Having got a little too festive seeing our my last night in caye caulker in style I finished my last coconut rum as the sun came up. I headed to the hostel, napped for an hour, packed & then was on the ferry headed to Belize city.
Once in Belize city we found somewhere to store our packs & then hunted down some tasty street food - tamales with super hot chilli :) perfect fuel for the onward journey to Honduras.
When I booked our flight with tropic air I had never given much thought to the size of the plane we might be traveling in. Turns out to be a four seater...Belize to San Pedro Sula is hardly a major route! Anyhow in our tiny plane my seat was the copilot chair! The views were incredible & we survived a ride in what is arguably one of the smallest passenger aircraft in the world to the most dangerous city in the world. That's a win right?
Dad met us at the airport with his taxi driver mate he going also called Tony. Dad can't speak a word of spanish and persisted in speaking a blend of English & incorrect French mixed with Italian to Taxi driver Tony who literally turned to me and said in spanish that my father was weird & crazy. That's the prognosis when he can't even understand what Dad is saying, imagine how disturbed the poor bloke would be otherwise!
We arrive at the Clarion hotel in San Pedro Sula that Dad has been staying in for a few days. It's dark, large, completely vacant & we are all sharing a room. Keep reminding myself to take deep breaths & remain calm. It will be ok. It's not quite the shining but it's not somewhere that feels particularly welcoming.
We decide to go to the city mall for dinner as it's pretty large & safe. Dad
seems oblivious to the dangers of walking at night in the worlds most dangerous city & against the hotel's & our advice, initially refuses to take a taxi. Says he has been walking the streets for days joking with the locals. I'm just glad he didn't get killed or kidnapped to be honest. Thankfully we convince him a taxi is the only option & he agrees to take one. He won't let us negotiate in spanish for the fare or destination, gets ripped off & confuses the cabbie. That aside we make it to the city mall, find dinner & an ATM & head back to the hotel.
A relatively early night and then the journey to the bay islands begins in the morning.
