Hurricane warning in the newspaper
Our exit from Mexico at about lunch time was remarkably efficient and easy, including getting our temporary vehicle import license refunded.
Once we got through to the Belize side things became a little bit more complicated. We got the immigration sorted out without any trouble but then we had the difficulty of importing Footloose Lucy. First of all the customs man wanted proof that the vehicle was ours. Alan therefore gave him the form V5, formerly known as the Log Book. Unfortunately, right across the front of that is emblazened the legend 'This document is not proof of ownership'. Only after we produced more bits of paper that showed we had bought and insured the vehicle was he satisfied on that point.
The next question was the age of the vehicle. Alan said it was made in 1997 and once again the customs man said 'prove it'. The V5 shows when it was first registered in UK which was 2002 whereas in fact it had been swanning around Africa for the previous 5 years. After again showing him various vehicle insurance certificates and the American Emissions regulations waiver form he agreed that it probably had been made in 1997.
He finally invited us to go outside and take some bits and pieces out of the vehicle so that he could have a proper rummage. By this time the rain was hammering down and we were paddling around in about an inch of water at which point he decided to stop giving us a hard time and had only a brief rummage before providing the necessary import document.
We drove the short distance to the town of Corozal where Earl was being variously trailed as a Category 1 hurricane or 'no big deal man' To keep Sue happy we booked into a very solid hotel away from the shore with secure car parking inside a concrete walled area. In the event Hurricane Earl passed through about 80 miles to the south of us so all we had was a great deal of rain.
Corozal in the rain
Fisherman with casting net, Corozal
With the world around us still intact on Thursday morning we decided to drive the 20 miles or so along a dirt road to the Cerros ruins.
There were two river ferries en route both driven by husky looking Belizean men cranking a capstan wheel which slowly drew the ferry by means of a cable across the river.
Waiting for the hand cranked ferry
The motive power for the ferry
We liked the Cerros ruins because, although most of the ruins had not been restored, we were the only ones there apart from a myriad of small and hungry black flies and the ruins were right on the coast within feet of the ocean. We also did not pay because the ticket office was closed probably because, like everyone else in Corozal, they had made the excuse of almost having a hurricane to have a day off.
Mayan ruin at Cerros
Close up of ruin
Unrestored ruin at Cerros
Street scene at Sarteneja village, near Cerros
Boat under repair, Sarteneja
Our plan was to travel by ferry from Corozal to Caye Caulker, one of the off shore islands which promised good diving and snorkelling. However, the word on the street was that the place had been fairly badly hit by Hurricane Earl and that there may or may not be any power or water at any of the hotels. After e mailing one of the dive centres on Caye Caulker and being assured they were working hard to get everything back to normal we decided to go.
We caught the Thunderbolt ferry at 7 am on Friday morning, squashed inside with about 60 other people. It thumped and rattled over the water in fine style and got us to San Pedro in about two and a quarter hours where we caught another ferry to Caye Caulker.
Quite a lot of the island had indeed been battered by Hurricane Earl. Most of the jetties had been smashed to pieces and there was damage to quite a few houses and restaurants but people seemed to be phlegmatically going about the business of putting everything back together. You get the impression that hurricanes are just a fact of life in this part of the world.
After the hurricane
Hurricane damage to jetty
Hurricane damage
Hurricane damage
Cleaning up after the hurricane
Caye Caulker is pretty much the epitome of a Caribbean island surrounded by aquamarine sea with a nearby reef which stretches most of the length of the Belizean coastline.
Alan and I were so sold on the island that we ended up spending four days there. Alan had some good diving, we both enjoyed some good snorkelling on some bits of reef and Alan also went to try to catch some bone fish in the shallows. Having refused to pay a specialist guide the princely sum of US $250 for the privilege of showing him where the bone fish were, he predictably failed but enjoyed the experience nevertheless.
Beach scene, Caye Caulker
Caye Caulker
Street scene, Caye Caulker
The pace of life on Caye Caulker is so slow and relaxed that we found ourselves uncharacteristically (in Sue's case anyway) having afternoon siestas and very nice they were too. We indulged ourselves on the wonderful seafood which all the lovely little restaurants have to offer, especially lobster which was actually one of the cheapest dishes on the menu!
Sue relaxing with a margarita
The island mantra - 'go slow'
The people of Caye Caulker are all shapes, sizes, colours and languages but so far as we could see, superficially anyway, they live in laid back harmony with each other and all the people who come to visit.
Friendly local at Caye Caulker
Local character, Caye Caulker
We returned from Caye Caulker to Corozal yesterday (Wednesday) and today we are continuing our journey south, next stop Orange Walk Town.
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