… and Belize also has beautiful beaches <3 (Day 181 of the world trip)

03/03/2020

This morning, the alarm clock rang at 5:30 a.m. and with breakfast and packing we managed to be completely relaxed at the bus station at 7:00 a.m.

Our destination was the village of Hopkins further south, and to get there, you have to travel almost an hour west into the interior to the capital Belmopan, just to then drive almost two hours back east to the coast to Dangriga. From there, it would be another 40 minutes along the coast to the south to Hopkins.

So the plan :p

When we arrived at the bus station in Belize City this morning, we wanted to take the bus to Dangriga. We were put on one of the buses, but it wasn't until the ride that it became clear that this bus does go to Belmopan, but then continues west.

That was a bit of a shame, because it would mean one more transfer, but we couldn't change it anyway, and changing buses isn't that bad either ^^

In Belmopan, we left the bus and also said there that we wanted to go to Dangriga. We were referred to a ticket counter (otherwise you pay here, like in many countries, IN the bus during the trip, but good) and I told the lady that we wanted to go to Hopkins and would have to drive through Dangriga for that.

She replied that she could sell me tickets to Dangriga for 8:30 a.m. (it was 8:15 a.m.) but that another bus operator with a bus would come at 9:15 a.m. that goes directly to Hopkins.

That sounded very inviting! :)

Our gut feeling told us that we should just go to Dangriga anyway, as we had researched and as our host in Hopkins had recommended. But since this new bus seemed like a good alternative and we trusted the lady at the counter, we finally decided to wait for the bus at 9:15 a.m.…

During the waiting time, we bought banana bread and some coconut snacks, even though we had breakfast just three hours earlier :D Well, travel days make you hungry ;-)

When the bus arrived – the destination was Placencia, which is south of Hopkins and therefore sounded legitimate – Jonas even bought a second banana bread because it was so delicious, and then we started.

This time there was a baggage rack above the seats, so there was enough space to sit comfortably without a backpack on your lap :)

Since almost all the windows were open and since we were allowed to drive on the highway at 90 km/h, it was quite drafty on the bus :D But with my buff, that was no problem, and it was of course much much better than having to simmer in the stuffy bus ^^

Yesterday from the Mexican border to Belize City, you could mainly see flat land and a lot of open space with sometimes green, sometimes dry grass, but today it became much more varied!

There was still the change from green to dry, but there were also hills, a mountain range, and above all a lot of jungle (often combined with the hills). So, the drive was definitely worth it in terms of landscape ;-)

Also cool were the large factories that apparently produce orange juice or something similar, and in general seeing the agriculture in the area :)

At some point, our "idyll" was interrupted when the bus attendant pointed out to me that we would have to get off for Hopkins.

What?

When boarding and paying for the ticket, we had already mentioned that we wanted to go to Hopkins, and it was sold to us as if this bus would also stop there. "So this bus doesn't stop in Hopkins at all?" I asked just to be sure, and the bus attendant shook his head. "No, we'll drop you off at the intersection there, and then you flag down the next bus in that direction."

Oh. That was kind of surprising ^^

The bus stopped and a few other passengers who also wanted to go to Hopkins got off, and Jonas and I collected our luggage and followed them. "Take the next yellow bus," the bus attendant explained to me again, and at that moment a yellow-green-red bus drove by. Yellow was part of it, so I assumed it was the right bus ^^

Moreover, all the other people who got off with us at this deserted intersection got on the colorful new bus. At the door, I quickly asked, "Hopkins?" and the bus driver nodded. "Hopkins Junction," he explained, which meant "intersection," but I didn't worry about it for now. I got on and he closed the door to drive off.

"Stop! There's one more coming!" I quickly called out, since Jonas was, unusually for him, behind me with his huge backpack :p Otherwise, he sometimes runs away from me ^^

The bus driver waited for Jonas and then we drove off. With this new bus attendant, we paid for a ticket to Hopkins, but after about 15 minutes we found out that we would have to get off at the intersection.

"Hopkins Junction" is actually a bus stop, but unfortunately it is still 7 km to the city itself from there.

"How do we get to Hopkins now?" I asked the bus attendant confused. "Take a taxi," he replied casually. Great -.-

Fortunately, an old car was also parked at the bus stop, which in no way advertised itself as a taxi. The driver leaned against the car outside and ate an orange, but he approached us as we walked past him.

Since he was our only option (7 km with four backpacks and the food bag in felt 35°C heat and without shade on the empty street were NOT an option :D :D), we got in his car and he drove us directly to our accommodation.

Already when we first drove in, we were thrilled with Hopkins. The village consists basically only of a main street that runs parallel to the sea (which is maybe a maximum of 50 meters away from the street and can always be seen:O), where there are guesthouses, bars, and supermarkets or something like that.

It is small, seems quiet, and above all super idyllic <3

The taxi driver also mentioned that there would be a music session with drums at a pizza place this evening and suggested that we stop by there :)

The accommodation itself is also pretty cool. We were greeted by Primrose (yes, exactly like in The Hunger Games ;-)), who checked us in and gave us a super friendly welcome!

The room is larger than expected with its own small bathroom. The walls are pink and the ceilings and curtains have a flower pattern, so it looks super cute <3

To our surprise, it was quite comfortable in the room even without air conditioning or a fan, and we hope it stays that way and that we can sleep well :)

After check-in, we just went across the street and were right on the beach, and wow!!

The beach is not particularly wide, but there are many palm trees that provide shade, and even though there is a beachfront with (rented) pavilions, it is super quiet. We saw only a handful of people in the hours we were there, and we were even alone in the water!

Funny how there is such a beautiful, Caribbean-looking beach here and no one is here, and we almost have it all to ourselves :O

A few birds and two dogs were our constant entertainment, and overall we had a few beautiful hours there :)

Actually, we came down here for the nearby national park, which we might visit tomorrow, but we were positively surprised by how beautiful Hopkins itself is, just with its beach <33

In the afternoon, it was just a 2-minute walk back to the room, to shower and to go shopping. When shopping, we even found almond milk and also soy milk this time, but they cost more than twice as much as we knew from Mexico, so we went back to the Indian classic: bread, peanut butter, and bananas for the next few days as breakfast :D

Anyway – prices in Belize are significantly higher than in Mexico. Things here cost at least twice as much, but hey, that's just the way it is, so we might not stay here for too long :p

Before we maybe go to the drums later, we had dinner. We found a great cafe with an online menu, but when we arrived, the owner told us that she no longer runs the cafe :( What a shame!

Instead, we walked up the street in the other direction and found a small residential house where two women were playing cards at a table for money, and a man greeted us as hosts. A baby lay in a baby bathtub filled with pillows, and there were still two puppies and some children running around.

At the table where we sat down, there were still the homework of one of the kids, and it was just so cool and inviting because everything was so familiar ^^

The dogs annoyed me a bit, but well, there are worse things ;-) We ordered two vegetarian burritos, which had eggs and cheese but no meat, so it wasn't vegan again today, but it didn't matter :D We expected that anyway ^^

The portion was huge, and I couldn't finish mine – also because I once again didn't pay attention to the fact that there are always onion feasts here :p :D :D Next time, I'll remember to mention it. Definitely!

The food was delicious and, as I said, very filling, so we could go home satisfied. Maybe we'll go there more often in the next few days because when paying, the host assured us that he would have even more vegetarian options tomorrow. How sweet <3

So, now we might go to the music "event," which would for sure be quite funny, and so the first day here in Hopkins comes to an end for us, but there will be a few more to come :)