Cliff the Weed Man
Belize - March 08, 2006
Upon our arrival in Belize City, we headed to one of the bus stations and had a fulfilling Belizean breakfast prior to our 4-hour chicken bus ride down to Dangriga. Dangriga is the largest town south of Belize City with a population of 8,800 (Belize, as a country has a population of only 274,000). At any rate, we found Dangriga to be very rural and friendly. In fact, when we got off of the bus, we were greeted by a beach local, Cliff, who proceeded to take us around and led us to a great hostel which was better and cost less than what we anticipated. It was a very welcoming atmosphere to say the least. The owner, Dana Joseph, felt God calling her to take out a loan and start this multifaceted business (laundry, cafe, hostel and internet). After we settled down in the dorm room, the guy was still lingering around. As we predicted, Cliff asked for money, so we bent to his begging and gave him two Belizean dollars (1US$) for which he was very thankful. Sometime later in conversation, he asked us if we wanted some weed. As friendly as Cliff was, it was sad to see that his true motivation was to make a little money by hooking us up with someone that sold marijuana. In that subsequent conversation with him, we learned that many of the “gringos” that arrive look for marijuana and so he, as a man of connections, is more than happy to make the necessary arrangements for a small fee.
Our encounter with Cliff was just one of the many times over the past months we've been asked if we needed drugs (including everything from marijuana to crack) since we started our travels. In fact, I believe I have been asked if I would like drugs more times since February than all the times combined in my entire life. But as we have found, drugs, alcohol and gratuitous sex are as common with many travelers we have met as the Lonely Planet guides in their daypacks (Just yesterday, in fact, I was speaking to a man in his late 60s who was discussing the prostitute he had hired just the day prior as openly as he was discussing the breakfast we were eating). Sadly, we have come to see these recent encounters as a barometer of the number of Americans and Europeans that come through Central America to seek out drugs and more.
-Lee and Patrick