A week later brought the arrival into Xcalak. This was our last town in Mexico and would be our first border crossing. Crossing borders wasn’t as difficult as we thought it would be. We got our passports stamped by a heavy set Mexican official. He was reluctant to let us proceed and we quickly ran out to our boats after paying a small "fee". We then launched off for Belize. After two miles of paddling we were in the only English speaking country in Central and South America.

We had come to a point where the reef met the shore and pinched off. It was called Rocky Point. We had the choice of shuttling our gear a half mile by foot, or paddling through the reef. The reef was not inviting. Three-foot waves were breaking on the horn coral. Colby and I studied the water patiently and decided to go for it. I began to paddle furiously toward the reef. Through every wave trough the coral stared us in the face. We were intimidated, and timing was key. Just before reaching the sharp coral I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Colby was on my tail. We hit the set wave head on sending the bow of our kayaks high into the air. Digging in hard we went down the back face and were suddenly out in huge open water with ferocious chop. We had made it through without damage. Both of us knew we couldn’t paddle out here for long and the next break in the reef was where a man had purchased land and dynamited a hole in the reef for his yacht. That was over a mile away. Our only option was to go back over the reef once we were past Rocky Point. It was even more risky than breaking out, but we knew we could do it. I paddled hesitantly toward the reef while I looked over my shoulder being careful not to get drilled by a breaking wave. A good size set came in and we both caught the same wave. We were surfing loaded boats toward exposed coral. It was by far the most scared I have ever been in a sea kayak. I picked my line through the deadly horn coral and within a split second I was through. I glanced to my right and saw Colby surfing in with his eyes as big as soccer balls. He had made it as well. I threw my arms up in sheer joy, as he paddled toward me. Two big smiles were on our faces knowing that what we had just accomplished was unthinkable.

Soon after I glanced in front of me and saw a dorsal fin about three feet in front of my boat. I yelled out in fear "Shark". It swam so close to my boat that I could have touched it. Colby got a better look as it swam by his boat. It was only a nurse shark, but a very big one and it gave me one hell of a spook. As we continued on that day we reached an Island and town named Ambergris Caye in Belize...this was the first large town we had seen in over a month. As we were paddling into town a skiff came buzzing up beside us and a dark heavy-set guy yelled out, "Are you guys the two who paddled from Cancun?" Colby and I looked at each other in amazement and replied with a nod. The man sped off shaking his head.

Rumors of a lone, crazy sea kayaker in town had us searching. I caught up with the adventurer named Rob Neilson after I saw him kayaking by the shoreline in a feathercraft without a paddle! He had used only a large golf umbrella as a sail. Rob was a tall guy in his early 40’s with long hair that he wore in a ponytail. He was from Canada, and was on Ambergris waiting for two friends to fly in so they all could paddle south. When his friends arrived we all stayed in a small hotel/market called Milos for a few days, while I tried to fight off an intestinal bug by drinking copious amounts of beer. Socializing with Rob and his friends revealed that Rob had done quite a bit of kayaking all around the world.

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