Blogs from Belize, Central America Caribbean - page 4

Following a collectivo into Chetumal town, another (subsequent to heated discussion and reduction in fare) to the Mexican border town of Santa Elena and a dusty mile or so walk to immigration, 9.30 a.m. the following morning saw us handing over a wad of pesos. This is a thing - an exit tax that is usually included in your airfare (if you flew in)... although our ultra-budget Interjet flight didn't: at least the airline responded rapidly to inform us of this when contacted by email. A note here: even if it was included for your flight you (may well) still need an itemised receipt as proof of its inclusion, most airlines will provide this if requested. Lutz, now deriving great pleasure, when he can be bothered, in attaining a better deal than that achieved by ourselves, ... read more

Nach der Besichtigung der Tempelstädte in Tikal sind wir dann weitergefahren und ziemlich schnell an der Grenze zu Belize angekommen. Von Belize wusste ich eigentlich so gut wie nichts, darum war ich auch überrascht als gesagt wurde dass die offizielle Landessprache Englisch und nicht Spanisch ist. Stellte sich jedoch heraus dass die Einheimischen einen so extremen karibischen Dialekt im Englisch haben, dass man etwa gleich viel versteht wie wenn sie spanisch sprechen würden. Der Grenzübergang verlief einwandfrei und kurz danach waren wir auch schon an unseren Endpunkt für diesen Tag, nämlich San Ignazio. Nachdem wir im Hostel eingecheckt haben und es uns gemütlich gemacht haben, hiess es später von seiten Tourguide plötzlich: Gepäck zusammenpacken, wir wechseln das Hotel. Anscheinend war die Unterkunft nicht mehr den Massstäben der Reiseagentur entsprechend. Das neue Hotel war dann auch... read more

Fri 9-Sun 11 November - Day 14 to 16 - Caye Caulker We set off very early from Playa del Carmen, taking a short walk to the bus terminal we began our full day journey to beautiful Belize using a combination of public buses, taxis and a ferry. When leaving Mexico we paid a small departure fee of MXN540. The bus was the most interesting!! Alfredo called it the ‘chicken bus’ and the locals call it the ‘bread-stop bus’. I think you get the idea. The ferry trip was 50 minutes in a fast boat with seats downstairs and uncovered seats upstairs. I enjoyed the breeze upstairs with the sun, but the view was excellent and we were getting to know the new members of our group. The new members were from Melbourne, Toronto, Wales, and ... read more

We're right at the western edge of the Carribean and today was snorkelling on the reef ... Writes SC. A short but very exciting boat ride out to the reef and three different stops to get in and see the wonders of the reef. No Underwater shots obviously, but we saw Barracuda, StoneFish, Nurse sharks (see picture) a very large lobster (see picture) and all sorts of other stuff. Finally a school of sting rays swam right underneath me... Reminding me of the horror stories of self mortification.. See Cathy's of yesterday. An amazing, hot and fun morning ! Glad we bought our own masks and snorkels. We took plenty of precautions but both caught the sun. Tomorrow we travel to Mexico.... read more

Our passage into Belize got off to an inauspicious start when we arrived at the Chetumal ferry terminal to learn that our crossing had been cancelled due to an unserviceable boat. However, the company had decided to honour our booking by agreeing to fly us over to Ambergris Caye from the town of Corozal in Belize. With no obvious procedure in place, the lady behind the counter drove us over the border in her own car and we had just enough time to pay the immigration agent a questionable exit fee to depart Mexico before reaching the airstrip in time for our flight. Our unforeseen good luck was in danger of disappearing almost as soon as it had materialised when we were told the flight was overbooked and the check-in agent asked if one person would ... read more