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#1 (permalink) |
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life=playa
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Playa del Carmen - San Pedro, by bus.
I took a trip down to San Pedro, Belize last week for a few days, so thought I’d post a couple of photos and some directions on how I did it.
It’s an easy trip and you could be on a beach in San Pedro by the afternoon. I left from Playa Del Carmen, but you can get also get the bus from Cancun. From Playa’s alternative bus station. The one that’s a block or so south East of Mega. Busses travel pretty frequently, I think one every hour-or-so. Check http://www.ado.com.mx. I paid about 200 or so pesos for the single trip. The bus journey to Chetumal itself is pretty unremarkable. The road is straight so you don’t really feel the journey. The driver has the air conditioning up high, so take something warm, like a big coat, woolly socks and a fluffy hat. They don’t stop anywhere for food, so think about taking something with you as it’s about three and a half hours or so. There’s a toilet on the bus. It’s a nice time just to sit back and watch the world go by, read a book or watch one of the dubbed films they have on in the bus. Ours was only half full so I had a row to myself, but on the return trip, which was a Sunday, I had the last seat, and that was buying the ticket two hours before departure! After passing Bacalar the bus drifts into outskirts Chetumal, past the big Plaza De Las Americas and onto the the ADO terminal. From here it could be any other Mexican city really. The ADO bus station is about 20 blocks from Chetumal Cetral and you’ll need to leave the bus station through the terminus. Then outside there’s a taxi rank. I arrived into town shortly after 9pm, so needed to stay somewhere for the night. If you arrive into Chetumal in time, you can go straight to the port. Taxi’s in Chetumal cost 12-20 pesos depending on what zone you’re going to, but you shouldn’t pay any more than 20 pesos for the trip into town. I stayed in the Caribean Pricess. A smart, clean hotel right in town. It was pretty pricy at $40, but it included a small breakfast and it was clean and someone you wouldn’t have any qualms leaving your stuff in your room. This late at night, Chetumal was quiet, the empty streets bely it’s size really and you could quite easily be the only person walking down one of it’s broad central streets. The absence of Restaurants around is probably an indication on how quiet the place is. Every so often, a food cart perched on the corner with a huddle of people around a single hanging light chomping on tacos or burgers would be the only signs of life, it really was quiet. I went back to Romano’s, a recommendation from my hotel and was shocked at how nice the place was. I noticed the prices were a shade cheaper than Playa down here as well. ![]() The town was livelier in the morning and having a few hours before I needed to be at the port, I strolled around the central streets and onto the grand Malecon that sweeps it’s path along the eerily flat coastline. ![]() ![]() The waters around here are home to the Manatee, looking out over the pond-like tranquility of the gulf here, it’s easy to see a Manatee being happy along the mangoved shores. If I were a Manatee, I’d be a happy Manatee here. ![]() I wasn’t a Manatee, I was a tourist, and a pretty bored one by now. I walked back into town to see if there was anything I missed. I spent twenty minutes in a book shop looking for anything that may give me clue’s to the must see’s in Chetumal, but came out empty handed. I walked back along the tired streets to the port. It’s right across the grand white Governemnt Building on the bend of the road. ![]() The San Pedro Water Jets Express office is just on the right hand side before you enter the pier. ![]() A return ticket cost me 685 pesos. I left my bag with them and walked to the end of the long pier to Immigration, as instructed. ![]() Sat at the end was the boat captain and a luggage handler rocking on white plastic garden chairs. The boat is scheduled to leave at 15:30, but you really must be at the dock no later than 15:00 for reasons that weren’t fully explained. 15:40 and our bored group grew by three people, ten minutes later we were all rocking on white plastic garden furniture. I eyed up the boat as it sat tethered to the dock. It’s not a big boat, probably half the size again of the diving boats off Playa. It’s fully enclosed, and looking at the three giant 250hp engines shackled to the back, it also looks fast. ![]() The immigration officer showed up, sighed, emptied his brief case on the temporary desk, rearranged his little stamping pad, stamps, pens and paper and Immigration was open. I have an FM-3, so don’t know what the drill is with FM-Ts, but I had to fill in a Mexico entry form, he tore off half and gave me half, then stamped my FM-3 booklet, and I was good to go! There’s no exit tax or any other fees going out. The army turned up with the oldest sniffer dog I’ve seen in active service. The dog lolloped off the truck looked at all of us rocking on our chairs, lay down and went to seep. The bags we’d left in the office turned up and were rowed in a line. The dog was nudged into life, and after a few attempts at climbing up onto all four legs laboured his way over to the bags, took a sniff then went and lay down again. A nod of the officer, the bags in the boat and we climbed in. We had a brief safety briefing, a film was put on, bottle of water handed out and within minutes we were skipping across the dead calm gulf, Mexico behind, Belize ahead. There’s no toilet on the boat, so after an hour and fifteen minutes of rattling along the water, I was pleased to see the little wooden houses of San Pedro along the water line. ![]() You really do know you’re in another country when you step out of the boat. The water around the little ramshackle pier is clear and shallow, I spotted a large barracuda lurching around under the pier as I was waiting to get stamped in. Immigration is a similar process over here, but with a big smile. I was welcomed to Belize and asked if I’d been before, I told her I’d been to Placencia more than ten years ago, and with a reassuring stamp, snapped my passport closed, handed it over and said, “Well you need to come more ofter then, have a nice stay.” There are three roads that make up San Pedro, the front road, middle road and back road. I asked the immigration official if this was the front road, she laughed and said no, as if that was the dumbest question in the world. So I headed east, across middle street onto front street, that on inspection was markedly different than back street. I’d already spotted a place to stay, on front street called Ruby’s. Most of the buildings around here are the typical coloured Caribbean wooden slatted house and Ruby’s was no different. The room they showed me was on the top floor overlooking the unbelievably coloured sea. Had no aircon but did have a giant fan. This was cheaper at 50 Belizean dollars, $25US - there’s about two to one exchange rate. to part 2
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Wherever you go, there you are. (We just happen to be somewhere really nice)
Last edited by Orm; 06-10-2010 at 04:37 PM.. |
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#3 (permalink) |
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añejo
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Latitude 20.6274 Longitude 87.0799
Posts: 9,384
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Orm, a great and informative report
![]() ![]() . I drove my car to Corozaltown once, but not much there![]() . Planning on driving to Tikal sometime this year to check out the ruins. Again, your report is great and interesting reading - I am waiting for your pix and the continuation of the report. Thanks again.
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#7 (permalink) |
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life=playa
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Playa to San Pedro by bus part 2....
I’d already spotted a place to stay, on front street called Ruby’s. Most of the buildings around here are the typical coloured Caribbean wooden slatted house and Ruby’s was no different. The room they showed me was on the top floor overlooking the unbelievably coloured sea. Had no aircon but did have a giant fan. This was cheaper at 50 Belizean dollars, $25US - there’s about two to one exchange rate.
Rubys: ![]() In front of the hotels of front street there is a general walkway along the water-side. While there are no beaches, in the conventional sense of the word, there is a pleasant walkway, a sandy malecon that runs along the front of the hotels and past the staccato of piers that serve as a good reference point if you get lost or drunk, or both. ![]() ![]() ![]() View from the otherside of Rubys. ![]() The first night out this walkway was teaming with life, every bar or hotel I came across had either a barbecue or live band playing. Small stalls illuminated in the night under trees selling wooden hand-carved figures or jewelery of some sort proved popular stopping points for reddened tourists clutching burgers or burritos sold from the vendors. It was a vibrant and colourful place. I popped into a restaurant and was pretty shocked by the prices, I won’t name names because it’s not fair, but a burger typically is costing 18-24 b$ and anything more extravagant you could be looking at upwards of 30-40b$. Way beyond my meagre budget. I knew why the food stalls where so popular now. Cheap eats! ![]() A fierce weather system blew in the next day that would terrorise my wooden hotel for the next three days, so a lot of the diving I’d planned to do wasn’t feasible, so I spent most of my time walking up and down the front street. It really is somewhere that you can become familiar with very quickly. The people there are very upfront, open, inquisitive and friendly, especially coming from a fairly conservative Chetumal. From the casual observer, there are problems there, I was asked for money on a fair few occasions and on one particular encounter I was going to take a photograph of an old couple on their porch, they looked old and homely, in a contented way. I asked them if they would mind, I didn’t really get any sort of response. A woman in her twenties came past and said to me, “don’t bother, they’re mad”. Ah. I put my camera away and walked on, with her. She told me that recently her husband had been murdered and the people responsible had burned down her house and now she has to live in a field by the school. And did I have any money. Whether that poor woman’s spouse did end up in that tragic fete, I’ve no idea, if the couple were mad, again, I couldn’t tell you, but this just gives you a little flavour of what you run into when walking down the road :O). ![]() Nights end early, unless you go to the Jaguar Temple… which is a fairly good night club (depending on how much rum you’ve had prior.) on the front road. But in the main, most people choose to share a bottle of something on their balcony overlooking the sea, it’s generally not an overly rowdy nigh time place. Disco! ![]() I didn’t intend to spend all my time in San Pedro, but it took hold of me and either through laziness, or the magic and charm of the place, I stayed there for the full duration and was happy to do so. Omni-present golf buggies: ![]() ![]() ![]() I spent my last night on the deck overlooking the incredible sea with scatters of thousands of starts, the distant waves pounding the reef half a mile out to see. It was a million miles from Mexico, but just across the water. Next morning I popped my key through the letter box of the office and left for the terminal. The boat leaves from the dock that you arrived at, and leaves at 8am - you’ll need to be there 7.30 to check in and do the paperwork. You will need to pay them exit tax and a pier usage fee. Pier usage fee is only a dollar, but the exit tax is $7US if I remember. If you don’t have change, they’ll give it you in Belizean dollars, so make sure you have enough cash at the end. Arriving back in Chetumal is as straight forward as leaving. They will handle your bags, and when you disembark on the Chetumal side, they will row your bags up so the ageing mutt can come and have a sniff. You mustn’t touch them before that. Stamp back into Mexico and you’re good to go. There’s a taxi rank right at the end of the pier near where you go through immigration. They charge 50 pesos for a cab to the bus terminal, this is way too much. If your bags are light enough, walk to the road at the end of the pier and stop a passing cab. You want the ADO bus terminal (there are two, one in town for busses that go to Belize and the old one about 20 blocks out of town that is for ADO busses that travel north). Don’t pay more than $20pesos. Arriving at the Chetumal bus terminal there’s a shop inside on the right. They have wooden storage boxes that you can leave your bags in if you arrive too early. They lock them and give you a receipt, you pay when you return. If you are too early and fancy a bit of shopping, the Plaza De Las Americas shopping plaza is only 15pesos in a cab and about 10 blocks away. When you are ready, go sit in the air-conditioned waiting room (toilets are free to use in there while you have to pay in the main concourse), hand over your bag to the handlers telling them where you are going, sit back and relax. Overall, it’s a simple trip to make and one we’ll make again, without a doubt. San Pedro is not Mexico, and you feel that; in their language, their attitude, the houses, streets, little boats and just the overall vibe of the place. It’s not better that Mexico, and not any worse, it’s just different, and for this reason it’s a nice place to go for a couple of days. You really do feel like you’ve been somewhere else. |
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#14 (permalink) | |
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life=playa
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Pass Christian, Mississippi
Posts: 519
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Quote:
We too were in San Pedro earlier this month and I ran into this woman while waiting for my husband outside a dive shop. She stopped and struck up a conversation, asking if we were going diving, etc. etc. and then gave me the same story, but without the house burning part, but that she needed money to feed her children. Later somewhere else in town she approached my friends with the same story. We stopped to pick up food from a fundraiser and I asked one of the locals who was serving us if she knew anything about it and she said no. I would think if it were true, in such a small town, everybody would know about it. Enjoyed your report. Sounds like a really interesting way to get to San Pedro. We loved Ambergris and also Caye Caulker, which is even more laid back ... definitely want to stay there on a future trip! |
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