Busted!

After a too short couple of days at Los Lagunas, in Flores, and a visit to the spectacular ruins at Tikal, we set off fo Belize.  Getting through Belizean immigration was a breeze - as I remembered it from when I crossed the same border once before. It was also the first taste of the incredible friendliness and cheerfulness of Belizeans. 

English registration documents only have the date of first registration on them hence; the Model A appears to be only 22 years old as it spent much of its early life in Argentina, pounding the Pampas. After a brief look of perplexion, the customs officer roared with laughter and came and sat in the drivers seat to have his photo taken.  Seldom are border formalities completed in such an open, sunny manner and with so much laughter. 

Our stay in lovely Belize was a very brief one night in Belize City, looking, with great longing, on my part anyway, towards the sumptuous cayes in the Caribbean Sea that we have no time to visit. The city is not the best the country has to offer but we’re on a rally here!  

Adrian and Toby, unbeknownst to me, had been noticing a problem with the main bearing on the car.  Toby examined it and was worried.  He thought the chances we’d make it through 10, often difficult, days through Mexico were slim. A decision had to be made.  Mexico is not the place to have a catastrophic breakdown in the middle of nowhere.  The organisations’ experiences of getting cars moved and out of Mexico were dire.  You are in the hands of an effective Mafia. It was great sadness that we decided to leave the car in Belize to be shipped from there.  Somehow, a jolly Lawyer called John was found late on a Saturday afternoon and various notarised documents were produced.

So, there we are. Stuffed, caput and busted. The little car has performed well on some of the most difficult roads we have ever rallied on; managed to tow its massive younger cousin (an F150) of a barge and has been a good friend.  It’s carried us through a couple of dozen countries but now needs a long convalescence and possibly permanent retirement from rallying.  We’ll leave that decision for another time. 

I hitched a lift in the Mongolian Discovery across the border to Mexico.  Adrian was swimming about with the Doc in the back of the enormous Chevy Impala of John and Fen Aird. Belize was a breeze to leave obviously, its neighbour was a different story.  Several hours of hanging around. There is a “free zone” on the Belize side and many Mexicans were dragging ‘Hello Kitty’ bags full of stuff they were dragging back to sell.  It looked like a very difficult way to make a few bucks. One woman, quite openly in front of us, was stuffing things down her leggings and taping packages around her waist before covering it all in a voluminous  t-shirt. God knows what it was.  

We’re in Tulum  and are picking up a Chevy Suburban today that we can keep until the border with Texas, where we’ll pick up something else. A great big modern SUV - we’ll even be able to stop for lunch. So it’s a little sad, but not all bad!  Plus: the interior space - that’s very exciting.  I’ve put a couple of pics on here of my space in the Model A. My legs may be short, but they exist, and, as you can see, there is little space for them. Now, I may even do a little shopping.