Like this:

Of course, at $60.00 bucks a day, and with 3 days of the 5 left already planned, it was not a smart money-move to rent a golf-cart, but we had a day to explore the island and we needed another way to do it besides walking. So it was off to the bike shop again. Trouble was, no one really knew where the bike shop was, It was vague looks and maybe try this. So I looked it up online. Joe’s Bicycle Shop I read, but where exactly was it? We walked downtown, again looking for landmarks. Right next to Tropic Air, at Ali-babas. We just could not find anything that looked like a bike shop. Mark was getting very exasperated. I was getting irritated at him for getting exasperated. Finally 2 cute little boys with a pet raccoon stopped and asked us if they could help. “Can I take your picture,” I asked? “If you take our picture, you need to tip us a $1.00,” said the older one. “Never mind,” said Mark, “We have our own raccoons at home.” “Give him a dollar,” I said, “He is really a little entrepreneur. You should admire his ingenuity”. Grudgingly Mark, pulls the money out. “Where’s Joe’s Bicycle Shop?,” I ask. “Oh you can’t get there walking,” the boy says, “You have to take a cab to the other side of the island.” Enough advice from greedy entrepreneurs, we thought and continue on our way.

Pint-sized Belizean Entrepreneur

After asking enough, we finally find the place, around the corner and down the street about 2 buildings from the Bank of Belize.
Joe is very accommodating. The other places did have bikes, but you had to go in and ask. And their prices were $25.00/day each. Joe charges $15.00 and said that if we came back on Friday, he would give us a multiple day deal of $10.00, the same price we paid in Mexico. And the bikes were better than in Mexico. They had big baskets.
We decided to explore the south end of the island because Mark had heard that there was a reserve down there and we could see some manatees. We picked up a lunch of fruit and ham and cheese croissants and took off. The main roads in town are pressed cobblestone,not the easiest thing to ride on, but the gutters are concave and smooth and we found that riding there was much easier. We soon ran out of cobblestone and found ourselves on sand. Beach access was not as easily available, but we went in to a little place next to Royal Caribbean and had our picnic lunch.

Lunch spot near the Royal Caribbean

The south end of the island is not the place to go. We find out that this is where they dump their garbage, and it smells a lot. Although we did pass Victoria House, a an exclusive and somewhat pricy resort. There is very little to see and beach access is difficult, mainly it’s private homes. What we did find however was Joe’s. This Joe was a little hamburger stand. So the boy really was telling us the truth as far as he knew.

Boys swimming off the dock. Don

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