Trip Report Travel warning for San Pedro

[rmssetc]

Unless it's a written warning logged in a database there's no way to track who has received a warning. Everyone will claim they didn't know even if it's the tenth time they have been stopped by the police.

Permanent ink stamps, just like you get to enter a nightclub. If the stamp is there, you've already been warned.

(Easier on the tourists than a tattoo!)

 

[ReefHound]

That doesn't seem that hard to do even for the Belize police.

I'm not saying they don't have the knowledge or technology but it won't be a friendly 10-second gesture or verbal reminder to put on the mask as they walk by. It will entail an offical detainment, checking id, writing up warning citation, etc.

 

[ReefHound]

Permanent ink stamps, just like you get to enter a nightclub. If the stamp is there, you've already been warned.

(Easier on the tourists than a tattoo!)

A scarlet letter. Nice!

Nightclub stamps are intended to last for a night. I have doubts about a stamp lasting a week. If it did, why are AI places wasting money on wrist bracelets?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Perhaps the most useful lesson from the OP's experience is that it's important for travelers to research the covid rules of their destinations, not just try to obey what's posted on signs or conform their conduct to what they see others doing.

 

[EASTmeetsWEST]

I don’t doubt this was a traumatic experience for the OP. But, as others have said, especially in the past year, traveling requires a real sensitivity to local regulations and how countries are choosing to keep their populations safe while remaining open for tourism (for those that are open to tourism). Now more than ever being a guest in a foreign land is a privilege that comes with real risks fir the host country. It’s hard not to read some “tourist entitlement” in the OP’s post. I’ve done a fair share of traveling internationally in the last year and have come across a lot of other travelers who felt local rules shouldn’t apply to them or that they should be able to make their own rules based on their understanding of COVID risks. It’s a shame. If it seems like foreigners were being targeted, that may be a reason.

 

[drl]

To be fair, despite the whiny tone, the post does contain useful information for travelers. San Pedro is serious about masks in public, and may be targeting tourists for enforcement. If you aren’t prepared to wear one it may not be the destination for you at this time.

 

[jmcgilroy]

https://www.sanpedrosun.com/communi...dress-police-issues-affecting-island-tourism/

Just found this in the San Pedro Newspaper...it seems directly on point.

 

[Hank49]

https://www.sanpedrosun.com/communi...dress-police-issues-affecting-island-tourism/

Just found this in the San Pedro Newspaper...it seems directly on point.

That's on point. In almost 22 years here, I have experienced a couple a$$hole police officers. It's the same anywhere you go.
They're not all like that and hassling tourists is obviously not in Belize's best interest.

 

[Downing]

My only contact with the Belize police, besides the occasional roadblock where they're looking for Guatemalans, was on a hike just south of Punta Gorda. I was looking for the old Radio America satellite site and came across four officers drinking beer in the back of a pickup truck. They were celebrating the departure of one of them who was on his way to the police force in Belize City. Nice guys. They offered me a beer. We solved the world's problems for about twenty minutes and then I moved on.

Yeah, they're not all like those four guys on San Pedro. Glad to hear they were disciplined.

 

[ReefHound]

That's on point. In almost 22 years here, I have experienced a couple a$$hole police officers. It's the same anywhere you go.
They're not all like that and hassling tourists is obviously not in Belize's best interest.

I'm impressed at the quick and substantial response to it though. So four officers lost their jobs over it? I'd have loved to hear that conversation with them and the police chief. So often we file complaints and never hear when/if any effect they have.