was more than happy to tell me to get lost when I requested they throw in an internet connection to complement their lackluster room and old uncomfortable looking bed.

So, I took another trip back to the airport to ask American Airlines to switch me to another hotel with internet. This meant standing ina  400 some odd person line for a while until I was plucked out and sent on over to the short line to speak with yet another person whose accents was almost more than I could grasp.

$25 dollars in food vouchers and 30 minutes later, I was on my way to the lovely Crown Plaza where I find myself in a wonderful room with free internet and a clean, comfortable bed. I’m even on the “Executive Floor,” or so the elevator tells me.

Tomorrow morning I’ve got an 8:30 wake up call and a 10:35 flight. My hotel i booked in Belize for 4 nights is expiring tonight, so we’ll have to see if they have room for me when I arrive. A couple days after that I expect to be diving in the shark laden waters of Blue Hole, then off to the gang ruled Guatemalan border following a walk through the Rainforest Medicine refuge in central Belize.