Second Thoughts

Today was a travel day, from Mexico to Belize. All in all, not a bad drive, though there were a few incidents on the way, and it took a couple of hours longer than planned. But, we are here, at the Orchid Garden Eco - Village Hotel in Hattieville, Belize.

Up and on the road by 7:30, quick stop on way to the car for a Starbucks, a little cinamon to flavour the coffee (as we find their joe a little burnt tasting), with knapsacks strapped on we took the short walk up the hill to the car park. I must say, the much maligned Mexican highways were excellent (again with the exception of speedbumps). There are so many speedbumps, there is no need for traffic enforcement. The road from Playa del Carmen to Belize has been (still is) under construction, and they have incorporated a number of design elements that would be useful back home. Now some of the older sections have tight curves, and they do not use spirals (engineering speak for sharp turns), but the new sections are A1.

We stopped about two hours south, at the Mexican equivalent of a greasy spoon, and had a traditional breakfast of pork and fish tacos. Again, it was fun trying to converse in Spanish, and we seem to be doing all right. Now, I am an easy going, live and let live type of guy, but there are two things in life that I hate with a passion. The Montreal Canadians and onions. The world would be a better place without either. So, when ordering the Tacos I said "cebollas por mes esposa" "no cebollas para mi por favor". He looked at me, smiled and nodded his head in understanding. However, when he served the tacos, they were all full of onions. He watched closely as I picked them out, smiled and said "no like cebollas". After lunch, we took a chance on road side food (against all guide book advice) and picked up some deliciously sweet pineapple.

We managed to take the wrong turn, rather we missed our turnoff , when we saw Belice not Belize on the interchange sign (yes, I know, dumb ass) and ended up going all the way into Chetumal. After finally realizing what happened, as the prison we were passing looked identical to the one from half an hour before, backtracking was in order. Not a fan of backtracking, or prisons for that matter.

At the Mexican side of the border, we were in the wrong line when the customs officer smacked the window and waved us over. No issue there, just five more minutes. Now the Belizian border, that was another storey. When you go through with a car rental, you have to buy special insurance. The large building on the right is the main insurance office. We were quickly out of there, and headed to the car spray (again required for all vehicles coming from Mexico). It was 80 pesos and we had to scrounge all the loose Mexican change in the car. Then came a knock on my window, some guy on a bike bringing me the drivers liscence which I had left at the insurer (scam? or more stupidity on my part?). He wanted a tip so I gave him my only US dollar, which left me one dollar short of the car spray fee. We offered them Canadian money to make up the difference, and you should have seen the look of disgust on their faces. They waved us through and said give me a $10.00 US tip on the way back (fat chance). With $500 US travellers cheques in my pocket, we had to stiff them for 10 pesos. This would come back to haunt us again at the toll bridge an hour south where once again they declined payment in Canadian dollars, letting us go through for free. So, our money is worth less than nothing. I got the last laugh at the ATM machine later and found 80 pesos in my other pocket.

OK. Now to customs. As we were getting out of the car, a guy in a red shirt (red flag for tip hunter) came over to offer his assistance, but soon left when informed we were cleaned out at the border. The customs agent, asked how long we were staying, and was not pleased when the time was longer than the paper from the car rental company authorizing us to take the car to Belize. You will be fined she said, if you are not out by the 25th. I resisted the urge to ask "How much?"

OK. Off we went following the Belieze map purchased at the Worlds Biggest Bookstore. Unfortunately, there were a number of shall we say, inconsistencies, and we ended up: 1) in endless sugar cane fields 2) going in the wrong direction and 3) lost. They will recieve an email on this .

The main highway is chip sealed and remind me of the road to the Lake back home (like Muskoka for my Upper Canadian friends). They do eventually get you there. I am fairly sure that Mexican contractors sneak across the borders at night randomly installing speedbumps on the Belizian roads, not telling anyone, and not marking their location.

Eventually we arrived at the White Orchid Eco Lodge after the better part of eight hours on the road. As usual, a couple of hours longer than planned. It is set pretty close to the road, but is completely secluded from it, and the surrounding homes. The owner informed us that the other guests had left for a couple of days, and would not be back till Wednesday. We liked the sound of having things to ourselves. Unfortunately, they were going to give their staff the day off, till they got my email at 7:00 am this morning. Not to worry she said, they had a day off a month ago.

One of the unique features of the resort is a natural swimming pool, that was enhanced to help protect it's longevity. The pool is about 30 feet wide, and a hundred long, protected on the bottom by a mesh. There is a dock along one side and an area to dive at the far end. And there are fish in the pond. The water is warm, bordering on hot, which pleased Mary Lou to no end. Now in keeping with the natural theme of the lodge, the fact that there were no other guests around, the water was warm and the fish were small, one of us chose to swim "a la booff".





There are a variety of plants around the site, some of it well goomed, some of it running out of control; there are even mushrooms growing directly in the main walking paths. It does look like something right out of a movie. There is a pond made specifically for iguanas. We saw a few around but they were not nearly as impressive as the ones in Isla Maujeres.

For dinner we were seated in at large dining room table that could of held another 20 people. I felt like British royalty sitting at opposite ends with each having their own server. The meal was simply delicious, consisting of a creamed vegetable puree, bean sprouts in a light vinegar dressing, a rice and vegetable medly and talapia, a mild tasting white fish (for the uninformed). Desert was a chocolate cake with cantelope, and a few beer when I got back to the room.

But lest you think the night was over, wrong you would be, as we waited for an 8:30 night walk in the jungle. Lots of different wildlife to see. Had to dress in long pants and long sleeves because of the mosquitos, but in the end they were not that bad. The walk took about an hour and we saw: a tarantula, bats, moths, all kinds of green glowing eyes; and heard a bunch more. We could hear something follow us up the stream, and at one point, I could hear a low growl. Not a spectacular success in seeing things, but the experience of walking through the jungle at night in humid stifiling heat was fantastic. Was worth the $40.

So, here I sit finishing the blog. For the first time since leaving last Friday, I miss my guitars. I have two of them, the first one over 30 years. It has a lot of sentimental value. But I think I would rather have the newer one. The second one is much more colourful, has a deeper and richer sound and fits perfectly in my arms. I have played that almost exclusively the past two years. It would be wonderful to lie back here in the hammock, with it on my lap, serenading the mosquitoes, igunas and the stars.

Oh. Second thoughts. Nothing to do with the drive. It is Mary Lou thinking about staying two nights in a room where I had to kill two spiders about three inches long and there are two gekos on the wall.

OK. Good night. Busy day zip lining and cave tubing tomorrow.