Mexico to Belize

We set sail with some fellow cruisers we met while we were anchored in Isla Mujeres. Mike and Babet had a racing boat that they outfitted for cruising. Not only was it beautiful it was fast also. We set sail hours before them and they caught up in no time. We sailed to Cozumel together with a couple of other boats besides Babet and Mike. The next couple of days were spent touring the main attractions on the waterfront and getting to know Mike and Babet. Gil and I did our clearing out paper work in Cozumel and it is just as time consuming as clearing in. Once that was done, we headed south towards Belize. At one of our overnight anchorages, we ended up being stormed in for four days. The first named tropical storm came in and all we could do was play crib and do odd jobs around the boat until it was over. Once it cleared up, we took off again doing twenty to thirty mile jaunts down the coast until we reached Belize. Once In Belize we sailed inside the reef along the coast. Belize City was a very different experience. Most of the people speak English there. The city is teaming with people who will guide you or sell you handcrafts of artwork in one form or other. The taxi drivers know their stuff and can help you find what you want. We only spent a couple of days there and on of those days an island a culinary and drinks contest was going on. We were able to sample a lot of the Island cuisine and popular drinks. When we were checking out the food, we met a couple from Australia who vacationing at the hotel. Their home was in Cain’s Australia. They had come to Belize to dive the reef. The evening in their company was entertaining as they spoke to us about the harbor in Cain’s. They operate a dive boat and take people out to the Great Barrier Reef. One of the sites is an underwater volcano. I am sure Gil and I will take the opportunity to dive it when we arrive there. As the evening progressed, they spoke to us about the marinas and the services they provide for boaters. Apparently, they will move your boat up the rivers if you are away from your boat traveling. As it always happens, the evening was far too short. We were heading out in the morning so we exchanged addresses and went back to the boat, promising we would look them up. The morning brought fair weather with it and it turned out to be a nice sail to our next anchorage. The island had a fisherman’s station there so we dinghied to it. So far, we had not eaten any lobster yet and lobster season had just started. Enlisting the help of two fishermen for our next meal is Gil’s Fortier. We were invited to come along with them and for the next two hours, we rode around while one of the young men would dive down pull up our dinner. These two fellows had been fishing since they were young and knew what they were doing. Once our next meal was caught, there were rounds of beer and good conversation. Gil and I always find it fascinating to hear about peoples lives and how they live and make a living. And these two fellows did not disappoint us.