Our departure from Mexico was not without incident!

We'd read that there is a common scam where Mexican officials ask for a departure tax as you go through passport control so while we checked in for the boat we Googled the subject and found that this happened regularly; sure enough, we were asked for an 'administration fee' which we refused to pay and also threatened to report the official. We thought this might be enough to call their bluff but we were then manhandled out of the small office and told to go ahead and report them. So off we marched indignantly to some local government offices across the road where we found someone who could speak English; they lead us to another building where it was confirmed there is no departure tax as such but a fee is due if it has not already been paid when buying the flight ticket which gets you into Mexico. Our flight ticket mentioned taxes and surcharges but no specifics so we decided we'd better pay up. We rushed back as there was only an hour to go now before our boat was due to go only to be told by the officials that we now had to go to the bank, pay the fee there and come back; they could have taken our money there and then but they had obviously decided to make life difficult for us! The boat company also said that they would sell our tickets if we didn't return in time and things were getting rather stressful! The bank was a taxi ride away and we also had to withdraw some more cash, pushing to the front of the ATM queue as well as another queue where a cashier took our money and gave us a receipt (something that the official was not willing to do). We got back with about 20 minutes to spare, our passports duly got their exit stamps and we walked up the dock where the boat was waiting to be loaded with about 10 minutes to spare.

After talking to other passengers who seemed to have paid higher amounts than us we suspect that the passport official was correct in asking us to pay a fee since we couldn't prove that it had already been paid but that he was also adding extra on for himself, hence no receipt being available!

Anyway, we made it and our first stop was Ambergris Caye, an island whose main town, San Pedro, was made famous in Madonna's hit, La Isla Bonita (the beautiful island) in the early 1980s. Our first impressions were very favourable with immigration located in a wooden shack on a rickety wooden pier where we were welcomed to Belize with a smile. Fifteen minutes later we were in our chosen accommodation, an enlarged beach hut less than one minute's walk from the sea.

Later that night we were eating Caribbean jerk curry in a beautiful open air restaurant, called Hidden Treasure, that was just a short walk down the sandy street. We went back on our last night for coconut shrimp and chicken served in a pineapple. (Elaine and Eric, this place is about 10 minutes south of San Pedro town and is definitely worth a visit if you go to Ambergris. They're only open in the evening.)

Belize is a small country, about the same size as Wales. It was a British colony until independence in 1981, previously known as British Honduras, and the Queen's head is still on all coins and bank notes. English is widely spoken as well as Spanish and Creole, a type of Pidgen English. Other things that make Belize a bit different are the 'National Animal' which is the tapir and the one brand of beer available that is called Beliken, which translates as "murky water"! The beer is available in two strengths, a lager and a stout, with both using the same bottle and distinguished by a different colour bottle top. The bottles themselves are recycled until the printing can now longer be read.

We explored the island, which is about 20 miles long, by bike (the most popular form of transport are motorised golf buggies). It was magical cycling along the compacted sand, dodging palm trees and close to the water's edge. It was unlike Cancun in Mexico as you could cycle along the beach as far as you wanted without finding it sectioned off by large all-inclusive hotels, and there were some wonderful villas we passed. We stopped at a bar on stilts at the end of a jetty out at sea which temptingly offered rubber rings to float in while cold beers were lowered to you in a bucket!

The highlight for us was the snorkelling trip we did one afternoon out to the barrier reef. Stretching for more than 150 miles the Belize barrier reef is the second longest in the world. Here we swam over the coral with barracuda, green sea turtles and many more types of colourful fish before moving on to an area called Shark Ray Alley. Here a school of nurse sharks gathered around our boat to be fed as we arrived and shortly we were in the water with them; these sharks, we were assured, did not attack people and moved away from us if we got too close. We also swam over curious stingrays which lazily flapped their way beneath us in the warm waters.

Further south along the reef is an incredible phenomenon called The Blue Hole which is 300m wide and 150m deep. Unless you're a diver, the only way to appreciate it is from the air but flights cost a fortune so we've resorted to our old trick of taking a photo of a postcard!

As people who like to try everything (which is legal!) in Playa del Carma we spotted some ear cleaners at a pharmacy and had the chance to try them out in San Pedro. They were long tubes of waxy paper which we had to light at the ends and then stick them in our ears; they hissed and popped and supposedly removed wax but there should have been a health and safety warning as once they were lit I could only use them for about 30 seconds or else I'd have set my hair on fire! Have taken a photo of Tony who managed to keep them in for longer. The experience was certainly different but no obvious improved results!

It was a shame to leave San Pedro but we wanted to move on and see more of Belize. More from the mainland soon.

Love from Linda and Tony xx

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Comments

Charles and Sue CS Thanks Linda and Tony - a great antidote to the cold and wet in the UK. We are just back from 3 weeks work in Kenya and Tanzania and suffering a bit of weather shock. Hope the rain is falling as snow in the Alps

Feb 6, 2014 CELIA FANTASTIC AND SO GLAD YOU MADE YOUR BOAT - WHAT AN ORDEAL. HOW BLISSFUL CYCLING ON THE BEACH. ALARM SERVICE ON THE 7TH MARCH AND I HAVE SENT IN YOUR ADVERT FOR TWIN TOWNS SO ALL WELL AT NO: 3! Feb 6, 2014

Anne ha, I can visualise you saying 'No, we won't pay!!' defiantly, then ending up thinking O.M.G. we're going to ruin the holiday by missing the boat!! Ah well, all ended up fine in the end.....phew :^) Feb 6, 2014