Stuck in the Mud

CROOKED TREE



After four days of relaxing and talking about the kids, the grand kids, the economy, retirement, health, you-name-it, we dragged our rolling bags through the sand and boarded the 6 am Richie's bus to Belize City.  After so many horrendous taxi rides, I was relieved to be on the bus.

In Belmopan we had a short potty stop, and Verda and I went to find the bathrooms.  Yuck!  Why can't people in the Latino cultures ever keep anything clean?  How hard is that?  This place looked like it hadn't been cleaned in 5 years!  Plus you had to pay to use the toilets.  After that, Verda started saying she didn't want to take any more buses.

When we arrived in Belize City, we would have had to find a bus going to Crooked Tree, figure out how to buy tickets, fight the pushy crowds and endure another two hours on the bus.  Unbeknownst to the rest of us, Ron found a taxi driver who agreed to take us all the way to the Lodge at Crooked Tree for $50 US.  He must have known we were about to have a mutiny.  The car was the typical wreck with no suspension at all, and no a/c of course - at this point we had learned to be grateful if the damn car could make it to our destination.  So off we went.

The driver had indicated that he had been to the Crooked Tree lodge before but when he missed the turnoff, we thought that once again someone had simply told us what we wanted to hear.  Finally we arrived at the causeway out to the village.  In January of this year the floods were so bad they nearly wiped out the causeway.  In fact, we read on Trip Advisor that our hosts had picked up visitors in a boat to transport them to the Lodge during that time.  Creeping along the 2 miles at 0 mph, we finally drove into a small village with multiple trails going off in every direction.  Our driver asked every person, from a middle-aged woman to a 10-year-old boy where the Crooked Tree Lodge was.  Obviously, he had never been to this place before.  Finally we headed down the last set of ruts toward the buildings in the distance.  About 100 yards short of the main lodge, the road turned to mud and puddles.  The driver was reluctant to drive into it since the car was dragging bottom even on the dry parts.  We told him to stay put and we would walk ahead and see what's what.  Sure enough, we were welcomed by Mick who quickly went to help carry our luggage from the car up to the lodge.  Even the crocodile in the small pond by the bridge seemed to smile and say "welcome to Crooked Tree!"



More to follow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intro to Travel Like a Scotsman

Image
My husband and I had travelled quite a lot before he retired, but primarily in the U.S., either visiting friends or family.  Once we went to his homeland of Scotland so that I could see where he grew up until the age of 10, and meet some of his family who were still there.  While our daughter was in college, there really wasn't enough money for us to travel as much as we would have liked, so whenever we could we drove from our home in New Jersey down to Alexandria, Virginia where we knew some people to stay with.  During these visits we became closer to one couple and in the years since, we have travelled with them to Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, and Ecuador.  We have also done trips from our home in Phoenix up to the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, and the Painted Desert, over to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, and the Grand Teton Parks.  We have also explored the Midwest, s
Read more

Countdown - Before You Go

So, it’s finally here. One more day til our adventure in Thailand begins.   In addition to packing, there are a few other things I’ve learned are important before you take off. The first is to go to your bank and order some currency of the country(ies) you’re visiting.   You can always get more when you arrive, but it’s nice to have a bit so you can tip your driver or others for services. Also, it’s important to either go online or call your credit card issuer and tell them your travel plans, so they don’t think your card has been stolen or lost and put a hold on it.   While you’re at it, make copies of the front and back of the credit cards you’re taking and of your passport(s).   We met a man once in Costa Rica who had been robbed at the market and didn’t have copies of anything, so was in a panic waiting til Monday morning to see someone at the American embassy. Even though it’s not mandatory, I advise you to download the apps for whichever airlines you may be flying.  
Read more

Taipei at 4 AM

Arrived in Taipei about 4:00 AM, but God only knows what time our bodies think it is.   Everything shuttered up, no coffee or tea to be had.   Super clean, and at this time of night, pretty empty.   The girls immediately wanted to know if there was Wifi, and calmed down as soon as they were online.    Signs are in both Hokkien and English. Hokkien is a dialect of Chinese, but unintelligible to Mandarin speakers.   Ella slept about 10 hours, but the rest of us slept little as there was a lot of turbulence. The food on the plane was 50-50.   We were served dinner even though our flight left at 12:05 am, and mine was rice with beef, carrots, some interesting sort of coleslaw, and a tiny piece of Toblerone chocolate. However, the breakfast was weird.   Some sort of noodle, with some kind of “fishy” tasting meat, yogurt, and a banana. Strong, strong coffee, too. Exhausted after a 14-hour flight, we now boarded yet another plane for a 3-hour flight to Bangkok.  Fortunately
Read more