After spending an afternoon consuming rum & pineapple juice at Cannibal’s, the other patrons told us we should head over to Fido’s for some excellent live music that evening. We had “missed” the water taxi back to Belize City, you see, and were told that a hotel room wasn’t really necessary since the nightlife didn’t end until about 6 am. So, we toddled off to Fido’s around 10 pm for our first stop of the night.

I sat down in front of the entryway waiting for my party to catch up. The locals were trying to sell their CD’s as we passed by, which apparently was too much for the rest of my party to resist. As I waited, a man walked out and said with a smile, “You can go in, you know!” I responded, “I will, as soon as possible, because we are STARVING!” He gritted his teeth and sai that the kitchen was already closed, but he’d run back in to see if he could stir anything up.

My party arrived so we entered Fido’s. The man from out front found me and said that there was nothing left in the kitchen, but he had an idea… He would call the local pizza place for us and place an order on our behlf. I couldn’t believe it! He recommended the meant lover’s pizza, so we went with that.

We got some Belikins, sat down and enjoyed the live band. The manager, who we later discovered is named Tom, returned to let us know the pizza order was in and it would be about a half hour until delivery. After it arrived, Tom brought us plates, napkins, etc. We offered Tom a slice, but he politely refused. A girl standing behind us exclaimed, “Is that the meat lover’s?! I come here once a year and make sure I order it, Tom recommended it to me and I’ve been hooked ever since!” We offered her a slice and she thanked us for sharing. Tom returned to ask if everything was ok. The pizza was fantastic, and we let him know. Again, we offered him a slice, and he said that if we were done he’d take the rest to his nighttime security guard. We told him to go right on ahead. :) I was really impressed with Tom. What a great guy!

Somehow during the evening of enjoying the music, I became seperated from my party. I searched but came up empty. I wandered back to Fido’s alone and figured I’d park there until they closed down, then I’d move on to anohter club. A security guard asked if I was ok. I briefly explained the problem. He told me that it wasn’t safe for a girl to walk around alone in the city at night because the locals would bother me. If I wanted, he said, I could stay with the night guard until the next water taxi arrived at 7 am. I was so grateful! I ended up talking to him for the entire evening/morning. It was actually a really neat experience. He filled me in on his life, about growing up in Belize City and coming to San Pedro because the pay was better. He told me about his plans for the future and I even met his cousin and girlfriend at about 6 am.

I watched the sun rise from Fido’s. It was absolutely amazing to watch the sun rise there ion San Pedro. It was a strange evening but the payoff was marvelous. As I caught the taxi back to Belize City, I decided that I would someday return to San Pedro, especially Fido’s.

I cannot possibly express how much gratitude I have for the staff for taking care of me when they truly didn’t have to. I could have never expected to be treated so well anywhere else I’ve been in this world.