June 16, 2007

Tony lives in Belize City, can fix VW van fridges and makes “house calls” to campsites.

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As any VW camper van owner knows, van fridges are extremely finicky.

We had our fridge serviced before we left, and then again at the Go Westy VW van garage in Los Osos, California.

But despite this attention the fridge wouldn't run on propane (only the battery or electricity when we plug in) ever since our stay in Mazatlan, Mexico a few months ago. As such, cooking for ourselves has become more complicated and burdensome.

We had left the van at Old Belize, Cucumber Beach Marina, about five miles west of downtown Belize, while we had gone to Caye Caulker, and then spent the night camped at the marina on our return.

The marina, which occupies one side of the Old Belize complex, is a great place to camp. For $12 we had electricity, garbage, bathroom/shower facilities, a security guard, nice boats to look at and the restaurant and beach club nearby.

The marina staff are also very helpful and, taking advantage of being able to explain our problem in our native tongue, they alerted us to the services of Tony. Tony usually works on boat systems but proved amazingly adapt at ripping out and cleaning VW van fridges. Three hours and only $25 later he had the fridge humming again.

One thing Tony couldn’t fix was the ants that had overrun the inside of the van on our return from Caye Caulker.

Ants had been the least of our bug problems up until now, as flying beetles the size of small helicopters often drop into our food, mosquito bites and sand flea bites are a common occurrence in Central America, and once every two or three days, some flying creature shoots through Adrienne´s open passenger-side window (it's always her side) and gets stuck to her shirt for a few frantic seconds.

Add in the recent tarantula and snake sightings, and it’s starting to take its toll on one of the road trip team members.

Key Facts & Figures:

-Old Belize, Cucumber Beach Marina campsite: $12
-Servicing of Van Fridge: $25