Dave Solomon, a local, formerly from Vancouver British Columbia, and a frequent visitor to Kismet, asked if I would be interested in driving out to see Belize’s largest, and virtually unexplored, Mayan ruin complex called Carocol on Monday (April 12th) and I happily agreed. If you remember my early blogging about things I want to do while living here in Belize it’s that I wanted to explore the countryside and its history. So here was another chance to do that! We made plans to start out at 5:30am so that we had plenty of daylight for stops along the way. After Carocol we planned to visit a couple of towns on the way back.
Carocol is near the Guatemalan border and about 40 miles directly west of Hopkins on the far side of the Mayan Mountains. While it isn’t but 100 miles driving distance it’s almost a 4 hour road trip. The highway lasts a few miles past Belmopan, which is 55 miles from Hopkins, but the rest of the trip is over sandy/rocky (and I mean fist sized rocks!) logging trails. Because of the horrible road conditions we were only able to travel 20 miles per hour over most of it. The only good stretches were those at 2 bridges, which were one lane concrete affairs with no guard rails. We were fortunate enough not to encounter any other vehicles while crossing the bridges in either direction but we did meet up with a few logging trucks along the way, driving at ungodly speeds, and some of the locals driving to where ever they were going. We had to check in at 2 places along the way. One was a simple shack with a red and white striped steel gate bar, like those you see in the movies at border crossings. Here we were asked our nationalities and where we were going. The 2nd was an army check point where we had to sign in and give information such as the license plate number of our car, where we lived, and actually sign in. In talking to one of the soldiers we learned that we would be passing through Belizean and United Kingdom Army bases on our way across the mountain. We were told that if we waited another hour we could get an army escort to Carocol. A few years ago that was a requirement and it is necessary right around any big holidays because there are band of bandits that like to stop cars and rob them. Since it wasn’t holiday time we chose to go on alone. We didn’t have any problems except for the terrain. Anyway, we finally got to Carocol and had a great time. It’s a very interesting place.
Carocol was discovered by a Mayan logger in 1937 and was 1st investigated by the University Of Pennsylvania. A simple site survey took place along with some minor excavation. In the early 50’s a new team of archeologists came and did a more exhaustive study of the site. Between then and the early 70’s it was discovered that there are at least 36,000 buildings and that Carocol was a massive city. Only 17 square kilometers of 177 square kilometers that have been identified by satellite mapping have been transit-mapped so far. During their research they determined that it was inhabited between 307 A.D. and 1150 A.D. An interesting fact is that most Mayan cities were not located on rivers or lakes. They were built around caves containing water supplies and they also built large reservoirs to catch rain water. Approximately 50 buildings have been excavated to their fullest and are open for viewing. We climbed one of the temples, which is a 3 tiered affair about 200 feet high. To get to the top you have to climb about 20 very tall step on each tier, a touch feat if you don’t have healthy knees. But view from the top was worth the climb! In early excavations they discovered a couple of burial crypts on the top tier that contained bodies. Most crypts contained multiple remains. We were able to climb down into them. One of the strange things they found was that all the males had their left leg cut off and stored along one of the walls.
On our way back to Hopkins we toured San Ignacio, San Antonio, and Spanish Lookout. San Ignacio is one of the biggest, and most heavily populated in Belize. Dave knew of a bakery and we stocked up on some great treats. Spanish Lookout is one of the biggest farm towns and is heavily populated by Mennonites and also has a few Amish as well. In case you didn’t know Mennonite’s can drive, use electricity and other modern conveniences where the Amish can’t. They drive horse and buggy here like they do in the states. Spanish Lookout supplies Belize, Mexico and Guatemala with veggies, beef, milk and cheese.
So I’ve traveled most of Belize now in the 2-1/2 months I’ve been here but there’s still a lot that I’d like to see and do. Dave and I are talking about a 2 week trip up one of the rivers and into the rain forest. But…that will be another story!
Other than that it’s been a quiet week. Today I did a little maintenance on the leveling jacks Casa Belize 13. Living on the Caribbean leads to rust everywhere! And it forms pretty quickly so I use a lot of WD40 and penetrating oil to keep it at bay. If I ever want to, or need to, move my home I have to make sure that I can retract the leveling jacks so it’s back on its wheels. So that was my mission today. Spray them with penetrating oil. Wait a few minutes, then retract and re-extend them. More than 1 took a 2nd spraying. But I’m ready to roll in an emergency…
Ten more days until I have to renew my Visa. This time I think I’ll do it locally, in Dangriga instead of traveling. This is my last 30 day visa extension. The next will be for 6 months and will be a more rigorous affair. I’ll have to go to both immigration and customs. In order to get Belize citizenship you need to be here at least 1 year. When you finally get approved you can bring in 1 shipment of household goods and a car without paying the heavy duty they impose on things brought in. At the 6 month point I’ll have to post a 10% non-refundable import duty on my car and trailer. That will be a lot easier on my savings account than paying the fees immediately as some people do. Others bypass the process by going to the U.S. Embassy and report that they’ve lost their passport and get a new one. Your vehicle(s) are listed on your 1st visa stamp in your passport so by getting a new one your vehicle isn’t listed anymore. Several expats have told me that they did that because they didn’t have the cash. But, I want to keep everything legal and above board, and not extend the nationalization process. Once I’m a legal resident, and turn 60 (which I’ll be the end of this year anyway) I can apply for a Belize social security number and all medical costs will be free. Plus I can ride the bus anywhere in the country for free too.
The electric went out Wednesday from Dangriga to Settee River Village around 6am and was supposed to be back on by 1pm but didn’t come back on until 3:30. I had plans to hit the internet but the electric problem cancelled that. We were in Dangriga Tuesday while our friend Peter was at the dentist and the internet there was the fastest we’ve seen in quite a while. I need to spend a couple of hours online so I can download a new adware program because my laptop has picked up something that has slowed it down quite a lot. I also need to download the 100 or so pictures and videos that Zeppi emailed me. I tried doing it here in Hopkins but was only able to download 10 in almost 2 hours. So, hopefully, Val’s will do the trick!
Tomorrow, Saturday, I’m going on a snorkeling and fishing trip with Tricia and 2 ladies who are staying here. I plan to spend the day fishing to fill me freezer. Depending on how hot it is at the reef I may jump in a time or 2. Funny thing is, as much as I love the water, I’ve only been in the Caribbean twice since I’ve been here. One of them was the 1st snorkel/fishing trip when Bruce, Brent & Jan, Ron, Tricia and I went in February. No reason for it except I just haven’t…
More news as events happen! Practice peace!
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