San Francisco Botes is a small settlement (pop.685) that lies on the main road between Ucum and La Unión, both within the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. As we drove north after visiting the border crossing between La Unión and Blue Creek we noticed this villages location on the banks of the Rio Hondo, literally on the edge of Mexico and facing Belize and decided to explore.

A rough road led down to the Rio Hondo that marks the border, the river was flooding the banks. Decaying buildings, houses and community buildings were all visible. We stopped at a restaurant, and met a family from Belize, who had come across unofficially for a few days. Although the Father was a dual national the wife and daughter were not. We were offered a trip on the river, and across to the Belizean town of Santa Cruz. Time constraints prevented another border crossing but showed the informal and porous nature of the border between Mexico and Belize. We visited this point as part of the IBRG CATEX-24 expedition.

Point A