Placencia, Belize

Is where I am.

And it's beautiful.

LINK

It was an uneventful, nearly 3hr, ferry ride from Puerto Cortes -- a nice, but not particularly interesting port city -- to Placencia.

The room is 91* and 80% humidity.  Yeah.  Hot :-)  Got a big ol' fan, and it's blasting.  If I had any hair (I keep it really short, while traveling in the Tropics), it'd be all kinds of mussed up :-)

And/but ... I've been battling a sinus infection since leaving Tela, Honduras.

If it doesn't relent by Friday, I'll either see Dr. Alex (Placencia's one and only doctor) or just mosey into the one and only pharmacy, and see if I can just get the antibiotic that I know I need.

A couple of weeks of sinus/bronchitis, in Guatemala, in April.  Ending off may with a sinus infection. Pretty much right on schedule, when you have a Primary Immune Deficiency.

Can't dive or snorkel with glasses.  Can't dive with my prescription swim goggles.  Can't really snorkel with them, either, so ... I may splash around a bit in the Caribbean -- about 30 steps from my door.  Been walking in the waves a bit, mostly to cool off.

Meanwhile, I've still been walking a few hours a day.  Today's walk had me surrounded by what looked like blue crabs (but were, in any case, crabs).  Menacing looking little buggers :-)

There are also lots of pet parrots, and a pet African Gray at private homes, and a few of the hotels, so ... I haven't been lacking in company.  I speak bird, and the whistled theme song from "Andy Griffith" is always an aviary crowd pleaser.

Eating well, though not very much.  Last night was a fabulous dinner at the Secret Garden.  The food (wonderful salad, shrimp linguine) was good enough that I didn't want the ride to end, and ordered one of those "Death by Chocolate" type desserts.

Which was equally good.

Sleeping okay.

Drinking tons of fluids.  Laying low for a few hours in the afternoon, to rest and cool off.

Using Sudafed, Afrin, and aspirin to keep the congestion at bay, and the fever down.

Flying (on a puddle jumper that will probably only be 500' over the land) to Dangriga, on Saturday.  Dangriga doesn't look particularly interesting, but ... you never know.

I AM a SCUBA diver, though I can't really dive, now.  Belize is largely a dive destination.  The fun is off the Cayes and islands, near the reefs, and the resorts/trips are ridiculously pricey -- okay if that's what you're doing, and your vacation is only two weeks, but ... not in budget for this ol' backpacker

;-)

I met a Spanish-only speaking (most Belizeans speak English, too) woodworker, as I stopped to take pics of his shop.  He tells me that -- in the humidity of the Caribbean -- the battle against rusting tools is never-ending.  On a positive note, though, the power rarely goes out.

I'm torn about the rest of my agenda in Belize.  Largely, it's because I'm not feeling well, but I've considered making a beeline to Belize City, and catching a flight out of the country.  I'm not into the "Never see one" Jaguar tours (also very pricey) or the "Never see one" Manatee tours, or the Zip-line thing, so ... much of the eco-tourism stuff that might BE affordable ... just doesn't hold much appeal.

May go to Caye Caulker, though.  It's just a chill little place to hang out for a week.  You take a water taxi from Belize City to get there.  May be a nice way to end off this country.

Interestingly, the Placencia Peninsula has very drinkable water, piped in from an Artesian Well -- the happy accident of somebody allegedly trying to drill for oil.  The water is quite good.  I just have to NOT get in the HABIT of drinking tap water, or brushing my teeth with it.  After Placencia ... I'll be back in Parasite City.

So that's the update.  There are some pics of this and that.  I'll get to them ... you know ... when I get to them :-)

Ciao for now, then, from the Tropically Parboiled Offices of ... The Gulag.