OUR UNBELIZEABLY EXPENSIVE TIME IN BELIZE

Crossing the border, we were very excited for a new country.  Belize wasn't one of the destinations that was high on the list of must sees but it was in the way to get to Guatemala, so we figured we would give it a quick look.

You expect things to be somewhat similar when you cross the border because really its just an imaginary line but the contrast between the two countries is like night and day.  Being able to read signs, menus and have conversations with people was a treat.  Not to forget watching t.v. - choice in programming almost made our stay in Belize a lot longer.

tastes like Saskatchewan Pilsner

Belize is the most expensive country in Central America and for this reason we knew we had to cut our stay short.  One of our favourite things to do in a new place is check out the local grocery store.  It was exciting when we saw a variety of chocolate bars that we recognized and flavours of chips that weren't going to set our tongues ablaze.  Except that a bag of chips could cost up to eight dollars American (no joke! wish I would of taken a picture).  So we knew we had to partake in the countries specialty of rice and beans or beans and rice if we were ever going to fill our stomachs without breaking the bank.

The cost of things was crazy to us (12.5% sales tax), especially after our stay in Mexico.  Decentish hotels with air conditioning were at least double the price.  The cost of fuel at the highest was 5.5 USD a gallon. Tours, local attractions and all things touristy are not made for the budget traveller here.  This is a country loaded with things to do and see for those with deep pockets.

our 3rd bushing change

land rovers are a dime a dozen in this country

So onto the heat.  Just can't describe it.  It completely limited all activities.  We never realized how much the heat was going to affect our trip.  Thing is, we both love hot weather but this is not livable.  Even the locals would stop us and tell us to go get water if we didn't have a bottle in our hands.  We would talk about how great it would be if it would just damn well rain (and it is rainy season and everyone keeps telling us how strange it is that the rain hasn't come yet.  On another note the rain still hasn't started in Guatemala yet either.)  Days that we had to drive, we would be up at four am to load the truck to be on the road at sunrise and hopefully at our destination by about eight am because at that point we had to get ourselves and Anna into air conditioning.  Sometimes after we had been outside for awhile and would go into ac, our eyes would fog up from the temperature and humidity change.  (We think thats the reason but it could be our malaria medication.)  We were feeling so listless, foggy headed and just plain terrible all the time.  Water wasn't cutting it so we started to drink gallons of Gatorade everyday (about four or five bottles each a day) and that really seemed to help.  I know every post we seem to complain about the heat but it has ruled our lives for the last three months.

We didn't want to leave the country without seeing some of the sights, so we ignored our budget and booked some activities in different parts of the country.

First we went to the Belize zoo.  It has all the animals native to the country and it wasn't so much a zoo as a animal rescue/education center.

Then in western Belize we arranged for a canoe ride through Barton Creek cave.  This was truly the highlight of our stay in the country.  We drove through massive orange groves and mennonite communities on an insane road built of boulders to get there.  We also had to do two river crossing and cross a bridge that appeared to be half built.  The cave was amazing.  Stalagmites and stalactites galore, mayan burial grounds, skulls encased in minerals, pottery, catfish and bats to name some of the sights we saw inside.  We got to the end of the passable part of the cave and our guide asked us if we wanted to go further - and we said of course!  So we all had to rearrange ourselves and lay flat in the canoe as the ceiling was only about a foot or so above the water.  Once we got to the point that we absolutely couldn't go any further, Teddy told us to turn off the flashlights and we were in complete darkness.  That was somewhat frightening!  On the way back to the hotel we crunched on sugar cane and were introduced to our new favourite treat - cassava chips.

orange groves

water crossing

bridge with planks not nailed down - driving on it was interesting!

entrance to Barton Creek cave

exiting the cave

The next day our guide Teddy talked us into going tubing down the Mopan river with him.  So we all piled into the land rover, picked up some inner tubes at his mothers house and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon floating down the river.  He pointed out different birds, lizards and bats and talked about the history and how life is lived for the people of Belize.  We saw horses in the water, watched families doing their laundry in the river and saw evidence of how high the river gets in the rainy season - and its extrordinary.  Then we asked him about crocodiles (which we shouldn't of) because it seemed like a likely place for them to be.  He told us its fine here but farther up and further down is where they are - yeah right!

Mopan river in western Belize

our awesome guide Teddy

This seems to be getting really long so here are some other things that happened while in Belize....

• both of us being bitten repeatedly by sand colored ants that burnt like fire
• finally getting bacon on the side and not mixed into our eggs
• Anna chasing a cockroach through a hotel room and catching it, totally proud of herself, while one of us was screaming
• learning all about the contraband items in Belize and realizing we had a lot of them
• not realizing again, that we were in a different time zone and showing up at a specific time and wondering why everyone is always late
• Justin meeting up with another member of the land rover club and him setting up a driver to Belize city to at last find the correct oil for the truck
• the constant search for bank machines that would work, we were out of cash all the time
• driving through heavy smoke and raging fires on either side of the highway

guy hitching a ride on a pedal bike on the back of a sugar cane truck

We didn't really get to see a lot of what this country has to offer.  We didn't see the islands or any of southern Belize.  We do know its worth coming back to when we have the cash to do it.  It is such a small country that one could see a lot of it by renting a vehicle on a two week stay.  We would also recommend being careful about what time of year you come to avoid the insane heat!!  The people are friendly, the things to do are spectacular - this country is definitely worth a visit.

all land rover over landers stop here

bye bye Belize - Justin (in the blue shirt) starting the paperwork to leave the country