Ang in the Jungle: You Better Belize It?!

So to maintain legal status in Guatemala, some Hearts in Action team members and I needed to cross the border into Belize, and then come right back because there were a lot of errands to run that day. (Crossing the border and re-entering will award a person 3 more months of stay.) The trip was meant to be quick but there were some hang-ups that led to an interesting experience.

Xaume went first and passed easily through the passport checkpoint. He has a Mexican passport, and the rumor is that Mexico has a better relationship with Belize than Guatemala due to a land dispute. I went next, and when I was asked why I was entering Belize, I gave them the line we had rehearsed during the 2.5 hour truck ride, "para conocer Benque," or "to get to know the town." I stepped aside, and Annie was asked to step up because we were traveling together and because it's often assumed that we're sisters. She gave the same line, and the official frowned and stated that he wasn't convinced that we were regular tourists and that we needed to talk to his supervisor. Eeek?!

Sooo we waited in line for an hour and made a quick phone call to Fredy, our administrator, who coached us about the next steps. He reminded us that Belize is pretty unfriendly about letting people cross their border just to renew their passports, and he warned us that the officials may try to charge us 70 quetzalas, about $10, each. If this happened, we were to refuse and keep explaining the situation, and he gave us some ideas to elaborate. Behind closed doors, we had to answer more questions and provide identification to prove that we worked in Guatemala, which we didn't have. I remained in the room of questioning while Annie left to quickly grab business cards from Fredy, who was waiting for us outside. Finally after explaining that we had just one day off and really, really, really wanted to be able to visit Belize and also that we may need to pick up a group there for a training event that Hearts in Action is hosting in November and for this reason, we needed to scope out the area for a good meeting place... we were able to walk across the border to Belize. Yep, walk! I've crossed international borders in a car, in a plane, in a train... and now by foot.

It was a rainy day, so once we were on the other side, we jumped into a taxi and headed toward Benny's Kitchen, a restaurant a police officer suggested to Xaume while he was waiting for us and wondering what in the heck happened to us. The car turned right at a handwritten sign that said "This Way to Benny's Kitchen" with an arrow pointing up a hill. The restaurant offered an interesting selection of foods, with many options that were "weekends only." It was only Friday, so we opted for eggs and bacon, chocolate milkshakes, and doughy tortillas the size of your head. Restaurant decor included a prominent painting of John the Baptist beheaded, crates of empty glass Coca Cola bottles, and a giant trampoline?!

I particularly enjoyed this sticker that I found in the gift shop.

The border town in Belize looks pretty much just like Guatemala except the people are taller, signs are in English, and Queen Elizabeth's face is on the dollar bills, which are worth half an American dollar bill.

Crossing back in Guatemala was much less eventful, and then we began a day of running errands with Fredy. Annie and I paid the phone bill in the mall and looked in shops.