Heading for Belice

Hello again. As of now we are sitting in Chetumal, just north of the Mexican border with Belice, and just west of the coast of the Caribbean sea. We journeyed through many types of terrain and all sizes of cities on our 3 day drive to this point. We bribed a bit, we negotiated a bit, and we definitely drove, alot.
We had to drive back up the Baja and return to La Paz for the ferry, as there is no ferry in Cabo San Lucas any more. We rode for 5 hours back to Topolobampo, deciding that while being a good way to travel, ferries can be a sketchy place, especially in the bar area, where the seats are comfy but the company is not.

Question - Is it safe to load a bunch of truck drivers up on booze and then turn them loose into the mountains with big trucks? - you be the judge.

So anyway, we drove down just south of Los Mochis to an Auto Hotel - an inexpensive ($25 - $30 a night) and clean little place generally having a garage to part your car in and pull either a curtain or a garage door over the entrance. These are basically a glorified brothel, where you can pay for a set number of hours, or the whole night, but they are cheap, and clean, and we need that.
We had hoped to stop through Guadalajara and see some friends Claire and Raul, but they have returned to Alaska already and so we made a pass through the town - a nice place, very large with 2 million people, and drove on down to a small town just off the toll way. Upon exiting the toll road, we came across a sign stating that "Here your safety ends" meaning we were entering the smaller, less maintained roads. So, we decided to stop in and rest at the AutoHotel Trebol, spanish for AutoHotel Clover, an omen of sorts for the clover loving Carder.

Trying to get to Mexico City was tough, and frustrating. In the town of Metepec, we were ushered into a police check point where they notified us that in addition to a vehicle permit, we needed a receipt for this permit, and therefor were in violation of the law for not having one. A quick slide of $50.00 in to the hands of our officer and we were back on our way. Bribe time has now officially begun, but we feel fortunate to have made it this far for free.

In no time were trying to make our way through Mexico City, one of the largest cities in the world. Might I say that the map in our trusty .7 cent Mexico travel book was sure to help, as there was no city map for this largest city int he world. We made some definite circles, but feel we did good only being there for about an hour and a half. Very soon we were driving on long, winding roads through huge mountains of a tropical nature. Due to the holiday of Carnaval, thousands of people were riding bikes and running along side these roads, in a parade to Mexico City. We had steak and cactus tacos, somewhere along this road, that were out of this world.
We decided to stop in the coastal town of Agua Dulce, or the Mexican town of Sweetwater, so close to home, yet so far away. A good nights rest and the next day we headed into the jungle, through some beautiful terrain indeed. Tropical forest surrounded us, and we getting into more indigenous peoples and farming communities.
We got deep into the jungle, on a road with no shoulder, trees and steep mountains on either side, and definitley no room to stop, and our gas light came on. WE started sweatin and pulled into a lil town out in the middle of no where, with no gas station in sight. This is probably the most friendly place we have been to yet. A broke down truck driver led us to a convenient store where they just happened to have a little 8 liter container of gas that we were able to buy. We chatted with the man for a while, all of thanking God for His hand over us, and then headed on to Chetumal. WE passed through Xpujil, a place of noted archaeological status with Mayan ruins, and eventually landed where we sit now, in Chetumal.
It was a long road through the jungle yesterday, a mystifying and enchanted area indeed. I could just imagen the days of ancient when Mayans controlled this area and called to the spirits of the world for life and power. In the whisper of wind and crickets I could hear the voices of the hunters chattering through the woods. I just cant even properly describe the power of this region, and the awe we have for kingdom that once was. The remnants remain even today in the ruins and in the people, a small and mystical group indeed.
So today we enter Belice, a new country, with new rules, new peoples, and adventure galore. Until next time, Ciao.

4 Days in Mexico

Well, we finally arrived in Mexico tuesday afternoon. We cruised through Nogales and picked up a travel permit at kilometer 21. Then it was smooth sailin' all the way down to Guaymas, where we had expected to stay. But, we didnt like the "feel" of it so we scooted on down to Obregon for the night. Had a cute little hotel room there in what was a rather European style little town, complete with american car dealerships, restaurants and of course, a Wal-mart.
We got up early the next day and headed for Topolobampo, where we thought we would be catching a ferry at 11:00 in the morning. Upon arrival we discovered the thing didnt leave untill midnight,thanks be to our 7 cent travel book, so we had some time to kill. Around the bay a bit was a rather deserted little tourist beach, with open-air restaurants and clean sand. So we ate a huge fish and stuck around untill a bit after dark, feeling like this was a good place to wait and see a most excellent sunset. Turns out, not too many people wait around after dark here.
We were soon approached by a truckload of local police or federales, not sure which, whereupon they questioned us as too what we were doing there. Did we have drugs. Again, what were we doing there and on like this for a bit. God was good, they soon seemed to figure they had no need in trying to question us farther, got in their truck, machine gun in tow, and headed on down the beach to look for more trouble. So we got outta there and soon were driving on ot a huge 1,000 vehicle ferry, or transbordador, where we would spend the next 6 hours trying to get comfortable in a movie room with theater style seating. Through cold, loud movies, and uncomfortable seats we slept and finally around 6:00 in tha morning arrived at La Paz, on the Baja peninsula.
If you haven't figured it out yet, we were headed for Cabo San Lucas, the world renowned beach resort, home to fine beaches, world class resorts, and many American folks we discovered. We are happy to be here, it is nice and beautiful, but we have decided that from this point on we will be searching for a more culturally diverse experience, seeking out indigenous peoples and smaller town settings.
But, a note on the beauty of this area. The beaches are pristine here, the up-keep is magnificent, there is seafood galore, and good seafood at that. Last night we ate at a rather inexpensive little restaurant, El Pescador, and Jason and Garrett had delicious steak and lobster and Carder had an octopus ceviche that was out of this world. So after having a wonderful dinner we "went out walkin, after midnight, just a walkin" and ended up makin our way through the lobby of a private hotel, onto a private beach, a completely empty beach. These beaches are closed in by hhuge rocks and cliffs on both ends, but if you make your way over the rocks, you will find yourself on your own private little beach. So we made our way over a few sections of these and found ourself on a beach with a view of the city, and one of the most amazing things we had ever experienced.
There is a phenomenon I have read about, but never seen, where the algea is in a certain season of its life. During this season, it glows, as kryptonite would glow, and makes for a most amazing surf rolling in off the ocean. We stayed right there for a good while, blown away by this amazing, glowing surf coming in. How blessed we were to be there. We returned to the hotel and plan to be in Guadalajara by Sunday, which entails another ferry trip, and a good days worth of driving.
I would also just like to say, that at the moment, we enjoy free internet in a bar home to the largest margarita I have ever seen, the thing has to have at least a gallon of liquid, including the waiter says an entire bottle of tequila, good thing we came for the internet only ay.

Untill next time, we love you all, and wish you could be here with us.

G,J, and C