Belize - 1977

The following story is an excerpt from Art Faibisch’s diary of a trip taken in 1976-1977 by Art and Misti Faibisch and their two sons, David and Mike, to Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, traveling in their school bus, named “Gus,” converted to a camper.

After traveling two months through Mexico, our plan was to cross into Belize, then continue on to Guatemala, and eventually head north following the Pacific coast headed home. On January 7, we reached Chetemal, Mexico around noon and changed some US dollars into Belezian dollars, at an exchange rate of two Belezian dollars for one US dollar. We did some shopping and crossed the border into Belize without any problems at about 5:00 that evening.

Before crossing the border we stopped, while still in Mexico, and dumped the small stash of marijuana we had been carrying ever since we left the US.  I left the small baggie on top of a trash can so somebody else would be able to find it.  I didn’t think it was a good idea to cross a border with marijuana, even though it was well hidden.

One thing that was striking, as we crossed into Belize, was a banner across the highway that said “Belize es Guatemala,” or Belize is Guatemala.  Belize was a British crown colony from 1862 to 1973, when its name was changed from British Honduras to Belize.  The name comes from the Mayan word “Balix,” which means muddy waters.

At the time we were there in 1977, Belize was still under British control and it didn’t receive its independence until 1981.  Guatemala had a long-standing claim to Belize and had threatened to use force to take it over from the British.  When we were there we saw British military emplacements that were protecting the Belizean people from Guatemalan threats.  In 1975 the Belizean government sought the support of the international community and, with help from the United Nations, it finally achieved full independence.

For the first time, since early November, we were in a country other than Mexico.  We’re hoping to continue through Belize to Guatemala, see the ruins at Tikal, and then continue across to Guatemala City. This part of our trip depends on how bad the roads are. We’ve had mixed reports from travelers ranging from completely washed out and impassable to not too bad, so we’ll have to go and see for ourselves. 

Belize City, Belize, January 8, 1977

We’re spending the night in a trailer park in Belize City and plan to leave tomorrow morning for Guatemala and the ruins at Tikal. We may wait until Monday since we were told that it’s sometimes difficult to cross the border on a Sunday. Also, I'd like to buy a lug wrench and jack handle, before we get to the Guatemalan frontier, since we heard the roads were very rough.  We’ve traveled thousands of miles without the lug wrench and jack handle and luckily haven’t had any tire problems.

We had an exciting ride this morning from Corozal, near the border, to Belize City, a distance of about 100 miles and a roughly five hour trip. We got an early start from the campground and drove about ten miles in heavy fog. At a fork in the road we asked directions and a woman asked if we'd give her a ride to Belize City; she had three children with her. We said okay and she, her three kids and four other people who were waiting there, all piled on Gus and off we went. The road was pretty bad, you could drive about 30 miles an hour, but 20 was better and less bumpy. The road was filled with small potholes, was very narrow and just a terrible road. About half the distance to Belize we crossed a toll bridge and, when we stopped to pay the toll, several guys asked for a ride. We didn't have the heart to say no, so we took them on. I didn't count heads, but including the four or us we were about fifteen on our way to Belize City. These people were of course, all Blacks, Belize being a predominantly Black country. They were all quite pleasant and it was a treat to be able to converse in English although their accent, which is similar to Jamaican, made it difficult to understand them.
 
About forty miles from Belize City, on a very bad stretch of road, we got our first flat tire; one of the dual rear wheels and, unfortunately, an inside one.  I quickly saw that the jack handle didn't fit the jack that we got with the bus when we bought it from the Hames Company in Fresno. I suppose this was something I should have checked before we left the US, but I didn’t. This meant there was no way to change the tire, even though we did have a good spare. Three of the older guys who were riding with us, and myself, reviewed the situation and we decided we’d try to make it to Belize City with just three of the four rear tires.

I was tempted to ask some of the people to stay behind to catch a bus, because I was afraid the added weight would blow out the remaining left rear tire. But I didn't have the heart to strand anyone on that desolate road and by that time we had become a pretty close-knit group. So I asked everyone to sit or stand as close to the front as possible to relieve the weight on the rear tires, and hoped we could make the remaining forty miles to Belize City. I was told that the road improved in a short distance, which it did, and we made it without any trouble. It was indeed an exciting ride.

One of our passengers, a young man in his early twenties, introduced himself as Wayne and directed us to a gas station where they quickly plugged the tire; the tires are all tubeless. Wayne was attracted to the novelty of being with some Americans and quickly attached himself to us. He volunteered to show us around Belize City and we took his offer of a short tour in Gus. We didn't especially want to encourage his staying so thanked him, got a recommendation for a restaurant, and he went on his way. We gave him some books as a token of our thanks.  

We spent the remainder of the day looking around Belize City, an interesting place with many shanty type houses on stilts with tin roofs. The poverty of the people and the country is obvious, but the people seemed happy enough. While the city is the largest in Belize, with a population of roughly 75,000, the capital is Belmopan, a smaller city with a population of only about 15,000. 

Belize is very different than Mexico and the rest of Latin America. The British influence is everywhere, all signs are in English which is the official language although most people also speak Spanish, and there are British cars and trucks everywhere.  It was a refreshing change of pace from Mexico and before going into Guatemala.

Art Faibisch, written in 1976 and edited in July, 2019