Yucatan to Guatamala via Belize

The weather was still quite cool, wet, and windy when I arrived in Cancun. I hung out for a couple of days and managed to stay out of trouble.  After leaving Cancun I headed down the coast towards Playa Del Carmen and over to Cozumel. I took the van over to Cozumel as the ferry was quite cheap and it worked out to be cheaper than storing the van and taking taxi’s everywhere. The weather was still quite crappy and because of this I didn’t go diving. The majority of the time was spent catching some sun around the pool and beach, excursions to town, and drives around the island. The drive around the island was in the pouring rain and wind and I was glad not to be one of the ‘die hard’ tourists I saw on the little scooters. Returning to the mainland I headed to Chetumal and found a nice camp spot on the bay to relax before heading into Belize.

Crossing into Belize was painless and I was very fortunate to find a perfect camp spot on the river in Orange Walk. From camp you could see crocodiles and a ton of different birds. There was a restaurant nearby and they provided a shower and washrooms. Boats left from the restaurant every morning up the New River and through the mangrove and jungle to the Mayan ruins of Lamanai. On the boat trip I saw spider monkeys, crocodiles, iguanas, and lots of birds. The vegetation along the river was lush and filled with color. The ruins are only partially uncovered and the excavations exposed various structures under a blanket of jungle vegetation. Although it’s not a huge complex like Chichen Itza it was very interesting to see it hidden within the jungle and kind of adventurous arriving by boat via a jungle river.

After a couple of days at Orange Walk I drove onto the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. I was able to camp was set up at the Crooked Tree Resort in a private area by the lake front. Here it wasn’t the mosquitoes that created the grief but rather the red ants. They moved in on the second day and any exposed skin below the knees became a meal for the little buggers. Pants and shoes became a requirement. I have learned since then that the simplest thing to do is move the kitchen about 10 feet once they arrive. There was a couple willing to share the expenses of a boat and guide and we spent one morning cruising around the lake bird watching. The weather held out and we managed to see a lot of birds and the wake of a manatee very close to the boat. The afternoon and the next morning were spent walking around with the binoculars as there wasn’t much else to do. It was quite pretty and a very relaxing time. When leaving camp I managed to get the van stuck but was easily pulled out by the Resort manager.

Again, the crappy weather combined with a bit of a cold prevented me from diving on Ambergis Caye. After hanging out for a couple of days I returned to the mainland and after a failed attempt to get to Pernell and Karen’s place I drove from Corozol to San Ignacio on the Guatemala border in one easy day. In camp I met up with Michel and Alex from Belgium. They are travelling to Costa Rica in their Land Rover. We went to town, shared a few meals, and crossed the Guatemala border together. Again, the border crossing was easy and we arrived in the Yaxha National Park by mid day.

I am in Antigua Guatamala studying Spanish again.  I plan to stay for another week before heading to El Salvador.