The ride from Bacalar to the border with Belize was straight forward. Luckily, the road construction had been completed so I didn't need to worry about more asphalt attracting rocks and gravel on my tires. The border crossing was easy. First I went through the process of exiting Mexico paying the $25 fee. There was no fee for entering Belize and I got a stamp for a month long visa. There were no lines and going from Mexico into Belize probably took 15 minutes total. Welcome to Belize!
Crossing into Belize
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| Hotel view in Corozal |
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| Corozal statue |
Right away, I noticed the road condition had deteriorated and the shoulder I enjoyed coming south through Mexico was now gone. There was also less traffic. I didn't have far to go to get to my stop for the night, Corozal. I got checked into a simple hotel for $50 and decided to stay an extra day so I could get acclimated to this new country. My hotel room had a lovely view of the ocean and the breeze felt great. I needed Belizean money, a new sim card for the my phone and basically to get a lay of the land ahead. Everything I needed was easy to obtain and everyone I dealt with was super nice. It turned out a huge dramatic thunder storm came through on my rest day and so my timing was excellent.
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| Corozal from a small boat dock |
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| Corozal library statue |
Belize has proven to be a huge surprise. This country is very different from what I expected or had in my mind's imagination. I expected the culture to be similar to Mexico and Guatemala. I've always thought everywhere south of the US border is Latino but Belize is Caribbean. Maybe 2 days before crossing I heard that the official language of Belize is English and that the country had been a British colony. I thought that meant there would to be English people, but no, Belize is mostly Black and everyone speaks with a Jamaican-like accent. Queen Elizabeth is on the Belizean money and Belize is still part of the British commonwealth. But, the Belizean dollar is tied to the US dollar. The exchange is always 2:1 and it never fluctuates. Prices are given in US dollars and Belizean dollars. Most establishments will accept both currencies. Then, while I was talking to people who were stopping at the hotel for lunch or dinner, I learned that people often introduce themselves identifying their religion. So people would tell me they were Jehovah Witness or Mormon. I also learned there are very large Jehovah Witness, Mormon and Mennonite communities. The Mennonites were given land in the 1950's and today grow most of the countries produce. While I was walking around I discovered that all the grocery stores are owned by Chinese and clothing stores are owned by Hindi Indians. None of this was part is my imagined idea of what I going to find in Belize.
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| View from the day's ride |
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| I love gates like this |
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| Sugar Cane |
As I was getting dressed the next morning, a zipper on one of my cycling jerseys broke. I've never had a zipper break on a jersey before but I'm sure it will be easy to get fixed. I also asked the owner if she could put ice in my Camelbak 3 liter bladder. No problem. I gave her the bladder with the lid open which is attached to the bladder with a plastic ring. When she gave me the Camelbak back full of ice, the lid was no longer attached. I have no idea why the owner detached the lid but now the bag was leaking water. I couldn't see how the lid was fit into the plastic ring and would need to figure this out later. I got going early after 2 days in Corozal to start my ride to Orange Walk. The ride continued to be flat with a strong side wind. Ever since arriving in Bacalar, the winds have been very strong starting in the late morning. Luckily, it wasn't a head wind and it kept me cooler in the hot sun. Every day, it is also partly cloudy which is lucky because the sun is scorching. Lathering up with sun screen is very important. The road doesn't have a shoulder but the traffic was kind. Weirdly, the traffic is often staggered so it's usually only coming in one direction at a time. Sugar cane is a big crop in Belize and being harvest time there were lots of sugar cane trucks passing me.
I arrived in Orange Walk at a reasonable hour to learn there was a big high school basketball tournament going on. Lots of kids from one of the islands were competing against the local kids. This meant that most of the hotels were full. I wasn't thrilled about being in a hotel with a bunch of excited teenagers but I also needed a room. I finally found a spot at the only hotel that also has a pool, D'Victoria. The room was comfortable but nothing special. I was surprised that the price was over $60. At first, I was suspicious that I was getting the tourist rate but I watched Belizeans get charged the same posted rate. The manager, and probably the owner, wanted me to lock Myrtle out front where there is a bike rack. The rack was not in a secure area and clearly obvious from the street. There was also a big sign saying the hotel was not responsible in case of theft. There was a ton of room in other parts of the hotel or even around the pool but the manager wouldn't let me park Myrtle anywhere else. This situation was not ideal.
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| Getting my cycling jersey a new zipper |
I got settled and then asked the manager to recommend someone who could replace my jersey zipper. She sent me 3 blocks to a small shop. The guy dropped what he was doing to fix my zipper. I went to get something to eat, returned 45 minutes later and the zipper was replaced. How easy was that?!? I also figured out how to reattached my Camelbak lid to the plastic ring and now the bag doesn't leak anymore. Yah!
When I got back to the hotel I had another chat with the manager about finding a safer place for Myrtle. I suggested rolling her out by the pool. There was a ton of room in various places in and around the hotel. The pool is fenced with razor wire and there is also a security camera. I told her I could sign a waver to release the hotel from any responsibility if Myrtle was stolen while inside but she just kept saying 'no'. Keeping my trike out front made me so nervous I probably wouldn't sleep well. We talked for probably 20 minutes before she finally relented and opened an unused conference room that was that was next to the front desk. This was such an obvious solution and so easy, I don't know why she couldn't have offered the conference room to begin with. Wow that was a lot of talking but, in the end, Myrtle would now be safe and I was very relieved.
Lamanai Mayan Ruins and boat tour
There are some Mayan ruins close by that are accessed by boat that I wanted to check out. The hotel made me a reservation for a tour and someone came to pick me up at 8:30 the next morning. This was a fabulous day. $55 included transport to the boat launch, 3 hours on a boat exploring the birds, animals and plants on the river, entrance fee to the Lamanai Mayan site and a very nice lunch. We saw monkeys, bats, snakes, crocs, tons of birds, wonderful ruins and I especially enjoyed being on the water. I had read online reviews where the biggest complaint was the tour company sometimes pack too many people into the boats. The boat I was on was only 3/4 full and very comfortable. I met lots of nice people and found the whole experience delightful.
Tiny bats
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| New River view |
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| Burial temple of 9 Mayan rulers |
While I was on the boat tour, I met a group of young Germans who were on a car tour of Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. They were headed to a place called Crooked Tree Island for another boat tour and talked about it being a special place. They weren't staying on the island and didn't know if there were hotels. I looked on the map and Crooked Tree isn't far but I couldn't tell if there was any accommodation.
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| Sunrise on Crooked Tree Island |
The next morning I started out early expecting to ride to a town called Ladyville. This route would be my longest of the tour, so far. Again, it was hot with a strong side wind. The wind is nice for keeping me cooler. I don't remember ever being on a road where traffic is so staggered. Occasionally, I had to ride in the gravel shoulder when traffic met in both direction where I was riding but this only happened a few times through out the day. When I arrived at the turn off for Crooked Tree Island I saw many advertisements for hotels. I randomly picked the Bird's Eye View Lodge to call and they had a vacancy. Spontaneously, I decided to change my plans and check out this island.
Riding an unpaved road to Crooked Tree Island
Crooked Tree is 3 miles down a unpaved road. There wasn't much traffic but whenever a vehicle passed I was enveloped in a cloud of dust. The suspension on my trike handled the bumpy road well and I was very happy that I had switched out the derailleur system for a Rohloff hub before this tour. Instead of a derailleur hanger which is a 1/2 inch off the ground, I now have a chain tensioner that has 3 inches of ground clearance. This road would have been difficult to ride with a derailleur and the risk to bending the hanger would be great. There were lots of big rocks and it was uneven where truck tires had put groves in the surface during rain storms.
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| View from the Bird's Eye View Lodge |
The Bird's Eye View Lodge was lovely. It was right on the gorgeous lagoon. The people running the hotel couldn't have been nicer. My room was very comfortable with a view of the lagoon for $60. I thought this hotel offered exceptional value. There was a restaurant that served very tasty food, a bar, laundry service, canoes and bikes for rent. There were also lots of bird-watching activities offered. It turns out that this is peak bird watching season in Crooked Tree. Everyone staying at the hotel were birders. They were all walking around with binoculars and cameras.
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| Flowering lillies |
I signed up for a birding boat tour of the lagoon. The next day everyone staying left so there was no tour. I spent the day walking some of the trails and working on my blog while uploading pictures. The wifi wasn't very good and this was a slow process. The wifi in Belize has been terrible. 10 years ago I could understand bad internet but now, not so much. The internet isn't new and all businesses need to use it. How do businesses manage with such slow speeds? All I can do is make the best of what the hotel offers and I managed to get through everything I needed to do.
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| Rudy, birding boat tour guide |
The next morning I got up very early for the birding boat tour. 5 of us met first for fruit and coffee before boarding the boat at 6 am. This was a fantastic tour. We spent 3 hours on the water and saw a ton of birds. Everyone else had binoculars and the guy next to me kept offering for me to use his. I really like birds but I've never needed to know the names of the birds. Another guy had an app on his phone where he kept track of the birds we were seeing. The tour guide was amazing. He had a bright green lazer pointer that he would use to show us where to look and then he would identify the bird giving details. There was a new Jabiru stork nest and everyone was very excited about seeing this bird.
When we got back to the hotel and had breakfast, it was getting late enough that I couldn't decide if I should stay or start pedaling. The wind was really picking up too. The hotel staff was tying down all the flags as there was a storm forecast for later. Hhhhmm....this could be a problem if rains arrived and the unpaved road going out to the highway became a muddy mess. Then a couple I met on the boat tour, who are from Portland, offered to give me a ride. They had rented a truck and needed to return it to Belize City. They also told me about a short cut where I could completely avoid going into Belize City. I had seen this shortcut on the map but I wasn't sure if it was paved. There really aren't that many paved roads in Belize but this is one of them. We got everything loaded up and they took me to where the Burrell Boom to Hattieville shortcut meets the Northern Highway. This shortcut not only let me avoid Belize City, which everyone says is to be avoided, but it saved me a whole day. I already had a recommendation to stay at Cheers hotel in La Democracia and made that my new destination.
Update from the road to La Democracia
In La Democracia, the Belize Zoo has been highly recommended and a friend from Guanajuato recommended stopping at an animal wildlife sanctuary called Monkey Bay. Tomorrow morning will be busy!
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