Cycling The Globe

Distance: 102.4 km
Ride time: 5:09:51
Average: 19.8 km/h
Max speed: 34.6 km/h
Total: 37472 km

It had pretty much been cloudy and rainy ever since I entered Belize a couple of days ago. Now, that might sound like a bad thing, but this part of Belize usually gets really really hot, and the clouds and rain helps keeping the temperature down.

Listening to the FM radio is interesting around these parts. English is the most used language, but you can also hear Spanish and even Creole being spoken. It really feels like being on a Caribbean island even though I’m very much on the mainland. I did make it to the Caribbean coast today. Suddenly it was right there in front of me, with as nice a turquoise color as you would expect.

I was then going to cross the border into Mexico for country number 36 on this trip. Lot’s of new countries lately, in fact 7 new ones since arriving in Panama back in May. Belize surprised with a very steep 22 dollar “Exit fee”. I guess most tourists coming here are rich cruise passengers…

At the Mexican side of the river I had a nice chat with the very friendly border officer. I told him about the trip, how I often sleep in my tent, and do a bit of freelance work on my laptop now and then. After the chat he suddenly told me “So, you haven’t got a reservation for a hotel room tonight, and you are sometimes doing work on your computer. I can’t let you into the country on a tourist visa then”. I might have looked like a big question mark for a second or two after which the border officer broke into the biggest laugh and said “Just joking, of course you are welcome in Mexico, amigo”. Haha, funny people the Mexicans!

The roads improved and everything turned bigger and more touristic as soon as I entered Mexico. I was suddenly riding on a busy four lane highway – what a difference from the small road at the other side of the border. I love Mexican food, and I was not disappointed with my first dish. Simply delicious!

Back at the border I had talked to a couple of backpackers from Argentina. They suggested Bacalar as a good place to stop for the night. It turns out Bacalar is located right next to the Seven Color Lake. Asking around the hotel rooms were more expensive than I would have though for Mexico. Then I heard there was a combined hostel/camp site right by the lake shore – the perfect place to put up the tent for the night.

I’m very excited to be in Mexico. This is the first country in the whole south and central America that I have visited before this bike trip (two week holiday in Cancun and Merida back in 2008). This time I’m proud that I have made it all the way from Denmark by bike.