So I had another entire day to kill before I could talk to the guy again. I decide to go to Caye Caulker. Everyone keeps talking about it. Ok, I’ll go.
I get some breakfast at what is now my local taco stand. I am starting to get used to this city.

$1 US. The only cheap food I found in Belize.

The ride to the Island is a quick 40 minutes on a diesel powered jet boat.

It is a small island and I was just going to stay for the day. I signed up for a snorkeling thing and then walked around taking photos.

500 a month. Any takers?

This guy was so quick.

Take the photo and leave.

Then it was time to Scuba Dive. It was a 2 hour trip with 3 different dive spots. The first stop was the best the water was only 5 or 6 feet deep so you were so close to all the coral and fish. I saw a flounder and a snail the size of a basketball. It wasn’t a snail, but one of those muscles that lives in a shell and takes for ever just to move a few feet. A couple on the boat was saying that this was the best snorkeling they had ever done. They liked it better than the Great Barrier Reef off of Australia because since it was shallow water you were so much closer to the coral. It was pretty cool and I wished I had the Water proof Olympus 1030 SW

It was about this time that I realized I had a problem. It must have been those tacos I ate for breakfast. My stomach was starting to twist and shout. had a case of the ruins and I wasn’t going to be able to hold it for the next two dive spots. The boat was small and didn’t have a toilet. I started running my limited options thought my head. I was actually amused with my situation and was laughing at what had to be done. I swam far away from the crowd and boat and did what any of you would have done in this situation. I will spare you the details as I have noticed some of you care not to know about all the problems that you run into when traveling. Feeling better, I get back in the boat and the guide asks me if I am ok. I feel great now and we head off to dive spot number 2. No pun intended.

This is the same species of Sting Ray that killed Steve Irwin

Video Time http://vimeo.com/3899864
The snorkeling trip comes to an end and the guide chops up some fresh fruit for us to eat on the ride back in.

The boat drops me off at the dock for the ferry back to Belize City. Back at the hotel the Man comes in and heads straight to bed. He didn’t feel like talking. He is mourning right now. I can’t take this waiting around. I have the itch. I have to get out of Belize. I decide to leave in the morning. I won’t get the whole story send out to the world. Last night I left a note in his door telling him to stop by so we can talk. He never did. He wants the world to know, but he is not ready to film anything. The memories are still too fresh. I fall asleep.

I wake up a few hours later to dogs barking in the street. Then I hear men arguing. Something about it felt odd. It was not a comfortable feeling. The yelling reaches a climax and then I hear it.

POP POP POP POP!

The dogs stop barking. A second goes by with no silence, then I hear some shuffling and someone say the world “police” Then nothing. Erie silence. I pull back the curtain but the view from my room is obstructed by the driveway gate. Hmm… I think I just heard someone get shot. The rest of the night the dogs bark on and off, but I hear no more people. I get up in the morning and pack my bags. The street is buzzing with normal activity. If someone did get shot, there are no signs of it now. I write down my email address for the Man and tuck it in the door. The crazy canadian opens the gate for me and I ride twards Guatemala.

So I was going to leave Belize City today, but since I have a story to document I am staying longer. The Man has already left for the morning so I go out to search for internet and update the blog and whatnot. The only decent Internet I can find that lets me use my computer charges $15 for 24 hours. It is in the hotel lobby of the Radison. I am paying more for internet than I am for my hotel.

I spend the day editing videos and updating. It takes a lot of time. Then I leave the hotel and head back to my hotel. The man is not there. So I grab a shrimp burger over at Peoples and socialize with some cool people from France.

The French people think I am crazy for staying in Belize City with no plans to visit Caye Caulker. I’ve never heard of it, but put it in the back of my mind. The Man never shows up. The next morning I wake up and the Man is not around. I drive around town with my helmet cam and take photos. Belize is really poor. Some parts of the town I would not stop for a photo because I didn’t feel safe. I just drove by with my helmet camera.

This is a river emptying into the Caribbean Sea.

The Irony is in the name.

Some kids playing soccer er footbal

Many of the homes here do not have running water. Everything must be hauled from a spicket that is located somewhere in the neighborhood.

my finger is still not used to the new camera.

Time to eat

A worker walked up to me and told me I had to put a shirt on. This was the first time during my trip that that happened. It was a surprise especially that it was an open air restaurant outside. All over Mexico I never wore a shirt. He said it was the law and he would be shut down. I chuckled to myself over the fact that it is illegal to not wear a shirt in the restaurant but it is perfectly legal for the restaurant to smell like poop while I was eating. I don’t eat at many restaurants that smell like feces but I already had ordered my food.

Back at the hotel I run into the guy and tell him I would like to document is story. He agreed that people need to know what happened to his life. This was good news for me. I have never done anything like this and it will be interesting. If this somehow helps him or keeps others from finding themselves in his situation it would be worth the trouble. He says lets talk tomorrow, and goes to bed.

There is one bathroom at this hotel. Two toilets and two showers. Gender free.

Throughout my stay I saw this spider twice.

The wiring was questionable.

Good Night, Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

I wake up in Chetumal Mexico. While stuffing my possessions in my bags, I realize I would have more room if I put my chain guide back on the bike. I had to take it off back when I broke my chain to give clearance for the welded link.

I also tighen up this bolt that keeps coming loose. This time I put lock-tite on it. It shouldn’t come loose anymore.

I check over the bike some more and happen to find this.
Oh No! (Jerry Seinfield voice)

I m suposted to cross the boarder today. Now I need to find a rotor for the Husky. I skip the idea of looking for a place that has one in stock in Mexico. I go straight to my pit crew. advrider.com. I post some questions in the Husky forum and call the Kirks Cycle in Dalton GA. I get the rotor ordered and find out it will take a few days for it to get to their shop. I decide to have it shipped to Guatemala so I don’t have to wait in Mexico or Belize for it. Dogtown hooked me up with an address to have it shipped to and take off for boarder while trying not to use the front brake. It works fine, I just don’t know how safe it is to be doing this. Oh well, I’ll have a new one on in a few days. No problem.

Lunch and for 20 pesos you can’t lose. Well, maybe you can. The manayase she spread on the bun has been sitting in the sun for who knows how long. (Not used to the new camera. My finger got in the way)

potato and pork. Pork is really really common in Mexico. Beef is harder to find.

These are everwhere. Electric and they turn on a dime. Pretty cool and easy on the environment.

My first boarder crossing in 40 or so days. This car was on the boarder. I wonder what its story is? Whatever the case it is not a good sign.

Signing out of Mexico is easy. The lady at the desk said I didn’t need to cancel my Vehicle permit if I was going to drive back through. That would save me some money. I canceled it anyway for two reasons.

1. I do not want my bike to be registered in more than one country at a time. What if it breaks down and I can’t drive it home? Then I would have a paperwork battle with Mexico and the other countries it would be registed in.

2. The main reason though is I am going to try to take a boat from Panama to Flordia or the east coast somewhere. I am taking my time getting there and don’t feel the need to travel back though the same countries to get home.

Signing into Belize was also simple. No lines, quick, fast, efficent. It took me longer enter America from Sault Saint Marie Canada in January.

I didn’t even show them a drivers license. Just my passport and title. You are required to get insurance though through a 3rd party. It is $10 per day or $14 for a week. Needless to say I purchased a week. Here they asked to see my drivers license. Now it makes sence that the boarder patrol didn’t ask to see it. Mexico has them beat though. You don’t need insurance or a license.

I took my time at the insurance place and no one else came in the entire time. Why is no one else visiting Belize?

Food time. $3 and not good, but I was hungry. (Finger again)

ok, I am gassed up, full and in Belize. Where should I go now? Belize city I guess.

The first thing I notice about Belize is the houses. They are not all concrete like in Mexico. Most of them are built with wood and have wood siding. My mom would love looking at the nice ones. Unfortunatly there are very few nice ones. Infact Belize is looking really poor. Why is everything so expensive here then?

It only takes about two hours to get there so I take some photos along the way. Now I realize how small this country is, and that is really small.

I havn’t seen a tree like this before.

Again no one is here. Belize seems empty. The only vehicles on the road are these trucks.

Then I find the motherload.

This line winds around for about 1 mile and it never moved while I was there. The trucks are all shut off and the drivers are sleep in the cab waiting. It is a huge sugar cane plant/factory. I keep going.

The closer I get to Belize City the more “houses” look like this.

Lonely Planet says Belize City is fairly safe, with the most dangerous part being near the river. The hostel I chose to afford is next to the river. It is a dump, but at $12 US it is the cheapest option. Everywhere else was at least $30 US a night. It is dark now and I am hungry. The semi-slow French Canadian (More on him later) running the show suggests I eat at “Peoples” He says I can eat there or bring it back. Whatever I do, the hotel locks the door at 10.

I did not like the two block walk to “Peoples” restaurant. This is the most sketchy area I have been in so far. The locals are hanging out in the street and stairing you down as you walk by. No photos here. Just walk confident and mind your own business. Spit on the road a few times to look tougher.

Once inside Peoples I don’t feel much safer

The menu is on the wall and the workers are behind the bars. The language is English so it is easy to communicate. They are all business here though. Not too much chit chat. I get my shrimp curry to go and make the walk back to the hotel. For being a dump the hotel is set-up really nice. The rooms are on the second floor and there is a locked gate comming up the stairs that protects a balcony looking over the road. Here is where the guests linger and it is safe up here, but you feel connected to what is going on outside at the same time. I eat here and a guys begs for my food. I am pretty much full so I hand down what I have left.

Three of us and the Crazy Canadian hangout on the porch for the next few hours swapping stories. One man’s life has been completely twisted and turned upside down in the last few months. It is a wake-up call for me about the dangers of traveling. He is an example that things can go from good to bad to unexplainably horrible in a matter of weeks. I decide that I want the world to hear his story. The world NEEDS to hear it. I am going to stay here a few days and make a documentary on this man. The Canadian worker locks the front door at 10 and we all go to bed.