´Dinner bell been rung´

As our collectivo bus approached the Belize border we saw a line of soldiers walking along the side of the road, each carrying a bullet ridden victim under their arm....fortunately only the lifesize targets from a firing range. In order to get our passports stamped and exit the country, we had to pay an "exit fee." Can we have a receipt? No. Why do we have to pay? You don´t pay, you don´t leave the country. Charming.

Our first stop in Belize was by the river near San Ignacio, only a few km from the border but if felt like a different world. The official language is Englihs, and people speak it with Caribbean accents. Traditional Maya dress has been replaced by baggy jeans and t shirts and there are barbecues on the side of the road.

We went on a trip to Crystal Cave, which sparkled just as much as its name would suggest. We had an exciting day caving, though not entirely without mishap as a number of cuts and bruises would testify.

We were underground for around four hours, during which we climbed, scrambled, abseiled and crawled through the caves. There was no swimming involved this time though we were shown some human remains including a skull, allegedly evidence of Maya sacrifice.

Back at the Trek Stop, where we were staying, we took on the frisbee golf course with mixed results - a lot of trees were hit, even if it meant going out of bounds to do so, and the scores were quite a lot over par.

Heading south, we had a very nice and relaxing couple of days on Tobacco Caye, reached on a boat from Dangriga, which ended with us soaking wet. The island is so small it only takes a minute or two to walk from end to the other, and it´s home (as is this region of Belize in general) to the Garifuna people.

It was as laid back as the Caribbean should stereotypically be - our time was spent snorkelling, lying in hammocks, reading and drinking the occasional glass of rum. One night when we were having a drink at a bar a man appeared and informed us that the ´dinner bell been rung.´

We returned to the mainland and crossed back into Guatemala by boat, from Punta Gorda to Puerto Barrios. Belize was very nice but very expensive compared to other countries. The border crossing was nice and simple, and a precursor for a more ambitious sea crossing we have planned for later in the trip.

We had a bit more Garifuna culture in Livingston, then got a boat up the Rio Dulce to the town of the same name, where we rowed and swam in the river and visited some rather strange, hot waterfalls.