I Can See Belize From Here

We slept in a while at the auto hotel, but we got out of there by 10AM, so we weren't too far off schedule. It was a clear day and the roads were dry. I thought we could probably make Santa Elena before nightfall if we didn't encounter any roadblocks. It's a beautiful drive through the countryside and most of the drive from VillaHermosa to Escarsega is a flat farm and cattle ranches. Not much to see, but a welcome relief from the prior day.

Since the new highway has gone in, the drive is a fairly easy one. The only change that I miss was the overhanging canopy of trees that use to envelope the road from Escarsega to Chetumal. Maybe after a few years, the canopy will grow back. Just never to the way it was.





We stopped in Escarsega at a new Burger King for a quick lunch and then to the Pemex station to fill up for the last stretch to Belize. It was getting later in the afternoon and we would probably arrive in Santa Elena after dark. But, at least we would be in Santa Elena.

We found a nice hotel, just before town, that was right on the lagoon. Nice place with big rooms for us and the dogs. Just what we needed before our final push into Belize.

But the rest we wanted, was not going to be here. Our girl, Coral, started having a Gran Mal seizure, late in the evening, that would last for hours. Here we were in Mexico, late at night, and unable to find a vet that would, maybe, be able to help. And then, how do we get her there. Being unfamiliar with Chetumal, I could have been driving all over town, with Coral in full seizure. We decide to wait the seizure out and give her medicine that our vet had given us before we left. She finally starts to settle down around 2AM, but at this point, she is thoughly exhausted. And, so are we. She had done so well during the whole trip, and even at our last stop, she was out of the truck, investigating everything.

Morning finally comes, and I don't think either one of us really got any sleep. Coral was sleeping, but something wasn't really right. It was Friday, and if we didn't cross the border today, we would have to wait until Monday. Do we try and take her to the vet in Chet, or do we try and cross the border with her and risk dealing with BAHA. We decide that we need to cross into Belize, and we need to do it today. So, we wait until 11AM, then head for the border. We need to turn in our visas and get the bond for our truck returned.

Mischelle does the foot work and gets everything taken care of in 15 minutes. Gotta be a record. From there we drive over to Belize Customs, to clear our truck and possessions. Coral is holding up well and all the dogs are sleeping in the back of the truck. As luck would have it, we were able to clear Customs in less than an hour (gotta be another record), and when the officers from BAHA came down to inspect the dogs, all of them were sleeping, so we got a quick pass there.

We're in Belize, and heading home.





Unfortunately, not the home we were expecting. The house had one working outlet, no water, and most important....no working toilets. This was camping in a quite expensive tent. But, it is what it is, and we were home. We pulled out the dog beds and pulled out our inflatable bed, and we were going to spend out first night in our new home. After what we had been through the last few days, we were ready to try and get a good night of sleep. Same for the dogs.




Tomorrow is another day and our first priority is to take care of Coral.