Hopkins, Belize

After Punta Allen we knew our time in Mexico was drawing to a close and it was kind of sad, Mexico has been warm, fascinating and surprising. After our reviving time at the beach we headed south to the Belize border. Along the way we met two fellow motorcycle travellers on their way down to Costa Rica. One owned a motorcycle store and was taking the trip with one of his employees to test the bikes he was selling. This friendly Costa Rican gentlemen informed us that he in fact held the record for being the first latin american to travel from north pole to south pole on a motorbike. He also had a newspaper article about his current journey, it reminded us of the film `motorcycle diaries´. It was great to meet a fellow traveller with such a passion for adventure and motorcycles. We had the honour of riding with him and his companion for some time and we will definitely pay him a visit when we make it down to Costa Rica.

We stopped for a night in Bacalar a small town by a large lake, we spent the night camped on the porch of a hostel, dwindling finances have encouraged us to make good use of our tent!

The next morning we woke early and filled with some nervous energy we set about packing and preparing for the border crossing, the first of many to come. Crossing a border is always a little scary, plenty of people give you warnings, the trouble always seems to be in the next town the next country the next port, or so people seem to say. Despite warnings we wanted to explore Belize, where at least the main language is English...hooray!

The paper work was not as bad as we feared and the relaxed manner of the border staff was immediately endearing. Belize is a former English colony and was originally partially populated by retired pirates and their African slaves. At present there is a large population of African descendents, known as the Garifuna community. There are also Asians, Lebanese, Europeans and Mayans. The diversity of Belize is a large part of what interested us about the country. As soon as we crossed the border the landscape changed and there was a lush green quality to the terrain and the lakes seemed to be perfectly still, their surface was as smooth as silk. Even more charming were the friendly locals, we took a wrong turn and dozens of people were stopping us to tell us we had gone the wrong way. We made a road stop for some lunch and a large group of locals of African descent were eating at the road stop. They were so warm, funny and relaxed we knew we had made the right decision in coming to Belize. The bike attracted a lot of attention and one man told us, in the thick Jamaican accent common in Belize, that BMW stands for bad man wagon, which was hilarious, especially in that accent. He then told us to take care and be safe. Another Belizan later told us that BMW stood for Bob Marley and the Wailers, we liked that one too!

We had decided to head to Hopkins, a Garifuna community in the south of Belize. The road was long and for a large part unsealed. The afternoon was advancing and the sunlight was softening. We were in the midst of miles of dense tropical rainforest on a rough road and at times our speed was not far off walking pace. We knew the jungle was full of wild cats, snakes and other exotic creatures and the passers by were few. We had no water left and the balance of our bike on the red dusty road was precarious. We were longing to reach our destination but the road did not seem to end. Finally ahead we saw a grey black surface! at last a paved road. We finally made it to Hopkins at dusk and found a wonderful lodge run by Dutch/German lady, Ingrid, immeidately I knew we would be in for a treat. Her lodge was a civilized oasis full of all the comforts from home that you miss. We stayed in beautiful rooms and were invited to have dinner with Ingrid and some of her friends. The meal was prepared by one of Ingrids friends, a top chef working in a local resort and we still think fondly about that meal, it was one of those memorable meals. The meal was matched only by the company, we met a fascinating group of people who had all wound up living in Belize for one reason or another. Another interesting local was an artist who was painting signs in the courtyard of the lodge and who had lived in many different parts of the world and who had cycled over large parts of central america. This trip has been so incredible because of the people we have met. Thank you so much for your hospitality, it makes all the difference!

After spending a couple of days in Belize it was time to make tracks for Guatemala!
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Next stop: Guatemala