San Miguel Campground

My favorite spot in Belize, $30 US and worth it.

They don’t have electricity to plug in, Starlink has trouble getting a signal thanks to the pine tree cover, the showers are only cold. But there are no sounds here and with only five camp spots you have all the privacy you could want. Welcome to San Miguel Campground in the Pine Ridge Reserve, 1700 feet above sea level and not too humid.  

Crossing into Guatemala is best done on a weekday as weekends see banks close at the border and getting local currency is a hassle, especially as Guatemalan officials want to be paid in Quetzals (8 to the US dollar) and we’ve been told you end up riding taxis to get everything sorted. So we’ll cross Monday or Tuesday  if Layne will agree to sit still for an extra day. 

We used this as a base to try to visit the Mayan ruins at Caracol thirty miles from here. 

The Government of Kuwait, of all people has funded the paving of the road to Caracol to the tune of twenty million dollars at two percent over thirty years. 

The pavement goes a couple of miles past San Miguel campground but work is continuing to complete pavement all the way to the Mayan ruins. They say it should be finished in two years. Then you can expect Caracol to be swarmed by tourists.  

In Mayan history about 600 years ago Caracol got into a war with Tikal in Guatemala and Caracol won, which victory started a decline in Tikal’s population. Caracol is in the process of being uncovered and is believed to be the largest Mayan city known. The attraction was irresistible. 

The pavement is still being laid but soon enough we found the construction, a huge bridge which forced us into dirt as we drove underneath the arches. 

We thought we would be alone on the road as it was barely eight in the morning. 

It didn’t look bad to start with. There was some washboard which slowed us down in places. We averaged ten miles an hour picking our way through the sand.  

We argued the meaning of the sign; Layne thought it meant beware wild turkeys though my vote obviously was a warning to keep an eye out for peacocks. We never did find out who was right. 

I’d seen the bridge below in photos and the thought of driving it had given me palpitations I will admit. 

It turned out is wider than it looks so even though there are no guardrails you aren’t actually near the edge. 

You can see the original cement structure but the current one is quite solid and is easy to negotiate. It should be superseded by a real road bridge soon. 

Belize has tons of water even in dry season. Quite picturesque too so we stopped partway to take a picture from the bridge, we were that comfortable. 

Partway there is a military base, a forestry office and supposedly a campground which you can pay for in advance if you want to spend the night there. 

The Belize Defence Force is stationed here to protect travelers. The Guatemalan border is nearby and armed incursions became commonplace in the first years of this century threatening tourists. The army then organized convoys from De Silva to Caracol however these days the threat seems have dissipated and Guatemala’s claim to Belize is being argued in court. 

We stopped, waited, sounded our horn and drove on when no soldier appeared. 

Just another day in Belize where things may or may not work. 

Pretty soon we came to signs of renewed road widening. 

Bambi crossing? Slippery highway? The road signs seemed really random. 

We met road workers, trucks crossed paths with us and logging trucks stormed past in a cloud of dust forcing us to stop and wait for visibility to return.

It got busier later in the morning as other tourists started to appear well after us early birds. We were the slowest vehicle on the road to Caracol. 

I love asphalt. Driving dirt is a pain and check out this teeth juddering washboard: 

More crappy bridges but by now it was obvious the huge logging trucks crossed these things at speed so our 9,000 pounds weren’t at risk. I still took them slowly and carefully. 

This was as far as we got but I looked down into the valley and I got a twist in my chest. What if we couldn’t get back up? Bear in mind photos never show the real angle on inclines and this stretch was  steep deep and rutted.  I stopped. And looked. 

If you have been following this page you know what I did next. We turned around as I just couldn’t see getting us stuck at the bottom of this hill. Disappointing yes but the idea of needing a tow to get back up this hill in our heavily loaded Promaster was too much to contemplate. Mark this down as the second time in 72,000 miles we needed four wheel drive. Most likely we could have made but what if..? 

We were two and a half hours into the drive so we stopped at the forestry station for lunch. I took Rusty for a walk that he really enjoyed down a side road while Layne made a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. 

It was hot and still, over 95 degrees, and I was surprised Rusty wanted to keep walking. Off we went. Then after lunch I checked out the old buildings abandoned to the grasses. 

From there we drove into San Ignacio as a young couple we had met in Mexico were heading north from Guatemala via Belize, the country with no free public education system. That still boggles my mind. 

Celebrating 40 years of independence and not a waste recycling system in sight. 

Rob and Mandy were a sight for sore eyes. Just another couple of Americans driving a van, a four wheel drive Sprinter from New England. 

Oh and their fridge is broken. I was delighted to be able to direct them to  a potential repair technician. Clearly I’ve spent too long in Belize. However I am glad to be sharing my favorite campground with them in the trees at San Miguel.  

Spanish Lookout

If I had to live in Belize I wouldn’t be allowed to live in the town of Spanish Lookout but I’d shop there all the time, I’d get my building supplies, car parts and lumber and I’d hire mechanics and repair technicians. Spanish Lookout is modern, clean and well organized. One long time San Ignacio resident described it to us as “Kansas with palm trees.”

The hint to its roots lies in the greeting at the city limits; who speaks German? Why the Mennonites do of course!

You have to be a member of the tribe to live in the city. They hire from outside but they run the town. Another expatriate said he liked to shop there too but he wasn’t interested in living in the town with the highest taxes in Belize. I think you get your money’s worth. 

They have a city hall and community center and of course a church and the buildings are clean and modern and with my middle class proclivities I like the atmosphere of order and serenity. 

It’s one hell of a contrast from the rest of the country, no tourism, no poverty, no alcohol, no grime or dirt. 

Of course I’m no candidate for membership in anything club-like, certainly not anything like a religious order but the Mennonites are quite the asset to Belize. 

About 50 families emigrated to British Honduras from Chihuahua in Mexico in 1958. The Mexican Mennonites were a splinter group from Canadian Mennonites who in turn arrived from Russia in the 19th century. Quite the journey to Central America. There are twelve thousand of them now in Belize living largely apart with their own rules in their own community in a country of 400,000 people. They produce almost all the agricultural products grown in Belize, consequently the country is hopelessly dependent on them. 

Check this out: a strip mall. Yes I know you can step out of your home and visit any number of places like this but in Belize where there are no familiar chains or box stores this is unique, not just rare. Want a fancy coffee? A butcher shop? In a clean tidy parking lot?

A vegetable market? It was okay but they do need to get windows to keep out the dust. 

On our second visit we went to the main supermarket, with a striped parking lot labeled with an entrance, an exit and one way traffic. In a country with a highly developed individualistic style of driving I was astonished to see everyone parking properly and with perfect manners. It was slightly weird. 

Rusty stayed aboard GANNET2 and we went in to mingle with the locals. In Mennonite culture women and men have separate roles so we saw bunches of women and children but no Russian peasants shopping. I was acutely conscious of my shorts - a quick route to eternal damnation I’m told- but there were lots of non Mennonites shopping. Staff west polo shirts and demure black skirts. 

Layne asked a Mennonite staff member where the dog food was. The woman looked puzzled. “At the Reimer’s Feed store” she said with the tone of one who wonders at the stupidity of the customer. Mennonites don’t keep pets. They raise dogs for cash in puppy mills. You can imagine how I feel about that. Check this out: price labels. Seen nowhere else in Belize. Seriously, in the Chinese food stores everywhere else in Belize you pick stuff up and hope for the best. 

Look at all those legs on display: heathens! I can’t fathom dressing for a Russian winter while living in the tropics but that’s what they do. 

I couldn’t believe the traffic signs and orderliness. 

The city of Marathon could use this banner explaining how to use the center lane. I get the feeling discipline is a virtue around here which is confusing when it’s such a small island in a sea of confusion. 

We did our shopping and left. GANNET2 is doing great after surgery. We had an alignment done and all is well on the front wheels. We had thought to retreat to the US and regroup but at this point we seem to have put the disaster behind us. After a rest in the mountains we’ll press on to Guatemala next week and see what happens. One step at a time. 

I noted the suggestion yesterday that we should consider a four wheel drive van. It’s a popular option these days but for us it’s not an option. Vans aren’t off road vehicles, they are heavy and tall and not suitable for off roading in my opinion. I’m not an off road driver and don’t want the added complexity and expense had reduced gas mileage if four wheel drive. Four wheel drive wouldn’t have saved us in the recent fiasco when we sank in a clay hole. Most overlanders will tell you they want to know they can drive anywhere but rarely use four wheel drive. We broke common sense rules in getting stuck and I hope we won’t do that again. Four wheel drive can get you doubly stuck when you’re an idiot. That would be dangerous  for me.