Bella Goes to Pedro's

After the girls got on the water taxi to the mainland yesterday, Shelley, Tom, and I had lunch at Dianita's across from the airport. Then it was a long nap at home for Tom and me while Shelley ran errands. Unlike me, Shelley does not nap well, so, last night, Tom and I went out to do research while Shelley, exhausted from six non-stop days, stayed home. 

First stop was BC's, a wooden, thatched-roof beach bar with "Eppy," the wisecracking bartender right out of central casting. I had been to BC's only once before, and faithful followers may recall the well-meaning lady who tried to stuff a dog biscuit down my throat. They may also recall that I don't do dog biscuits and that I was not impressed with the lady nor BC's.  But this time was different.

To our left sat "Coconut Leo" who, upon request and for a small tip, will climb up a palm tree in a flash and harvest the coconuts for you. Leo, clearly not working, didn't say much. To our right was Sam, an interesting, soft-spoken man who alternates living in San Pedro with his oil job in Kazakhstan. Sam assured me the ex-pats who frequent BC's eventually are friendly, at least most of them, and, sure enough, Sam's sister, Mary, who has lived here for nine years, was soon telling us lots of interesting local lore. I think I'm gonna like BC's. 

Coconut Leo

We left BC's to check out Fido's (which was pretty dead) and AJ's (which was closed), then wandered over to Pedro's Inn. The first people I ran into at Pedro's were Patrick and Jerome (the diving instructors) and "Taff" from Wales, each of whom began inquiring about "the girls" and asking us to say hi to them. Tom assured them he would never pass on any information from them to his daughters! They laughed. Tom was serious.

Pizza at Pedro's

We met new friend Stan, from the University of Antwerp (Belgium), and also Michael who was leaving the next day for Caye Caulker, who were both staying in the hostel part of the Inn. Stan said the room, with a shared bathroom, was small, but it was clean and a real bargain. Michael said, "It's pretty basic. What more can I say?"

Manager Cindy was fun and informative. The cost for a hotel room with television and air-conditioning is $55 USD per night. The hostel rooms (no AC, no TV) are $15 USD per night for one person or $25 for two. I liked the sign advertising their laundry service: "We'll Wash Your Undies."

Did someone say "pizza"?

The lounge/bar area, decorated primarily with empty Jägermeister bottles (perhaps the largest collection in the world) boasts a large pool table next to the poker room. And the pizza was delicious. Thanks again to Tyler and Rysha for the recommendation. By the way, we took the pizza with us when we left. Shelley, still on the couch, was grateful for the sustenance.

 

Y'all come visit. Tonight we can play poker at Pedro's, enter the Hot Wing Eating Contest at AJ's, do karaoke at Roadkill Bar, or have tapas and listen to live music at the Red Ginger Restaurant. You're gonna love Belize!