The boat that Ishmael had got me on (it had been chartered by a German couple – I was cheekily tagging along for the ride) was doing a trip over to Belize early in the morning, and it meant I got a speedy trip over there, and an hour to kick my heels in Punta Gorda (it was election day) before heading back. 

Ishmael accompanied me on the boat back to the bus station and by one in the afternoon, I was on the bus back to Guatemala City. I don’t know if in the long run this was the quickest way of doing it, but it all worked out alright – even though I was a bit late getting to Guat City, I got an overnight bus to the Mexican border.