We wake to a weather surprise - thick fog. It’s 8:30am by the time it’s clear enough for us to depart the anchorage. We wanted to depart an hour earlier to arrive in Livingston between 9am & 10am, but that’s the way it goes.

The trip to Livingston is quicker than we thought and we arrive a bit after 10am anyway,

There’s been much discussion on the Rio cruiser net lately about check-out fees, and the pros / cons of doing it yourself vs. using the agent Raul who has an… lets say…. uneven reputation. We had no issues with him during our check-in and he delivered our 9 month cruising permit extension to our marina while we were in the States this summer. Later than promised yet it got done for what we paid him and within the required timeframe. However with all of the recent chit-chat, we select to check ourselves out rather than pay his fees. Here’s how is goes and what we paid: First stop, the Port Captain office. He’s not there but Jerry speaks kindly to the guard (in Spanish) and gets the Port Captain’s cell phone number. Jerry then calls the Port Captain to let him know what we need and ask when he will be available. He’s at the office within minutes. Our boat paperwork is in order, so no issues or fines. The Port Captain tells Jerry Customs isn’t in town however he can process that part for us. How nice! Payment is Q.150 to him. Our next and last stop then is Immigration. That office is on the main street on the way back to the dingy. No wait; we’re processed & done for Q.80 per passport. So our check-out total is Q. 310 (US $41.34) today; Raul would have charged us Q.650 (US $86.67) according to several recent reports from others.

Our Guatemala check-out is complete at 11:30am. Onward to Belize!

It’s perfect first passage conditions after living dock-side for the past months - clear & sunny skies above, mid-80’s, light winds & flat seas.

We arrive in Punta Gorda, 16 nm north of Livingston, around 3:20pm and quickly get to the Customs & Immigration office just off the main pier; it is, after all Friday afternoon. The check-in process is not especially streamlined - our arrival was just ahead of a heavily loaded launcha of people and goods - yet given that everyone is ready to go home, it is as efficient as possible for a former British colony. Speaking of that, Jerry hopes he can finally find good Gin for a reasonable price here..!

Back to the process: Every step requires three ledgers - two official forms and a receipt, all hand printed in large ledger books in using carbon sheets to record in triplicate; white, pink, yellow. First for us: Quarantine; cruising boats are often boarded when checking into Belize to perform the government required quarantine inspection (animals, birds, fruits, vegetables, meats, ….) yet with our timing and our prudent answers to questions, the Quarantine office just charges a fee of B $20 (US $10) to process the required paperwork. At Immigration our passports are stamped for just 30 days. Jerry asks for additional time but is told we’ll need to renew at the next station; apparently this is standard. To keep things consistent, when we’re asked by the Port Authority person processing our boat paperwork how long we’ll be in-county, the answer is 30 days. That’s when the expensive check-in cost is given B $434 / US $217 for 30 days! (In Panama, for just less than US$200 you can get an entire year!). And each additional day in-country is B $10 for the boat, plus many anchorages charge a per day fee. We didn’t pay a fee for the initial 30 days on our passports, fees for additional time is unknown. Belize has the reputation of being one of the most expensive countries in the Western Caribbean. It appears to be an earned one.

Check-in complete, it’s after 4pm, too late to move to another anchorage. The Punta Gorda anchorage is open to the prevailing winds and seas - in spite of the many shallows you need to maneuver around to get in - so generally not a great place to be overnight. Today’s winds were out of the north and even when they track around, we’re here for just one night.