We emptied our black and grey tanks and filled up with water at Yax Ha, filled our diesel tank in Chetumal before leaving and heading to the Belizean/Mexican border where we cleared customs on the Mexican side, handed our tourist visa over and had our passports stamped out.
Next we had to get the vehicle fumigated, pay and collect a receipt to prove to Belizean customs that we had done so, as they will not let you in without it. After collecting our 30-day visa for Belize, arranging a Temporary Import Permit for our vehicle and paying for Insurance we were finally leaving the border and heading into Belize.
We have now entered our fourth country, after being on the road for almost 2 years. We travelled to Corozal for our first night, staying at Almond Tree Resort where we could use their facilities including the pool. While here we installed the Belizean flag on the back of our home.
Next morning, after restocking with groceries we went over to Serenity Sands to visit Penny. Penny is a Canadian who runs a Bed & Breakfast on the road to Consejo, we had stayed there five years ago for Stewart’s 60th birthday and we wanted go back and visit her.
Before crossing the border we had also booked dinner on Sunday at Smugglers Den just north of Consejo. Smugglers Den is owned by another Canadian couple Ray & Rosa who put on a Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding dinner every Friday and Sunday.
The view from Penny’s B&B.
After staying with Penny for three nights we left Serenity Sands and went into Corozal to do laundry, while this was being done, we stopped at a small park right on the Caribbean Sea for some lunch.
We left Corozal and had decided to check out Sartaneja, which is located east and south from Corozal. But to get there you have to travel about 50kms/30 miles of dirt road which includes two river crossing’s by hand cranked ferry.
When we arrived in Sarteneja we stayed at Backpackers Paradise, which for us was not paradise and we thought was very expensive. We set up our unit before walking into town for dinner. When we arrived in town the sun was setting.
We only stayed on night at Backpackers Paradise, leaving we drove into Sarteneja. We were debating whether to just park along the water front or continue on to somewhere else. While sitting there it started to rain which made up our minds for us, continue on!
Our plan was to head south towards Belize City. As it was mid afternoon by the time we hit the road, we stopped at Crooked Tree Lodge. We spent a couple of nights here; the lake was a good place to bird watch, there were horses wondering around, it also had a nice feel to it.
There were black vultures here, which Stewart managed to get close enough for a good photo. Most of the other birds were either far off in the distance or would not stay still long enough to be photographed.
Next day we managed to order dinner at the Lodge as the night before we had arrive to late to order. Mick who is originally from the UK and now owns Crooked Tree Lodge did a wonderful job of Grilled Pork Chops, fresh vegetables, mint butter potatoes and fresh salad with Mango dressing, with tropical fruit salad for dessert.
We left here the following day to continue onto Belize City.
Next: Belize City and Beyond