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Now, picking up where I left off in Part 1 where we returned to the Aguada Hotel in San Ignacio for 10 days before heading out for Hopkins Village.

San Ignacio has improved over the years. It’s still a dusty cowboy town in many ways, stuck inland on the border of Guatemala and cradled by the rain forest. It has become the hub for ex-pats from Europe and especially North America who have bought land in the area and are experimenting with a self-sufficient life-style far away from the hustle and bustle of their home countries and from the encroaching tourism of much of the coast and cayes in Belize.

From last year to this, the downtown has been changed dramatically.

Early Morning on Burns Ave.

Burns Ave., the 3 block- long main drag, has been re-paved for pedestrian traffic only, a family-friendly park has just opened one block from Burns, the market place has expanded and is open 7 days a week and a new bus station is being constructed.

Mr. Greedy’s Pizza, Burns Ave.

The Serendib Restaurant, New Management

We will be back. San Ignacio is part of our Belize.

But now it is time to move on. Fond farewells. Eager anticipation. Tosh, the shuttle woman, will pick us up at the Aguada Hotel in the morning. Rather than take a taxi to the bus station in San Ignacio to take us to Belmopan to catch another bus to Dangriga, we arranged for Tosh to pick us up and drive us to the bus station in Belmopan, the capital of Belize. From there we would take the bus down the Hummingbird Highway to Dangriga and from there to Hopkins Village where we would re-unite with our friends and hosts at Hopkins Inn.

Tosh phoned the night before we were to leave and said she had a proposition for us. She had a fare to Dangriga (our destination) earlier in the morning than we had planned to leave, did we want to go with her. What’s the deal? I said. No deal, she replied. I’m going there anyway

And there we were next morning, whisking past Belmopan and taking the turn down the Hummingbird Highway, Tosh at the wheel of her shuttle van, two nice Canadians from Thunder Bay on their way to an island off the coast, and Brian and Evelyn in the back seat, enjoying the winding drive up and down the Maya Mountains on the Hummingbird Highway.

When Tosh drops off the Canadian couple in Dangriga, she turns around and says, Forget about Dangriga. I’ll just turn off at the Southern Highway and take you straight to Hopkins Village. Okay?

Okay? You kidding me! Let’s boogie.

It’s at least 20 miles out of her way, 20 more to get back to the Hummingway Highway. When we got to Hopkins and she drops us off, I have to negotiate against myself to get her to take anything more than the agreed fare to Belmopan. She drives a hard bargain and won’t accept anything more than a tip to defray her gas costs, which at $ 6.50 usd a gal. are crazy high.

Tosh, next time we need a pick-up at the airport, we want you or Daniellia waiting for us. www.cayoshuttle.com

Welcome to Hopkins Village

And then, there we were. Back in Hopkins Village and back at the Hopkins Inn. Our hosts and friends, Greg and Rita Duke, were there to greet us, as was Lucy their mongrel dog with traces of the Irish wolf dog in her. We’ve known Rita and Greg for more than 12 years, and I would like to think that while they will always be our hosts when we visit Hopkins Inn we have crossed the line and have become good friends.

Our Cabana

Back then, they were living in the first cabana they built and by that time had built three others. Then they built their dream house and rented out their old homestead. That’s where we have stayed for the past years. It’s roomy with a kitchen nook with a table. a bar fridge and a coffee maker. Then there is a queen size bed and across from that two chairs and a small table. Behind that  a storage space and an enclosed bathroom across from it. Everything has been tastefully done, from the bedspreads to the colour schemes to the decorations on the walls. The high arching wood ceiling is an architectural and esthetic triumph. (I’ve wanted to write about this room for years and now I have.)

Back then, as now, Rita and Greg prepared a continental breakfast every morning and Rita herself served it to each of the occupied cabanas. It is and always has been a great way to start the day. Breakfast consists of two or three different local breads, butter and jam, three different local fruits usually home-grown bananas, watermelon, papaya wedges and pineapple slices, plus pieces of cheese and at least once a week hard-boiled eggs. Plus freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice.  Breakfast was/is part of the daily rate of the room. And add to this, an opportunity to chat with Rita when she delivers the food. Rita is very engaging , the more (greg)arious of the two.

View from Our Cabana

So this is how we began each morning.  Up around 6:30 to 7:00. Look out the louvered window or step out on the verandah to watch the sun rising and the waves crashing ashore maybe forty feet away. I make coffee for both of us. After that there’s more coffee for me and Evelyn drinks tea.

Somewhere around 8, Rita delivers breakfast and we sit out on the spacious verandah chit-chatting for a while.  After breakfast, we might read for a bit. Evelyn has her Kobo and I have my Kindle as an app on my Asus tablet, so more likely I would read the Toronto Star to keep up on home current affairs. Then we head for the beach which, in our case, we are already on, since the cabana is built on it.

Breakfast by Rita

There is nowhere in my experience a more idyllic place than the beach at Hopkins Inn. It is post-card perfect, what with the sea, the sun and the sand juxtaposed under creamy clouds and a bright blue sky, and a slight breeze wafting the leaves of the palm and coconut trees.

Then we wade into the waves crashing on shore, making sure we do the sting-ray shuffle as we enter the water. The small 12-14 inch sting-ray likes to come close to the shore line seeking warmer water. Greg and Rita taught us long ago to shuffle our feet as we enter to warn the rays that we are coming. It is not as if they are there in numbers. They are not. In fact, I have never seen one close to shore. But it is always smart to take precautions.

Around noon we figure we’ve had enough sun and head back to our cabana for a shower.

After that, it is time to think of lunch, maybe left-overs from the night before saved in the refrigerator, maybe garnaches, panades and salbutes from Sonia and Lena in their kiosk on the road side, or Tina’s down the road for something Belizean, or up the road to Thongs for salad and sandwich European style.

Sonia (left) Lena (right) and friend

Afternoons drift into walks along the beach,  grocery shopping excursions, maybe another swim, conversations with strangers at the Inn or on the street, writing, reading, maybe snoozing under the fan, and then it is 5 o’clock, prime-time for a sun-downer on the verandah, waiting for night-fall.

We dined out most evenings, usually nothing special, just good food readily available at the many restaurants on the main drag, followed by a cocktail or two back on the verandah.

Luckily, we were able to have several suppers enjoying the company of Greg and Rita at some higher-end restaurants, not expensive but a step up and a nice break from the routine. Evelyn and Greg like their beer and Rita and I like our rum and wine and it wasn’t unusual for us, mainly Greg and I, if we set our minds to it to solve the problems that beset Belize and the rest of the world, only to forget the solutions in the morning, forcing us to re-discover our sage thoughts over and over again..

Lest the reader think there is nothing to do at Hopkins, despair not. Snorkeling, fishing, zip-lining, bird-watching, day-tripping all await you. Except for the zip-lining which is quite new, we’ve done all these more than once.

This time we got a little lazy and the days rushed by and the next thing we knew Greg was driving us into Dangriga to the bus station on our way to another adventure.

Caribbean Sunrise

Stay tuned for Belize Adventure 2013 Part 3 when we travel to and arrive on Caye Caulker.

Welcome to the Aguada Hotel

Feb.12 departed T.O. 6:30 for Belize via Delta Air. Changed planes in Atlanta and arrived at the Goldson International Airport outside of Belize City at 12:15 Belize Time.
Though we have visited Belize many times before, the heat and humidity shrouded us and left us breathless as soon as we exited the plane.

We checked out the Duty Free, loaded up on wine, cleared Customs and were greeted outside by Danielia Anderson, a young woman from San Ignacio who spent some time in the States and knows her way around both worlds. She and her mother, Tosh, run a shuttle service out of San Ignacio and will pick up and deliver any where in Belize.

Danielia was good company on the 2 hour trip to the Aguada Hotel. Informed, personal and articulate, she caught us up to date on what we had missed since the last visit. A cautious driver, she takes great pride in her driving ability and cherishs the fact that she is the only female taxi driver in San Ignacio except for her mother who led the way, set up the business and hired her daughter.

At the Aguada Hotel, Shalue, the owner/manager and her staff welcomed us back and made us feel comfortable and at home. That’s one of the pluses of visiting the same place over and over again. The minus is you miss experiencing what other places offer. We made our choice a long time ago.

Our Cabana

Dog-tired, we dropped our suitcase and backpacks in our cabana and went to sit under a palapa next to the restaurant. There we nibbled on nachos and salsa while drinking Belikin beer.

As the sun set and the aguada (watering hole) we had been watching disappeared into darkness outside lights were turned on, illuminating the courtyard and the swimming pool adjacent to the palapa. Tall nameless trees strangely visible in the darkness of night stretched far upwards. A slight breeze riffled through the palm trees, their large leaves fanning the night air.

And then came the exhilaration that travellers feel when they resume the adventure they had been forced by mundane circumstances to abandon.

Then we stumbled and tumbled into bed, sleeping the sleep of the dead till song birds and crazy cackling grackles awoke us in the morning.

I’ve written a lot about the Aguada in past blogs. Check out Inland Adventure 1: San Ignacio for descriptive details.

View of Swimming Pool from Our Cabana

If anything, the Aguada is in better shape now than maybe ever. Shalue’s dad, Bill, passed on ownership to her about a year ago. I think Bill sensed the hotel needed an infusion of new energy. Shalue has more than met his expectations.

We like to lounge around the hotel for large parts of the day, After breakfast we will go for a walk, do a bit of grocery shopping, come back for lunch, take a dip in the swimming pool, tan a little, snooze (me) and read (Evelyn) under the fan in our cabana, stepping out from time to sit on the cottage chairs facing the aguada.
The aguada at the Aguada is a life-force of its own. Years ago it was where ranchers brought their cattle to drink. It is filled with an astonishing variety of fish and many turtles and ringed on the shoreline by white and yellow water lilies. Blue herons patrol the aguada, not to protect its species but to devour them.
The large trees that surround the aguada nest many birds, not including, unfortunately some of Belize’s most exotic birds such as parrot, toucans and scarlet macaws. These birds left town a long time ago to seek sanctuary in the wilds of the rain forest and the Maya Mountains.

Iguana – 2 Metres from Our Cabana

Most interesting from our vantage on the porch is watching the iguana. On a hot day in the trees closest to our cabana we have counted 12 iguanas, young and old, big and small, guys and girls. The trunks of the tree are only 3 metres away but they shoot up tall and the foliage on the branches increases as the iguana climbs upwards, which makes iguana watching a challenge worthy of a stiff drink when the day is done.

On the other side of the aguada, we spotted the King of the Iguanas running about on land between trees, copper-coloured, bristle-backed, surveying his Kingdom with a mien of historic ferocity.

(But enough about me)

Hand-Fishing at the Watering Hole (The Aguada)

We also fished the aguada with the Vasquez brothers, Chris 13, Peter 12, Tyrone 11, and Brian 8. They line-fished, using a rock for a sinker and flour and water mixed into a ball as bait. After fishing we shared plates of Nachos Supreme full of ground beef, melted cheese, hot jalapeo peppers all mixed with crisp nachos for scooping.

Around the pool, in the restaurants, and on the verandah we met many new travellers and local Belizeas. The days slipped by so easily it came as a shock to realize we had run out of time and had to move on.
On my next blog, I will take you downtown in San Ignacio, describe our bus trip to Hopkins Village and introduce you to Greg and Rita, our hosts at the Hopkins Inn.