Bananas Don't Travel Well

The idea for this website was conceived on the hot, dusty platform of the Belmopan bus station in Belize.

Belmopan is the capital of Belize and, like most capital cities, has very little going for it, being constructed for the sole purpose of housing politicians and bureaucrats. But, being the centre of political influence, all the buses in Belize, no matter their destination, feel its magnetic pull. What this means for anyone trying to get around the country on the cheap is a lot of time spent in this backwater.

It was our third (but by no means final) time connecting in Belmopan. We were heading south after a detour back to Belize City (via Belmopan, of course) for Chris' follow-up appointment on the emergency root canal he'd had a week earlier. I bought some bananas, biscuits and water from among the paltry offerings on sale before boarding the bus.

As we were waiting in Belmopan, I hesitantly pulled the bag of bananas from my daypack, where they had nestled their way into a crevasse between my camera, guidebook and the bottle of water, knowing full well what was in store. Sure enough, what emerged was hardly recognizable as the firm, slender, yellow fruit that had gone into the bag two hours earlier. Instead, the blackened, shapeless mass that oozed against the clear plastic seemed to peer out at me and leer, "I told you so!"

"Bananas don't travel well," I sighed.

"That's it!", exclaimed Chris.
"What?"
"That's the name of our website. Our travel blog," he explained. "Advice from the seasoned traveller."

The night before, Chris and I had decided to take a long trip after several years of being responsible and settled. Our three-week vacation in Belize and Guatemala was easy travelling, but it was exactly what we needed to remind us that we weren't too old and crusty to take local buses and stay in $5-a-night hotels, and that we weren't too jaded to enjoy it, and even occasionally be awed, along the way.

I thought the name might be too goofy, and said so. But it has stuck. We came by it honestly, and we're hoping it'll keep us honest. We wouldn't want to take ourselves too seriously, after all.