Belize City

 All the pictures shown here were taken on Easter Monday, which apparently is a major holiday in Belize.  The entire city felt as deserted as a ghost town.  I only saw a few other tourists, and some police whose job it is to protect the tourists while wandering around all day long.  When we found the natives, they were all desperately trying to catch a ferry out to the cayes.

I wish I’d been less prudish about taking pictures of strangers.  The city simply doesn’t have the same ambiance without the crowds.  Try to imagine these places all filled with pedestrians, bicycles, and cars.

First, notice that the highway is four lanes here.  It only has four lanes until we leave the city.  Then it’s back to two.  This is one of the biggest, widest, smoothest streets in the nation.
Then the streets get smaller.

And smaller.

 
These last two are actually important thoroughfares.  We couldn’t get around town without them.

We went all over the place from well-to-do neighborhoods.

 
To less well to do neighborhoods.

 
We bought a case of water, Smuckers peanut butter and jelly in a jar, plastic “spones”, and some Fanta soda at a local grocery store.  The lady behind the counter was busy with customers when I realized the caps on bottles of soda in Belize don’t twist off.  I needed a bottle opener.  One of the other customers very helpfully pointed out an opener attached to the wall, with a trash can under it for the lid. I could tell because it was full of lids.

  I wish I could show them to you, because the people of Belize are cool.

Alice