40. Belize

Here I come, Belize, 5th country of the trip, after a last painful ride on the rocky Guatemalan roads, where I ate dust until the very end...
I don't ride much further than the border, which I cross quite easily, finding Trek Stop, green cabin lodging, a nice and cheap spot to camp at. My bike has been making noises since the tough climbs of Chiapas, pedals cracking, gears skipping, calling for a tune-up and probably some new parts. Time for a break.
Raleigh Canada, the maker of the bike, told me, back in Alaska, that they would help make it to Argentina. It's time for action, then! Small detail : they provide me with free gear if I pay the shipping, which happens to be pretty expensive with their regular private transporters. I find a solution by having them send the stuff for free to my friend Nico in Vancouver, who will in turn ship it via regular ground post, the cheaper (still expensive), slower solution. I add to that an order at MEC, Canadian outdoor store, which includes a new bottle and pump for my stove, and new shades (the last pair I bought in Palenque lasted less than 24 hours before breaking right on my nose!). It takes me 4 days to organize all that online, between France (money), Canada (gear) and Belize (tropical paradise).
While the parcel is traveling through the States and Mexico (4 to 6 weeks, they said), I plan some rest on a "Caye", a Caribbean atoll, somewhere off the Belizean coast, on the world's second largest coral reef.
Une "panne" un peu plus sympa qu'a Fairbanks! Being stranded here sounds nicer than back in Fairbanks, Alaska!
I leave the campground, where I met nice people to share these few days, and also Paul, an American en route to Ushuaia on a bicycle, too (no surprise, we set it up online). Looking for a cold drink on the hot road, I stop at a gas-station, where I meet Mayeul,  a french guy on a bike (!) riding the continent the other way around, ending in Mexico! It's a shame we're going to opposite directions, but at least we take a lunchbreak together. It's nice to meet someone who just rode through Central America, which is what I'm just about to do, and we have a lot to talk about.
I leave my new friend and make it a short ride to the Blue Hole National Park, where you can camp for a small fee, but no one is there to take mine, thanks! The park takes its name from the blue waterhole (a cenote in spanish), which makes a perfect spot for a weary cyclist after hours, sharing the cool, crystal clear water with the fish.
I'm awaken in the middle of the night by flashlights moving in the dark. What the? I dress in seconds and get out of my tent in silence, and wait hiding in the dark behind a picnic table. The strange group of 6 or 7 silhouettes doesn't care about me, good news. Instead, they go up and down the trail between the parking lot and the blue hole, carrying big plastic containers which look very heavy on the way back. Are these people stealing water? Well, I don't get it. I stay out and awake until they leave, at 5 am, after an hour carrying their loot. I go back to sleep thinking I just experienced one of the most confusing things on this trip...
I arrive in Dangriga, a coastal Garifuna town, the Garifuna people being a mix of African, Arawak and Carib ancestors spread along the Caribbean coasts... It's much less culturally active than what I expected, but it does have an interesting vibe, and it's really quiet. It's funny to see how Belize, with such a small territory, has an impressive diversity of people, with some spots being totally Maya, others Mennonite, or Black, with Chinese, Whites and a bit of everything else spread out among them.. 
I stay at a hostel in town where I meet 2 Germans on bikes and a Quebecois guy. We all take a motorboat to Tobacco Caye the next morning. Andreas and Jochen will only spend one night there, and Michel and I will keep it going for 5 nights, eating coconuts and fishing (mostly Michel) our meals.
Back in Dangriga, while I'm wondering what to do during the waiting time (my parcel being on its slow way to this small town), Michel, who's into green construction, starts thinking about a solar system to help Dana, the owner of the hostel, save money on her electricity bill. Little by little, with my intervention and the lack of proper supplies, the project shifts to a water recycling wetland, the place being, at first, a laundry, with a huge water consumption. In a few days, through a lot of sweat in the tropical heat, we turn the sketches into something that looks like a wetland, Michel doing the whole wiring and plumbing with a plumber, and I giving a hand on the wetland itself, also hunting for the adequate plants in the neighborhood. So now, the greywater from the laundry is filtered in the wetland before being pumped back into a tank that feeds the toilets, giving us a nice feeling of accomplishment!
While the construction comes to an end, we see a tall guy arriving on a bike at the hostel. It's another French guy! One more in the counter. Gary is finishing a world trip in Cancun. He spends 2 nights here before heading further North, while I decide to do some WWOOFing in Belize (volonteer work in organic farms).
I say bye to Michel going back to Canada via Nicaragua, and very quickly, realize that the small wwoof community here in Belize is mostly made of Canadian real estate agents, which doesn't really match what I expect from a host. Expatriates who are developing multiple estates using free foreign labor instead of local workforce (the average Belizean living with less than 2 US Dollars per day) is hardly similar to a family needing help to keep traditional growing methods on ancestral land, in my vision.
So screw the fake ecologists, let's get back on the road, heading North to catch up with Gary.
Mexico de nuevo!


Arrivee au Belize apres en avoir bave une derniere fois sur les routes caillouteuses du Guatemala, qui me fera bouffer de la poussiere jusqu'au bout, avec vent de face cette fois-ci s'il vous plait!

Je fais a peine quelques kilometres apres la frontiere (au passage relativement tranquille), et j'atterris dans un camping / cabanes ecolo, sympa et pas cher. Mon velo craque un peu partout, mes vitesses ne tiennent plus trop la route, il est temps de faire une pause et de commander de nouvelles pieces. Raleigh, le fabriquant du velo, me fournit des pieces gratuites que je me fais envoyer du Canada par Nico, mon pote de Vancouver. J'en profite pour renouveler une partie de mon equipement, use ou plus trop adapte au voyage.

Il a quand meme fallu 3-4 jours pour organiser tout ca par Internet, entre la France (pour l'argent), le Canada (le matos) et le Belize (paradis tropical). En attendant que le paquet fasse son chemin, je pense que je vais aller me prendre un peu de vacances sur une Caye, une de ces iles au milieu de la deuxieme plus grande barriere de corail du monde. Une "panne" un peu plus sympa qu'a Fairbanks!

Je quitte le camping ou j'ai rencontre rapidement Paul, un Americain qui fait aussi la panamericaine, de l'Alaska a Ushuaia, et sur la route je croise Mayeul, un Francais qui fait le voyage inverse, d'abord en moto, puis sans vehicule, puis a velo, et en fait il ne va finalement qu'au Mexique. Donc bref, on mange ensemble, c'est sympa mais ca ne dure pas car on ne va pas dans la meme direction. Je campe au Blue Hole National Park, qui comme son nom l'indique est un trou bleu avec de l'eau dedans. Sympa pour se baigner apres les heures d'ouverture. Au beau milieu de la nuit, je suis reveille par des lampes de poche dont le faisceau balaie la foret. Un etrange cortege de silouhettes se deroule sous mes yeux inquiets : 6 ou 7 personnes font des allers-retours entre leurs pick-ups  et le Blue Hole, ramenant de gros bidons tres lourds. Ils volent de l'eau? Pas compris. Reveille par surprise a 4 heures du matin, les choses les plus obscures paraissent les moins claires...

J'arrive a Dangriga, haut lieu de la culture Garifuna, les descendants des Africains echappes des negriers et refugies un peu partout le long des cotes caraibes. Ambiance sympa mais tres, tres calme. J'y rencontre Michel, un Quebecois, et Jochen et Andreas, deux Allemands a velo. Nous allons tous les 4 sur Tobacco Caye, une petite ile de la barriere de corail, une seule nuit pour les Allemands, 5 jours pour Michel et moi. Farniente, snorkel, noix de coco et peche a la ligne...

Retour a Dangriga et de fil en aiguille, un petit projet de lagunage des eaux grises de l'auberge de jeunesse voit le jour et finit par se realiser. Entre temps passe Gary, encore un Francais a velo, en fin de tour du monde et deux ans de route. Il s'en va vers le Nord, pour s'envoler de Cancun.

J'avais pour projet de faire du WWOOF au Belize en attendant que mes pieces de rechange arrivent du Canada, mais j'abandonne quand je me rends compte que quasiment toutes les fermes membres du reseau local appartiennent a des agents immobiliers qui font partie du meme bureau. Travailler benevolement pour faire fructifier le patrimoine de Canadiens expatries qui possedent plusieurs terrains dissemines a travers le pays n'est pas trop dans l'esprit (surtout quand ils pourraient employer des locaux et qu'un quart de la population vit avec moins de 2 dollars par jour). Devant le foutage de gueule, je laisse tomber, j'envoie un message a Gary et je pars pour le rejoindre au Yucatan. Mexico de nuevo!

5 commentaires:

Unknown said...

Belize paradis tropical, ^paradis fiscal...attention de ne pas prendre trop goût aux vacances hors cadre! et de préférer pignon sur rue à pignon sur route...

Bon repos

Anonymous said...

Hola... bon courage; heureux de voir que ton périple se passe bien meme dans des contrées à la reputation difficiles
tontonton

Unknown said...

Hey! This is Colin from the Trek Stop. Eric and I were thinking of going to Panama. Maybe we'll meet up in Honduras and have a beer. I wish you luck in your travels!

Anonymous said...

Super tes photos, ca me donne aussi des idees sur les routes a eviter, c'est pratique! Demain je pars d'Oaxaca vers les plages de la cote pacifique, histoire de passer la semana santa loin des routes...Bonne continuation et bon repos au Belize. Romain

Adeline said...

Salut!

Je suis une pote a Niko! il m'avait parlé de ton trip en vélo donc je viens de faire un ptit tour sur ton blog! franchement, je peux te dire que j'admire énormément ce que tu fais! Quel courage! c'est magnifique... Du coup ca remet beaucoup en question en se disant qu'il faut faire tant qu'on est jeune et pas a la retraite une fois qu'on sera plus tres en forme! En tout cas tu as bien raison d'éviter cette routine! bravo bravo je me doute que ca ne doit pas etre facile tous les jours mais je t'encourage!!!