I arrived in Belize City at 8pm last night, well after dark, and took a taxi straight to the guesthouse. It turned out to be a ratpit, but as I was only going to be there one night, and one does not wander around Belize City after dark, I resigned myself to the wind blowing through the stuck-open window, the people on the verandah blowing smoke into my room and talking loudly next to my window, and the light streaming in from the hallway. I pulled out my silk sleep-sack (I don’t know where these rat-pits get their sheets–coarse, rough, AND worn to pieces), stuck in earplugs, and tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep.
Then I felt a rustling, and looked up. A giant, two-inch roach had just scuttled across my body, and was regarding me curiously from atop my shoulder.
I leaped out of the bed with a yell, grabbed a book, and went after that roach in a flurry of wild swipes. I missed, and it skittered away.
Well, that was THAT. I hastily gathered my bags, ran downstairs, and fled. Traveling tigresses are intrepid, but even I have my limits–I am NOT sharing my bed with roaches. I found a high-end hotel in the guidebook, and at 11pm, I made it to the Princess Hotel, a hotel-cum-casino that would do Club Med proud. I paid a princely sum for it ($96 U.S., or $10/hour for every hour I spent there), but was it worth it? Hell, yeah. I could sleep in the assurance that no roaches would be peeking over my shoulder.
So now I’ve spent more for one night’s accommodation than I did for the entire previous WEEK of hotel stays, but at least I and my clothes are roach-free. Egad.
Anyway, I’m headed up to Crooked Tree for the Cashew Festival, and am hoping to make it OUT of Belize City today and down to Dangriga and diving, but it seems likely I’ll have to spend another day in Belize City. Grump.
Tien
