Home to the rain...ugh!

There are gaps between the days due to the lack of available Internet and sleep deprivation but all made it back safe and sound.
On Wednesday after Mark finally got the necessary documentation cleared with the Mexican authorities, we sailed to our starting point in Puerto Moroles in the rain. As a well deserved thank you to Mark and Lee, the group provided them with an excursion to the Mayan ruins in Chichen Itza. We spent the rest of the day/evening preparing for the journey home with dinner and a few Cerveza.
Thursday morning was a somber day for most with the thought of the 6 hour flight back north and the 5 star Edmonton terminal floor, sleeping accomodations.
We arrived to a sunny day in Vancouver in the single digit temperature range, a rude awakening to our high 20-30`s that we enjoyed over the past 2 weeks. It has been raining ever since but the memories will remain for years to come.
Many thanks to our catamaran crew, Mark and Lee, from Ecological Divers in San Pedro Belize,
http://www.ecologicdivers.com/ for providing us with a safe and enjoyable 28 hour ride up the coast. Lee is a fabulous cook and to provide home made pizza at sea was truly and experience I will never forget. If you are in San Pedro and looking to sail, check them out.
A special thanks to Rudy and his crew at, Island Divers Belize, http://www.islanddiversbelize.com/ for the incredible experience and personal service we received on obtaining our PADI open water diving certification. The reefs off San Pedro are truly a divers mecca and Island Divers know where to take you for the best diving. Talk to Judy for day trips or for a full certification and tell her the bikers from Canada sent you.
This years trip was by far the most memorable adventure I have had and not sure how we can top it but I am sure Kerry will think of something.
Stay tuned for next years blog!!

Puerto Moroles here we are again!

We have finally arrived back to our starting point after a short 28 hours at sea to San Miguel on the island of Cozumel where we spent 2 nights. There were some issues clearing customs that our crew dealt with including the Mexican authorities strange hours. After the formalities were out of the way, we spent Tuesday afternoon touring the island by jeep. We set sail at 0900 for Puerto Moroles and arrived shortly after 1200. The rest of the evening we are spending with our Captain and first mate swapping stories and sharing Cerveza.

To the high seas we go

This is our beautiful boat

Packing up the bikes on the dock getting ready for the voyage to Mexico.

Packing up the bikes on the dock getting ready for the voyage to Mexico.

Packing up and getting ready to head off to the catamaran for the trip back. Last night was a final farewell for all and some party goers further depleted the Belikin supply on the island. There was an opportunity for a little business but the team stuck together and avoided any problems. Looking forward to a night of sailing and looking at the stars with no interference from the city lights.

Last night on La Isla Bonnita

Time is a tickin' until our high seas adventure begins. We lash the bikes to the gunwales at 0900, hoist the sail shortly there after and set a course for Cozumel. With favorable winds and seas, we should arrive in Cozumel sometime Monday afternoon. For obvious reasons, we will be unable to update the blog and will do so when we reach land.
This morning was spent finishing off our written exams, for the divers, and now awaiting our PADI certification cards in the mail. In the afternoon we caught the water taxi to a smaller island south of San Pedro named Caye Caulker. We noticed that there liquor laws were lax and anyone including their dog can drink. At the end of the island is a reggae bar called the Lazy Lizard which we spent a couple hours cooling down at as can be seen in the pictures. We also considered renegotiating our boat choice to Cozumel but thought we may have issues with the bikes.
We caught the 5:20 taxi back to San Pedro and will be packing up the bikes for an early get away.

Sailing to Mexico

The Captain and First Mate, Lord and Lady Maunder of Hillborough, Duke and Duchess of Beltinge.

We just agreed to be the Canadian crew of a 50' American Catamaran from The British Virgin Islands with a British captain and First Mate to sail from San Pedro, Belize to Peurto Morelos, Mexico. The Captain and first mate are the Lord and Lady Maunder of Hillborough, Duke and Duchess of Beltinge. We are going to lash our bikes to the deck of this amazing 50' Catamaran and sail over night, leaving on Sunday morning and arriving on Monday afternoon. Also included in the voyage will be 30 + hours of deep sea fishing for those anglers amongst us. The boat is fully equipped and with any luck we will feast on some catch of the day.

Avast ye lubbers! Hope all these salty dogs remembered to pack their sea-legs with the bike shorts. Arrrrrrrr.....

New twist to the schedule

Today was another lazy day on a tropical island in the warm waters of the Carribean sea. Some of us went for a ride up island on the beach to see if we were fit to ride back after the nights of cheap rum and beer. Kerry and Barry have been negotiating for a couple days the possibility of chartering a boat to Cozumel and may have come across a great deal. We would be leaving here Sunday morning, for an approximate 30 hour, through the night cruise, on a newly refurbished catamaran. Its sister ship is also anchored off the island having both just repositioned from Panama. After doing the math of the cost incurred to ride back, this would, divided by the team, work out to be cheaper plus it would allow us a night in Cozumel which we did not plan for. This is a little off the original plan but would certainly add a flair to the adventure.

Scuba diving or sailing, hmmmmm..

Today the group split up somewhat. Rick, Roger, Shawn and Greg went diving to get their PADI open water diving certification. The rest went on a catamaran ride to the reef for snorkeling and for some r&r on Caye Caulker, a little island south of where we are.
The divers had 3 dives, 1 at 15 feet and 2 at 60 feet to practice on the skills required to obtain the certification. Roger had a bit of an incident on the 3rd dive, 50 feet below the surface. Many thanks to Rudy, our dive master, at Island Divers Belize for his skill and expertise. If you are planning a trip to San Pedro and are looking to certify or dive for that matter, please use them as they are, as far as I am concerned, the BEST!!
We have 2 more dives in the morning and hopefully all goes well.
Not sure how the catamaran went but there seemed to be no pain felt by most of the sea farer's on return.
Today the town is celebrating Garifuna Settlement day in the town square with lots of street side food vendors and a music/dance show. Between the festivities and the Pier Lounge world famous chicken drop, there is plenty to do this evening. For those readers unfamiliar of the chicken drop, there are 4 sheets of plywood placed on the beach, each with 25 random numbers to total 1-100. Each number costs $1 Belize and are drawn from a glass jar. When all numbers are sold, they drop a chicken in the middle and if it happens to use your numbered square as it`s bathroom, you win a $100 Belize or $50usd. You collect your prize shortly after you clean up after the chicken. Not sure if it his sanctioned by the countries lottery corporation but odds are 1 in 100.
Due to the crappy internet service this year, we will update pictures as time and service permits. Interestingly enough, Skype is not an option here either as the internet provider, Belize Tel, has restricted its use.

Island time

Rode the 50+ k`s to Corazol, Belize this morning with plans to catch the 3 pm water taxi only to find out there wasn`t one. After considering the options, flying, riding back to Chetumal to catch a different boat or catching a bus to Belize city to catch a water taxi, we ended up chartering a boat for the 2 hour ride... $1000 usd later we were on our way. Roger and Barry went with the boat owner to fill the boat at the local gas station, $450usd plus another $50 for oil which was part of the $1000. Not what were were budgeting for to say the least!! On the upside we arrived shortly before dark and have a nice view of the Caribbean sea.

Kerry was drunk before the boat even landed. The rest of the night is a blur.

Bacalar to Belize...the final 50 kms

Roger awoke early and decided to put in some internet time and edit the blog while waiting for the others to get up. Plans are to be on the road in an hour on the final leg of our trek to Belize and eventually the island of San Pedro. If all goes well today, we should be on the 3:00 water taxi from Corazol to the island. Todays ride is an easy 50 kms give or take a few with a slight delay through customs and we should be in Corazol around noon. This will give us some time to eat and for Kerry to introduce us to his favorite beverage, Belekin beer. We will add some pictures on arrival.

Bacalar Mexico

We just arrived into Bacalar Mexico after an early start from FCP. There was no internet access as expected in FCP so we updated both days tonight.

Today's ride was awesome but very hot. Lunch today included mystery meat tacos and the usual Cervezas. Kerry and Greg loved them but the others were a bit squeamish. Even Scott, the picky eater, ate them!! I guess we were really hungry. Shawn surprised the owner's daughter with a Calgary Flames shirt as nobody else wants them. He has been handing them out trying to get converts. We made several Cerveza stops due to the excessive heat. We covered 117 kilometers and arrived in Bacalar at around 4:00. One small crash and only one flat tire today. We decided to stop in Bacalar and cross the border tomorrow so we will be catching the 3:00 water taxi to San Pedro.

Now we are heading out for a well deserved dip in the lagoon.

FCP, Mexico

Scott and Jordan were keeping their eyes open and they're backs to the wall.

We arrived in Fellipe Carrillo Puerto at approx.2:30, way ahead of schedule. The ride was roughly 100 kms and we are making great time, due to no mechanically failures or physical mishaps and great spirits.
The high lite of the evening was buying a round for a whole bar. FCP isn't renowned for it's multitude of bars, the one we found was inhabited by locals of what appeared to be every age, gender and as we're still debating, sexual preference. At a little over a buck a beer, it was worth the entertainment value.
Dinner was at the little taquiria next to the hotel, where they served the traditional Mexican fare of tacos.all Kerry, Barry, Greg and Roger got a little braver and ventured out on to the street for some off the cart creation which was even better. It consisted of cheese, ham, pork and onions wrapped up in a soft tortilla shell.
Another early night as all were tired from the ride.

Tulum for the night

Here comes Greg

Roger wants to know what is taking so long? "Let's go"

Jordan and Rick are catching their breath

Scott is resting up a bit

Barry having a little rest

Shawn had a little crash and scraped his elbow

Roger had a friend sleep with him last night in his room but had to evict her early in the evening. After some misguided tourist tips which added 20 very interesting kms to the ride, the 8 of us have made it to Tulum after 117 kms. Shawn had an incident with the ditch and his arm, which does not look pretty, but ,he assures us that he is still able to ride, the ditch was unscathed however. We managed to leave Puerto Moroles a little earlier then expected and after several deserved stops for real Mexican food and refreshments, we arrived around 3. We were under the impression that the hostel we stayed in last year was closed but much to our surprise and 80 pesos later, we have a place for the night. We are now cleaning up and headed out for supper.

Puerto Moroles here we are.

First night in Mexico. Not really warm here but the Cerveza is helping.