Journey to Belize: Casa Ricky’s

This post continues the retelling of my recent trip to Belize: participating in an archaeology field school and learning about jaguar conservation. The rest of this series is located in the Travel category of this blog.

June 18, 2017 was one of my best days in Belize. That is to say, it was my most comfortable.

The day even started well. I slept in longer than I had for the past three weeks: until 7 am. My ‘late’ morning was helped by the fact that I had nowhere to be. I did not have any archaeological field work to do, no lab work, and I had no Mayan temples to visit. I could relax.

Casa Ricky’s was the perfect place to do so. As I wrote in the last post, Ricky’s hostel consisted of two main buildings. In the front of the property was a tall, rectangular building with a bar and several bedrooms. The bar took up the first floor of the structure, and the bedrooms were on the roof – next to a rooftop terrace.

The second building at Casa Ricky’s functioned as a central hang-out “lodge” (as I call it). It had a living room that was outfitted with a nice couch and a flat-screen TV – replete with satellite service – and a kitchen. The lodge also contained a loft with an apartment that travelers could rent.

In between the two buildings was a well-kept yard (see the featured image). Three lawn chairs bordered a central table, and a lattice supporting gorgeous red flowers adorned the walkway to the lodge. The branches from nearby trees partially shaded the yard, and I frequently saw small lizards that I was unable to get good pictures of.

In other words, Casa Ricky’s was heaven for my tired body.

I spent the entire day at Ricky’s. I watched television for the first time in six months, chatted with Ricky, and planned the next stage of my journey. Ricky kindly gave me pointers on how to get around the Belizean capitol of Belmopan, which was my final destination.

I also took some time to call hotels in Belmopan and inquire about rates. They were all out of my price range, and no one seemed to know of any hostels in the city. Finding housing in Belmopan would prove to be one of my greatest adventures.

The day ended as wonderfully as it began. Once the sun went down, I sat on the rooftop terrace and chatted with a Slovenian couple for what felt like hours. They looked to be in their young 40s, and were both tall for their respective genders.

Both the man and woman were remarkably friendly, and it is a shame that I cannot recall their names. I chatted with the man for the longest, laughing heartily and sharing a few bottles of Belikin (the beer of Belize).

That laughter was exactly what I needed. Tomorrow Jonathan and I were going to part ways, which I was not excited about. The rooftop banter with the Slovenian couple was therapeutic for me, and made me want to visit their European country some day. If there are more people like the couple I met in Slovenia, then I think I will like it there.

Unfortunately, I would have to leave my new friends and Casa Ricky’s tomorrow.