You Better Belize It!

 It's hard to believe that we have finally left Mexico after 98 days there! 

March 18- This is not an emergency

Last night we thought someone was scoping us out with flashlights at about 11pm, but it was just some guys getting their boat in the water for some night fishing. We did confirm with them that it was okay for us to camp where we were since Belize doesn’t really have any campgrounds.  It seems we will be boondocking most of the time here. 

 In the morning we woke up still not believing that 24 hours ago we were convinced it would be days before we would be able to enter Belize, yet here we were in Belize.  We toured the Lamanai Archaeological site and enjoyed seeing the different temples.  The mask temple was really cool, and although the actual faces were reconstructions of what was found in the early 1900s, they did show a glimpse into Mayan culture we had not seen previously. The High temple (the tallest of the temples at the site) cannot be climbed but was awe-inspiring to look at.
The Jaguar Temple was memorable because as we approached it we were greeted by the familiar screams of howler monkeys but this time we could see them, not just hear them.  We were partly convinced they didn’t like Rupert wandering around and we were once again happy our dog is deaf, although we did have some concern for his safety. We guarded Rupert as he walked right under the trees with the monkeys without any inkling about why we were so close to him and watching the trees. 

After climbing the temple Paul could hear voices, he quickly realized that it was from his phone.  Wondering how and who he accidentally phoned he pulled his phone out of his pocket and learned the answers to one of the questions.  He had accidentally called, 112, the Belizean version of 911.  In shock, he quickly hung up.  Well, Canadian PSA’s started to run through his head, and after another minute thought it best to phone the emergency number back.  Thank god that Belize is an English speaking country.  Either way Paul spoke very quickly and the woman on the line almost seemed confused leaving Paul to just keep saying “this is not an emergency”  “ I phoned a minute ago by accident, but there is no emergency”.  She thanked us and thankfully we didn’t see emergency services rushing to the ruins.

A couple interesting things we learned while exploring the ruins are: the reason why the steps are so steep at these temples was that they were only climbed by priests, high-ranking officials and their assistants and that they were climbed by people on their hands and knees to show respect for the gods;  we also learned once again how horrible the Spanish where to local indigenous people (the Mayans) and the last Mayan city that is similar to the ruins you see today only fell in the mid-1600s. 

After climbing and exploring we made the decision to skip Belize City and return to it near the end of our time in Belize.  We decided that we would drive to the southernmost part of the country towards Punta Gorda and start our exploration of Belize by slowly making our way back north, then west, since we have to cross at the western border to get to Guatemala. We stopped for lunch to eat the traditional stewed meat and rice and beans for lunch (delicious) and planned our time in Belize (thanks to many recommendations from locals).

After a long day of driving, we finally arrived at Rio Blanco, a National Park known for its waterfall where we had read you can camp.  We looked everywhere for a park attendant to pay our entrance and ask about camping but no one was around so we thought maybe we wouldn’t have to pay.
We went to the waterfall but saw mostly a trickle.  With the water levels being low the waterfall left a lot to be desired.
Paul walked across the suspension bridge too!

We returned to the van and cooked some dinner; dinner was almost cooked (burgers were halfway cooked) when a man approached us saying his friend worked at the park and we would need to ask him for permission to camp which involved leaving the campground and driving to the next village over.  We also had to do this NOW, meaning we threw everything in the van, including our half-cooked meat and headed to town, it seems we talked to half the town before the park attendant ran up the road saying, of course, we could camp and for us to return to the campground where he will talk to us later.

As some may remember, we have one big rule for this trip, do not to drive after dark so we though he would come before dark, but he didn’t.  

We cooked dinner, organized the van and were about to head to bed when suddenly someone opened the park gate.  The attendant started wasting our time trying to sell us knick knacks, and making us move to a “better spot” on a huge hill.  Finally, after an hour he informs us that we had to pay $20 bz each to enter the park and he then wanted $30 bz each for camping ($100 bz=$50usd!).  This was probably the most expensive campsite on our trip thus far.  We should have said no, we should have done a lot of things, but we were polite Canadians during the whole interaction and since it was dark we agreed to pay. He must have noticed we were a little shocked by the price because he did give us a special deal, lowering the price to $80bz. We only had $90bz to give so he said he would bring change tomorrow.  

The facilities at this camping spot left a lot to be desired.  There were no flush toilet or showers, he had run out of water some time ago and hadn’t ordered new water to arrive.  Lucky for us we did sleep really well though, so that was a huge bonus. The air was crisp and below 30 degrees, so it was a nice break from the heat.

March 19- Do we like Belize?

We waited until 10 am for the man to bring change but then decided to leave. He had said he would want to give us a tour of the park the night before but we figured we’d have to pay or tip for that so we figured he can keep our $10. Our opinion of the previous night had also soured so we were concerned we may say something that we shouldn’t.

 While our first afternoon/morning in Belize were great we are not sure if we are enjoying Belize.  Everything we attempted to do today didn’t work out or was way too expensive.

The first stop was Punta Gorda where everything was closed, we later learned that Sunday is not the day to go to that town.  We read the whole region was known for chocolate so we tried to go to a number of chocolate factories and stores only to learn that everything wasn’t just closed in Punta Gorda on a Sunday everything in the whole District (their state/provinces) was closed.  The only thing that was open was the gas station where gas costed 12.83 BZ/gallon (almost $6.50 USD/gallon), or roughly $2.25 CAD a litre (close to Artic Circle prices).

Caution: Tapirs!

The next district we entered had spice farms which had tours and spices to purchase.  The spices were pepper and other “normal” spices you’d see in your pantry.  The spice tour would have cost us almost $50 USD and included no tasting or samples.  The spices themselves were laughably expensive with a small baggy of black pepper (enough for a few meals) costing almost double digits in Canadian currency.

During the drive we spent most of our time talking about our first impressions and oddities we had noticed while in Belize.   Although close to Mexico the country felt totally different. 
        1. As mentioned there are no campgrounds so we would be camping in parking lots during our time here. 
        2. There are very few people doing what we are doing here.  In Mexico, the US, and Canada we saw many foreign plated campers, but here, pretty much zero. 
        3. The buildings are totally different, they are made of wood and are typically up on stilts. What we’d imagine buildings in Jamaica would look like (however we have not been there so we could be totally wrong).  

        4. Speaking of Jamaica, it seems Belize borrows a lot of its laws and rules from Jamaica which has

led to them having lots of rules and lots of bureaucracy.  Some of these rules may make sense for an island nation, but for a country like Belize we think they hurt the country more then they help.  For instance, the amount of paperwork to bring an animal in the country (even temporarily as a tourist) and they don’t seem to import any sizable amount of food.
        5. They import very little meat or vegetables even though domestically they can’t seem to produce enough leaving all grocery stores looking like it is early Covid days.  Vegetables are non existent and what food is available is quite expensive (close to US prices).   
        6. Technically everything is in US prices with the Belizean dollar at a 2:1 ratio with the US dollar, i.e 2 Belizean = 1 US.  The national currency and the US currency are used interchangeably. 
      7. No beer is allowed in the country except their national beer brands (even though Heineken owns the national brewery you can get Belikin or Landshark).   

        8. Final note of interest, although the official language is English we barely understand what Belizean people are saying when they are talking amongst each other.   The language is a mix of English/Spanish/Creole/Rastafarian with words from each language used within one sentence.  We truly believe everyone here is multilingual.

Our long day of driving and disappointments lead us to Placencia, a place that many people recommended to us where we found a glimmer of hope for the next few days in Belize, we found a free camp spot beside the ocean which is one of the most beautiful spots we had had on our trip.  It was on a “public beach” where overnight parking was at least tolerated and due to all the properties near it being vacation homes with their own beachfront it was totally unused.  We spent the rest of the day resting and relaxing and getting ourselves out of the funk we have been feeling about Belize. Sitting by the ocean and swinging in a hammock definitely helps, especially when there’s a cool ocean breeze.

March 20- B3 (Best Beer in Belize or Belize, Beaches, Beers)

We spent the morning drinking coffee and watching the ocean.  We had to do some work around the van, mostly reorganizing since we needed to get laundry done and implementing some proposed changes to how we store our cutlery and utensils in the back of the van.  We went from storing it horizontally to storing it vertically opening up a new storage space and giving us a new container to store the dog’s food in. 

Organizing the van!

The drive to the community of Placencia was around 20 minutes down the Placencia peninsula.  Generalizing, there are three communities on the peninsula, the southern most community, Placencia is a tourist town and jumping off point for many water based tours and water taxis to small islands. The houses and shops show wealth and investment (both internationally and domestically).  The community is a collection of mansions (vacation homes) built on the ocean.  The middle community is Seine Bight, a traditional Garifuna community, full of locals living in traditional run down dwellings with no sign of investment from the government of Belize.  It makes us wonder for the future of Belize as it tries to attract and cater to Americans and Canadians.

When we were finally ready we drove into town which started our day of exploring Placencia.  We had dropped off our laundry meaning we had 6 hours to kill before we could pick it up which we filled by wandering around the village, doing some shopping, getting some photocopies of important documents required for future border crossings, buying some vegetables and then finding a place for lunch.  Our search ended up bringing us into an area of Placencia away from the tourist shops and bars where we saw lots of locals all going into a restaurant, and decided to follow and enjoyed some of the best protein of our entire trip.  Paul ordered fried fish, and Kendra ordered chicken, both were out of this world! Both were also served with beans and rice and fried plantain!  

We made our way back to Placencia and hoped to grab a drink at the “famous’ Big Titty Rum Bar, but alas it was closed, so we picked the next closest bar and had a drink while watching the water.  

There was also a craft brewery in Placencia and we hadn’t been to a craft brewery since Baja so decided to head to a different bar.  This brewery, Hobb’s brewing, for some reason had some of the best craft beer we have had on this trip.  The beer was amazing and our favourites were the Vanilla Stout and the Toucan Mango Hefeweizen.  It was so refreshing to have great craft beer after our time in Mexico. The prices were Belize prices but we thought we were worth it.  We did get some food but, well let's just say they should stick to what they know.

Finally, it was time to pick up the laundry where once again we were shocked by Belizean prices, it cost $30 USD, compared to the $14 USD we were paying in Mexico (and the $20 USD we were paying in the USA). But we were thankful for clean clothes.

We spent the evening back at our killer camping spot on the ocean watching a storm roll in.

March 21 – Learning to enjoy Belize

We woke up and once again enjoyed our campsite.  We were in no rush to leave and before we knew it, it was the afternoon.  The next community we were going to was Hopkins, a sleepy laid back coastal town that is a favourite of backpackers.  The nice thing about this town is that a restaurant on the beach allows camping at it for $5 bz per person.

We decided to do what we did in our early 20s in backpacker towns, grab a bunch of drinks, sit in a social area and talk to each other and whoever walks by.  The place of choice was on the beach and the people we talked with ended up just being Belizean people.  We shared some wine and some stories and suddenly the sun had set.

We walked the streets of Hopkins looking for a restaurant for dinner (the restaurant we were camping at was closed) and once again found a spot with locals.  We ate a delicious dinner and ended the night watching a movie in the van.

March 22 – We can’t Belize it

After so many great meals in restaurants and so little quality and well priced food at supermarkets we decided to go for breakfast.  Unfortunately, our luck had run out and our breakfast was pretty bad.  Our eggs tasted like they were poured from a carton and in general, it was very plain.  Kendra ordered some orange juice which was from concentrate (we have become so used to freshly squeezed in Mexico) and Paul’s coffee was terrible.  Also, there are no free refills in Belize, so even though the coffee comes from a pot and coffee maker, if they refill the cup they’re adding another cup of coffee to your bill.

We made our way to Dangriga, another Garifuna community that once again showcased the disparity between different communities in Belize.

Just outside of Dangriga is the factory that makes Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce.  When we arrived, we were asked if we wanted a tour and were pleasantly surprised at the cost, for $10 usd we got a tour, got to taste every product they made (16 hot sauces, 11 Jams, 2 steak sauces, 1 marinade and 2 wines).  

We enjoyed the tour, it was really interesting how hot sauces are made, and how spicy the area in the factory gets when they are grinding habanero peppers (Kendra couldn’t stop coughing, but our guide coughed occasionally too).  Hot sauce starts as three ingredients, peppers, vinegar and sugar which sits in a vat for 2 years before different fruits or spices are added to give the hot sauce its specific flavour.  After the tasting we definitely spent a small fortune on hot sauces and jams.


 Next stop was Billy Barquedier National Park where we hiked to a waterfall, and we enjoyed a nice swim before a Christian High School on a Mission Trip descended to the waterfall.  We had thoroughly enjoyed our time in the natural pool at the base of the waterfall, but it was time to go.  There was one other hike in the park to an

 observation tower, but we were told good luck and be careful on the hike and at the observation tower.  We thought it couldn’t be that tough, we were wrong.  The hike was more like a grind, a hike straight up the mountain in 30 degree heat with lots of humidity.  Every pore was sweating, every muscle was screaming but the views were worth it.

We had only a couple more stops for the day and both were food related.  We hadn’t really eaten much since our bland breakfast, for lunch we had eaten hot sauce, but the tour guide did recommend a tamale place on the north of Billy Barquedier National Park close to where others had recommended we stop for ice cream.  

Before we knew it we had a quart of amazing natural ice cream and two delicious Bertha’s tamales (sorry Mexico but these were better than the ones we had in Chiapas). 


We can’t Belize it, we started this trip unsure if we would find enjoyment in Belize and now have some great days under our belt.  

March 23 – Rupert needs a day off

Rupert not complaining...

Rupert had a rough night.  We try to be good dog owners but sometimes we forget Rupert’s age and push him a little too hard.  Our hike yesterday was tough for us, for him it must have been brutal.  We thought he would be fine since it was only a couple kilometres return, but it was 300 meters in elevation change in over 30 degree heat.  He was extremely sore and was panting incredibly hard.  Our concern for Rupert grew in the morning when he wasn’t opening up his left eye (he did stick his head in a hole full of spider webs yesterday, so maybe it’s a bug bite?). 

We started googling symptoms and decided that today we would allow Rupert a bit of a day off and that we would take him to the vet tomorrow (or today if his symptoms worsen [he wasn’t panting nearly as much]).  Rupert needed a day off and we wanted to make sure he got it. We decided we wouldn’t drive anywhere new today and ensure the van was very breezy and cool for him while we explore the national park. Thankfully the area was much cooler than other areas we had been to in Belize and there was lots of places with shade.

We slept in the parking lot of St. Herman Blue Hole National Park meaning we were awoken by tour groups preparing for their tour of the area.  Lucky for us we weren’t on any tour company’s timeline so we could start whenever and go where ever.  St. Herman Cave is one of the main attractions in the park and once we noticed the tour groups had left it we entered the cave meaning we had the place to ourselves.  We did have our handlamps but after getting deep in the cave turned them off to experience true darkness.  It is amazing how your mind plays tricks on you in the dark.  The cave had a river running through it which you can tube down for $50 usd per person.  We debated doing it, but thought to save our money.

Next stop was the Inland Blue Hole which was about a 1.5 kilometer hike (one way) from the car park through the jungle.  We learned later that we could have driven this distance via the highway and would highly recommend everyone to do the same, but I guess we had to work off our litre of ice cream from last night.  When we arrived at the Blue Hole we had the place to ourselves meaning we could take all the pictures we want and truly enjoy the area. 

Much to Kendra’s annoyance there we numerous fish in the blue hole, many of them quite large and all with a habit of trying to bite us.  We assume they wanted to eat the dead skin off our body, but Kendra was not mentally prepared for the fish spa today.  Paul thought the fish were quite neat so allowed the fish to surround him.  One of them must have known that he has eaten lot of fish in his life so thought to get revenge and bit his nipple!  The fish and its bite were big enough to draw blood!!

We spent the afternoon and evening relaxing in the van with Rupert who spent most of the day sleeping. We got quite a treat for dinner however when we found (remembered) we had purchased jalapeno poppers from a specialty store in Dangriga that we needed to cook.  It was amazing being able to eat such a delicacy from the back of the van.  They were delicious!

March 24th – Making a tough decision

(sorry for no pictures, border crossing days are a bit stressful, and no photos are allowed at the borders, so it's a day where we don't take any cool photos, but we do end up in a new place!)

We feel like we are behind schedule so knew that we would be leaving Belize either today (Friday) or Monday.  Entering Guatemala on a weekend on the Belize/Guatemala border is a bad idea as you must go to the bank to pay your import fee for the vehicle and the banks are closed or have limited hours on the weekend; our research gave us conflicting open times so we didn’t want to risk it. We spent most of the morning working through pro’s and con’s but ultimately it was Kendra’s decision (it was her decision day).  In the end she decided that we would go to Guatemala today.

With the decision made we quickly gathered the necessary paperwork and made our way to the border.  We did make two quick stops, both in the capital city of Belmopan for water and to change our Belizean money into US dollars (this will be far easier to use and spend, especially in El Salvador the next next country which uses it as their official currency [after Bitcoin]).

It was surprisingly difficult to trade our Belizean currency for USD at the bank especially with everywhere in Belize using both currencies interchangeably.  To change at the bank required me to fill out THREE forms.  One form because I wasn’t a citizen/resident of Belize, a second form for the actual transaction and a third form because I didn’t have proof of onward travel.  To exchange Belizean dollars to USD you must be travelling but without a plane ticket I had to “promise’ by filling out a form that this money wouldn’t be used for our travels.  Humorously the teller (or customer service representative) I was getting the money from ran out of USD meaning she had to get some from another teller meaning that a fourth form was used for this transaction. 

The border was relatively quiet when we arrived at 10:45 am.  There were a lot of people there, but they were just trying to sell us the Guatemalan currency, the quetzal, a currency you can’t officially purchase in Belize.  We had read online that they sell it at a ridiculous exchange rate so we walked past them.  We had read that you can pay for everything after immigration by leaving your vehicle at the border and walking a kilometer or so to a bank.

Belize was still somewhat convoluted with us needing to line up at one place to pay our exit tax, then line up in another place to prove we paid our exit tax and get our passport stamped, then leave the border area that takes you to Guatemala and enter the other side of the border (where people coming from Guatemala go to enter into Belize) to cancel our temporary import permit.  Once all this was done we drove through the border stopping at one last person proving we had stood in all three lines and did the stuff.

Guatemala was far more straightforward.  First, we went through fumigation, where they actually fumigated our vehicle (unlike Belize who just made us pay for it).  Next, we had to pay for fumigation, which we could do by card or cash. Their machine was down and because we didn’t have cash they just “held” our vehicle (let us park outside their building, not blocking traffic) until we went to the bank.  Next was the dog where his paperwork was checked and we paid a small fee.  Somehow we can pay for this by credit card because their machine is working.

We then wandered over to immigration who without asking us anything or having us write anything down stamped our passports and motioned for us to move along.  

The last step was to get the TIP (Temporary Import Permit) for our vehicle where we ran into a small snag.  In Paul’s passport his name is Paul Gauthier, but on his driver’s license and on the registration he is Paul MARCEL Gauthier.  Well, this resulted in lots of questions, Paul explaining that middle names aren't really necessary all the time, and a supervisor having to come over, look at it, and nod his head.  With that nod we were good to go!

Paul then left to walk the kilometer into Guatemala to pay for the permit for the vehicle and get the cash while Kendra and Rupert waited patiently at the van for Rupert’s information to be formally entered into the system and for his pet passport/paperwork to receive their official stamp.  Although helpers and taxi drivers informed Paul that the bank is really far away and that he needs a taxi, he didn’t listen.  We had already read how close the bank is and that it is quite common for them to embellish the distance to the bank so they can make some quick money.

Paul returned sometime later with cash in hand and the TIP paid for.  We paid for our fumigation, returned to the vehicle and drove to Flores to complete the first-day tasks i.e get a SIM card for the phone and some food, and some gas.  After accomplishing the sim card, we got stuck trying to turn onto a one-way road that had a parade/university students protesting the government. Luckily there was a boy selling bread so we bought some bread to eat as we watched the university students and flatbed semi-trucks with posters and protesters go by.  We had to laugh at the situation we were in. We sat happily in our van eating bread purchased from a boy no older than 10 years old surrounded by people wearing full coverage face masks (KKK style but in blue and green and other colours), as people in the parade/protest chanted and yelled. 

The day ended with a celebratory meal of pizza and beer in a hotel room.  Tomorrow we go to Tikal, ruins made famous thanks to Star Wars Episode 4 (or they could be famous due to their cultural significance and sheer size and number of Mayan temples). Lucky for Rupert, the site is not dog friendly so he gets to relax in a hotel with Air Conditioning while we sweat through 38 degree heat while exploring the ancient Mayan city.

OVerall, we did end up enjoying Belize and all the sites it had to offer.  We didn't visit any of the islands since we are on a road trip and found our own pieces of paradise on the ocean, but have heard amazing things about snorkeling in the second-largest reef in the world.