Chicken bus to western Cayo
Day 1: Getting There is Half the Fun
Yesterday we returned from a five-day trip to San Ignacio, which is a town in the Cayo District in the western part of Belize. We had never visited this part of the mainland before and were looking to do some hiking, birdwatching, and escape some of the traffic and general busy-ness of high season in San Pedro. San Ignacio does get tourists (especially eco-tourists, adventure-seekers, and backpackers), but it is not the big tourist destination that Ambergris Caye is, and we were craving some recharge time away from crowds.
Sign in front of bus with fares -- nice because most buses don't have this helpful chart
As usual, we planned to do this trip on a fairly tight budget, so we chose to take the ferry to Belize City, then a "chicken bus" to San Ignacio. This is not the most luxurious or fastest way to travel around the country, but it is very budget-friendly. So, on Monday morning, we caught a ride to town from Mr. Raymond here at Grand Caribe. We dropped Paisley off at Pampered Paws for boarding, where she was happy to see her friend Bess the Doberman in doggie day care. She trotted right off and never looked back -- she really seems to enjoy her stays at Pampered Paws as she gets to play all the time. She returns home completely exhausted!
Barry in front of Police Station and welcome sign
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After a ride with many stops, we arrived at the bus terminal in San Ignacio at around 2:30 pm. Since it's dry season here in Belize, the parking lot was very dusty. Many of the streets in town are unpaved or having construction done, so there was quite a bit of dust wherever we walked, actually. Better than rainy-season mud, I suppose!
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Burns Ave. outside Casa Blanca
After unpacking a bit and settling in, we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around town and getting our bearings. In addition to shops, grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants, there's a great fruit and vegetable market square where vendors sell their wares. Both the variety and cost of produce is noticeably better than in San Pedro since Cayo is where many of the farms in the country are located and produce doesn't have to be shipped so far, or on a ferry, to get to this market.
Beautiful banks of Macal River with Hawkesworth Bridge in distance
The Hawkesworth Bridge leading out of town into Santa Elena
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There are two bridges in San Ignacio Town, both one-way. The "New Bridge" leads into town, and the other, a suspension bridge called the "Hawkesworth Bridge", is older and leads out of town. Both bridges span the Eastern Branch of the Belize River, also known as the Macal River. The river is absolutely gorgeous, and the lush green banks form a park of sorts that attract locals and tourists. What a lovely place for a picnic it would be! We wandered around there for quite awhile enjoying the beautiful view of the river and the huge trees on the banks. Some locals were swimming and splashing in the water, and a large group of frolicking grackles were enjoying it as well.
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Lovely view from Hawkesworth Bridge
Click here to read the rest of the article and see LOTS more photos on the BeBelize Blog