Road to Cayo – Belize Diary, January 25

On our fifth day in Belize, we drove north again towards the Western Highway. We would stay another five nights up in Cayo close to where we lived twenty-five years ago.

If we were to move back to Belize—and I assure you, we are not—we would consider somewhere along the lush corridor along the  Hummingbird Highway.

It appeared that the road had been recently improved in places with carved cuts and guard rails.

A large White hawk flew, settled, then turned as if making sure we had seen it.

Nothing says money better than a row of royal palms.

We have fond memories of Belmopan’s Art Box. Bob would often take the girls there for lunch when they accompanied him on his errands. They, of course, called it the Fart Box. My how it has grown since the ’90s!

The entire building was a work of art, filled with affordable treasures, and furniture on the second floor.

They don’t serve lunch anymore, so we settled for ice cream. We met a woman named Yvette and she said her favorite Art Box ice cream flavors were Mango and Coffee, so we got one of each.

Naturally, we talked about people we knew and it occurred to Bob to ask about Gloria at BCSL. “Yes, I believe she is still there,” said Yvette.

And sure enough, she was, and she remembered us from so long ago. Gloria would patch in our telephone calls via radio phone, so her voice had been our main connection with the outside world.

Nothing had changed about the little house where BCSL headquarters, but Gloria will soon be starting work on a new facility.

We turned west towards Cayo after leaving Belmopan, my heart beating harder with every mile.

The Chiquibul road was vastly improved with signage, paving, and safety reflectors and we did not miss the old road one bit. The eight miles to Mountain Equestrian trails used to take forty minutes, depending on the weather, the mud, and how recently it had been graded.

Next stop: Mariposa Jungle Lodge. Stay tuned.