For once, I took the advice of a travel guide and rented an SUV when I was planning a tour of the interior of Belize. It was a last minute decision, I originally planned to walk to the main road from the airport and use the country’s public transportation system. I was on vacation; There was no rush. I could only get there, I thought, about all the places I planned to visit across the country.
Well, the trip must have exhausted me because when I looked out onto the main road and saw only open space, I decided that a car might be the best after all. I rented a suzuki four wheel drive minivan. The rental car agent said, “You’ll be sorry, when you look at the small economy cars.” By the end of that first day I was grateful for the book and the man.
Near Guatemala, I found a camp just before dark. I settled into the lounge area, chatting and snacking with the owner and several other guests. By the time I felt like setting up my tent and calling it a night, it was dark, and dark in that part of the world meant dark. The man in charge said, “Go up the hill; I will meet you on the top and show you the campsite.” amazing. Well, I was used to driving trucks but not somewhere weird in the dark. I went up the hill, felt a bit soft under my tires and stepped on the gas a little harder. At the same time as I came to an abrupt halt, I heard my new boyfriend scream and saw him flapping his arms in the air. My powerful car was sunk and good.
“Didn’t you see me, didn’t you hear me?” He said, obviously annoyed.
I meekly said, “I see you now.”
“It had some rain, it was very muddy in there; I tried to steer you to the left.”
“Get your bag, leave the car, and follow me,” he grumbled.
We walked about 100 yards to my house for the night. I was glad the moonlight came through the trees so I could pitch my tent, I wouldn’t use my headlamps like I had planned. That night on my way to the bathroom, I ran into my night care specialist. He took me for a walk with his lamp trained on lots of interesting wildlife. There were many tarantulas roaming the grounds, which didn’t make me very happy.
Early the next morning, I saw how deeply my tires had sunk into the mud. Good thing I have this four-wheel drive, I’ve packed my bag and ready to head back east toward the zoo. I didn’t know what I was doing, so I strained my eyes to read the instructions for the four-wheel drive mechanism. Nope, it didn’t. It got dumped and I pretended to myself I could figure it out.
After the beating, I knew I would have to go find my boyfriend and ask for his help. I found him eating breakfast, and he was in a better mood this morning; He gave me some toast and eggs and offered to help. It didn’t take any time to free the car from the mud. He let me take a picture of him and his dog and sent me on my way.
The roads were at times questionable, but it was my off-road driving that got me in trouble. Just in case, rent a four-wheel drive in Belize.