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BACK TO CHETUMAL
In spite of all my TLC Betsy has been running very badly. I finally bit the bullet and put Belizean Plates on her (6 months, $135 Dollah) and she perked right up. I think she was depressed because she was illegal. At any rate, she runs very well now. Not "like a scalded rat" as I like to say, but more like Brutus -- a long controlled lope that eats up the blocks and then the miles in city driving. So I took her to the city -- to Chetumal.
MEXICAN VISA. You can go to Mrs. Espat, the Mexican Consul here in Corozal, and get a visa for extended travel in Mexico. My first one was for 90 days, this is for 180, for "extended trips to the Yucatan." After you get to Mexico, you go to a bank and pay 210 pesos to validate the thing, otherwise they will confiscate it upon your return to the Mexican Border! The visa, once you have it approved, makes crossing the border a snap. They don't stamp your passport any more -- which is important if you're running out of pages. (You can get additional pages put in your passport; I've already done that once.)
DOLLARS TO PESOS If you have US dollars, you can get a better exchange rate. Currently, the official exchange rate was 11.15 pesos to the dollar -- I checked MS Money right before I left. The pesaro at the border wanted to give me 10.90 but I talked him in to 10.95. and I gave him an extra Belizean dollar and he gave me 1100 pesos for a crisp 100 dollar bill I had been saving just for this trip! Sounds like a lot of money, but it went pretty fast.
BELIZEAN CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION Since I'm a permanent resident, I don't have to pay the exit fee, which is now 57.50BZ. They just stamped my passport. I asked about customs. "Go thru that door marked "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY" and go over to customs. I did, and asked them about my toolbox. "I never go anywhere without it." "Full of used tools? -- No problem!"
THE FREE ZONE A year ago, they had a policy that if you have a visa for extended travel in Mexico, you can gas up in the free zone. So I thought I'd try it. It took me a little while to figure out how to get in (they've moved the entrance.) When I got there, the guard says "Wat you want?"
"I want to buy gas!"
"Where are you going?
"Mexico!"
"Give me your passport."
No more questions, no guff, he just took my passport and I went in. (AMAYZO!!) I went to the Shell station and filled up on gas at about $2US a gallon, and paid for it with Pesos. They
gave 11 to one. Betsy really appreciated the fresh clean gas. (She's been running on smuggled gas for months.) There's an exit at the border end of the Free Zone but I had to go back to the entrance to get my passport. The guy had it in his hand when I drove up! (Used to have to park and go get it.)
MEXICAN CUSTOMS ...was no sweat, except that I had to wait for a group of tourists. They stamped & wrote a little, and actually didn't even tell me that I needed to pay in town.
BUG SPRAY About a mile up the road, you have to stop and let them spray the underside of your vehicle. The fee for doing this has gone up from 40 to 50 pesos. Effectively, this is your "entrance fee" -- roughly $4.50 to counteract whatever money you might save by buying in Mexico.
(See, the GOB is not the only one!!)
OBRIGON IS TORN UP The main road into Chetumal is torn up after you pass the first traffic circle. If you take that circle to the left, it takes you to the airport. If you take it to the right, it takes you down to "Bahia something" which parallels Obrigon, and will take you down town.
GETTING LIQUORED UP At Juarez (my target North/South
street) there is a liquor store which carries wine. I went there and bought a bottle of Dry Vermouth. $130 pesos -- about $12US -- kinda expensive for a $6 bottle -- but the only place to get it in Chetumal that I know of. I use it for cooking (in lieu of Dry Sherry) so what am I going to do? Give up Linguine with White Clam Sauce? Heaven
Forefend!! I went to the bank, in the same two-block area, and paid for the visa. My
1100 pesos is evaporating!
ELECTRONICOS One of my main targets was an electronic store where I could buy "Sili-Jet" a contact cleaning spray to clean amplifier and guitar volume controls. An essential component of the RIX FIX-IT bag of tricks. I bought four cans, for 28 pesos each; a couple extra to sell to my neighbors. BTW, "Sili-Jet" in Mexican, is "Sili-Jet."
CAPACITORES I have a carport full of fans that need a start capacitor, and there are none to be found in Corozal. So I headed for the appliance parts place at the New Market. and THEY DIDNT HAVE THEM! However, they did have blender parts, so I got two cutters, to use in the coconut-husk-shredder I've got to build. (More about that later.) 70 pesos. They directed me to an Electricos store in the market, where I bought four 4mf capacitors for 25 pesos apiece. (I think I got tooken, but I didn't want to go back downtown.)
MacDONALDS The newest restaurant in Chetumal is a big fancy MacDonalds at the shopping mall. By the time I got to the Mall, it was time to eat, so I got a Quarte-Libre con Queso, y Fritos & Coke. 55 pesos -- about five bux US, about what you'd pay in the US. It wasn't as big as it was in the picture up on the wall, but it was pretty good. Two slices of cheese. Excellent fries, as always. Gringo heaven, as it were.
OFFICE DEPOT My friend Margaret marveled at the Ambiance of this store, and it was wonderful. I was instantly transported to the US! Except for the prices. I'm in the market for a Paper Cutter -- and the OD in the states has the right one for about $30US. It was 400 pesos here. Lots of laptops, all over 20,000 pesos! When I get desperate for a paper-cutter, I will come back. I will buy my next computer from the States, thank you.
WAL-MEX Wal-Mart has opened 750 stores in Mexico. The ones in Vera Cruz and Villa Hermosa were the biggest darn Wal-Marts I had ever been in. This is not one of those. This is a "Bodega Aurrera" --
It is definitely low scale compared to almost any Wal-Mart. A lot like a Gibson's in the US. But, they do take credit cards! I didn't buy much -- ziploc bags, canned mushrooms, crackets (Ritz crackers in little individually wrapped foil packets so they stay fresh) But I will return, because the promise of instant credit beckons!
PEANUT OIL I spent the next hour in a fruitless search for peanut oil. The peanut butter in Belize is not only expensive, it's really old and dry. It improves immensely with the addition of a little peanut oil. There is no peanut oil on this end of the Yucatan! If you are coming down to visit me, please bring a little bottle. I will pay you.
BACK TO CUSTOMS I had to drag all these little bags back into Customs in Belize. It is laid out in the worst possible way, so that you have to walk the maximum distance to do anything. But, once inside, I had no problem with anything. The lady customs agent questioned my bottle of Vermouth, and I said "for Cooking!" and started babbling about White Clam Sauce and Eggplant Parmesan, etc. and she waved me on thru. (Well, she weighed about 180 and I thought she'd be interested in food.)
All in all, a wonderful day. Betsy never stumbled or quit. The gas gage still said "Full".
Senor Reek
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