Day 1 - Arrive at Cahal Pech

Our thatched cabana.
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We flew into Belize City, and the hotel sent a driver (William) to pick us up from the airport for the 2 hour drive to Cahal Pech.  Cahal Pech is the name of a Mayan site at the top of a hill next to what is now San Ignacio town.  It's also the name of the resort we stayed at for several nights (the resort is right next to the site).

We had our own little thatched roof cabana, with a screened in porch and a hammock with a nice view of the town at the bottom of the hill.

This being our first night in Belize, but also having traveled all day from California, we decided to catch a cab down to San Ignacio and scare up some dinner.  The town is the second largest city in Belize, with a whopping 13,000 people (Belize is about the size of Massachusetts, but has a population of only 300,000 people).  We had dinner at a place called Hannah's, then walked around, and Tina did some wicked bargaining to get a pair of sandals that proved very useful throughout the trip.

The hustle and bustle of downtown San Ignacio.
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Getting to walk around San Ignacio gave us a feel for everyday life in Belize.  It is a poor country, but at the same time people seem happy and very laid back.  The American ethos of "bigger better faster more" simply doesn't apply here; people didn't have much by U.S. standards, but it also didn't matter much because everyone was in the same boat.  No need to keep up with the Jones', which is both good and bad.