Belize, or at least the small part of it I've seen, is something of a paradox. There's the poverty and grime typical of its Central American neighbors, but there's also this feeling of safety and civilization probably left over from the days of the British.

Tonight I enjoyed a lovely dinner of curry chicken (I wanted chicken saag but they were out of spinach) and praline cheesecake at a nice little indian restaurant... while what is basically an open sewer flowed a block or so away. Such is Belize, it seems.

"A few bits of toilet paper near the riverbank..."
Aaron and I rented bikes this afternoon and headed out to what sounded like some impressive waterfalls. We crossed through some beautiful countryside and a village and reached the first. It wasn't so much a waterfall as about a class 2 rapid. If that. But it was pleasant-looking and peaceful... even if a few bits of toilet paper near the riverbank was a bit troubling. No worries, though... that problem's worse at home, believe it or not.

The interesting moment was on the way to the second waterfall. We'd been told by Wally... the crazed British guy who runs the hotel... that there was a nice dirt path by the river that took up to the next waterfall. We stopped at a shack of a police station to ask directions and were told it would be ill-adivsed to continue on in that direction. Supposedly murderous illegal aliens from Guatemala rob unsuspecting Belizians on that path and would love to get their hands on some tourists. He reported that five Belizian farmers had been killed there a few months ago. So we didn't go.

"You'll be killed without question."
The trouble is that locals are the only source of information on safety... while at the same time they often exaggerate the dangers when they're talking with tourists. One will tell you you'll be killed without question... then an expatriate will tell you he walks that route every night at midnight and it's perfectly safe. But you have to take a cop seriously when he says five people got killed. So it was back to town on the bikes.

I think the Belizian coast will have to wait for my next trip. I have to realize that I can't see everything and there's time to come back to places I miss. I feel like I need to start heading toward southern Guatemala where I'll be taking a week or so of Spanish classes. So tomorrow morning we head back to the Guatemalan border. Good thing, too, as Belize is really expensive and has no places to get money from an ATM.

Next stop is probably a place just outside Poptun, Guatemala. It's called Finca Ixobel and you can check it out at fincaixbel.com. I don't think there's internet access there, so it could be a few days before you hear from me... so don't think I've been murdered by transient Guatemalans.