BELIZE | 4x4 TRAVEL DOCUMENTARY | THE PEOPLE'S PARADISE

Belize. This small country in Central America is full of tropical islands, lush and beautiful jungles. Stunning Mayan ruins and some of the best and coolest

people

we have ever met. Here you will be surprised to find almost as much cultural diversity as biodiversity. Join us on our adventure to discover what this little piece of

paradise

has to offer, Max! Damn... you moron, well, I'm sorry, explain it! Nikki we can't stop in the mud! yeah, well, sorry, you're going to leave... well, I thought you were next door, I didn't think you'd shoot next door, yeah, of course, always shoot next door, yeah, sorry, Belize only has two places within reach. the ones you can cross. the country by land, a border crossing to and from Guatemala, in the west, and a border crossing in the north, which connects it with Mexico.

We were taking the northern border crossing to enter the country. The border crossing into Belize is one of the best in Central America, very simple and direct, no photocopies of documents or additional steps are required. We had actually driven through Belize about six months earlier. But as we organized the next phase of the trip we decided that we had some time and that we liked the country so much that we would return trying to visit all the places we had missed before, and things would also be a little different since it was rainy season. Soon we were driving along the white, dusty roads of northern Belize.

The last time we were here we had covered the northern part visiting Cerros, a small coastal Mayan site, as well as Sartaneja. On this route, you will encounter one of the three river ferries found in Belize, at least that we know of, which essentially acts as a bridge. They run along a cable from one side of the river to the other and are operated with a crank. The northern part of Belize seems quite remote and it wasn't until we read about the Mayan history of Belize on another site that we realized how few

people

live in this country.

Despite being approximately the same size as El Salvador, which has around 6 million inhabitants, Belize only has around 400,000 people living in it. What is even more interesting is that during the height of the Mayan civilization the population living in what we now call Belize was estimated to be between one and two million people. We first saw these numbers after heading further south and visiting one of Belize's most famous and arguably most impressive Mayan sites, Lamanai. We camped a few minutes drive from the spectacular site and, as luck would have it, we were the only ones there in the morning.

All my ideas and beliefs cost 10 Belize dollars or about 5 US dollars per person per day. That morning, upon entering the site, we heard for the first time the sound of howler monkeys, also known as baboons in Belize. We couldn't see them and honestly thought it was a speaker hidden in the trees. Until then we had not heard anything like this. With the site empty and just us and the prehistoric sounds of the howler monkeys, this quickly became one of the highlights of our visit. We decided to continue heading south and after briefly passing through Belize City, we found ourselves on the coast outside the town of Dangriga.

There was a pretty nice beach where we stopped for a while and then continued towards Hopkins. We had lunch at a small restaurant on the beach. I ordered a shrimp burger, while Nikki chose a fish burger and we washed it down with Belikin beer from Belize. Belize isn't exactly known for its mainland beaches, Hopkins was nice and we drove up to Placencia, just to see what it had to offer, but it was too developed and too expensive for us. Belize is located on the Mesoamerican Reef, which is the second largest barrier reef in the world, so most of the tourism is done on the various islands that are scattered along the coast, with Caye Caulker being the most popular.

But I repeat, too expensive. That led us to this Glovers Atoll website. At first glance, it's a bit outdated, but we managed to find it in the iOverlander review. Even more alarming when we called to book, they immediately asked us to give them our credit card information. So we did, soon leaving the city river heading towards the small nine acre island that would be our home for the next week. We were told to be ready in the morning at the marina outside Hopkins, and since we were camping it was up to us to bring our own food and water for the week.

We met some really cool people along the way, including Omar and Carmel, who generously let us use their camping hammocks they had brought as backup, which was great because our tent and sleeping pads weren't all that comfortable. We also met Allen, who would work as the island cook for those on the meal plan, but he will enter the story a little later. After a boat ride of about 40 minutes we arrived at the island. We took a small tour along with information about the marine life in the area, and then were free to choose a campsite and set up.

An atoll is essentially a ring of coral that formed around an ancient ocean island. This process can take tens of millions of years and from the air you can see what used to form the now eroded island. This makes it an incredible place for snorkeling and spearfishing. The island itself is in a marine protected area, meaning you have to swim, kayak or walk a mile north along the exposed coral edge before you can start fishing. On top of that, in these waters you can expect to find a number of different sharks. So we made a float out of old bottles we found and a milk crate to try and keep the dead fish out of the water and the sharks away, we didn't bother filming too much but rather enjoyed the peace of island life.

Although we did bring a small 35 millimeter film camera. The island has no running water and has simple compost toilets. For cooking, there is a small common kitchen for campers, while the cabins have their own. What this island does have is a large number of coconut trees. Coconuts are all you can eat and the general rule is that if you can hear the water inside, it's good. Once you remove the coconut, you can open it with a stone. This one didn't end up cracking very well and I lost most of the water. And finally you can use one of these coconut grinders to grind the delicious coconut meat.

We spent the week preparing and testing a variety of different coconut dishes, including making coconut milk, which we learned the hard way does not mix well with rum. And don't worry about picking up the shavings because at night an army of hermit crabs comes out to pick up the remains from the ground. We spent most of that week in the water, snorkeling and spearfishing. The only downside was that lobster season was closed while we were there. Before we knew it, it was time to head back. But this time, on our second visit, we couldn't go out to the reef.

Instead, we went to Cockscomb Basin, a part of Belize that we had missed on our first part of the trip. Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is home to the world's only jaguar reserve and, as a result, has the highest concentration of jaguars per square mile in the world. However, spotting a jaguar is not an easy task, it is actually not something that happens by accident. And since we had a time limit, we decided to focus on enjoying some of the park's activities. Cockscomb is really a dense, humid combination of jungle and rainforest. We decided to cool off by tubing down the river, which is a great way to see much of the jungle with little effort.

After about 20 minutes you reach a small swimming platform and return to the beginning. We decided to return in the morning for a short hike to an overlook and on the way out we stopped to see an old plane crash site. We decided to head out of the park for the night since the camping fees were a little high for us, we found a spot not far from the entrance and settled in for the night. There was a cool highway of leafcutter ants, and we've seen these ants all over Central America. These ants are really interesting and act like farmers.

Instead of eating the leaves, they take them to their underground nests and use them to feed a fungus that they then eat in turn. The next morning, we returned to the park for a short hike to a waterfall and a lookout overlooking the basin. It was a beautiful and peaceful hike. It had rained a little the night before and with the summer sun overhead, the humidity was beginning to be suffocating. The decision to keep going when we reached the waterfall was difficult, it wasn't far to get to the top of Ben's Bluff, but it was steep.

We decided to keep going and enjoy the waterfall when we came back down. Soon we began to see over the thick canopy below, and with another little push we finally reached the top. We were looking towards Victoria Peak, which is the second highest point in Belize. Belize is actually a fairly flat country overall, with the highest point at about 3,600 feet, or just over 1,100 meters. After enjoying the views, we were eager to get back down and into the water. Finally, the water was in sight. The water was surprisingly cold and refreshing, we couldn't help but think about the researchers who walked to the lookout with heavy radios before this area had any development, and how amazing it was to have found this pool in the middle of the jungle.

After walking back, we stopped at the information center before leaving. It's a little crazy to think that less than 50 years ago jaguars were hunted for their skins in this same area. We finally headed west toward San Ignacio, where our plan was to intercept a package we had ordered before even entering Belize. Along the way we thought we would visit an old campsite from the first time we came to Belize, along the Sibun River. The last time we were here in the dry season we spent two days on the riverbank swimming in crystal clear waters. But this time it would not be the same, as we approached the river, the water on the track became deeper and deeper.

In the end there was no point in continuing and we turned around. When you are alone and without a recovery vehicle, you need to know when to call one. We kept driving and found a spot on the Belize River. The really good thing about Belize is that there is a real focus on wildlife and nature conservation. In turn, this means that the many easily accessible rivers are almost litter-free. When driving around you often see signs advertising the conservation of various animals in the country and in our experience we have also found that most Belizeans are very aware of the wildlife found in Belize.

Because of this, overland

travel

and camping is extremely accessible throughout the country, due to the numerous parks and country roads. The next morning, after packing our bags, we headed to Belmopan, which is the capital of Belize, despite only having a population of 16,000 people. We stopped in Westrac to do a quick job on the parking brakes. A group of people stopped by, asking questions and chatting about the trip and the truck. It was also about a million degrees, so Nikki set up this little shelter with a fan which helped a lot. And about an hour later we were back on the road.

We made a few stops to resupply before heading out. First, we have some gas, which here is butane, not propane. Technically it's a mix of the two, but either way, through our little stove, everything seems to burn the same. We also stocked up on some food. Finally, we were headed to the Pine Ridge Mountain Forest Reserve. We decided to go to the 1000 foot falls first, believed to be the tallest falls in Central America. There are a lot of signs that say 4x4 only, and maybe at the end of the rainy season things get worse, but we never stopped using two-wheel drive for this track.

However, some clearance is definitely helpful. We finally arrived at our destination. As you can see from the sign, 1000 foot drops are actually equivalent to 1600 feet in elevation. You can't get close to the waterfall, at least not from this point, but it's still a great view and a good place to stop for lunch. Next, we headed to one of the most popular spots in Pine Ridge. River in the pools. It was a little busy and getting late, so after a good swim, we went camping. You can only camp at two designated campsites in the Forest Reserve, so we just went out and camped outside.

But before doing so, we filled one of our water drums with water from the river. We simply use our pop-up wash tub for river water and then filter it with a water purification pump made by MSR. At this point, we had been very lucky as we had not seen any evidence of the rainy season, but thingsThey were about to change. Fortunately, this time it was just a quick rain shower, but this would set off a trend of intermittent rain over the next week. We returned to Rio to the pools for a quick morning swim, this time having the river to ourselves, before heading to see the Rio Frio cave.

Our last stop in Pine Ridge was Big Rock Falls, another popular swimming spot. Pine Ridge also has the ruins of Caracol, but we were on a mission to intercept the elusive package we had ordered to San Ignacio. So we headed to the Old House Hostel, and just in time because the rain came with us. This is a great place to stay if you are in San Ignacio, but the next day, when the weather had passed, we received an update that our package was delayed for the second time, for two more days. Since the van is a camper, we decided to save a few dollars again and left the hostel to go to a paid campground in town, Mana Kai.

This place offers cabins as well as camping, with a communal kitchen in a fairly natural environment, despite being essentially on the outskirts of the city center. Unfortunately, as much as we enjoyed our stay here, package delays, as well as rain, continued and we were having trouble finding ways to fill the time. Luckily on the other side of the street was the market. Here you get a good idea of ​​the cultural mix in Belize. About half of Belize's population is mestizo, which literally means mixed, from colonizing Europeans mixing with local indigenous people. So about a quarter of the population is Creole and the rest is a mix between Mayans, Garifunas, East Indians, Mennonites, whites and Asians.

As a result, at the market you find a mix of cuisine from different cultures, including cheeses made by Mennonites, Caribbean food as well as Mexican and Latin dishes. Between waiting out the rain and visiting the market, we also headed outside of San Ignacio for a few minutes to see Xunantunich, a Mayan site that requires taking another hand-cranked river ferry to get to. After visiting the museum, we walked up the hill to the main pyramid and archaeological site. The modern name Xunantunich comes from the Yucatecan Mayan, which means Stone Woman, and refers to a ghost that according to Belizeans lives in the archaeological zone, appearing in front of El Castillo. 0:25:23.779,1193:02:47.295 We headed to the top of the 130-foot pyramid passing through bat-filled entrances along the way.

At the top, you get a 360-degree view of the surrounding area, as well as a panoramic view of the entire archaeological site. We spent the morning walking and visiting the various buildings around the site, and then returned to our campsite. At that point, after several phone calls, Amazon said our package was lost. So after a week of waiting, it was time to head back to Belize City. Initially, our plan was to revisit the reef or spend the week trying to spot a jaguar. But with the time lost that would not be possible. So we detoured south a little to a river spot we saw marked on iOverlander, along North Stann Creek.

This turned out to be a great place, with fresh, crystal clear water, and again we had it all to ourselves. The next morning, after making coffee, more rain pushed us out of our spot. We also received a message that our package was now in Belize, but stuck in customs, which started a long process of several days that had us moving between the airport and Belize City over and over again. There is only one advantage to this whole situation, and that is that the Belikin brewery was opposite the customs warehouse. After all the headache, we decided to treat ourselves.

We needed to do one more thing before releasing our pack and heading back to town. That night we went to Old Belize, a marina that allows camping for about seven US dollars a night. Do you remember Allen? Well, we kept in touch over the six or seven months since we first met him and we committed to seeing him again before we left the country. He sent us an approximate location with a screenshot of his position live on Google Maps and he told us to go find him. After asking neighbors for some directions, we finally found the right place.

Hey! You found me. Yes, we found you. My neighbor probably says, what the fuck? Who are these damn white people asking about Allen? But you know Allen is a great guy. We spent the night resting and relaxing. Allen is Garifuna and he taught us about the Garifuna people. He also showed us his tortoise shell, a traditional Garifuna instrument. That night, we met some members of Allen's family, including his children and grandchildren, as well as his wife Gloria and his nephew Dre. Gloria braided our hair and just like that we were part of the family. You are now a Caribbean Nikki!

She feels great Later in the evening we met up with some more family members and hung out, making our plans for the next day. The next morning we woke up very early with the sun. Singing, "And I hope you make it..." This is what I do, yeah. Yeah! Yes, don't be afraid, let's do this. Having a coffee, yes, Belizean coffee. That's what we do in Belize. After getting all the gear out of the back seat of the truck, we loaded up Allen, Gloria, and Dre and headed to his farm. Good morning everyone, we are heading to Jannah ville.

Yeah! We headed to Jannah Ville. Once we were there, we took a tour of the area and tried some different fruits. The animal got ahead of us. He ate it all. Test it. Take a snap, have you seen it before? How is this called? Craboo. Crabbo? Yes. Nikki, try this one. *Coughs* That was the worst, most bitter thing so far. Wow. The bugs here were ruthless, so they eventually cut our tour of the farm short and we headed towards the river instead. These bamboo shoots are crazy! like crazy. Yes, I have never seen bamboo like this, I have seen it grow, but not like this, this is crazy.

This is good water Max WOW Max. Max. We left Dre in charge of setting up the fishing rod and fire while we walked part of the river. When we returned, the fish was almost ready, cooked with a side of green plantain. What kind of fish is this? That's the Black Snapper. Black snapper? Snapper. Nikki and I had never tried cooked green plantain before, and to our surprise, it had the almost uniform consistency and flavor of a baked potato. After eating, we decided to move the truck upstream in case it rains, since the rivers can rise quite quickly in this area.

After everyone was fed, we took out the snorkels and enjoyed the river. While we swam, Dre managed to catch a small snack on the rod and after a great morning on the water, we headed back to the Allen neighborhood, making a few stops along the way. It is not four-wheel drive. Four-wheel drive man, that's what we got. Both nights we stayed with Allen, we just parked the truck in his yard and camped there. Allen took us to the basketball courts at night. I never really played basketball and I'm pretty bad, but this time when I got on the court...

I was worse than ever. Our last stop of the night was to go do some fishing, the truck only has three seats with a wooden platform replacing the fourth but that didn't stop us from putting five people in the back for a total of seven. the truck. Dre went into the water with the net to catch some bait and after a while the line was set. We never ended up catching anything, but it was a good night and we called early because we were exhausted from the day in the sun and water. That morning, after cleaning our braids, it was time to say goodbye.

Just as our trip to Belize ended. You were in the system, yeah, that's right, man. I wouldn't even recognize you here, man. This man looked like a real soldier Boi, okay. As always, many thanks to those of you who watched until the end, and I'm happy to say that we were in a hurry because we had an appointment in Mexico to get the truck on a ship. So if you're watching this video close to the release date, the truck is currently on its way to Colombia, this is very exciting, but also scary because I'm basically out of savings and YouTube combined with remote work is what's going to happen. make or break this trip.

So if you have a moment, please like the video. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing and we'll see you next time in South America.