Belize: Friends and Scammers

Description

He’s back! In this second instalment of Steven Froelich’s Latin American odyssey, the Man Without a Plan lands in Belize, a country he knows nothing about. But Froelich has a talent for making himself at home wherever he is, amassing an impressive array of new friends in a short time – some of whom can even match his penchant for being in a near-constant buzz from industrial-quantity drugs and drink.As ever, the cock-a-hoop characters Steven ingratiates himself with become his surrogate dysfunctional family. But Tracey, Devonais, Ask Bobby!, Valentino and a pack of feral kids led by the gleefully destructive Molokai soon have Steven wondering whether or not his cheerfully transactional relationships are, in fact, binding him ever more tightly in a web of scams that threatens to leave him broke and stranded in this shabby paradise. Is his paranoia justifiable, or is that just the continuous cocaine use? His response is to agree to renting an SUV and embarking all together on a road trip along the coast, taking in shantytowns, fine hotels, beaches and, at a low ebb, jail. Why do ‘mechanics’ keep appearing every time the truck mysteriously fails? Why are his credit cards failing just as frequently? Who’s zoomin’ who?Coarse, irresponsible and wilfully ignorant, Froelich is nevertheless observant and caring at heart – and Belize is about the ways in which chaotic, complex human beings find community, no matter where they’re from or where they’re headed.Features twelve full-colour illustrations by Froelich’s collaborator Oscar Zárate.