Our trip from Caves Branch to San Ignacio was an inte
resting one. First, we had to take a short bus from Caves Branch to Belmopan to g
et to get a transfer at the bus stop. I don’t know that I have seen a more disorganized
bus system ever. If you recall my explanation of Belize time, the same principles apply to buses
. I don’t know why they post a bus schedule if they don’t expect to follow it. We waited for about a half-hour for a bus that would go to San Ig
nacio. When we got on the bus some guy started
yelling at the bus driver and tried to force us to get on the bus next to us. As we started to back out, another bus
cut us off from leaving and blocked the exit. Apparently the bus we were on wasn’t supposed to leave for another fifteen minutes and they were making a big stink about
ensuring that the right bus left at the right time (go figure). We had to jump out of the back of the bus. There was a young couple with a baby who didn’t want to jump out of the bus with their
child, so they passed them through a window. That was pretty cool.
We finally got settled on another bus that was packed. The buses in Belize are school buses that probably should have been retired ten years
ago. They are painted in bright colors that would put the Partridge family bus to shame. I felt like we should have started a family band as we toured Belize. Anyway, Belize doesn’t really have speed limits and as a result, the bus drives dr
ive like maniacs. They must have removed any governors because I’ve never been on a school bus going 90 mph. It was a little frightening because I don’t think buses are made to this fast. I saw some of my compatriot’s faces
going green while we were traveling because the shocks were obviously shot and ever little bump resonated through your entire body. I think we were all happy to be on solid ground after our hour and a half ride to San Ignacio.
Once in San Ignacio we jumped in a cab and got to our hotel, Cahal Pech. This was
nice place with an amazing view of the city as it sits atop a huge hill. After settling in we had some dinner at the hotel restaurant, where I had spaghetti with marinara. I think I just wanted some good old-fashioned food that reminded me of home. While it didn’t taste anything like my mom’s sauce, it was nice t
o have something that tasted familiar to me. It’s the small things I’ve begun to miss while I have been here. After dinner, most of us had been tired from a long day of traversing caves and traveling on rickety buses, so we called it a day. Below is a picture of the view we had from our room at Cahal Pech.
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