Hi guys!
Sorry about the lack of updates but the past few days have been INSANE!
Yesterday we were still at the Paco and Rosaura’s house in Chetumal, Mexico.
We woke up fairly early, had some eggs for breakfast and then we were bombarded by interviewers! Five or six different newspapers sent journalists and photographers to film us and interview us! After about a half an hour later we went outside for a quick photo shoot before the news people all left to publish our story.
Dad and Paco rode off to go run errands and Lilly (their 14-year-old daughter) and I played Minecraft, watched youtube bloggers and made chocolate pancakes all day long! Dad came back just before sunset and we all went to a TV station to do a live interview about the trip in Spanish.
It was very confusing for me, having everyone rushing about and having no idea what they were talking about! It was really cold on set and I was shivering the whole time. They told Dad he could bring in the motorcycle and so he did, roaring through the narrow hallways of the television station and parking it directly behind the couches that we were sitting on in the studio.
We were kind of wandering around the set, lost as to what was going on, when suddenly we heard a loud “5! 4! 3!” We scrambled over to the leather, squishy couches. “2!” We awkwardly plopped down next to the interviewer. “1!” One of the camera men pointed a finger at us, and we were on air!
We chatted in Spanish (Ok, they chatted in Spanish) for a bit, told the interviewer about the trip and then we left to come back to the our friends’ house after thanking everyone and saying goodbye.
Lilly and I filmed a long, amazingly awesome video for her youtube channel where we answered 25 random questions and we edited them for a while before being picked up by their friends to go out for dinner and dessert in the park! We got these yummy pastries called marquesitas from the street vendors along the Chetumal shoreline. Marquesitas are basically massive ice cream cones filled with shredded cheese and Nutella (they were delicious!).
While we munched on them we climbed on some awesome eagle statues near the beginning of the park and bought some firecrackers! Some of the firecrackers you could just toss and they would explode, other you would light and then throw. We then went out for dinner and soon returned to their house where we quickly fell asleep.
The next morning we woke up early so we could get a good start on the border into Belize. We had some eggs for breakfast and then Paco and Rosaura accompanied us to the border!
On the way, we stopped at Sam’s Club to exchange some money and again at a tiny corner store near Chetumal. At the shop we bought a new hammock!!! This was really exciting for us because our good hammock had gotten tangled and torn over the years so we cant use it anymore 🙁 .
When we reached the border it was actually really easy to leave Mexico and cross into Belize! We rode up to the first building, got directions and then headed a few hundred feet down the road to Immigration. We went inside the building and waited for a few minutes in line before we left to go to the next line for vehicle inspection. The guy there gave us a transit pass, which basically means we have to leave tomorrow morning into Guatemala. After that line I waited in the shade for a bit while dad got some stuff stamped and had to pay to have some chemical sprayed on the bike for insects. The final thing was to buy one day’s worth of vehicle insurance for the transit.
When we were leaving we met a family from Argentina who had driven up from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Alberta and were now on their way back down. We talked for a while, exchanged cards (and a promise for them to stay with us in Costa Rica in a few weeks) and rode off into Belize!
Country number four…!
We had filled up for gas in Mexico so we were ok to ride until San Ignacio. The number one thing that I noticed about Belize were the potholes. And the potholes. And the potholes. Endless potholes. The topes (speed bumps) didn’t help either… Especially since they would be in the middle of the highway in the middle of nowhere. We hit a few really hard, going about 120 kilometres per hour. I literally got air on one of the really bad ones… The worst part is that they are pretty much invisible, so you just think it’s a shadow or something.
The whole ride here was HOT and it was mostly all a blur. I do recall running out of daylight and having to ride for awhile in the dark, zig-zagging our way around the potholes.
We finally arrived here in San Ignacio and the local RE/MAX agent, John Acott, met us at a hotel he recommended called The Agauda. The owner of the hotel, Bill Butcher, opened the gates that led around to a beautiful courtyard and Dad rode the bike in and around the trees and parked the bike outside our room. We were lucky to meet Carmen Villalta, district governor of the Rotary Club for Honduras, Guatemala and Belize (District 4250). She has to visit each club in her district at least once during her one-year term (67 clubs!). My aunt Marilyn is the past president of our local Rotary Club. They do a lot of great things for our town.
We all shared chips and dip and chatted, then ate huge burritos. After we ate, dad and I went swimming in the pool (there is an awesome pool here), then I showered and wrote this blog…and now most likely will fall asleep 😉
Good night everyone!
~Holly J
