February 5, 2011 (Final Day in Hopkins Town: Part 1)

Saturday February 5 was yet another sunny and beautiful day in Belize. After a wonderful one hour run on the beach I had to walk past a group of about twenty locals (about 90% women) who had apparently been partying all night in the "park" near "downtown" Hopkins.

Lovely "Downtown" Hopkins Town Again!

These were apparently the folks I had heard making noise throughout the previous evening. I asked them if they ever went to sleep and they said "no". I looked around to see if there were any tents (or anything else) for sleeping and there were not. Several of them told me they were from Belize City and they were having a family reunion in Hopkins. A couple of the ladies lured me into their lair and started practically having their way with me. I asked them if they were ever going to get any sleep, and one of them said she would like to come to my room and sleep there! At this point, I quickly slipped away for an important "meeting" and told them I would be back. I snuck away and weaved back to the beach further up the road where I had a nice swim in the Caribbean. After a quick shower, I grabbed my laptop and headed over to Thongs again for breakfast so I could use their free WIFI. After breakfast I headed back to Larubeya -- hoping perhaps I would run into Mark and find he was in need of a "first mate" to help sail his Hobie Cat. I also looked for Luke - the landlord- to let him know I wanted to stay in my room another night. But Luke was not around. I forgot to check on my room availability again and found out later that this was a big mistake!

Mark was attending to his beloved catamaran, and he told me that he had checked around and was unable to find any experienced sailors to help him out. I volunteered my services but told him that I had absolutely no experience with Hobie Cats. I told him that if he was willing to tell me everything I had to do I would be happy to comply.

Mark's Hobie Cat

I guess Mark probably figured I was a better alternative than not sailing at all that day, so he invited me to join him. After getting the boat ready to go we headed out at about 11:00 AM, and sailed the entire afternoon. The weather was perfect, the wind was ideal for a beginner, and Mark did a great job telling me everything I needed to do along the way. Hopkins sits on a nice bay with unrestricted sailing opportunities because the reef is about twelve miles out from shore. When the wind kicks up a bit those Hobie Cats really fly! Mark purchased his boat used some years ago and it is apparently a very special Hobie Cat. It is an 18-footer - which the company doesn't make any longer-- and was specially designed for speed. I had so much fun learning how to sail the Hobie that I did a little Internet research about them which will be the focus of my next blog entry. Mark and I sailed back and forth across the bay for the entire afternoon and after a while I was actually steering and getting the hang of sailing. Throughout the day Mark continued to give me tips and pointers on the operation of a sailboat. After experiencing the magic of the wind and... I came to understand how people can get hooked on this!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. After a fabulous day of sailing, I returned to Larubeya and found that three people had been waiting patiently all afternoon for my room! They had apparently reserved a room some time ago, and my room was the only one available with two beds. Rather than move my stuff and clean the room for the new folks, Luke and his cleaning lady had politely asked the new people to wait. As the afternoon wore on, I'm sure that everyone got more and more pissed about the situation. When I finally returned -- at about 4:30 PM as I recall-- Luke and his staff were pretty ticked but the new guests were surprisingly nice about it. They said their afternoon waiting for the room had given them a splendid opportunity to thoroughly explore little Hopkins Town. I guess I really lucked out as in most cases the people forced to wait for their room would have been ready to kill me! I hurriedly packed up all my stuff and cleared out my room so the cleaning lady could get everything fixed for the new guests.

The Scene of the Crime

Mark was kind enough to not only let me store my stuff in his room but also help me find a new place to stay for the evening. Mark mentioned a really nice place to stay at the south end of town called the All Season's Guest House owned and operated by his friend Ingrid Stahl. The only available room Ingrid had was a double and it was -- in comparison to the rooms I had been staying in since embarking on my adventure three weeks ago-- like the Four Seasons! I think Ingrid realized I was a "budget traveler" and that the room was slightly "overkill" for me, so without me even having to ask she offered a discount from the regular price of US$75.00 per night to US$60.00. Sold! I felt like a pampered tourist for one night for sure!

I found a local guy with a pickup truck back at King Cassava who helped me get my luggage several miles south to All Season's, and Ingrid also fixed me up with a bicycle to use for the evening. After providing me with the Hobie Cat experience for the entire afternoon and helping me find a place to stay for the evening, I told Mark that dinner was on me. He brought me over to a tiny place on the north end of Hopkins called Mavi's, where we feasted on fresh red snapper, sides and several beers for a grand total of about US$10.00 each. It had been yet another great day in Belize!