Plecencia, Belize

Finally made it here after having poor weather and having to turn back getting half way here but making no headway against head seas and wind on the nose. We went back to a bay by where we started at Wilson Cay and found New Haven Harbor very protected. Like Wilson Cay it was just mangroves. We didn't realize it but we were in another of the many marine parks that they charge by the person per day to anchor in. This one wanting $8:00 each. Told them we had no cash after checking into the country until we hit town. What could they say? This was on our 3rd day in the park that we didn't know we were in. The water is to green to snorkel, the shore is nothing but mangroves and they want to charge us to be here? We planning our routes to avoid these marine parks , just cant justify the fees.

Plecencia is a nice enough place but geared to the tourist. Not much here that shows Belize culture. We did rent a car for an excursion to the Mayan ruins well inland. This car should never have been rented out for such a long trip and turned out not to be up to the task. The roads wind through the mountains and the further we went the less power the car had, some roads i didn't think it was going to make it up. We did make it to our destination, well sort of. One mile before the ruins there is a hand cranked ferry that takes one vehicle at a time across a river. We made it across the river but when we went to drive off the ferry up the far slope the car died. I was able to get it to the side of the road and out of the way where we left it. We walked the remaining mile and borrowed a phone to call the company for a mechanic to look at it. We came all this way and we were not going to have our tour ruined. This is one of the largest temples and it sits atop a mountain overlooking Guatemala 8 miles away. Afterward we waited for the mechanic and when he finally came he thought it to be the fuel pump, i was thinking fuel filter from the way it slowly lost power through the morning. They towed away our ride and now we were 3 hours away from our boat. Ya , we were on that creek without a paddle. After a few hours and deciding the car was not going to get fixed right away the rental companies owner gets the mechanic to drive us back, 3 hours each way, poor guy. Poco was real good about it but then he was getting paid to drive. His radiator leaked so he brought along his kid to keep it filled. Poco pulled his back trying to move our car off the road and was having a very hard time doing anything besides sitting. Every 45 minutes or so we would pull over and junior would get out and pour water into the reservoir. It started getting dark and also started raining the last hour. Poco didn't know where to go the final 5 miles so we are wandering around back streets looking for the right place. Trudy got a little nervous at this point noticing the Poco keep a machete in between his front seats. We finally found the right street and we meet Dennis , the owner of the car company. Dennis also has a fishing/ shuttle boat service which we are now at, across the bay from Plecencia. Now we have to get into an open boat with a sheet of plastic spread across us like a blanket while we get blasted across the bay, in the dark,in the rain, through the mangrove channels to where we want to be, well sort of. Here we jump on a very wet gulf cart for the final mile to the dinghy dock, elapsed time 12 1/2 hours. What a great adventure for $90. I'm sure Dennis paid much more getting us ,and then later his car, back across Belize. We will always remember this day. 10NM. motored to Wilson Cay, 20NM trying to motor to Plecencia and then turning and sailing, fast, back, 24NM motor sailing to Plecencia.