UnBelizeable and Last Min Mexico Surprises

It’s laughable how many times we’ve started to write a blog post and then other things have stolen our attention.

We wanted to write all about, Sandro and Gina, the friends that we made in Tulum, Mexico that let us ride around in their ’71 VW truck. We adventured to places like the Dos Ojos cenotes and went to catch up with one of Sandro’s old friends in a Mayan village where we hung out with the kids, stingless bees and a tehun named Lala.  Sandro and Gina also made the wonderful habit of launching Chinese lanterns with all the kids.

When we made it to Chetumal, Mexico we set out to write about the above events and prepare for our border crossing into Belize, but we met Aquiles and Alice.  They convinced us to abandon our writing duties and join them for dinner at one of their favorite places.  After choosing from a large platter which red snapper we would like for dinner, we enjoyed the best fish of the whole trip! Following dinner we drove around in their kombi and moved a bed across town for some of their French friends that ended up making us amazing apple crepes.  After three days we wrapped up what was supposed to be a 12-hour stop in Chetumal with new friends and double the fun that we thought we’d have.

After crossing the border into Belize we headed straight for the Belize Zoo.  All the animals at this awesome place are rescued; they have been injured or removed from illegal private collections and are not fit for survival in the wild.  We spent the whole day in awe of how dangerously close we could get to these creatures and enjoy them in their natural habitat.  We fed Macas, were stunned by how huge the black jaguar was, held baby possums and laughed at the tapiers and their long noses.  From the Belize Zoo we cruised to Hopkins and jumped in a boat with a couple locals for a fishing and snorkeling tour of the Cayes.  We barbequed our catch of barracuda and made fresh conch ceviche on Tobacco Caye, watched the sunset and headed for shore just a little too late arriving well after dark. The next morning we drove to Placencia, not digging the vibe we made a U-Turn back north towards San Ignacio.  Along the way we found a river that looked like the perfect place for an afternoon dip in the heat. Turns out the Sibune River was also a lovely spot for the night.

As the day passed with chores, we met a local family doing laundry on the bank of the river and suddenly the children were excited to climb all over the inside of our little traveling house.  The next morning, the family brought us a wonderful breakfast of oranges, agua manazanas, a guava like fruit, fried Paca (a small rodent) and homemade flour tortillas.  While we were making orange juice from our morning treat and doing laundry our friends, Ingrid and Matti, from Argentina drove over the bridge with another couple from Costa Rica.  As soon as they jumped out of the car the sky opened up and it began to rain.  The six of us huddled in the van contemplating our venture to “The Blue Hole” down the road – a cenote and cave to explore.  Finally during a break in the rain, we decided to go for it. With the day coming to a close we had only a few options for camping for the night.  We ended up camped next to a school, you can imagine the distraction to the children… But the principal was from Colorado and welcomed us warmly. The rain continued through the night and into the next morning forcing us into the higher terrain of San Ignacio, Belize.


All our photos from The Belize Zoo can be seen here.

Flamingos & Monkeys - Mexico or Colorado?

With the two-month anniversary of us living in the van upon us it’s hard to believe how much time has passed.

During our time in San Cristobal de las Casas we had to make the call to cross into Guatemala or continue north to Palenque and then the Yucatan.  With no surf on the Gulf side, George was suspect from the start of this conversation.

Before we left Colorado, I was talking to a friend about our trip. She and her husband rode their bikes from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego a couple years back, an amazing feat.  When we started talking about Mexico, the first thing she said was, “you’re going to Palenque, right?” At the time we hadn’t mapped out our itinerary and I wasn’t sure.  Based on this conversation, all that she had seen and that this was her first question, we decided to head into the Yucatan and stop at Palenque.  It was the right call.
George sums it up nicely: Palenque was badass.

We were able to walk not just around and look up at the ruins, but IN them.  Through the hallways, up in-door staircases to see tombs, steam baths, toilets, door hinges and wonderfully preserved frescos.  It offered a completely different understanding of how these people lived and how advanced they were with roads, in-door plumbing, trade routes and political trickery. Plus there were monkeys at our campsite.

We also visited Chichen Itza, large and deserving of its place as one of the 7 Wonders of the World, but in our eyes, since we couldn’t explore the interior of the ruins it didn’t hold a candle to Palenque. I still have so many questions about star alignment and what secrets are revealed when you visit these places at night.

After a wonderful meal in Merida we saw the RV park and decided to press on for better accommodations.  This landed us in a sleepy seasonal town outside of Progresso on the coast.  At first look we thought the town was abandoned because although all of the houses were nice, they were all boarded up. As we looked for a place to park for the night a woman came out of her house and yelled, “are you really from Colorado?”  She was an American that has a house in Grand Junction (just an hour from our house) and offered us a place to park in front of her house for the night, fully equipped with a bathroom and a HOT shower.  Exactly what we needed after 7 hours of driving in the heat. Thank you Linda & Larry!

The next day we came upon a wonderful place to stay in Celestun with Beto, a local and avid Broncos fan; it turns out that his Grandfather spent time working in near our home town in Colorado when he was a young man.  The rooms at his place, Villa del Mar, were brand new, clean, comfortable and the same price as camping.  We stayed out of the van for the first time.  The next day we saw flamingos with a wonderful couple from France that ended up Copilots in the van for a few days as we ventured East to Valladolid.

Chichen Itza and East, closer to Cancun offered a rude awakening for us with price gouging and the introduction of the not-so-honest tourist experience. It was a bit of a shock based on our experiences thus far and point of frustration until we landed on the tranquil Isla Mujers.  Here we enjoyed the beautiful blue waters and peaceful beaches without being charged for something every time we turned around.

Although we’ve explored what seems to us like a lot of the country it’s abundantly clear that we’ve only scratched the surface.  The isolation and kind people of the Pacific coast, the history of the Yucatan and the mystery and simplicity of the mountain villages - each have their own wonderful brand of distinction.  The only conclusion that I can come to is that you could spend a lifetime exploring Mexico and only have a small understanding of all this country has to offer.
As we prepare to cross the border into Belize I can’t help but think of what’s ahead. If the rest of Central America offers a shred of the richness that we have experienced in Mexico we are in for a wild ride.