Traveling Inland

Today (4/15/14) we traveled inland.  Our first means of transportation was the water taxi.  We took it from San Pedro to Belize City.  The water taxi has a lower and upper deck and travels pretty fast.  I sat on the upper deck.  There was a wonderful, cool breeze.  Occasionally we would hit waves hard and I would get splashed all the way on the upper deck! The view was beautiful, as we passes several islands and were surrounded by the Caribbean Ocean. Once we arrived in Belize City we took a cab to the bus station.  There were A LOT more cars in Belize City than in San Pedro which made it feel way more crowded and created chaos.  At the bus station we waited about an hour and a half to board a bus that we would spend the next five and a half hours on and when I say bus I mean a school bus.  The bus has no air condition and the seats were quit uncomfortable  but the breeze through the windows make up for that.  At first the bus ride was okay then they kept stopping and putting people on until all the seats, back and even the isle all the way to the door of the bus was SLAMMED pack!  At one point I counted 70 passengers!!  We spent 3 or 4 of our hours like this, thankfully everyone on our trip were lucky enough to have a seat.  The bus travels at what feels like race car speeds. The first time I was actually scared was when he completely slammed on breaks and came to a halt to avoid hitting another car coming across the bridge.  The roads and bridges are very narrow in Belize and only one car can pass across a bridge at a time.  Along our journey we passed through Belize City, Belmopan, Dan Gringa, and a few small towns to reach our final destination for the next three days, Punta Gorda! One area we passed through the natives used horse and buggy to get around.  I've seen more livestock here than I have in San Pedro.  There are chickens, horses, and cows but it is very sad to see a lot are malnutrition and very underweight.  Although the ride has been uncomfortable, we have had beautiful views of mountains and I have enjoyed seeing a lot of the country.  This was one of those situations you could be very negative, instead I see it as a very positive things because it's an experienced and adventure and that is what we are here for.  I have enjoyed being thrown on in a packed, crazy bus because it has showed me how the transportation here in Belize works as well as made me thankful for the "luxurious" transportation we have back in the states.