The tourist visa issued on arrival in Mexico is good for up to 180 days then you must leave the country for a short period before re-entering. We planned to visit our friends in Belize during the exit period.
We took the ADO bus to Chetumal (4.5 hrs) which was very comfortable and showed movies (we watched Jurassic World in Spanish). Upon arrival, we were asked if we needed a taxi to the boat dock and the driver told us that it was cheaper to fly as there was a sale on at Maya Air, $45 USD versus $50 USD by ferry. Enticed by the prospect of a quicker journey we agreed. As we passed the airport sign without exiting the highway we realized we were heading for the border at Corozal - the driver had neglected to tell us that the flight was not from Chetumal.
Long story short, with the 300 peso taxi in Chetumal, then the 25 USD/500 peso taxi from the border to the airport, our savings were in the negative figures! At the airport, the phone lines were down so we could not pay by credit card ... oh and also there was no room on the 3.30 flight so we would not be leaving until 5 pm (steam!) so we had to take another taxi to get cash and now had 3 hours to kill - at least the flights were indeed on sale for $45!
We had the taxi drop us at the Hol Kol Kin restaurant where we had stayed before and ordered food and much-needed Belikins. Just before the food arrived, the taxi came back with an airport rep saying space was now available on the 3.30 flight so we got the food to go and ate in the waiting lounge.
Quick math, we spent about $50 CDN more to save 1 hour of travel! Our own fault, should have asked more questions and not made rash decisions and will learn from the experience I guess!
On the plus side, all the Belizeans we encountered were friendly and helpful and we met a face from our last visit to Corozal in the lounge (Patrick). The plane was a 12 seater this time so a little smoother than my first 8 seater experience!!
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| I said I wasn't going on a small plane again! |
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| I guess the views are worth it. |
Our friend Shari picked us up at Maya arrivals in Belize and we got settled at Tom and Debbie's condo (they were not there but kindly let us use their place) before having supper at La Divina. We made a quick visit to Shari's temporary home at the beautiful Pelican Reef resort and happily ran into friends Shawn and Forrest as we were leaving. Exhausted from the day's events we all slept well that night.
On Friday I was fighting a migraine so we had a lazy morning. The boys went to the store for a few supplies where they found that the prices for many things were quite a bit higher than last year.
At lunchtime, we visited Connor's old school, ACES, where he received a lovely warm welcome from his classmates.
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| With Principal Miss Mandy. |
Afterward, we got take out from Kevin's roadside chicken place.
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| Kev's chicken is still delicious! |
Friends, Ti and Jason invited us to their rooftop patio for a sunset wine and snacks party and we met some of the other ALV residents.
Saturday the 4th was Happy Birthday to Jordan day. We had lunch at Waraguma, took a beach walk then beach drive at Boca del Rio where we ran into more old friends - the island is such a great people place.
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| Long awaited lobster burrito. |
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| Jane spotted us while driving by. |
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| Mesmerizing blues of the sea. |
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| With Christine, Robert, Francine, Ayden and Darcy. |
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| Aiden and Darcy were so happy to see Connor. |
In the evening, we went to Central Park with Shari for street food and enjoyed the music of the Bob Marley tribute for a little while.
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| Abelina's chicken sandwich - $5 BZ and so satisfying. |
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| Hayley is still the crazy pet lady! |
On Sunday, we took another beach walk heading south this time and saw Joy and the sailors, then ran into island musician Darryl.
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| Sailors. |
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| Darryl is still playing his music.
Still craving that succulent crustacean, Jordan wanted to return to Waraguma for the coconut cream lobster burrito.
We then needed to buy our tickets for the Belize Express ferry so went to the bank - in another crappy deja-vu moment, the Heritage bank ATM, where we had previously encountered problems, dispensed the cash and then ate Jordan's brand new card! Again our own fault, we said we were not going to used Heritage again but they have the lowest fees ... or do they?!!
Anyway, we went on to visit Daisy and then Hayley at Royal Palm. Then we went to Central Park again for more chicken sandwiches and reggae music before watching Gaga at the half-time show and the rest of the Superbowl.
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| Daisy is settled in her new place at Royal Palm. |
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| Victory for the New England Patriots. |
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| Cheers! |
Early Monday morning Shari took us to the boat dock. We arrived 90 minutes later as scheduled then it took over 1 hour and 45 mins to clear immigration but we got our renewed tourist visa. We had lunch at Winners, one of our favourites in Chetumal and noticed that the whole town was empty (assume people escape to the beach on long weekends).
We took a taxi to Bacalar (550 pesos). The Hotel Azul 35 was very nice. We walked to get ADO tickets (640 pesos) then had drinks at the Balneario Egidal Magicolagoon beach club.
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| Beautiful view of the lake colors as you approach the Fuerte San Filipe fort. |
It was a lovely warm evening as we strolled to get supper near the fort at Bistro Savor Bacalar. The vibe is very laid back with street entertainers, young families and Hipsters.
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| Strawberry margaritas, smoothie and two large pizzas for a reasonable $600 pesos! |
On Tuesday morning we had a leisurely breakfast of juevos mexicana and hotcakes at the hotel then walked up to visit the Fuerte San Filipe built in 1733 for protection against frequent pirate attacks. Connor had previously created a history project of the fort so it was great for him to see the real thing.
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| History project. |
We then spent some time at the Baluartes beach club, but it was a little cold for swimming, before gathering our things from the hotel.
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| Nice for cooling the feet. |
While walking we were kindly offered a ride to the bus terminal from a man who had been a teacher in town for twenty years. We were very grateful as it was a pretty hot walk! The bus was on time and took 45 mins less than scheduled so that was good.
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| Comfy seats at the front of the bus. |