Belize to Mexico

May 24, 2011--Orange Walk, Belize to Chetumal, Mexico

The Internet was down at the hotel this morning.  And when we went to the bakery, there was nothing Wes wanted to have.  We saw a bus for Chetumal at the station across the street from the hotel, so we rushed to catch it.  We left at 8:30.

The bus was a local one meaning it stopped anywhere and everywhere, sometimes just half a block apart.  The people were a mixture of types.  There were two more tourists speaking French.  There were two Mennonite men.  There was an elderly white couple.  There were some Chinese Belizeans.  Etc.

The border crossing was longer than most of the others that I have made.  In Belize, we had to line up to pay $18.75 US in exit taxes and fees.  Then they just stamped our passports.  On the Mexican side, however, we had to stand in line to get forms, fill them out, and then stand in line to have them checked and stamped.  It took quite a while.

I felt sorry for the elderly couple.  They were the last of our bus group in line just behind the young French tourists.  Just before the French tourists arrived at the bus, the driver started to pull off.  Some of us mentioned the French tourists and the elderly couple.  He waited a moment, and the French couple came into view.  After they were on the bus, he started to pull out, and the French couple and I both mentioned the elderly couple.  But he was in a hurry and we left without them.  I hope they didn't have to wait too long or pay too much to get a bus to take them further.  The border is 10 km (6 miles) outside of Chetumal.

I had a hand-drawn map I had made from the Internet since my guidebook did not include a map.  We followed it as we left the bus station, but everything seemed confusing.  We passed the Hotel Principe that looked rather nice, so we stopped to ask about their rates.  It proved to be a better deal than the Hotel Los Cocos where we had planned to stay.  It was hot, so we checked in rather than continuing further with our luggage.

We had three goals for the day--for me to find a dentist and have my teeth cleaned, for us to see the Museo de la Cultura Maya (considered to be a very good museum telling and illustrating the history of the Mayans), and to go to the local Sam's Club to see what it is like.

Our timing couldn't have been better.  We left the hotel asking directions for a dentist and came to an office within a few minutes.  He was free and cleaned my teeth immediately.  He did a good job, although the experience was not as professional as I get in Thailand--no chest cover, no facial mask cover, no mask on the dentist, etc.  But his tools were clean and he wore latex gloves.  He used a topical anesthetic which I was not used to having.  Also, between the cleaning and the polishing, he used a bitter tasting spray (a bit like liquid Alka Seltzer) on the surfaces and between the teeth.  The price was higher than I expected--about 150% of what I pay in Thailand, but only about 2/3 of what I would pay in the US.

From his office, it was only about four blocks to the museum.  Before entering, we ate chicken soup at a food stall nearby.  We were the only ones inside the museum while we were there and were able to take our time reading and discussing the exhibits.  We were both amused that Lamanai was not mentioned at all, although our guide yesterday seemed to think it was so important and considered it to be the only great Mayan city still in existence when the Spaniards arrived.

We returned to our hotel to rest during the heat of the day.  Later, we went downstairs to swim in the pool. Then we headed out for Sam's Club.  On the way, we discovered it was an hour later than we had thought.  Fortunately, when we got to the store at 19:30, the posted hours indicated it would be open until 22:00.

Wes had been wanting to get a hot dog to eat at Sam's Club since he knew we would be near there.  They had them on the menu, but they aren't the bargain here that they are in the US.  They cost $1.75 US and do not include a free drink.  We each ordered a "meal deal" which gave us a hot dog, a drink, and a choice of either fries or nachos for $3.55 US.  The condiment choices were different here, too--tomatoes, onions, ketchup, and sliced jalepenos.  It was a tasty hot dog.

Inside the store, we walked the aisles just to see how the merchandise and the prices compared to the US.  In all the cases where I knew prices, they were slightly higher here in the Mexico store.  As is the case with all their stores, it was interesting to find the local products that they carry.  We would have bought some cookies or pastries if there had been an easy way for us to carry them as we continue traveling.

Sam's Club is on the western edge of downtown by the waterfront.  From there, we walked all the way along the waterfront to the eastern edge of town and part of the way northward on the waterfront from there.  Then we walked beside a huge sports complex with very modern facilities for swimming, biking, football, baseball, volleyball, etc.  That brought us to down town which was beginning to close up at 21:00.  We walked from there back to our hotel with an overall impression that Chetumal is a clean town with a very nice waterfront lined with restaurants and clubs.