Chetumal to San Pedro -the beginning of the rest into uncharted territories...............
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Chetumal to San Pedro -the beginning of the rest into u... - 2/20/2013 5:52:44 AM
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tmbutler
Posts: 2053
Joined: 11/16/2005
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Well, this was going to be interesting. We knew we were in for a long day before we can settle in for the evening at Banana Beach resort in San Pedro, Belize. Armed with a few LG posts on how to get thru customs and immigrations from Steve O, a few tips on where the water taxi was from Florida Girl, and the fact I couldn't find the maps I made of Chetumal, and not exactly sure where to park once I hopefully do find the water taxi, well suck it up TMB -here we go. And all this stuff I brought down . What was I thinking? How did all this xit ever fit in the car, anyway? Good thing I made arrangements with Isabella at Rancho Escondido to store some luggage.
And it wouldda helped if I wasn't so hung over from the last day in Aventuras Akumal. The reunion pix with Doug and Patricia show evidence of drinking tequila shots..............
We pull out of Bryan's condo about sunrise, on time at this point. Need gas and wanna check tire pressure, and decide Tulum Pemex (just north of San Francisco grocery) was as good as any. I stumble out of the car, mutter something about 200 pesos, tell em to check the tires, and watch the gas meter. He pumps the gas, and I look thru my wallet - xit, only big bills. I dig out a 500 peso note, and rather meekly say "500" and give it to him. Then I look at the tires. Next thing I know he's showin' me a fifty peso note.
I freak. Instinctively, I get in his face and scream at the top of my lungs, "BULLXIT! I GAVE YOU A 500!!! I'M GONNA GET A CAMERA AND TAKE YOUR PICTURE!!" And I'm still face to face with this guy. Of course there's another attendant close by, watching this whole thing go down. He decides he doesn't want any part of this lunatic. Now I think the first guy decides right away that this guy's nuts. Not worth it here. He starts thumbin' thru a wad of bills and gives me 300 peso change. And he keeps repeating what must have been unkind words about my ancestery. Over and over and over. But I'm not done! I continue to scold him. As I'm getting in the car, I'm still shaking my finger at him, "HOW DARE YOU!!!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!" Now Marguarite doesn't know what to make of this. She's worried the guy will just trash the trunk and dent it to hell, and then returning the rental will be even more interesting. We do leave the gas station with the right change, unscathed, and head down 307. I told Marguarite, I wasn't really that ****ed, I just wanted to not get screwed. She wasn't buyin' any of it.
By Muyil, it was long forgotten. A rather pleasant ride really. About 100 km from Tulum to Filip Carrillo Puerto, and maybe another 60 km to Limones. Just south of Limones is where you turn off 307 towards Mahahual. We pass that, staying on 307. Bacalar is the lunch spot, and where we'll lighten up a bit. I was excited to show Marguarite the "Lake of seven colors". Rancho Escondido has some outside patio tables with a great view. It was a sunny afternoon, and the laguna is in its full splendor! Take some pix, eat a great lunch, and carry on. About another half hour to Chetumal.
Now Chetumal shouldn't be that intimidating. The main routes form a triangle. The road splits, with Insurgentes to the north, and Obregon to the south. The airport is in the middle. And if you go too far on Insurgentes, you hit the caribe. Florida Girl sez take Insurgentes and then a right on Juarez or Independencia about 12 blocks down to the caribe. If you take Obregon, it's only about 4 blocks to the caribe. We decide to go with Insurgentes. It wouldda been cool, but it seems there were no street ssigns on Insurgentes. I hadn't counted on that. We missed the turn and ended up at the caribe. Where the heck were my maps????
Well, OK - plan B. Take a right and look for a large pier. Not too tough, right? Maybe a few miles, we do find what must be the pier.. Stop in and ask about parking. There's a gated public lot a block down on Independencia, and 2 blocks up. The ticket guy sez, "park your car, then come back and we'll do the ticket thing". I leave Marguarite there, and go to park. I find it, but it's unattended and chained shut. Now what?? A block up, I find this old dude who's playin with a bambino and a toy top. He goes in the adjacent building, finds a key, and I get parked. No ticket receipt, and I didn't really understand a word he said. Seemed legit tho. Hope I get this car back upon return!
Now this has taken much longer than it shouldda. The ticket guy wants to go look for me. Marguarite is worried.
I finally show up, and we're still on schedule to get on this water taxi. YES!!!
But it's a spendy proposition. $75 USD round trip. $10 port fee, and $10 because it's the weekend. Coming back it was $37.50 Belizean exit fee, $10 port fee, and $295 pesos once we were back in Chetumal. And a lot of waiting around and paperwork. Not sure it was worth the hassle, unless you were stayin a while. And you cannot count on good weather for what you wanna do. 3 nights was just not enought, when the first night is preceeded by a long travel day. I would reccommend 4 or 5 days, and hope for the best weatherwize. There is a sailing trip that stops at Hol Chan reserve, food and drinks on the catamaran, and lunch in Cay Caulker. But you have to reserve a day ahead of time. $95 USD pp. Would have liked to do that, but not enough time.
Once we landed in back bay, we got a taxi to Banana Beach resort, and checked in. We upgraded to a ocean view room that was available, and it was really cool! The room had a kitchenette and a fridge.
Marguarite settled in, and I walked up towards the town to find a grocery store for smokes, booze, and a few odds and ends. San Pedro had a real rasta vibe. About 4 blocks up the road, I got propositioned by a lady of the evening. At first she told me she was bartending in the bar across from the grocery store, but I knew better. She was really kindda cute, dark skin, busty, and very friendly. While she was negotiating price, she dropped the price three times. I finally told her I wasn't really interested- I was already in love.
I don't know how convincing I was, as she was persistant.
More pix and stories from San Pedro later.
TMB
< Message edited by tmbutler -- 3/1/2013 8:51:05 AM >
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/20/2013 7:18:25 AM
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Jamie
Posts: 2548
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Southern California
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Nice report, looking forward to the pics. Yeah, that Pemex is well known, almost notorious, for it's scams, they got me once also. I like the Pemex at the north end of Felipe Carillo Puerto, clean restrooms, few pesos for TP and they never tried to rip me off, even cleaned the windows so I tip them.
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/20/2013 7:06:08 PM
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tmbutler
Posts: 2053
Joined: 11/16/2005
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Hope this doesn't get too boring, cuz I got a boatload of pix to add. There's a couple from Laguna Bacalar where we had lunch and dropped some luggage on the way down to Chetumal. When we finally checked in at Banana Beach resort, there was an oceanfront room available, and we never looked back. It was worth the extra dough for the three nights. I got a few pix in the night portrait mode, as I was up well before sunup takin' pix. It was a gorgeous day so we booked an 2 stop snorkel at Hol Chan reserve, and Shark and Ray Alley. Hol Chan was the best snorkel I've ever done.
Banana Beach resort is next door to Matta Rocks, where Snorkelin' Fools stayed last year. I tried to book Matta Rocks, but there was a four day minimum, and I had to cut into time from Aventuras Akumal to come here.
I didn't want to cut into time allotted for Xcalak, so when I saw a half price cut, I booked Banana Beach.
We didn't explore much in the main pueblo, as we were quite content south of town. I think we did get up there one afternoon, but it was so hot, we didn't last long before heading back. The restaurant, El Divino, was gourmet. The first night we had the special - baked grouper, garlic potatoes, and fresh beans. We did some cooking in the room, but the food in the on site restaurant was so good.....
We also had a breakfast up the beach. The restaurant feeds the eels at 10:AM, and there's about a dozenn out the side door that live in the rocks.
At the end, there's some pix of customs and immigrations in San Pedro, and finally a few in Chetumal.
I may not get thru posting all of these, but I'll get a start.
[image] [/image]
Well I know that was a lotta pix. Any favs??
TMB
< Message edited by tmbutler -- 2/21/2013 6:20:52 AM >
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/20/2013 9:23:39 PM
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movie fan
Posts: 8201
Joined: 1/7/2008
From: Winnipeg,Manitoba CANADA
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Please clean up your mailbox. I'd like to send you a PM.
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I may be in bad health, but I'm still 6 feet ABOVE ground!
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/21/2013 5:37:51 AM
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uphillklimber
Posts: 5531
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From: Bryant Pond, Maine
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Love your pics, especially the eels. Was expecting some octopus pics too! Good job!
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Lovin life,
Bob
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/21/2013 6:05:46 AM
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tmbutler
Posts: 2053
Joined: 11/16/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: movie fan
Please clean up your mailbox. I'd like to send you a PM.
I can't figure out how to empty PM box. You can just send me an Email.
TMB
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/21/2013 6:26:36 AM
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tmbutler
Posts: 2053
Joined: 11/16/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: uphillklimber
Love your pics, especially the eels. Was expecting some octopus pics too! Good job!
Didn't get any octopix til El Placer. And they're not my best. Those octopus are pretty shy, especially if you see em during the day. I hung out by the coral head for maybe a half hour, trying to get at least one decent pic. If they know you are there, they have to feel you are leaving before they try to escape to a different location. Unless you are really lucky, you have to be really patient, and try to think like they think.
TMB
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/21/2013 8:48:42 AM
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Jamie
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From: Southern California
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They were all great pictures really, did you have the BBQ at that restaurant? Menu is making me really hungry, think I will make an English muffin in a few minutes
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/21/2013 10:52:29 AM
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minnjim
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Really awesome pics! Especially the underwater ones.
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/21/2013 12:21:11 PM
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tmbutler
Posts: 2053
Joined: 11/16/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Isla Chica
GREAT underwater photos! What kind of camera do you use?
I use a Canon t1i with a Sea and Sea housing / strobe. For snorkeling, it's really still just a high end point and shoot that I use in auto mode. I can't hold my breath long enough to do what you can if you are diving. The whole trip I used my 10 - 22 mm super wide angle. I have a 60 mm macro lens, but I like the wide angle alot. You can get pretty close with it too.
TMB
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/21/2013 6:30:42 PM
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movie fan
Posts: 8201
Joined: 1/7/2008
From: Winnipeg,Manitoba CANADA
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quote:
ORIGINAL: tmbutler
quote:
ORIGINAL: movie fan
Please clean up your mailbox. I'd like to send you a PM.
I can't figure out how to empty PM box. You can just send me an Email.
TMB
Thanks. E-mail sent. Subject Titled: BELIZE
_____________________________
I may be in bad health, but I'm still 6 feet ABOVE ground!
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/21/2013 7:30:20 PM
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tmbutler
Posts: 2053
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quote:
ORIGINAL: SnorkelNfools
Love the pics from San Pedro! Your digs at Banana Beach are very nice! We had diner there one night. It was really good. Looks like you had better weather than we did. The beaches are MUCH cleaner. We also had a great time doing the Hol Chan trip. Your underwater shots are wonderful - that eagle ray is beautiful! Makes me want to return!
Well thats just it. You can plan a San Pedro trip for say 5 days, and if you hit a stretch of bad weather, you still won't get everything done you'd like to. Especially if you wanna hop over to Caye Caulker.
TMB
< Message edited by tmbutler -- 2/21/2013 7:31:00 PM >
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/22/2013 2:20:14 AM
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movie fan
Posts: 8201
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From: Winnipeg,Manitoba CANADA
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Concur.
Photos are excellent.
_____________________________
I may be in bad health, but I'm still 6 feet ABOVE ground!
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/22/2013 7:05:05 AM
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florida girl
Posts: 1812
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From: orlando/new smyrna beach/chemuyil
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Looks like ya'll had a good time!!! The snorkeling there is just amazing, isn't it??? FABULOUS pix!! Did you get over to Caulker??
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RE: The beginning of the rest into uncharted territorie... - 2/22/2013 9:24:54 AM
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tmbutler
Posts: 2053
Joined: 11/16/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: florida girl
Looks like ya'll had a good time!!! The snorkeling there is just amazing, isn't it??? FABULOUS pix!! Did you get over to Caulker??
I would have loved to do the catamaran sail to caye caulker. You had to sign up the day before, and it was 9 AM when Marguarite mentioned it. They stop at Hol Chan, have snacks and drinks on board, and make a restaurant stop in Caye Caulker. All day sail for 95 USD pp. Couldda used another day for that. We hit a good weather pattern while we were there.
TMB
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