Some of the roads in Belize are still only semi-paved. The Southern Highway used to be one of them although not now.
This is one of those Belize travel adventures I`ll never forget. We had cruised along the Hummingbird Highway and saw some awesome scenery, now we were riding rough along this semi-paved, hazardous road. This road was the "pits", but we loved every minute of it.
Just look how these two roads use to compare.
The Southern Highway had pot holes on every turn, and some parts of the road I couldn`t tell if we were on the river or on the road.
It was great fun! I wonder if Coca Cola will pay me for my version of their 1963 ad and theme tune?
More excitement was still to come. At this time of the year it`s not uncommon to see one or two collapsed bridges where the rain-swollen rivers have washed away riverbanks and dislodged bridge foundations.
Well, we got our chance to experience what goes on in these chaotic situations. We came across a queue of traffic and jumped out to see what was up. Drivers of lorries, trucks and cars were congregating and planning a solution on how to cross the river where the bridge had collapsed. How were we all going to get across?
I shouldn`t have asked. The truck drivers began collecting rocks and boulders and pushing them into the river. This went on until the pile had reached road level.
What next? You guessed it! We were ushered to drive accross. I thought,"They must be crazy or something!", but I was just as crazy and found myself being guided over 2 wide wooden planks. I didn`t dare look left or right, but gingerly crossed the bridge at something like 2 miles an hour!! I can`t remember when last I had experienced that kind of fear, even until today, but it made our Belize adventure vacation all the more exciting.
The drama wasn`t over. We wanted to spend the night at Placencia so we turned off the Southern Highway onto the not-so-popular Placencia road. There was a few moments on this road too where we were a bit apprehensive.
Because we had been delayed for some time at the collapsed bridge, we were still driving by night fall and this road was rough too. Only 5% paved. There are no street lamps so it was pitch black with only the headlights beaming before us. Now the need for drinking in such a climate like Belize is unavoidable and so is the need for the loo. Those are the times when you feel so vulnerable. My imagination was running riot as I quickly did what I had to do. Maybe those jaguars are lurking out here in the long grass!
We were coming across a lot of flooded sections over the road and at one point we stopped before an area of about 50 meters. The topic of conversation now engaged between us was, "How deep is it?". We stood at that one spot for ages deciding if we should risk driving through it. So scared again we started to move slowly forward. Suddenly there in front of us was a beautiful white Heron, wading it`s way through the water. The "2 inches deep" water! With a sigh of relief we picked up speed and soon reached Placencia. We freshened up, had a hot meal and after reflecting on the exciting moments of the day we bedded down for the night. As we drifted into sleep, our thoughts were now on What surprises lay ahead for tomorrow`s journey.
P.S. The Heron was still there waiting for us in the morning!
If your following the trail of My Belize Trip, wait for the live link on the little red jeep!
This is Joseph in Placencia. He was having a whale of a time out here enjoying his Belize adventure vacation, and so was I!
The Rough Southern Highway - An Adventure in Itself
The Southern Highway had pot holes on every turn, and some parts of the road I couldn`t tell if we were on the river or on the road.
The drama wasn`t over. We wanted to spend the night at Placencia so we turned off the Southern Highway onto the not-so-popular Placencia road. There was a few moments on this road too where we were a bit apprehensive.
We were coming across a lot of flooded sections over the road and at one point we stopped before an area of about 50 meters. The topic of conversation now engaged between us was, "How deep is it?". We stood at that one spot for ages deciding if we should risk driving through it. So scared again we started to move slowly forward. Suddenly there in front of us was a beautiful white Heron, wading it`s way through the water. The "2 inches deep" water! With a sigh of relief we picked up speed and soon reached Placencia. We freshened up, had a hot meal and after reflecting on the exciting moments of the day we bedded down for the night. As we drifted into sleep, our thoughts were now on What surprises lay ahead for tomorrow`s journey.
This is Joseph in Placencia. He was having a whale of a time out here enjoying his Belize adventure vacation, and so was I!
