Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport, Belize District, BelizeGood Bye Belize
Are we late or what?
When going first time on the
Ferry and being hot and sweaty, getting wet, waiting – we decided that we will
fly back from Caye Caulker for 2 reasons: convenience and hopefully some great
views on the reef. After checking: Maya Air was the cheapest and since our
flight leaves at 15.55 out of Belize – leaving Caye Caulker at 12.10 sounds
like the perfect time. This morning Paul did online check-in that is when we
discovered our flight leaves at 2 pm!!! Guess that will be tight now, Gine was
not too happy since Air Canada did not send us an email to inform us regarding
this change.
Check in with Maya Air is super
simple: what’s your last name? How much luggage and that’s it – no-one wants to
see your confirmation or a passport... overall we are 6 passengers waiting. And
then the fun starts: the guy comes out and says I have bad news – since we were
not eager for bad news - he said ok the good news is, we will fly you to Belize
airport – but the plane is a half hour late.... upps!!! now that will be tight.
Especially since we read that you need around an hour to go through Immigration
when leaving!!! at 12. 15 he said the plane is leaving Belize City in another
few minutes and should be here soon, you should be before 1 pm there. And see
there we see the plane coming in and we are ready to board the Cessna.
A scenic plane ride
this airport is kind of cute:
since the island is not very wide the runway goes from one side of the island
to the other. Lucky for us our plane was taking of east – that means we will
see more of the reef. Paul had the first seat behind the pilot and could look
out the front window – but then everyone has a window seat. When taking off we
saw not only the reef but also a lot of little Cayes on the reef and had a
beautiful view back to Caye Caulker – saw the small Peninsula of Belize city
and then flying over some of the smaller houses and already 10 Minutes later
after the scenic flight we are landing it’s 1 pm!!
Not a lot of time in Belize
Airport
Paul got the luggage and Gine
checked for the Air Canada flight and yes, we are still on time – it then took
a while until we got all our boarding passes and she said: your luggage will go
to Vancouver – you have to pick it up there. Then comes immigration and exit of
Belize. So that was another worry: because when we left Belize to Tikal we paid
20 US$ exit fee, so Gine had 40 US$ in cash (besides the 10 Belize Dollars we
had left). At the airport one of the guys said we still have to pay the 35 US$
exit fee – so Gine curious in our long waiting time checked and he was right:
when you leave via airport the exit fee is higher and you can only pay in
cash!!! so hopefully that won’t make any trouble, but with Air Canada we choose
a good airline because our boarding pass said “taxes paid”, good for us!! Going
through the security check and once we were at our gate they already started
boarding. That was perfect timing!!!
Pickup the luggage in each
airport:
in Toronto we went through
custom and once we went for the connecting flight the lady said you don’t have
luggage and we said yes, but they told us that it goes to Vancouver – and he
said no: only international flights from Europe and the US go through, but
Belize does not do a Canadian approved luggage check so you have to pick it up.
So we got a blue piece of paper went to the Air Canada desk and then got send
to the blue clock, so someone can pick up Paul he then went with both boarding
passes and his passport and a nice lady back inside and Gine got told to wait:
and she waited for over a half hour!!!! Meantime Paul got the luggage: that
means first they needed another stamp on the blue paper – and then the luggage
got checked: opening both bags (as per Paul he was super nice) where he got
told if he didn’t read all the sign about to pick up the bags. Then he dropped
them back off and then finally he found his way back to Gine.
So much that your bags go
through we had 4 flights and had to pick up our luggage 4 times: because even
we booked with Air Canada the flight from Belize to Comox – they only gave us a
tag until Vancouver: that means on each airport we had to get the suitcases – how
annoying.
Our 3.5 hours layover in Toronto
left us only for getting the luggage staff figured out – then walk to the next
terminal and buy a sandwich for the next plane ride and arriving they already
were boarding – guess that means we are not bored on the airport.
Where to sleep in Vancouver
Airport
we arrived at 12.30 am – and we
should be back at 7.30 am, if we book a hotel and put in the shuttle we may get
5.5 hours of sleep in a pricy bed. Other option airport hotel which is super
pricy in the first place. We checked the lounges: funny part they are closing
at night. Paul found on the internet options to sleep on the airport: ok there
is one thing I can say about Vancouver Airport: it is very likely one of the
worst ones if you have to sleep. We did found some seats in a row near the
domestic food terminal: but the seats are still super hard (I don’t think they
ever heard about travellers comfort). It’s 1 am and we set up for the night (by
the way always look for all your luggage!!! Since we not only had the backpacks
but also the suitcases) and then did sleep a bit, until we got cold. Woken up at
a bit after 4 am, because we are near the security gate for Gate B where the
first flight in the airport leaves!!! What to do: have an early coffee to wake
up and do what you do in the morning!! Check out the internet and slowly wake
up.
Sunny Flight to the Island
It’s sunny and cold and yes we
have to walk to our tiny little plane. We had an amazing flight back –
beautiful views on the snow-capped mountains – the Howe sound – Sechelt – the islands
in the straight of Georgia and a beautiful sunny welcome in Comox. And there is
Sue waiting for us and bringing us home.
A quick trip shopping for
groceries and an early night and we are back to normal
But what is normal?
We arrived home on Feb 19 –
which was also the day when the first BC resident recovered from the COVID. And
soon after we hear it every day on the news… and a month later by Mar 19 BC is
in a state of Emergency: only essential services, a lot of people are laid off,
no large gatherings to only 2 people better only the once you are living with –
social distancing – a new normal starts.
And we were so lucky, that we
could go on our vacation and come back in time with no worries.
That makes us wonder when will we
be able to go and explore the world again?
2025-05-22