While in Corozal, Belize, Chris and I met Josh, a writer for Lonely Planet Belize. During our brief conversation we asked him where we thought we should go and what we should do. If it wasn’t for him, we never would have made it to Backpackers Paradise in Sarteneja, Belize.

This very small fishing village is hard to reach. There is a boat company that will drop you off upon request. Since at the time we had little money, we chose to go the bus route.

First off, the bus system in Belize is nothing like how it is in Mexico. You never know when the bus will show up and when it does chances are it will be overcrowded. There is one bus a day that goes straight to Sarteneja without having to change busses. Of course that one never showed up, so we took a bus to Orange Walk and then waited for the other bus, which was an hour and a half late.

I won’t tell you the details of the bus ride because I don’t want any of you to worry anymore than you do. But lets just say if you have ever wondered where rejected US school busses go to live, its Belize. Add in a very bumpy road, so many people that some are forced to stand, and 2 hours…well, you get the idea.

We finally arrived in Sarteneja past dark. And it took us less than five minutes to find the very affordable and very friendly Backpackers Paradise. We got one of 5 small cabanas for only $12 USD a night.

That night we hung out in the restaurant where we met two guys that had been riding their motorcycles all the way from the states. They shared tips and we shared stories. Then the next day Chris and I went with Liz & Andre (they are traveling by car all the way into Brazil) and George (he is hanging out in Belize because he can!) to Shipstern, a nature reserve. The mosquitoes were horrible! And our guide talked very slow and explained every single thing. But he was nice at least.

While in Sarteneja for a little over a week we didn’t do much. We went horseback riding, saw some snakes, read a whole lot, and made friends with all the people that showed up. I recommended this place if you ever make it to Belize. It will make you remember how to just relax.

After a while we decided to head out to Orange Walk for a day and then to Caye Caulker. Luckily the bus ride back was not as bad and we saw a rainbow. =)

I’ll post all the pictures in the next post. =]

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