(March 12 - April 16, 2002)
Short Version
Well Central America is no Asia. Things can be quite expensive and the sights are significantly less spectacular (although Tikal was quite a highlight). It would have been considerably more enjoyable if we spoke Spanish. The Yucatan area of Mexico (Cancun/Cozumel etc) is especially expensive. It's much more well suited to beach resort/party vacations than to backpacking. Belize is a laid back English-speaking, eco destination that’s home to some remarkable scuba diving & bird watching. But it’s not cheap & car rental is particularly extortionate. The budget diving mecca of Utila Island in Honduras wasn't an easy place to get to but was well worth it. The diving was great & we got to see a whale shark (30' long!!!).
Long Version
Day 1 (Brett version): We pay more for an Air only flight to Cancun
than my parents just paid for their all inclusive Cuba vacation. But US
Air is fine (charters won't let you stay for 5 weeks), the Philadelphia airport
is a lovely place to kill 2 hours & $759 (inc. tax) just isn't that bad.
Cancun airport is very, how shall we say, Mexican. I know there's a flight
from here to Utila (in Honduras) but no agent at the airport has any info on it.
At least I manage to find an ATM as I run around (more on that later)!
We get a great car deal from Budget ($30us/day) and while I get the car a lady
whom we thought worked for Budget signs Lou up for a timeshare visit! It
strikes us as odd that our car has no radio, glove compartment cover or trunk
cover in the back hatch. It's not until later that we realize that's to
prevent thieves from smashing the window to see if there’s something in the
car worth stealing.
Our first destination is the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, 2.5 hours away. We carefully turn onto the old road that goes to our destination not the extortionate new toll road that's basically an express to Merida. It seems odd that the old road is 4 lanes, has no traffic & passes thru no cities, but there's been no tollbooths so we must be ok, right! Wrong. 100km into our journey up pops a toll booth. The only choice is to pay or drive 100km back to Cancun. Louise will be milking this $27 mistake for months.
Day 1 (Lou version): The map I'm looking at clearly shows a toll road going left and the free road forking right. I explain this to Brett but he decides to go left mumbling something about the listed destinations. Things continue to look suspicious to me as every other car went right, it's a four-lane highway and it's in pretty good condition. I voice these concerns to Brett but he dismisses them since 'his books' said the toll is paid in advance. Used to Brett ignoring my concerns, I just sit back & relax. An hour later we get to the toll booth. The ‘I told you so’ urge in overwhelming, but in the interests of trip harmony I resist.
Day 2 (Brett version): We arrive early to see Chichen Itza before the heat & tour buses arrive. It's nice, but nothing overwhelming. The Yucatan area of Mexico is considerably more expensive than Asia so during our lunch break we go to get more cash from the ATM. Sadly I open my wallet only to see my ATM card is missing. Cancel card/Ensure no cash missing/Ensure Lou's card will still work - The list of tasks ahead passes thru my mind, but the primary task terrifies me . . . telling Louise! By comparison to that, working a Mexican phone is a breeze & we soon have my card cancelled, with no cash missing. Whew.
The afternoon is spent at Chichen Itza seeing spectacular birds & all the lizards you could want. Tonite it's 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' (an excellent movie) & some lounging by the pool.
Day 2 (Lou version):
Brett routinely loses things on our vacations (pens, travel book pages, wedding
rings) but so far nothing too devastating (ok the ring was a little devastating,
but I'm over it). So as he returns from the ATM I'm a little perturbed to
hear him say;
'Be calm' . . .
'I have something to tell you' . . .
'I can't find my bank card'.
Ahhhhhhh! He's obviously worried though, so I let him off easy & it
all works out OK. I hope these first two days aren’t indicative of the
rest of the trip (we got through entire 3 month trips without this much
trouble!).
Day 3: We tour a nearby cave where the pottery the Mayan's used 1000 years ago to worship their Gods has been left just where it was discovered. Next we get to swim in a cenote; an underground swimming hole that is the Mexican's main source of water (there's only a few lakes here). We do a quick tour of the colonial town of Valladolid then sprint to Coba to view their jungle encased Mayan ruins.
Day 4: As Louise goes to put her shoes on, she notices a cockroach scurry away from them (it was probably offended by the smell!). Brett's impressed to see her squish it all by herself. Unfortunately she then flips open her knapsack to see a little scorpion sitting right inside it. This is definitely outside of Louise's squishing comfort zone & I am called in. First of course, I run for the camera. Louise yells words of encouragement like 'get the macro lens' (an attachment that lets you take close ups of small things). She's obviously recovered from her fright & feels comfortable sending me within inches of the scorpion. After a few pictures we spend 5 minutes trying to remove/squash it without actually touching it! But eventually it goes spinning down the toilet with the cockroach.
Our final Mayan ruins in Mexico are Tulum. A spectacular coastal setting for some unspectacular ruins. Having no other plans for the day we drive up to the 'airport lady's' timeshare place. It's a spectacular place but they actually seem surprised that we don't buy on the spot (the first price was $79,900US!). It's a long 4 hours but it was interesting & our incentives were paid in cash to the tune of $214Cdn (plus lunch)!!
Day 5: Xcaret is by far the most popular daytrip from Cancun. It's basically a Mexican Disneyland. There's exhibits on birds, manatees, mushrooms & orchids. There's a beach, snorkeling lagoon, Mayan ruins, fake Mayan villages & several other things. But the big draws are the underground river & the spectacular evening show. We both enjoyed the show but Louise found the underground river, a little too . . . underground!
Day 6: Before returning the rental car, I fill up the gas, paying with a 200 peso note. The attendant then stands there with a 20 peso in his hand, as if that's what I paid with. Luckily I knew exactly what bills I had & when I went riffling thru his pocket to find my 200 he offered me the correct change. It's scary how easily you can be scammed if people choose to be dishonest.
But now it's off to Cozumel, the main reason for our trip to Mexico. We find a hotel, audition a few dive shops & still have time for a full tour of the island (it's not that big).
Days 7-9: Cozumel's diving is world famous. Over the course of our 6 dives we see spectacular coral, a slew of lobsters and the mythical sea horse (who knew it was real!). Our favourite fish however were the camouflage experts. The flounder that is perfectly flat & swims sideways blending perfectly into the sand. And the red, white & crusty scorpion fish, that looks like an extension of the coral itself. Don't touch the spikes though. Between dives we relax in our luxuriously large hotel room (too bad there's no pool), watch some movies (often in Spanish) & make a plan for being near a tv on Oscar nite.
Day 10 (Mar 21): The flight to Tikal (bordering Belize & Guatemala) is an extortionate $330cdn, so we decide to bus thru Belize instead. In all our travels we've never been this spontaneous & Lou is a little nervous. We get up early for the 8am ferry, but the 9:15 bus is sold out. So is the 11:45. The 11:15 has seats left but it’s terminal is across town. Four hours in a sunny tropical destination is less fun when it's at an under-construction bus terminal. But the time does pass & the bus is super-luxurious! And it's playing 'The Gladiator'!! In English!!!
Day 11: Three buses, 5 hours, 2 customs clearances & an unexpected $20us later (seriously does Mexico really have a Visa charge that's built into air tickets, but not included if you plan to reenter by land?!) & we're in the Northern Belize town of Corozal. A lovely place to walk around, but no place to linger. We wave down the 11am bus & wiz off (that's 50km/h on a school bus in Belize terms) to Orange Walk the staging site for tomorrow’s activities.
Day 12: A day trip to the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. It's accessible only by river, which is a highlight in itself. We see a slew of birds all of which our guide happily identifies. Unfortunately our guide also identifies every brick of every ruin at Lamanai and the 90 minute tour stretches to 3 mind numbing hours. Tonite we gorge ourselves on chinese food & Lou gorges herself on a few beers.
Day 13: We have Oscar withdrawal since we missed them last year (Laos doesn't have much tv). So since our next destination won’t have a tv, we opt to stay one more night in Orange Walk. There's nothing much to do here, but we manage to find James Bond, some Stephen Segal movies & Blues Brothers 2000 on tv (not a good day for Louise!). It was worth it though as we thoroughly enjoy the Oscars. The dress highlights were few & far between (basically just Halle Berry). Likewise the speech highlights were few & far between (basically just Halle Berry). Nice to see her win though. And the Cirque de Soleil was fabulous (go Canada!). It's nice being on Central Std Time, the Oscars for us ended before midnite.
Day 14: Belize is quite different from Mexico. If their entire population went to Cancun at the same time, there would probably still be some rooms available! The country is about twice the size of PEI & the locals are famously laid back. Unlike the plush buses plying the Mexican Riviera, Belize uses refurbished school buses. English is the national language and the water is safe to drink but there's only one ATM in the country that accepts international cards.
Today's destination is one of Belize's many locally driven eco-reserves; the Community Baboon Sanctuary. Eight communities banded together to preserve stretches of forest for the Howler monkeys (‘baboons’). Our 'resort' is a rustic cabin overlooking the river where parrots fly by & howler monkeys sleep the day away. During our 3 hour canoe ride we get to hear numerous howler troops let loose with their famous howl. The ferocious sound, used to mark their territory, can be heard a mile away.
The visitor centre manager suggests a nite hike. I'm about to mention my wife’s aversion to the woods at nite, when she chirps in with 'ok'. I'm stunned but impressed. First though, we get his daughter to make us a local feast (just $5 instead of the $15 our resort charges!). Despite lots of encouraging noises we see nothing but it's still a success since Louise is now a fully fledged night-hiker!!
Day 15: 'Our' manager recommends a 7am start for our day hike. We naively trust him & are rewarded by being able to hand feed a trusting troop of howler monkeys (very cute). It's excellent, but I think we could have done the same thing at 10am! The rest of the day we relax in twin hammocks in the shade of a thatch gazebo.
Day 16 (Wed Mar 27): Easter is fast approaching & despite 8 phone calls we've been unable to book a hotel on Caye Caulker, one of Belize's premier vacation spots. We knew Easter would be big in the Catholic nations of Mexico & Honduras but the fact that Belize city basically shuts down from Thurs pm until Monday caught us by surprise. Our bus from the Baboon Sanctuary takes us to Belize City where we transfer for the Caye Caulker “ferry” (25 people crammed on a speed boat). We've been well warned how dangerous Belize city is, so we're pleased when we're able to find a travel agent, an ATM and some pastries without incident. It's a pleasant 45 minute ride to Caye Caulker & within minutes we've found a lovely if unsophisticated hotel room for just $18 (including our own bathroom!). Belize is frequently hit by hurricanes & today we snorkel at 'the split'; a section of the island that was ripped away by the infamous 1961 Hurricane Hattie.
Day 17: Our main reason for visiting the island is to take a day trip to the world famous Blue Hole. A 1000 foot wide sink hole in the middle of Lighthouse Reef. At 110' deep it starts to widen and giant stalactites hang from the ceiling. Evidence that the ocean used to be 150' lower here. There's a few black tip sharks attracted by bait provided by the dive boats, but the main point of the dive is to see the stalactites. It's an interesting but fleeting 8 minutes. We do 2 more dives on the beautiful pristine reef before our boat blows an engine and the 2 hour ride here becomes a 4 hour ride home.
Day 18: Yesterdays trip was $230 (cdn) so today we opt for a cheap local snorkeling trip. The coral & fish are ok, but the highlight is 'Shark & Stingray Alley' where true to its name you get to handle 3-4' wide southern stingrays & 3' nurse sharks. The day is capped off with a lovely sunset viewed from our favorite seats; hammocks!
Day 19: Although, due to Easter, there's more music playing & locals barbequing on the beach Caye Caulker is still just a sleeping little island. Golf cart taxi's drive along sand roads, vendors never have change (you just pay them later) and hotel check-in consists only of paying for your room. Today we become true Belizeans & just lounge the day away (Lou: he conveniently forgot the 1 hour hike & 40 minute sea-kayak paddle - Brett will never be a true Belizean!).
Day 20: Today we cross the entire country; it will take 2 hours! En route we stop at Belize´s premier eco-project; the Zoo. The natural setting is delightful & the educational benefit to the locals has been enormous. The ocelot eluded us but the jaguarundi (another 20-30 pound cat) playfully grabs at our fingers (if you stick them in the cage). It’s humbling to realize that all this was created by one lady's efforts after some animals were orphaned after being used in a documentary. A one hour wait for a local bus gets us on our way to San Ignacio where due to the Easter holidays we’re stuck in the divy hotel we prebooked. Ever try to fall asleep when it’s 31 celsius in your room?
Day 21: Up till now, Belize´s charms have been somewhat subtle. So we’re delighted to tour the Rio Frio Pools. A lovely set of waterfalls cascading through limestone cutouts into azure pools of blue . . . Ahhhhhh! And it’s even more fun with dozens of local families enjoying their holiday.
Day 22: Today’s tour is Barton Creek cave. A 10´wide river running thru a 1 mile long cave. The stalactites & limestone formations are breathtaking. Mayan ceremonies were frequently held in caves & we pass some 1000 year old pottery & a skull with its forehead flattened for ease of carrying loads (the Maya’s never ´discovered´ the wheel). The last 500´ is thrilling, as we lie flat in the canoe to squeeze thru some particularly thin/low sections. The birding outside the cave is excellent and we see a couple of lovelies including the spectacular Toucan!
Day 23: A lazy day floating down the Macal River. There is a decent complement of birds, a lovely waterfall and our highlight; vultures feasting on a recently deceased Iguana. Tonite we have pizza & pasta at a lovely little place but we still haven’t found ice cream as good as in Caye Caulker.
Day 24: Belize has literally thousands of Mayan sites but only a few have been excavated and restored. One of those is Xunanatich 7 miles west of San Ignacio. For 80 cents a local bus takes us to the river where a hand-cranked car ferry takes us across (yes I do opt to do a few cranks myself - it's not too hard). Luckily we hitch a ride the remaining mile uphill to the site. Aside from the usual ball court & royal houses there’s a huge ceremonial pyramid. Built over 1000 years ago, it's still the tallest building in Belize! We manage to luck into a ride back to town where the Game Show network & Survivor entertain us for the rest of the evening (wasn’t it stupid that they voted Hunter off!).
Day 25-26: Tikal, the greatest of the Mayan ruins, is just 2 hours into Guatemala from the Belize border. Most people go on day trips, which cover the sites adequately, but we opt to stay two nites to savor the jungle atmosphere. Turns out to be a great decision. We see countless troops of monkeys playing in the trees, coatis (cousins to the raccoon) fighting & feeding on the ground, a gray fox, an agouti (a giant rat) & a spectacular array of birds. Our favourites were the Ocellated Turkey, Massena Trogon and the Montezuma Oropendola; all fantastically coloured. Plus we got to see Parrots, Acaris & more Toucans!
Day 27: An early morning jaunt to the main temple complex to savor the ruins & see a few new species of birds. Then it’s off to El Remate, a tiny town at the turnoff for Belize where we spot yet more new birds from the lovely grounds of our over-priced hotel. A hint for novice travelers; it’s risky to get your hair cut in a Spanish speaking country, if you don’t speak Spanish!
Day 28 (Mon April 8): A 6am start for our journey to Belize City. The border crossing goes smoothly and soon we’re sitting at our travel agents relieved that today’s flight (a 19 seat prop plane) to Honduras isn’t full. We would normally buy in advance but throughout the whole country we found only one other travel agent - and they didn’t sell tickets on this airline. Our destination, Utila Island in Honduras, is only about 500 kilometers away but it’ll cost $450 & require an overnite stay (each way).
Day 29-34: Utila Island is a diving mecca for the backpacker set. It’s less than ½ the price of Cozumel but the diving is almost as good. Highlights include 6’ green moray eels swimming freely, spotted eagle rays, all the usual beautiful fish and the highlight of all time; a 30’ WHALE SHARK!!!! These harmless lumbering giants are what we came to Utila for & we finally got to see them on our final day.
They’re attracted to the frenzy of the Bonita fish feeding. Once you spot the circle of bubbles, the captain gets close. If they spot a whale shark it’s a mad free for all as everyone tries to jump in first before it gets scared off. We’ve even heard tales of husbands accidentally landing on their wives in the rush over board!
Utila is just as sleepy as Caye Caulker. The locals speak a Jamaican-like dialect that sounds almost comical. Most divers are in the $3/nite lodging provided by the dive shops but we opt for $38 luxury & lounge in our comfy king sized bed enjoying the air-con while the others try to hide from the sun & sand flies.
Day 35: Last nite we flew back to La Ceiba on the mainland so we could make our 6:30am flight to Belize. La Ceiba has the only Pizza Hut we’ve seen on this trip & it was delightful. From the Belize airport we hitch to the highway & wait for a bus to the Mexican border. There we hop on the Mexican Riviera express & 5.5 hours later we’re in Cancun shopping at the grocery store near our hotel. And yes there is a $30 charge to enter Mexico (it’s included in air tickets, so it’s good we paid the $15 for a re-entry visa as we left Mexico the first time).
Day 36: At Lou’s request we again opt for luxury (which in Cancun is a bargain at $80) so we lounge in hammocks by the pool in our beautiful tropical garden until it’s time to depart for our flight. Which reminds me try to avoid US Air. Our 4.5 hour flight has no meal and US immigration at our connection in Philadelphia takes 40 minutes (last time we were here it took so long we missed our connecting flight). As we land in Toronto just after 11pm on April 16 it’s 22 degrees. Is global warming really a bad thing?