Day 27 – Tourists found

This morning, after a return trip to Chef Rob’s for breakfast, we head further south to Placencia.  This will be our Scuba Diving portion of the trip.

It’s a quick and easy ride; less than 2 hours.  On the way into Placencia we pass through Maya Beach.  It looks like the entirety of Maya Beach is being built, with new condos, casas, and mansions going into every available spot.  Almost every one of them has a For Sale in front, and every open lot is for sale as well.  Tourists are discovering Belize and buying it up in droves.  We later learn that most of it is speculative sales, and the prices have become incredibly inflated lately.

The road to Placencia ends at the harbour.  We decide the first course of action is to find a hotel for the night so we can get into our street clothes.  The Riding Gear is far too hot for Belize, especially after 1pm.  We soon discover Casa Placencia, just outside of town, and its exhuberant owner Jacki.  Her little garden rooms are cozy, clean, and have AC!

The end of the road in Placencia

Back on the bike in shorts and T’s, we head back to the beach, and some lunch.  Rumfish is a recommended restaurant, and Rebecca quickly falls in love with their Fish Tacos (after which she is no longer talking about Chef Rob’s sauce!).  We also enjoy some infused fruit vodka drinks, and then venture next door for the legendary, talked about all over Belize, Tutti Frutti’s Ice Cream shop.

OMG.  Probably the best handmade ice cream I’ve ever had.  We both go back in for seconds as they offer 50 flavours (about 20 per day).  We’ll be back tomorrow to try a few more.

As the heat climbs, we head back to our Casa for AC and a siesta.  Later in the evening, we ride back into town for dinner.  Rebecca has been having a runny nose for a couple of days, so we’re heading to the local pharmacy before dinner.  My first aid kit has everything but cold medication.  Didn’t think to pack it for Central America!  The local police have a checkpoint, and we’re told to go back and get our helmets.  We haven’t noticed anyone else wearing them, but we’re not going to argue.

With helmets on we stop at Charo’s, which has always been busy every time we’ve ridden past.  It’s our first bad meal.  The place is noisy, over run by rude, drunk ex-pats, and the food is horrible.  I’m not particularly hungry, so I order Nachos and Salsa.  The nachos are stale, the salsa is watery, and Rebecca can’t finish even a ¼ of her bland, wet fish burrito.  TripAdvisor has been informed!

But we do grab some more ice cream at Tutti Frutti’s!

Tutti Frutti’s