BORDER BETWEEN BELIZE AND MELCHOR DE MENCHOS

* This is the PARTY LEADER of the UDP who controls the government of Belize. Prime Minister also of the country of Belize. As party leader of the UDP he is supposed to be making sure his Cabinet Ministers are doing their jobs. Unfortunately the man believes in total delegation of responsibility to his fellow appointed Cabinet Ministers and he doesn't give them any oversight apparently? For a guy who should be cracking the whip on his fellow party members in the Cabinet, we are suffering because he is so busy playing BIG SHOT on the international arena, that the lower echelon in his party are getting away with not doing their jobs. In this case, our particular complaint is the CABINET is not solving the problem of public bus service to the Western Border Immigration Post. This hurts an already hurting tourism business.
* Manuel Heredia is much admired out in Ambergris Caye. Not so much in Caye Caulker another tourist big destination in Belize, but out in Western Belize he is more INFAMOUS for NEGLECTING the CAYO WESTERN DISTRICT tourism needs. He has not yet worked with his CABINET colleages to see the Western Border Immigration Post is served with public bus service for both Belizeans and foreign TOURISTS. If we miss the short July August HIGH SEASON without Immigration border bus service, we plan to mount a scathing attack on the lack of work these Cabinet Ministers are doing, or not doing as the case may be. The private sector needs the government big wigs to do their jobs, to enable us to do business, so we can pay their darned taxes.
* UDP Cabinet Minister of Transportion, Melvin Hulse has not as far as Western Belizeans are concerned been doing his job. We still have no bus transportation to the Western Border of Belize Immigration Post. About 2 1/2 miles away from the nearest town, Benque Viejo. This is hurting overnight bus tourism badly. We would think he could do a better job than he is doing. Melvin Hulse has been noted as a crusty defensive character when complaints have been leveled at his Ministerial performance. The July August HIGH SEASON for bus tourism is going to miss out on bus transport at the Western border unless he does his job. We hope he can do better and we know he can if he tries.
* We were never able to find tourist stuff within the market, or town of Melchor de Menchos. We were pleasantly surprised to find this tourist 'hole in the wall' shop, right next to the Guatemalan Immigration building. Lot of construction going on and piles of materials to step around, as the Guatemalans are building a new higher more robust bridge across the Mopan River, which floods regularly, but we found this man VERY PLEASANT and the prices were better than over in Flores, or Antigua, or Panachjel on Lake Atitlan and certainly a whole lot cheaper than in Guatemala City. Right in the border zone on the Guatemalan side. Don't miss it, for souvenirs, beat the prices of everywhere else in Guatemala.
* Entering and exiting Guatemala are seperated by a bank style dividing rope. There is a toilet in this building that is FREE. Ask a security guard with a pump action shotgun.
* This is the Immigration passport section for Guatemala at the Melchor de Menchos side.
* Belize immigration frontier with Guatemala and ongoing buses.
* Immigration building at Western Border with Guatemala

The Belize side of the border with Guatemala is difficult for transportation. The Border and Immigration post has no bus service. If you are traveling by buses, you have to hike about 2 to 2 1/2 miles to the next town of Benque Viejo along a paved highway. Don't try this in the hot sun. There are some taxis, but are OVERCHARGING and they have no public transportation competition. Most of our guests hike with heavy backpacks the couple of miles to the Benque Viejo bus station. A real bummer. Neither our Head of Tourism, or the Minister of Transportation has done a darned thing about facilitating the departure, or arrivals of tourists traveling by bus at our Western Border point.