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Ride safe in Mex, and eat loads!! Pat |
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out of Merida in the morning heading to Chetumel on the Belize border, riding across the Yucatan is not to interesting, flat land, tree lined roads blocking your view of everything and small towns dotted along the way...on the way back i'm going to do the Mayan ruins tours before any of you comment on that
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2017-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2019-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2021-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2023-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2024-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2043-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2027-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2028-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2029-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2031-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...-2-copy-XL.jpg Yucatan traffic lights :wtfk: http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2032-XL.jpg if all this beer was poured in a swimming pool i would have jumped in, it was a hot one today http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2050-XL.jpg and then on schedule the afternoon rains arrived at 3 pm precisely http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2056-XL.jpg |
The Mexicans sure like the monuments,Looks like your on better road now Paul.Ride safe. :driver:
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first of all i apologise up front about the quality of todays photos, it was heavy rain off and on all day and i was doing a border crossing so i was just snapping shots as i was riding
the border from Chetumel Mexico into Belize...in a word EASY so it goes like this... get gas in mexico first and fill up, its about $3.25 a gallon and in belize its about $6 do passport exit stamp on your right as you pull up to the bridge, small white concrete hut if there is a guy approach you for insurance refuse, its a scam, tell him you have it arranged at the Belize insurance company across the bridge "you know the big white building after customs"...after this he was just chatting, he did give me some good free advice though - don't drive in the puddles unless you have to, some of them are VERY deep...i saw this first hand as i crossed the bridge, i watched a trucks wheel drop into a hole that looked like a small puddle and it was over 10 inches deep, basically a wheel buster then ahead on your left is the Bank for getting your refund of your TVIP, i had one person in line in front of me, they come out and take a photo of your VIN number and then issue you a reciept, the refund is about a week or so no photos on that side of the bridge due to very heavy rain over the bridge, this is looking backwards, towards mexico http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2057-XL.jpg at the bottom of the bridge is an insurance company, one of two...ignore the hustlers if they come over, they will do a 2 for 1 scam, taking your info getting your paperwork and going inside on your behalf, trying to charge you $60 US for insurane thats $30 US but on the paperwork it shows $60 (but that's in Belize money, they pocket the change)...do it yourself this is the insurance company i used http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2058-XL.jpg i knew the fee was $30 for 7 days, i only had a $100 bill, he couldn't change it, he asked if i had a credit card, nope! how about mexican? yes, i can do it for 220 pesos about $16...deal then he made a mistake, he gave me insurance for a month instead of a week...for some reason i didn't say anything :lol3 he gives you the paperwork and a sticker to put on your windshield so the cops can see it and won't stop you...thats what he said, not me next you go around the corner to your right, behind the casino about 200 yards ahead of you is a big white warehouse looking building up a side road...go up there it looks like this http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2059-XL.jpg this is passport control and customs and where you do your import, they don't come out and look at the bike or bags at all first passport control, tell them you are here for a month otherwise they give you a transit visa for the day or maybe two, i use my UK passport and once they saw it they changed and were real friendly, Belize used to be a British colony, i guess they were expecting a US one, i keep that hidden away they gave me 19 days :huh but its more than enough, i'll be here for a week or two weeks tops next - ten yards further forward is customs import desk, go to the 'goods to declare' side on the left you are declaring your bike they need to see your passport and title, i gave them a copy and they were happy with that - they don't keep any copies they write down your VIN/ address/name/plate number in a book and give you a copy, then they stamp your passport again next to the immigration stamp and add import expiry date, and the bikes details next you go back out get your bike and ride thru here http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2060-XL.jpg he wants to see your passport and the little piece of white paper they just gave you inside, he checks your tag number, not your VIN and thats it once you drive away you will see a big white building across from the stop sign, this is the Belize insurance company, if you missed the first place then this is your last chance to get it and its compulsory http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2061-XL.jpg then ride on...you're thru and done CENRUT maps for Garmin here are kind of OK, not too accurate but they send you in the right direction, my route was off by about 20 yards OK the differences since crossing the border i lived in the Bahamas for a number of years and also traveled around numerous caribbean islands as well, straight away you get a feeling like you are on an island in the caribbean. Houses on short stilts because of high water issues, tin roofs, small low level stuff, some Mayan huts as well, a few unfinished Mexican style houses too - someone correct me on this if i'm wrong, i remember traveling in Spain years ago and i was told that if a house isn't 100% finished then no taxes are due, i was told it the same in Mexico, thats why they always look like the second floor or roof is waiting to be put on also more pastel shades as well for exterior paint http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2068-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2069-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2073-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2074-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2080-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2084-XL.jpg KM's are gone you're back in MPH http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2072-XL.jpg topes are gone now they are... http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2089-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2098-XL.jpg very few were painted and blended in with the road very well, but same rules as Mexico applies, most of the time there are some on the way in and on the way out of a town animals look healthier http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2096-XL.jpg when they say its rainy season they mean it http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2101-XL.jpg women ride bicycles in the rain with umbrellas!!! http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2103-XL.jpg places are signposted pretty well, my destination for today was the Crooked Tree Lodge, up this dirt road for 4 miles, there was a "toll" to enter the village but i just rode by, its $4, i didn't have any change anyway http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2105-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2109-XL.jpg i get to the lodge and i'm the only one here, its rainy season!!! but its very cool i'll take some photos and add them in the next post or two, the owner is an ex british military guy called Mick, and already he has invited me to a pig roast tomorrow at some friends of his...might stay here a while, well 19 days at the most |
Hi PAUL good pics and write up as usual,the weathers about the same here in Dorset.:sneeze:Ride Safe Barry.
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its time for a few days to stop and not ride...feels good. I'm at the crooked tree lodge
www.crookedtreelodgebelize.com
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2125-XL.jpg nobody else here than me so i can unwind from the stress of having to ride my bike around the world :lol3 this is my cabana http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2110-XL.jpg and some views around the place http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2114-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2122-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...-2-copy-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2122-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1375-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1381-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1389-XL.jpg late afternoon and into the very early hours Mick (the owner) and i went into Belize city to a pig roast to meet some of his friends, Belize has a avery eclectic of ex pats from the UK, South Africa, US and various eastern block and arab counties. http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2136-XL.jpg *************i was talking to one guy and he was telling me that the border from Belize to Guatemala maybe closed, there was a shooting by the Belize border control of a Guatemalan farmer and tensions were running high, he felt that as a non Belizian it shouldn't be an issue but he did what to make me aware of it just the same...stay tuned on that one |
as i am just down the road from Lamanai Mayan temples i took a ride to day to have a look around...its renowned for being one of the quieter sites and i only saw 14 other people there
information from Wiki... Lamanai was occupied as early as the 16th century BC. The site became a prominent centre in the Pre-Classic Period, from the 4th century BC through the 1st century CE. In 625 CE, "Stele 9" was erected there in the Yucatec language of the Maya. Lamanai continued to be occupied up to the 17th century AD. During the Spanish conquest of Yucat�n Spanish friars established two Roman Catholic churches here, but a Maya revolt drove the Spanish out. The site was subsequently incorporated by the British in British Honduras, passing with that colony's independence to Belize. on the way there it was monkeys and iguanas and a few bird taking off http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1454-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1456-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1457-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1473-XL.jpg then it was on to the temples this is the jaguar temple http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1493-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1494-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...-2-copy-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1509-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1524-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1537-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1553-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1567-XL.jpg view from the top http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2143-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...SAM2144-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1588-XL.jpg it was a steep climb http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1593-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1595-XL.jpg http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1599-XL.jpg onto the mask temple http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/o...IMG1627-XL.jpg |
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