Belize
Friday 1 April - At sunset we sailed back out of the Rio Dulce, past Livingston and out into the Caribbean en route to Belize City.
The wind in this part of the Caribbean veers between NE and SE. Often it is preferable to wait for the breeze angle that best suits the course. Unfortunately, we did not have the time or luxury as we needed to be in Belize City the next day. So it was with disappointment that our luck was such that the wind was out of the NE and we had a hard sail along the edge of the outer reef for a number of miles to English Cay where we entered the reef complex and headed for Cucumber Marina.
“Kukumba Marina” is about 5 miles SW of the City and has seen much better days! It was rundown, the restaurant closed months ago and apart from a few charter vessels stationed there, it was very quiet around. We were welcomed by the Dock Master and visited by the usual team of Customs and Immigration. Only 4 this time, but each of them wanted US$50 and one US$270 so it was an expensive start! No receipts were forthcoming but lots of money went into pockets!!!! Cucumber Marina was named after a Florida farmer who came to Belize with the intention of growing vegetables and exporting them back to the USA.
Geoff’s son and three of his mates arrived from NZ shortly afterwards so we are a full boat. I managed to get some laundry done, skirting the iguana lolling outside the door of the shack, and Geoff and the boys got a few jobs done on the boat, filled it up with enough diesel to last back to Auckland, and got more gas. I was, however, a little disappointed not to be able to sample the delights the Sunshine Beauty Parlour, located just behind the boat.
Off we all went into a taxi to have a look around Belize City. It was even poorer than Livingston and we had a lot of stray dogs following us around as we walked past run-down ramshackle buildings, clapboard homes which seem to miss some of the colour and vibrancy of other Caribbean towns. We made our way to the famous Swing Bridge over the Haulover Creek, so named because before construction of the first bridge in the early 1800’s, cattle were winched over the river that divided the city.
The swing bridge was manufactured in Liverpool and installed in 1923 and is one of the few remaining manually operated swing bridges left in the world. Guidebooks advise for safety’s sake, not to walk around the other side of the bridge and given it was around dusk, we took note of this and after a walk around Queen Street passing a few old colonial style consulate homes, shops and a shuttered-up police station, we eventually found a taxi, left behind the stray dogs that had tagged along with us, and drove into midtown where there was a casino and some restaurants. We were lucky to snag a table at Lucca’s which was on the water’s edge with a nice buzzy atmosphere and delicious food.
Geoff and I started fading after not having had much sleep on the sail the night before, so we went back to the boat while the boys kindly offered to go to the supermarket and do a big shop for our next few days. We crashed out. I have to say when I woke and came up into the saloon this morning there did seem to be a lot of boxes of bottles around – oh well– it is thirsty work sailing out to diving reefs and snorkeling on this beautiful turquoise sea. I’m pleased to report that they also did a great job on the food shop too. We have two full fridges and a lot in the freezer as well, so we are well stocked for our snorkeling and diving adventures.