I took a shower, got dressed, and worked on the netbook till around 7:40. At that time I got up and walked to the Palm Trees Inn where Sherman would be waiting for me after 8:00, as he had said.
The only traffic officer in town
The hotel was closed and I waited outside. The lady that opened the hotel came at around 8:30. She was Francela’s sister and when I told her that I was waiting for Sherman she invited me in to wait for him more comfortably. As I waited I chatted w/ her, her name was Shakira, but Sherman did not show up. I decided to go buy a calling card and give him a call. At the first attempt all I got was his answering machine but when I called a few minutes later he answered the phone and apologized. He said he would be there in 20 mins. At this point I knew I was screwed. Either he would show up or I would have to hang around town for the entire day. It was too late to arrange for anything else. So I continued chatting w/ Shakira. The topic of conversation was the upcoming Saturday carnival. She said that everybody in Belize expects that day through out the year and the anticipation builds up, especially during the last couple of days. Tonight, for instance, she and her girlfriends would go dancing all night. Actually, a friend of hers stopped by and the carnival and the dancing was the main topic of their conversation. The 20 mins went by and Sherman did not show up. Shakira advised me to give him a call again. I did so and when he picked up he said he would be there in a few minutes. Indeed he showed up on time this time. The total waiting time was a little more than two hours.
Sherman showed me to a van that already had 8 passengers and I squeezed in. They were passengers of a cruise ship that had docked to Belize today and had decided to take a tour to Altun Ha. To go to Altun Ha we had to take the northern highway.
This is how the North highway looks like
I took several photos from the car as we were driving
Rural Caribbean house
House on stilts
After passing a military post we left the highway and turned into an even smaller road, where two cars coming from the opposite directions could hardly fit.
Finally we arrived at Altun Ha which is one of the major Maya sites of the area
Altun Ha means “Stone Water” and it was unearthed in the 70s
First glimpse
The site
The gravity fields in that area are really low and if one is not careful, one can take off easily
Up the stairs
The main pyramid
Up the pyramid
View of the side from the top of the pyramid
Main pyramid from another angle
View of the entire site
We drove back into the city and the driver left us at the so called tourist village.
The tourist village is a site privilegely located by the water front and access is denied, unless one has a foreign passport. There is a shopping mall and places to eat or have drinks. The view from wherever you choose to sit is fantastic. My assumption is that locals are not allowed in because there are no tariffs or taxes on any of the goods sold there and since the some items, like liquor are heavily taxed in Belize the place would have been heavily packed w/ people that want to buy tax free items.
I went up and down the boardwalk a couple of times my eyes always fixed on the view
Finally I stopped for a drink
My next move was to walk back to the city and near the center I ran into Shakira who asked me how I had liked Altun Ha. I told her that I was on my way to buy a watermelon and if she were at the hotel in half an hour, I would stop by and perform the deed there. I took one of the roads that lead to the center but in the opposite direction. I wanted to go to the farmer’s market that we had seen when returning from Altun Ha and also take a picture of THE ONLY traffic light that the town has, pointed out to us by the driver/guide. As I walked I took pictures of everything noteworthy.
Dental office
Wooden house ready to fall apart
THE TRAFFIC LIGHT
A very good unanswered question is “what is the penalty for running the red on the ONLY traffic light in town?” I can only guess and my guess is that the penalty must be severe, something like 10-year incarceration and chopping off an arm. It only makes sense.
On the way I met a funeral procession
House w/ garden
Tree shade
House w/ garden
Fish market
Shakira was at the hotel w/ her sister and this is where the other half of the watermelon was eaten.
I left before 17:00 and headed to Ranson hotel to book a tour for tomorrow.
Meanwhile the festivities had started
Policemen in police car
Beautiful house
The man in charge At Ranson told me that the participation for tomorrow’s tour was low and the tour might be cancelled. They gave me their phone number to call and verify later. I walked back to the guest house and had a couple of cigarettes w/ Mario. At around 19:00 I called and the answer was that the tour was canceled but if I wanted, for a little more money, they could arrange a personal tour for me. I said OK and arranged to be picked up tomorrow morning at 9:00 from the guesthouse.
The final move of the day was to go get a haircut. It has been my habit whenever I travel to get a haircut from local barbers, and since a haircut was long overdue, I decided that this was the time. By asking I located a barber shop a couple of blocks from the guest house. Even though it was after 19:00 and in addition there were three barbers giving haircuts in the store, there was a long line of locals waiting. So, I waited in line. The other surprising thing was that none of the three barbers used any scissors. I don’t think there were any scissors in evidence. All haircutting took place by means of mechanical means, the electric haircutting machines. All along, there was a youth in the store waiting for his turn, who was preaching the gospel in a very loud voice. I must make something clear. People speak Creole, which is English w/ a very different accent and a vocabulary influenced by African languages. As a result when they speak to one another I can hardly understand, I may catch about 20% of what they say. So, in this case, I think the youth was preaching the gospel, but, on the other hand, he might have been making fun of it. When my turn came, the man gave me a quick and nice haircut. Freed from the weight of my hair I headed back to the guest house.
The rest of the evening I just hung out, washed my clothes, and finally went to bed.
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