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yesterday i rented a bike for $5 (actually $10 belizean, but who's counting) and rode all over punta gorda sweating like a pig. fortunately, my second flirtation with GI didn't turn into a long term relationship either. i must have a hell of an immune system. then i relaxed in the shade with a belikin stout listening to a guy sing along to prerecorded music on his yamaha keyboard. he was actually pretty good, although his reggae was much better than the sappy 70's pop from the US. one of the other musicians came over and asked "who are you writing for?" "nobody" "oh, freelance?" "no, just for myself". he thought i was press or lonely planet or something. the singer's name was henry wedderburn. about 60, i would guess. i got a great shot of him singing the blues.

today i took a bus and a boat to placencia, which i have misspelled until now, and had to listen to some crazy belizean talk about how mccain was better than bush. i won't even go into his ridiculous rationale...

placencia is a beach town. not super pricey, but definitely more than anywhere else i've been. it's gorgeous, clean, safe, and full of gringos. my latest "plan" is to go to belize city from here, spend a couple of days there, head to dangriga for a couple, and then take a boat from there to honduras.