2-16 to 2-17-2015 Trip to Belize City

We had a 2 pm appointment on Monday in Belize City, and it takes about 3 hours to get to/from there, and it gets dark at about 5:30 pm, so we just decided to stay the night in town and see what there is to see.

The scenery along the Hummingbird Highway (on the way to Belmopan) is so lush and green and beautiful.

An orchard, with the mountains in the distance.

This roundabout and sculpture let you know you have reached Belmopan.

Upon successfully routing ourselves through the maze of one way streets in Belize City we checked into our hotel - the
Ramada Princess Hotel & Casino.

The accommodations were pretty nice.

This was the view of the sea from our window.

Another angle of the view from our room.

We headed to our appointment in town and grabbed a quick bite (tamales and burritos), which we ate while sitting in this park.

We had a meeting with an attorney at Barrow & Williams to form a company in Belize.

Eric in the conference room, ready for the meeting.

After our meeting we walked around and checked out the north ("safe"/tourist) side of Belize City.  We thoroughly explored
Albert Street, which is the main shopping area, as well as some questionable side streets.  We also found the touristy area
where the cruise ships let the guests off.

BTL Park is right next to our hotel.  It seemed like a nice place for events.

BTL Park is more happening on the weekends - all these little buildings are different businesses that open up then.

There is a nice walkway by the sea.

Looking back along the walkway at our hotel.

A closeup of our hotel from the walkway.

A pretty spot along the walkway.

Cruise ships in the disance

The night view of Belize City from the entry door side of our hotel room.

The sunset view from our hotel room.

After briefly checking out the casino (like any other) we headed to dinner at the nearby Calypso Fish Restaurant.

Eric never got the salad that came with his meal, but we shared some nachos (chicken on the side).  They were okay, but I
expect real cheese in this country now.

Eric liked his fish dish.

Cara ordered "Veggie Chowder" because it sounded good, but it was really just veggie soup.  It wasn't thick, rich or creamy
like you expect a chowder to be.

The next morning Eric had to meet the attorney again briefly, so Cara walked around the hotel.  This is the beautiful pool.

The Western Highway takes you through an cool cemetery on the way into/out of town.

The cemetery is on both sides of the road, and it's long.

The graves are all above ground in the cemeteries here.

I didn't take a picture because it just didn't seem right, but on the highway between Belize City and Belmopan we saw an overturned orange truck.  It was a fresh accident - the semi was mangled and taking up 2/3 of the road, and there were oranges EVERYWHERE for at least a quarter mile.  After we passed it (smooshing oranges on the road) we saw the police and ambulance racing toward the accident.  We hope nobody was seriously injured.

From the Hummingbird Highway in Belmopan you can see the "Dr. Seuss" house, which is what
I was trying to get a picture of here, though I only got half of it.  The sign is pretty cool, though.

Heading back toward Hopkins on the Hummingbird Highway.

Cattle

One of the several "narrow" (aka one-lane) bridges on the Hummingbird Highway.

When you see the "Bump" signs, SLOW DOWN!  You have to pretty much cross these at idle speed or you will kill your car.
(And watch out for the ones without the sign and/or without the yellow stripes.)

This is part of the road between the highway and Hopkins.  They have been working hard to grade and pave it.  The progress
already makes this 4 to 5-mile stretch a 10 minute drive instead of a 40 minute drive, and the drive should be even better once
the road is finished.