I was even more surprised when I stepped up to the bus ticket window to purchase my one way ticket to Chetumal to find that the 10:30 AM bus was sold out! It hadn't even dawned on me that I could have (and should have) purchased my ticket the day before (MISTAKE NO. ONE) Now I had two options: 1.) I could wait until 1:00 PM to take the "first class" bus (for US$18.00); OR 2.) I could take the "second class" bus at 11:30 AM (for only US$13.00!). Having no idea what the difference was with a "first" versus a "second" class bus (I found out later the difference is that a "first class" bus has a video monitor constantly playng movies, assigned seats, and a bathroom in the back) I decided to go "second class" to avoid having to wait in the bus terminal for a couple hours. At the bus station I met a young lady named "Karin" -- a student from Austria studying in Merida, Mexico -- who was going to Belize to get her Passport renewed (apparently, visitors and students can only stay in Mexico for a certain number of months before having to renew their Passports. Karin was a smart gal-- and she even had a nose ring! She became my first "traveling buddy" -- but for only a short hop.
The bus ride to Chetumal was pretty much a "piece of cake". The scenery was great, and the bus only made three short stops along the way. We pulled into Chetumal about 3:45 PM. I was surprised to find that Chetumal is a pretty huge city (apparently over a million), with large stores and shopping malls reminiscent of the United States. Since it is right at the Belize border it is common for Belizeans to cross over to do their shopping in Chetumal from time to time. At the bus terminal I was told that I had to take a taxi to a local market to catch the bus to Belize. When I got to the market I was surprised to see the old U.S. school buses - painted Army green - being used for hauling people the short distance -- just a few miles actually-across the border and beyond. The Belize bus wasn't fancy-- but it was cheap! It only cost US$2.50 for the bus ride from Chetumal to Corozol Town-- including getting through all the border crossing business.
 |
| The Green "Army Issue" Bus Brought Me into Belize! |
 |
| This Is the "Market" in Chetumal Where You Catch the Green Bus to Belize! |
 |
| This Is the Driver of the Belize Bus! |
The bus ride to Chetumal was pretty much a "piece of cake". The scenery was great, and the bus only made three short stops along the way. We pulled into Chetumal about 3:45 PM. I was surprised to find that Chetumal is a pretty huge city (apparently over a million), with large stores and shopping malls reminiscent of the United States. Since it is right at the Belize border it is common for Belizeans to cross over to do their shopping in Chetumal from time to time. At the bus terminal I was told that I had to take a taxi to a local market to catch the bus to Belize. When I got to the market I was surprised to see the old U.S. school buses - painted Army green - being used for hauling people the short distance -- just a few miles actually-across the border and beyond. The Belize bus wasn't fancy-- but it was cheap! It only cost US$2.50 for the crossing.
The Immigration and Customs processing at Chetumal was as quick and simple as I have ever encountered. After a short bus ride, they hustled us off the bus (our luggage was still on the bus-- which is a little disconcerting). We were shepherded into a building reminiscent of a large car wash bay, where we were first told to present our Passports and Mexican paperwork. A man stood just outside the "Passport stamping booth" and instructed each of us to "give the girl US$20.00" Assuming that this gentleman was an official of either the Mexocan or Belizean government, all of us did what we were told and watched the young lady (appear to) stamp our Passports. Nobody asked any of us how many days we were planning to stay in Belize -- and I think most of us assumed that - as Americans- we were automatically allowed 30 days in the country. Shortly after this, I was hustled back on the bus. The bus moved hundred feet, and we were given our luggage this time and directed to the "customs" building. Here I was asked by a man if I was bringing in any alcohol or tobacco products, and I told him that I was not. I didn't see them opening up or inspecting anyone luggage, and the process moved quickly. I found out later that three things had happened during this process that were either illegal OR potentially disasterous:
First, the gentleman telling each of us to "give the lady twenty dollars" was apparently NOT a government official. We heard from a number of people that this was an illegal "shakedown" -- a commonly practiced scam at a number of these border operations to raise some revenue for the locals or maybe some crooked officials. If you are ever asked for money like this-- and there is no posted signage explaining what the fees you are being asked to pay are for, you should always tell them you have no money but will be happy to give them a credit card or a traveler's check. Apparently in this case the will just let you go through without paying--- to avoid creating a "paper trail".
Second -- and even more bizarre-- was the fact that the "Passport stamping lady" apparently did NOT actually stamp my Passport (for some reason)- and she never asked me how long I planned to stay in the country. MISTAKE NO. TWO: I had neglected to carefully inspect my Passport after having it handed back to make sure I could read the "BELIZE" entry stamp-- and check how many days I had been permitted to stay in the country.
Third, a fellow from Canada who became my "traveling buddy" shortly after we met in Belize (you will hear a lot about him in upcoming blog entries) had his Passport stamped at the Chetumal crossing but he was also not asked how long he planned to stay and did not pay any attention to the fact that HIS lady had arbitrarily given him only seven days in Belize. BOTH my Canadian friend and I were told nine days later -- when we tried to cross into Guatemala to visit the amazing Maya ruins at Tekal-- that we were both in Belize illegally! Some really nice guys at the Belize/Guatemala crossing at Banque Viejo del Carmen fixed everything up for us and gave us the full 30 days we should have asked for in the first place!
After we FINALLY completed all the border crossing business we once again climbed back onto our old Army bus and headed off to my first stop in Belize-- Corozol Town. After a very short drive (about ten miles) we arrived in the town and -- at first blush anyway-- it did not look like much. Corozol Town is the northernmost urban center in Belize and is located about 85 miles northwest of Belize City. The name of the town is derived from the cohune palms that were abundant when the first inhabitants arrived. The local economy is primarily based on the sugar industry. I was chatting on the bus with Karin (the gal from Austria) and asked her where she was headed. She agreed that it probably made sense to spend the night in Corozol Town and then catch a "water taxi" early the next morning for one of the nearby "cayes" (islands---and pronounced "keys"). Karin and I grabbed a taxi at the bus station and asked the driver to bring us to the nearest hotel that was clean and reasonably priced. He brought us to a nearby place called the "Mayan World Hotel" and we found rooms for US$22.50 per night. The very nice lady who checked us in at the hotel told us that the water taxi to San Pedro leaving at 7:00 AM was going to cost the exact same price as our hotel rooms. Karin and I found a nearby hole-in-the-wall where we could get a meal - nothing special - and we also found a Chinese store on the way back to the hotel where we picked up a six pack of beer (Belikin of course- the ubiquitous brand in Belize I learned quickly). We sat on a small deck at our hotel talking about Karin's various and assorted boyfriends (why is EVERYONE's life so complicated?) and her studies in Mexico for a couple of hours-- but then the beer ran out and it was time to get rested up for tomorrow's visit to nearby Ambergris Caye and the Town of San Pedro.
No comments:
Post a Comment