Overlanding thru Belize.

We are happy to report there is little traffic here. Stay tuned for updates. Thanks

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” UnBelizeable ! “

After driving thousands of miles through Mexico on both coast and through the middle of the county we were excited to get into out first Central American country, Belize.  After checking out of Mexico and crossing the bridge into Belize we felt a little relief, well actually a lot of relief. For one we knew that we were entering a country that the office language is English, we also knew that Belize is not very big and there are few roads so getting lost would not be to much of a problem, and figuring out the money with a two to one exchange rate with the US dollar for Belize dollars would make buying things easy. What we did not expect was the roads were rather bad, the internet was pretty much non-existent,  and the heat was unbearable. But hey, that’s what we were looking for, fun, travel and adventure and Belize did not disappoint us.

Some things I noticed immediately is that Belize has a very diverse culture. I thought it was interesting to see many of the shopping food markets are owned and or run by the Chinese. I was truly stunned. I later learned that Belize is one of the most culturally diverse countries on the planet. You can get a lot more information by reading this ( http://www.country-studies.com/belize/the-cultural-diversity-of-belizean-society.html.)

It was late afternoon and we had just crossed over and had to make the trek to Belize city. We had met a family over the internet via http://www.couchsurfing.org/search, and were invited to stay a night. Stay tuned to see how unbelizabe this turns out! Thanks for tuning in and liking our page.

Chetumal, Mexico! We can see Belize from our own backyard.

Things were getting pretty excited again as we prepared to make our first border crossing into Central America. Leaving Mexico behind and going to Belize. Checking our paper work, passport, vehicle docs and so on, there was a little anxiety in the air. Almost so much worry about crossing the border that we didn’t give Chetumal the full tour that it rightly deserved. The city is situated on the western side of Chetumal Bay, near the mouth of the Rio Hondo. Chetumal is an important port for the region and operates as Mexico’s main trading gateway with the neighboring country of Belize. Goods are transported via a road connecting Chetumal with Belize to the south.

But before we get to far ahead of ourselves,with the border crossing and all, we have to tell you about our unexpected encounter in Chetumal tomorrow.

Tulum, a Mayan city on the Sea.

The Mayan city of  Tulum stands 80 miles south and 700 years away of Cancun. But the contrast between the two can be measured in more than just distance and time. Cancun is a string of large resort hotels which did not exist prior to 1974 and which specialize in the expected. Tulum, on the other hand, was built late in the thirteenth century, during what is known as the Mayan post-classic period. With a little imagination and knowledge, the ruins become a giant puzzle waiting to be pieced together.What sets the site apart from other ruins in Mexico is both the fact that it is well preserved and it boasts its own, inviting beach.

Each Mayan city had a specific purpose, and Tulum was no exception. It was a seaport, trading mainly in turquoise and jade. As well as being the only Mayan city built on a coast, Tulum was one of the few protected by a wall. Made of limestone, the 784-meter wall encloses the site on three sides, is seven meters thick, and varies between three and five meters in height. No doubt this fortification helped preserve the seaport. After entering the ruins through one of five doorways in the wall, and we were  greeted by a field of gently-rolling hills, and black and grey stone ruins dot the sun-baked landscape. The most prominent among the remaining structures is the Castillo, or castle, which is perched on the edge of a 12-meter limestone cliff, overlooking the Caribbean coast.

Tulum remains popular because of its elegant setting on sheer limestone cliffs above the turquoise splendor of the crashing Caribbean, the only Mayan city built on the coast. After spending a good portion of the day there we still did not want to leave. It’s truly amazing. Next stop Chetumal!

 

Off the beaten path in Cancun.

Yes, there is such a place. Not far away from all the tourist traps, high rise buildings, traffic congestion and cruise port, you’ll find El Meco.

Now we were happy. Our main goal in the expedition was to stay away from touristy areas and find places like this. Just six miles from downtown Cancun lie the ruins of a pre-Columbian Mayan settlement on Mujeres Bay. Thought to be the launching point for ancient trips to Isla Mujeres, the archaeological site has 13 structures gathered around a central temple. El Meco is less well known compared to other local ruins, so it’s possible you’ll have the whole place to yourself, and we did. More to come about the Yucatan  soon. “Adios”

What’s at the end of the Yucatan?

Today I continue to hear the song over and over again in my head, as we left Chichen Itza and headed on over to Cancun. ” On the road again, like a band of Gypsies we go down the highway” I hear it as if Willie Nelson was sitting on my shoulder. The miles or I should say kilometers past by and I finally see my first road sign for Cancun and its 623 k’s or about 400 miles I think. I began to realize the Yucatan peninsula is a big place. One thing about this is very good though, we are mostly on the Mexican Turnpike or toll road  as some of you might call it back home. We enjoyed the turnpike, settled in at a nice 100k’s (62mph) and keep the trucks in the right lane moving east. It’s fun driving in Mexico on the toll roads. Many of the toll roads are new and well maintained, and driving them reminds me of driving in Europe. Everybody stays to the right except to pass. It was not uncommon for us to see a lot of late model cars clipping along at 80 plus while we enjoyed what scenery there is to see. Just like in the states many of the tolls roads by pass all the interesting and fun things we would like to experience but we were on a mission to get to Cancun.

I feel weird coming to Cancun this way. I mean driving all the way from home to Cancun? “Who does that?” I thought. As we got closer I noticed the vegetation change, the humidity rise and things got really flat. Also, we were beginning to see a lot of signs for all kinds of ruins, cenotes, caves and water falls. Life, I could tell, here on the Yucatan is very different than the Pacific coast.

Soon we see the sign for Cancun, and I can’t get how weird this feels driving to Cancun. I feel like I should be getting back on a cruise ship. But, no I’m actually here in one of the top rated travel vacation spots in the world and I drove. It was taking me a little while to process but it was and still is odd. The thing was when I saw the cruise ship people, I felt sorry for them. Laughing to myself, thinking they ( the cruise ship people) have to run around and hurry and get back on the ship and we’ll be here for while. Now it was time to look for camping, and what a great place we found.

And you’ll never guess what we find at the end of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Chichen Itza !

We absolutely enjoyed Chichen Itza and feel everyone should have it on their bucket list. More details about our trip through this amazing area soon. Stay tuned.

This part of the expedition is brought to you by the letter “C” Coatzacoalcos, Campeche and Cancun.

As we wrapped our tour of the city of Oaxaca, we headed down out of the mountains and began working our way to the coast. Our first stop would be in Coatzacoalcos, a coastal town, then Campeche. We  heard and read about the history, people and culture of this town as well as how beautiful it was with it’s streets all laid out in a grid pattern and how each home was painted a different color. After Campeche we would make our way to Cancun.

We were truly amazed by the sights, sounds and how wonderful Campeche is. We felt as if we were not in Mexico at all and someplace in Europe. It was hard for us to break away but we knew that we must. Next stop Chichen Itza.