Belize

Today we entered Belize without too much trouble. There was one attempted scam on us at the border but luckily for us we saw through it. There was an unexplainable 200 peso request for exiting Mexico, but not from the person that stamped the passport. So we didn`t pay it, kept talking to the guy requesting it. He basically then said that if we didn`t pay him the other guys would think that we did and he was just keeping it. We figured that would be his problem.

We did take out the $6 a day motorcycle insurance which is required but not always selected. Good thing as at a police checkpoint we were asked for the proof of insurance.

As you may know Belize is primarily English speaking ( a former British territory) and as such it is a bit of a reprieve from always trying to talk in Spanish. Not that we don`t enjoy learning some Spanish and taking a wild stab at ordering food, but after a while it gets a little exhausting. A few days of English seems like a break.

The north of Belize was dominated by sugar cane fields, and at least on very large sugar refinery. The line up of trucks hauling cane at the refinery was a kilometer or more.

Sugar cane trucks lined up, and hauling dried sugar cane to the plant any way possible.

These kids are heading up the lane to home in their school uniforms after being dropped off by the bus.

Cycling home.

We ended up tonight at a place called the Trek Stop, and eco-friendly location in the jungle near the Guatemala border. It is run by our host, Tino, and his entire family. We were served a fantastic dinner by his daughter ( I had the Belizian Special).

It was raining when we arrived and the steep roadway to the main camp
was tricky as most of the soil here is limestone which gets very slippery when wet. It was a struggle.

We are considering taking a day off from riding and travelling and staying here tomorrow night as well. There is a Mayan temple site near here, but as it is off the beaten path not too many people go there and there is no admission. we might check it out, get a bit of laundry done, and rest a bit.

Thanks for all the comments we have been getting.

Tony