Mexico ... and a few other places

[amaroo]

Caracol first settled around 1200BC and grew into a city of 200sq km with thousands of structures. It really hit its straps around 650BC ... by 950AD the city was abandoned. The Mayan basically consumed all the natural resources (deforestation) and ran out of food and water. Once the people left .. the elites were stuffed!!

This was an amazing ruin - top 5 on our list.







Decent Belize military presence in this area due to border raids by Guatemalan poachers and generally poor relations all round with Guatemala.

The area was very safe, so don’t get worried about the boots on the ground.... I think it’s more about being seen to be doing something.

 

[amaroo]

After a wonderful three nights is was time to move on. Turtle Inn, and some beach time awaited.

The drive to Turtle Inn was nice enough with good roads and interesting scenery.



Turtle Inn



Our seafront villa

 

[amaroo]

Seafront Villa is a two bedroom, two Bathroom villa - perfect for a family of 4.

A dozen or so steps from your door, and you’re dipping the toes in the Caribbean Sea









Views from the front door



Main pool .... there is also an adults only pool

 

[amaroo]

After a little lunch...





We walked around the property....





Soon enough - it was time for dinner.

 

[amaroo]

Entrance to Turtle Inn



Guess this is why it’s called Turtle Inn



Today was a nothing day - no ruins, no caving, no tours... just a day to do whatever. After a lovely sleepin and late breakfast, we decided to take a look around Placencia Village. $8 cab ride and 5 mins later - we ended up in Placencia.

An oasis in the middle of Central America.



We then hired a golf buggy and just set off. A little up the road you pass Placencia airport. The airport is small and the runway just sort of ends at the ocean ... there is also the main road into Placencia between the water and runway. A few weeks before we arrived there was an accident involving Tropic Air (our carrier) and a car that failed to stop where it should have. Well the car got damaged, but the plane got written off. The Belizian deputy PM was on board.... as it turned out Tropic Air was not at fault, but they still lost the plane.



Pretty sure this cool dude was piloting one of our flights



Approaching the end of the runway in our buggy.



Stopped in the appropriate place with a birds eye view of all the action



If you’re wondering - No, I didn’t tell the family about the accident until we completed our last Tropic Air flight

Tropic Air is a fantastic small airline and after 8 flights - I should know

 

[amaroo]

Buggy hire over, we were back in the village... definitely worth walking around.



After a couple of enjoyable hours of buying local stuff and having an ale or two on the beach .... we decided to walk back along the beach to Turtle Inn. It’s just on the other side of the bay...



Heaps of restaurants and bars on the beachfront



Some nice houses too

 

[amaroo]

As we approached the point we could hear music, laughter, and sheer happiness!



Yep, the unmistakable sound of a wedding. Just a beautiful occasion to witness.... lovely setting too!



Back at the Inn we watched our daughter assist with the attaching of a few floating lounges.



Dinner at Gauguin Grill, a seafood feast.








Wonderful day!

 

[RooFlyer]

Mexico cops a bad rap by some...

One of those was me ... I had my view coloured by Canadian (where I spent a lot of time) horror stories about tourists being attacked, even in resorts, and by some geological acquaintances who practically have to go around with their own armed protection. Mind you, that's not where the tourists go!! You've totally won me over and I totally have the hots for Teotihuacan, Mexico City.

Caracol is located near the Guatemalan border, it is a very bumpy 1:5 hr drive from the lodge.

Having taken the main access road south from the highway, I would wonder which was bumpier!

Decent Belize military presence in this area due to border raids by Guatemalan poachers and generally poor relations all round with Guatemala.

A Caracol ranger was shot on site by Guatemalan 'bandits' maybe 5 years ago now. When I went a few years ago, the tour cars met at a military station about half way down the road and then went in convoy with a military jeep. I dare say its a pretty cruisy gig for the military these days.

How are your knees after climbing all those temples?

 

[amaroo]

When we woke the next morning the day was looking like a cracker...



So we headed to the dive shop and got fitted out for a day of snorkeling



About half and hour out the sky wasn’t looking the best and we came across these two in the middle of nowhere. They were cool - couple of locals diving for Conch ... apparently they free dive 70 feet or so, grab their haul, and rinse and repeat all daylong



Around 40mins later we arrived at Silk Caye



If you’re wondering- no, the weather hasn’t improved





Then the day turned dark, the wind blew something fierce and we all stood like penguins beside the only structure on our tiny Caye in the middle of nowhere.





20 minutes later the sun came out, and we went out to play

 

[amaroo]

Quick break for Lunch



Just taking it all in....

 

[amaroo]

After lunch it was time to jump back in ... we motored to a different location, dropped anchor, and jumped in...

The sea was alive with sharks, rays, and loggerhead turtles.... what an experience!!!



Awesome day! We then turned the boat around and headed home.



Approaching Turtle Inn



We completed a perfect day with coughtails, wine and some delicious pasta.

 

[amaroo]

One of those was me ... I had my view coloured by Canadian (where I spent a lot of time) horror stories about tourists being attacked, even in resorts, and by some geological acquaintances who practically have to go around with their own armed protection. Mind you, that's not where the tourists go!! You've totally won me over and I totally have the hots for Teotihuacan, Mexico City.

I might have been thinking about you when I made that post. Seriously, Mexico was fantastic.... Mexico City was even better! The Historical Centre is a Masterpiece.

A Caracol ranger was shot on site by Guatemalan 'bandits' maybe 5 years ago now. When I went a few years ago, the tour cars met at a military station about half way down the road and then went in convoy with a military jeep. I dare say its a pretty cruisy gig for the military these days.

We stopped at one checkpoint.... needed to register the car and number of people. Our guide did all the talking and then got back in and drove without any escort. It was another hours drive to the ruin where we saw some military at the entrance, but they never left the building. The only other sighting was the random patrol I posted above.



Guatamala have a "stone in their shoe" over a 159 year old broken promise made by the Brits. They're holding a referendum on March 18 2018 to see it they will push on with action in the International Court of Justice.

Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute - Wikipedia

They lay claim to around 50% of Belize....

How are your knees after climbing all those temples?

All good. Some temples are better than others.... Coba was a challenge due to the angle and condition of the stone.

Teotihuacan, it was the sheer numbers - absolutely massive structures / site.

You do feel good once you've made it down

 

[amaroo]

Our time in Belize was up Not all bad as we are heading back to Mexico to spend the next 3 weeks exploring this fascinating country.

We were originally booked to fly from Belize city over to Merida (capital of Yucatan) however Tropic Air decided back in September to ditch that route .... so we had to make some changes to car rentals, hotels, etc and it soon became PLJ-BZE-CUN.

Or so we thought!

Once we departed PLJ (Placencia) it became pretty obvious we were going to do a milk run up the coast to Belize City.... we ended up stopping at two extra airports. One of those extra flights has now become the shortest flight we or most people will ever do - TZA-BZE or Belize City to Belize International.... about 2 minutes as the crow flies. Lucky I like flying






Tropic Air - brought to you by Coca Cola.

Coca Cola is killing more Mexicans than the cartels .... more on that later!




Our private charter .... we were the only ones flying PLJ-DGA .... TZA-BZE. What a way to fly




Welcome to DGA. We picked up a nice fellow and his golf clubs



Welcome to TZA. The fellow and his golf clubs offloaded and I suspect played a round of golf!







Welcome to BZE .... finally.

 

[amaroo]

BZE airport - not much in creature comforts, but it does the job.



The workhorse of the Tropic Air fleet





BZE-CUN .... very scenic flight!




I got a front row seat watching the Captain putting his 1st Officer through some training/test coaching.





Back in Cancun ..... only for as long as it takes to collect our hire car.

 

[JohnM]

View attachment 115505

When I did some aerial safaris in East Africa, we were told mobile phone use on board was fine.

 

[amaroo]

Tropic Air no longer use the main terminal at CUN. They recently moved to a special purpose building used by private operators, and tiny airlines like Tropic and Mayan Air.

This was causing me some concerns given the hire car company is located off-site and they are set up for transfers from the main terminal.

My fears were totally unfounded! The first thing I saw as we passed immigration was a smiling man from EasyWay holding a sign with my name ... unbelievable service from a hire car company!

EasyWay is a terrific business with great customer service .... I’m so glad I avoided the likes of Hertz and Avis. Paperwork completed and a 100% discount on the drop off fee ($US150 for dropping the car at Mérida) we packed our Dodge Caravan and set off on a drive across Yukatan.

One very big tip for driving in Mexico - make sure you have CASH in the pocket. Most service station attendants only accept cash, and you may find it very frustrating locating an ATM outside the cities.

I had very little cash and didn’t find an ATM until we hit Mérida....

The drive across Yucatan wasn’t part of the plan, it came about due to Tropic Air cancelling the flight to Mérida.



Typical main road



Typical local road ... most have huge potholes



Our home for the night - Hacienda San Jose. SPG luxury collection

The Haciendas are restored plantations from the Henequen “Green Gold” days ... more on that later.

 

[amaroo]

The kids room

 

[amaroo]

The property...



The original kiln

 

[amaroo]

The Haciendas are located in remote regional areas - not suitable for dinning out. Luckily their restaurants are very good and offer local and international cuisine.

We stayed at 3 different Haciendas for a total of 4 nights .... we ate at all of them. No complaints as the quality was of a high standard.

 

[amaroo]

Today we’ve got to backtrack a little to squeeze in Chichén Itzá. Will it be worth the 1:5hr drive?