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I'm not really sure how I ended up in San Pedro, but I didn't intend to go there. I actually wanted to go to mainland Belize and visit Palencia & Hopkins for a few days, but I left Caye Caulker right before Samana Santa (Holy week), which is a huge deal in Central America. This meant there would be less buses, boats and hostels available and more people would be travelling as everyone is on holiday for the week, so I didn't want to leave for the mainland and then get stuck in Belize city for days (as it's a total s*** hole and very unsafe at ALL times). So, I decided just to hop over to the nearest island to hide out on the beach during Samana Santa, which ended up being San Pedro.
San Pedro is a town on the southern part of the island of Ambergris Caye, Belize. The town's total population is around 11,000, so it's the largest of all the Belize Islands in size and population. The Islanders claim Madonna's 80's hit "La Isla Bonita" is meant to be about San Pedro and so they have nicknamed the Island "La Isla Bonita" (The beautiful island). Although in my opinion the island has been totally ruined by tourism and is far from Bonita! Maybe if I had come here before Caye Caulker I would have enjoyed it more, but I was spoiled over there and this island just didn't match up.
Yes, it was hot and sunny every day and we were surrounded by blue water and palm trees, but it was also insanely humid, noisy, overcrowded, dirty and there was way too much traffic for one little island. The number of golf carts and cars on the tiny streets was insane and really annoying. Also everything costs twice as much as it would on Caye Caulker and was not nearly as good.
I stayed at Pedro's Inn which was nice enough and it had a fab pool, so I was happy. Pedro is an ex-pat from England who owns and runs his own hostel, hotel, poker club, pizza restaurant and bar. It was definitely the best place to stay, as there was always something going on (live music; quiz nights, pool parties etc.). Although, I wasn't too interested in doing anything besides sunning myself by the pool.
There were lots of people staying at Pedro's and I met two really nice girls Nancy (from San Francisco) and Chris (from Boston). We had dinner and drinks a few times and hung out by the pool a lot. We also discovered the best thing I have ever tasted in my entire life. There is this little shop on the island called D&E's, which sells frozen custard and I know that sounds kinda disgusting, but it's basically just very rich and creamy ice cream. It was AMAZING!!
I tried the Mango, peanut butter and sour-sop flavours and all of them were delicious. Sour-sop is a fruit native to tropical countries, also known as "guanábana" or "Paw-paw". Its flavour is a combination of strawberry and pineapple with sour citrus flavour notes contrasting with an underlying creamy flavour like coconut or banana. I cannot stress how good this stuff is, I could eat this everyday!
I also met 2 Aussie guys (Calum and I can't remember your name), 2 German girls (my roommates) and a bunch of Guatemalan guys on holiday. We all ended up having a big night out together on Samana Santa, which was alright, but nothing special. There was a big beach party that day as well, which was entertaining, to say the least. It mainly consisted of a bunch of drunken locals having a dance-off on the beach, to see who could shake their big, fat ass the fastest. There were no winners that day!
I don't know why I was so underwhelmed by San Pedro, I'm sure loads of people would think it was paradise; I'm just not one of them. I was happy to top up my tan, lay by the pool and meet some nice people, but I wouldn't be heading back in a hurry. I was happy to finally leave and even the thought of travelling through Belize City on my way to Guatemala seemed more promising. This Island had no atmosphere, character or personality; I was totally disappointed in San Pedro, 2 thumbs down!
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