Corozal, Belize

Dorian and I thought we were well prepared when showing up at the border early. Unfortunately after turning in our car registration the truck decided not to start. Dorian worked on it for an hour with no luck. I met a mexican girl my age working in a Chinese restaurant and told her our problem. I asked her if she could help me find a mechanico in my broken spanish. She introduced us to her boyfriend who then walked us all over this border town to three different shops. It was getting later and our luck had not changed.

We finally found a mechanic to help us. The problem was a loose wire under the truck that Dorian could have fixed himself in minutes. They charged us a nice expensive gringo price and we made through the border eventually. The couple who helped us was so nice. We gave him a pair of board shorts to say thanks for parading us all over in the heat. Without them I don't think we would have fixed our problem that day.

The culture in Belize was shocking after being in Mexico for 31/2 months. The border crossing is simple and orderly. This is the most honest border we have crossed. We were able to take care of everything without a guide thanks to our Canadian friends. The dog inspection was expensive and they did make us wait around for a short while to inspect the truck but that was easy.

The locals here are so nice and friendly. Most of the people are Black but there are many other different cultures. The indigenous Indians, Spanish, Chinese, and even Amish people and the main language here is English. The land is green and swampy. There are a ton of mosquitos just like in Mexico and the country has a very low population.

There aren't many street signs in Belize so picking the road to follow can be difficult. We took the wrong road and ended up in a great town called Corozal. This town has a positive spirit and the architecture is really cool. Corozal is a beach town although we didn't swim in the foggy green water. We would have loved to travel to the islands and snorkel but having our dog Ivy made that difficult.

There aren't any waves in Belize but they do have the second largest barrier reef in the world. The currency is two to our one which is expensive for Central America

MAINLAND MEXICO

That concludes our trip through Mainland Mexico.


We crossed through the Arizona/Nogales border crossing and drove our camper along the pacific coast. We visited some of the most amazing beaches. Dorian surfed everywhere. His favorite wave is Puerto Escondido. We met amazing people from all over the world and saw incredible sunsets. It was much dryer than we imagined although the beaches were more beautiful than we expected.



Once we headed inland towards the Yucatan Peninsula everything changed. The landscape quickly became lush green jungle. We actually went a different way than we planned but thankful we did. The drive was amazing.



The landscape quickly changed again as we climbed the steep mountains of Mexico. The lush jungle became brisk pine tree forests. We had to break out our jeans and sweatshirts. This was a huge surprise to us but thankfully we were prepared.



The Maya world is huge. There are over twenty five languages and ruins spread throughout Central America. We are still stunned by our experience. The Mayan culture is amazing and we admire them.



The Caribbean Coast was undoubtedly gorgeous. The white sand beaches and turquoise blue water there is just like a Corona commercial. We wish the hotels didn't block most of the beaches. The ocean is as flat as a lake. This is not a surfer's paradise.



We love Mexico. We now think this developed country is on it's way to looking like the U.S. We felt completely safe traveling through. We learned that in the high season Mexico is loaded with French and Canadian tourists. It's just a matter of time until Americans catch on.



On this trip we learned that many people in this world consume more than their share. We encourage our friends to think about how much electricity they use in one day. Many Mexicans do not even have electricity and they all seam to be living happily.



Also think about how much trash you are making or how much stuff you have. The resources in this world are limited and one day there won't be anything left to consume. We encourage everyone to think about what they would do.



We can't wait to post our Belize entries. We miss all of you and your support means alot to us.

WE LOVE MEXICO

Chetumal

Chetumal was our last night in Mexico. We found a hotel here that had wireless internet. We needed to research the Mexican/Belizian border crossing so we decided to leave Ivy in the camper over night by herself for the only time on this whole trip.

The beach here does not exist although the ocean does as you can see in the picture above. The town is built up with hotels and restaurants and the architecture actually reminded me of Newport Beach. This is not a bad place to get organized before crossing into Central America.

The next day on our way to the border a cop stopped us for speeding. He initially said that we had to go to the court the following day and pay a fine. Then he quickly said that he would pay it for us for $100. We talked him down to only $20 and a pen. He then tried to take my warn out rainbow thongs right off of my feet. I of course yelled at him. He was actually laughing and quickly backed off.

This was our first and only bribe throughout Mexico.

Driving to Tulum

Driving to Tulum was great. The road was really nice and we found an interesting spot half way down. This place was empty besides the few local kids swimming. Ivy could not help to go for a swim in the calm tranquil water.

Tulum was a pretty big city unfortunately I didn't get any photos of it there. The beach looked just like in Puerto Morelos but less built up and cheaper. There are many hotels and hostels here for the frequent backpacker. We stayed at a quiet homey hotel while Dorian repaired some minor stuff on the truck. It is beautiful throughout this whole area although we discovered that the entire Carribean coast is lacking in waves for Dorian.

Cancun, Puerto Morelos

We call Cancun the Las Vegas of Mexico. To avoid the all the tourist and expensive hotels during August we decided to camp further south in Puerto Morelos rather than in Cancun. We were surprises to see how flat the Yucatan is. We drove across it in one day. Traveling down towards Belize we noticed that the backpacker's haven is actually Tulum which you will see in my next entry. A large beach city with cheaper accommodations. The beach there is just as beautiful as in Cancun.

The white sand beaches here are amazing. The white sand is actually made from coral and is a natural air conditioner for the beach. The ocean water is picturesque although the seaweed here is black and covers the ocean's floor. Some hotels net there beaches to prevent the seaweed from flourishing. Ivy loved swimming here and just for clarification she is not a drug sniffing dog. (See photo above)

Progresso

Progesso Beach is at the very top of the Yucatan Pennisula. The ocean water is foggy green like in Sabacuay although the landscape is as dry as a dessert. This was suprising to us since we had been traveling through lush jungle for two weeks prior. The town we stayed in is popular with the locals and the coastline is packed with hotels and vacation rentals.

There is a pier here that is about six miles long. Yes, six miles. The beach has such a gradual slope that they built this pier for the cruisliners. It is the longest pier we have ever seen. Of course, we didn't get a picture of it.

Uxmal Maya Pyramids

Uxmal isn't as old as Pelanque so the architecture is more modern and the pyramids contain more art. We call these pyramids the White House of the Maya world. We felt the ruins presented order and a political importance.

Dorian and I hiked down a dirt path to other ruins that were less visited. We then found ourselves underneath one of the pyramids and found hidden burial rooms. We love to go off the tourist path and find uncovered ruins.

Although these ruins are amazing this sight is very touristy. We camped in the parking lot and noticed they even offered a light show at night. There aren't any cheap accommodations here only two hundred a night hotel rooms. We were not on the backpackers track anymore but we enjoyed learning more about the mayan existence.