On the Chicken Boat!

Leaving Caye Caulker, Staci (the angel who had found accommodations for us) asked us if we heard about the shark in front of our hotel.  She then showed us a video of a nine foot hammerhead shark a hundred feet off the pier in front of our  hotel. It was in a feeding frenzy!!

The boat back from San Pedro to Corazol Town.

Wooden slat seats are askew in the aisle

People are packed in with cargo.

There are two dogs, one is ours.

There are four foreigners, two are us, two are our new friends, Bea and Matt. (The other dog is theirs)

The steps down aren’t fastened.

An old fridge is loaded on by hand, and set in the aisle.  I look up and see a wheel.  It is attached to a motorcycle. 

No way.

The motorbike is passed down by four men. It is stood up by it’s kickstand. That’s it. No tie down straps. No clamps or ropes.  The owner is sitting across from me.  A little girl is laying against a post behind the bike. Finn’s head is on the floor, just below the footpost of the motorcycle.  If the bike tips, it will crush my dog.  

I hold onto the bike for the two hour ride as the boat sloshes and slam over waves and through water troughs.  The sea is rough.  The bike tips and slides, toward me, toward the little girl.

We keep the bike upright.  The fridge has slid down the aisle until it was maneuvered into a niche by the step.

The ride is long and loud. 

We make it.

Matt and Bea camp with us and take the boat back to their original destination the next morning.

We just heard from them. The Thunderbolt broke down at sea with them aboard.  It was fixed, but broke down again. Their short ride took several hours and they still had to pay for anew ticket!

Go Thunderbolt Go!!!