An UnBELIZEable birthday!

Finally a year where I don't feel gutted about turning a year older! It was impossible to feel remotely sad about turning 29 when I spent my birthday on Caye Ambergris, just off the coast of Belize. 

From Orange Walk we had our first experience of a Belizean Chicken Bus. Buses here are old American school buses, painted in a mish mash of bright colours, and they're called chicken buses partly because you might see the odd chicken on them but also because they will stop anywhere where there is someone waiting along their route, meaning that they can sometimes stop every 10 metres or so. Peck, peck! So, it can be slow going sometimes but that seems to be the general philosophy here!

We then had a night in the sleepy seaside town of Corozal. We came via here to avoid going through Belize City which, like a lot of the larger cities in Central America, apparently isn't the nicest to spend time in. There isn't much to do in Corozal so instead we tried to do a bit of planning, which we haven't done much of so far. We fell asleep to the sound of the Corozal Brass Band rehearsing for the upcoming Band Fest, with the trumpety sound of Lady Gaga's Pokerface suddenly carrying across the town at 11pm!

Corozal Mural

Sunset in Corozal

The next morning it was an early start for the boat ride over to San Pedro. We had booked in at Pedro's Inn, which is one of the cheaper hotels on the island. When the owner heard that Ciaran's an Arsenal fan, he invited us up to his house to watch the match (I think Ciaran enjoyed having someone to talk football with for a change). 

Birthday celebrations began with a pub crawl organised by the hotel. That night was its fortnightly Poker Run and at each bar you get given a card, which you use at the final bar to try and make the best hand. The owner of the hotel had the best hand that night...funny that! 

Anyway, it was an awesome night and I think the most drunk we've been since Queenstown! We had a nice bit of low-risk drink driving in the form of golf carts, which we used to get from bar to bar. The highlight of the night was having a Rasta band sing Happy Birthday to me at one of the bars, it was too cool and one of those moments where you think, "oh wow, I'm in Belize and a Rasta is singing Happy Birthday to me!".

As we got quite boozy that night, on my actual birthday we mainly chilled, hired ourselves a golf buggy as that's the way they get around, and cruised round the island. It was so nice and laid back! That's just how it is here though! Then it was time for a birthday Panty Rippa (see below) and some birthday Ceviche - I can't get enough of the seafood here!

Yep,  "Panty Ripper" is an actual drink!

It was such a great birthday! I think I'm going to find it much harder to turn 30!