Christmas in Belize

Imagine Christmas without external pressure. No store aisles with Christmas decorations on or before Halloween. No constant messages to buy, buy, buy! No conflict between religious and secular celebrations. Christmas without guilt that you haven’t met someone else’s expectations – which have been generated in part by rampant commercialism. It is possible in Placencia to celebrate Christmas as much, or as little, as you wish, and however you wish to do it..


And what a nice holiday I’ve had! My focus for the last several weeks has been on the move into my new abode, packing and moving my stuff, purchasing fixtures, appliances and furniture, and then waiting for the fixtures to be installed, and the great room to be painted off-white and dark red to replace the pink. Here are some photos of the inside, taken from various vantage points:

The owner bought a wonderful stove with my assistance, a gas stove with a gas convection oven. It was finally installed on Saturday the 18th. Since then, I’ve made two batches of cookies, buttermilk biscuits, two apple pies and a sour cream coffee cake. So nice to have a good oven!

Although I have three totes of Christmas decorations I brought with me from the states, I only got out my reindeer, pictured here, and a moose that sings jingle bells when you squeeze its paw. Next year I’ll probably do more, but it has been nice spreading the gift of fine baked goods instead of store bought stuff.

So my celebration started several days ago with my baking. On Wednesday eve I maintained my personal tradition of watching a video that was first shown on PBS some years ago; a wonderful adaptation of Dylan’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales. In addition to the text, it is a visual and audible treat. The afternoon of Christmas Eve I baked two apple pies and the biscuits, and took a pie and the biscuits to Bradley’s house for Christmas dinner. It didn’t turn out to be a sit-down type dinner, but was more a serve yourself deal, in part because there were several other people who had been invited over, and there was a lot of drinking going on.


Here's a photo of the operations manager of our butane biusiness
:

I left at about 9 PM, and went home to wrap gifts until midnight. I chose to wrap everything twice because the only gift wrap left when I finally got around to buying it was transparent. So I had to pre-wrap to hide contents, and then wrap for decorative effect.

Christmas morning I rose early and made a sour cream coffee cake (thank you Georgia’s friend Jill!) and took it to Bradley’s. I enjoyed having Christmas in a house dominated by three small kids. Here are some photos:

(The adults in these pictures are Rilda, Bradley's wife, and Patti, my ex-wife.)

By 10:30 or so all the gifts had been distributed and opened, and it was time to head home. It was nice to return to a quiet space. Christmas afternoon I joined a small group of ex-pats in Placencia for a fine Christmas dinner, punctuated with my other apple pie. Then home again at 5 or 6, and another enjoyable evening at home with my new books, A Ship of Fools from my good friends Mikki and David, and The Hemingses of Monticello from stepdaughter (?) Kevan.

Most of my time at home has been accompanied by music- as I mentioned in my last post the acoustics are wonderful, and I’ve been enjoying my wide-ranging Christmas music collection.

Today, Saturday, I have finished arranging stuff in my abode, finding places to put stuff. It’s nice to have it near done. This afternoon a flock of pink flamingos landed in my yard, and I had a chance to snap a photo:

So that’s been my Christmas. Wonderfully mellow. I haven’t missed the snow, or the disappointment at the lack of snow, that marked the first 63 years of my life.

I've moved!

What a wild few weeks! We’ve been very busy at work, cash flow has been a bit weak, requiring extra effort to bill clients for work done, and we have multiple projects in progress. And that’s the least of it. Won’t have internet at home for another month or more, a real inconvenience, especially when it comes to posting here.


Moving into an unfinished, unfurnished house has been its own challenge. Took one two day trip to Belmopan, Orange Walk and Belize City to buy all the lighting fixtures and fans, three mirrors, and paint to replace the pink in the great room, in Belmopan, then on to Orange Walk to a furniture manufacturer called New River Enterprises where I happened to be there at the start of an as yet unpublicized sale, and while I spent more than I had intended, I acquired some really nice furniture, including a coffee table with a Myan relief carved surface.

Then on to Belize City to spend the night at an inn owned by a Belgian ex-pat, and the next day to select a refridgerator, washing machine and stove, and get another gallon of red paint for the south wall of the great room. Also bought a box spring for my bed to be.


Hit a few grocery stores, bought 10 boxes of chocolate pudding mix (the kind you cook) and all the jars Bertolli Alfredo with Mushrooms sauce the store had displayed (about 8), and assorted other sundries not available in Placencia. My friend Bob accompanied me, helping greatly in navigating in Belize City, and providing good company. Ran out of butane to power the truck while there, and discovered I also had only drops of gasoline. As luck would have it, just enough to get into a gas station, when it died as I was making a turn to line up with a pump. Had to push it backwards to line up with a pump, which took extra effort because it was fully loaded with fixtures and furniture.


When I got home from that trip I had an email from a person telling me that a group order for quality mattresses had fallen through. Very irritating, because I had just been in Belize City, and could have shopped for one. It all turned out ok, because I was able to buy one direct from the factory, and pick it up on a return trip to get the box spring the following week. The mattress is top end – a firm mattress with “pillow top” on both sides – good for my back and my circulation. Paid $786 BZD, or $393 USD. Same thing factory direct in Portland would have been $800 or $900 USD. Now having slept on it for a few nights, I’m very pleased.

On that return trip selected a stove because the one selected earlier was not available. Did some additional shopping, and got a piece of plate glass for the coffee table, but the highlight of the trip was going to the Belize Zoo. It is a remarkable place. I’ll devote more to it in a future post.

We are a few days from Christmas, and with the stove finally installed two days ago, I baked rolled Christmas cookies tonight. Listening to a wide variety of Christmas music, and I must say, the acoustics of the great room are outstanding. The combination of being so busy, and being in a tropical climate, and moving, and the lack of commercialism pounding the holiday into my psyche, a left me dealing with it on a last minute basis, and not really worrying about it.

Must close this now, but will try to get back into the habit now that I’ve settled into my new abode in Maya Beach.

Be well, stay warm, and have a happy holiday!

Moving in 6 days!

I suppose most people in cultures that celebrate festivals of one sort or another at this time of year are quite busy at this point, and I am no exception, but for a different reason.  I've been living in my ex-wife's apartment, and she committed last week to coming to Belize a week from tomorrow, or on Tuesday, December 15th.  That means I have to move to my new abode, which at this point has no lights, fans or appliances.  So I spent two days last weekend going to the major (for Belize) towns of Belmopan, Orange Walk and Belize City getting fixtures, furniture and appliances.   Had to get a two burner counter top stove because the really wonderful stove the owner has ordered won't be here for 4 to 6 weeks.  That means I can't do my Christmas baking, unless I am offered a kitchen elsewhere.

I have been very busy packing up and moving stuff every day.  The first two loads were primarily containers I had not unpacked because there was not enough room in the apartment.  Now I have to really pack.  Also have to prepare multiple govt reports which are due early next week, because i'll be moving over the weekend.

Not sure how often I'll be able to post in this process, but wanted to note how peculiar it is for this northern New Englander to be celebrating Christmas in a tropical climate.  Christmas and snow related music like Jingle Bells,  gold snowflakes hanging in the bank, and other elements of Christmas just don't seem to fit.  Belize City was full of it, but Placencia,  which is a very laid back place, has it on a very subdued level.

Time to pack.  Will keep you posted.

Thanksgiving in Belize

Thanksgiving is a distinctly American holiday, probably in part because it is not connected to a religion. I believe it was created by Abraham Lincoln, and at some point FDR moved it from the fourth Thursday in November to the third, in response to retailers who wanted a longer shopping season (even back then).  The holiday rubbed off on the Canadians, who celebrate Thanksgiving on the second weekend in October, which is much closer to harvest time in northern states.  Some years ago our family went to New Brunswick, Canada, on Columbus Day weekend, and discovered it was Thanksgiving in Canada.  We had a good time.

So what about Belize?  Here in Belize it was business as usual, except for a bunch of ex-pats, including yours truly.. My friend Bob invited me to a gathering he hosts and prepares dinner for.  He had hosted it for several years at his small abode, but for the last couple of years it has been at a neighbor's much larger home.

Bob goes all out - two turkeys, 15 lbs of mashed potatoes, candied yams, waldorf salad, green salad, excellent stuffing, and other things I did not sample. I think he had to special order the turkey - I'll have to find out.  I added a chocolate cake and an apple pie I made using Granny Smith apples.  Baking here is a challenge, the oven does not have a thermostat, and the heat is very uneven.  I forgot to bring my pastry cloth, so had to roll out the pastry on my kitchen table because the counters are all 4" tile, not suitable for rolling pastry.  I will have a much better stove at my new place, so I'm anxious to move so I can do my Chistmas baking.

There were about  20 of us, and it was nice meeting others in the ex-pat community who were not connected with Rotary, the VFD or AA, my other methods of connection.   Because the meat here tends to be tough unless it is stewed,  the turkey was really satisfying.

I should also mention in passing how nice it is to be in a culture that is not obsessed with Christmas shopping. The cable televison stations from the US are in high contrast with the life in the slow lane here.  There are TV stations in Belize City that we get here, and although they have ads that relate to Christmas, they haven't the high production values of US ads.  Got the newspapers today, one is weekly and the other is twice a week.  One had an insert.  Both had  a few ads relating to Christmas.    People here don't have a lot of "walking around" money, and the vast majority of people do not have credit cards, so the economy is not based on local people spending money, the way the US economy is.  Decidedly low key.  I like it.

Had an inquiry about the availablity of places like I'm going into, as rentals.  Will address that whole issue of accomodations in my next post because I think many are wondering that.

be well

Going Postal, Belize Style

That's a fun title for this posting, which is decidedly non-violent in content (for those in the U.S. who know another meaning for the term). There are many ways in which Belize is decidedly "First World", and others in which it is "Second' or "Third World".  I'll let you, the reader, decide which world you think the Belize Postal System falls in.  
 Here in Placencia, which has a fairly substantial ex-pat population, some who have been here up to 35 years, we have one of the 13 Post Offices in the country - that's right, in the whole nation of 280,000 people.  Just judging from the people who go to the PO when I'm there, I think ex-pats and tourists represent a big part of the business. There are hundreds of villages scattered over the country that have no postal service.  Residents wanting to receive something by mail have it addressed to them at General Delivery, then get to the PO by bus, or ferry, or bicycle etc. and pick it up during business hours.  Banks hold statements and hand them to you when you come in to the bank.  Other businesses hand deliver statements.  I'm not aware of any Belizean magazines.  There is no junk mail. There are no zip codes.  My guess is that there are no mailing lists or demographic lists. Not many businesses give credit, and those that do, like our butane business, collect payment personally.  A Belize City supplier to our construction company recently sent us copies of a lot of invoices.  They addressed the envelope, "Placencia Properties".  That was all.  We received it.
You can pick up your mail at the Post Office or have it delivered.  I've only seen one mailbox in the village, because they generally hand the mail to the recipient. Since the mail only comes to the PO on Tuesday and Fridays, I only stop for mail every week or two.  If you get past all the pictures to the bottom of this post, maybe that will change. So with only 13 POs in the whole country, they must be pretty substantial, right?  Pictures?  Sure - let's take a look:

  This is our post office, which is in what might be called a "strip mall' if I didn't know better.  The Social Security office is on one side, open Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Businesses occupy the other two slots.  The Postal Service doesn't have a logo that  I've noticed, but I like their sign. Those are not chimneys - it is very common for one story concrete buildings to have stub columns that extend up in case another story is added later. Step inside:

This is it.  And although I'm sure there is an organization to it, I have no idea what it is.  The alphabet does not enter into it.  When I go in to get my mail the clerk will take the mail out of two boxes on the left and sort through it looking for my mail - that's if she knows I have some.  I've been here long enough that she just shakes her head if I go in and there is no mail.  If I go to the Social Security office next door, she'll bring it to me.  Packages are on the shelf toward the back.  When her boss is on duty, he sits at the table.  If packages aren't labelled for contents, they'll open them to see the contents and determine what the duty should be.  There are three other fees as well, although I don't know what they are.  There are lot of forms involved with packages, and you end up with a receipt with four codes followed by $ amounts that total what you just paid to get your package.   It all takes a lot of stamping, something bank tellers and postal workers are trained to do with great vigor. The have a stamp, they stamp hard on a pad, then BAM!  they stamp the document. You can tell they get great pleasure from the action, and you wish you could do it too.

 This photo is too dark, but I wanted to show you the counter and the clerk, who is on the phone here.  That is a fax in the background, and what appears to be a heavy duty kitchen scale to weigh packages.  She doesn't wear an uniform, but her boss has a shirt with the postal service embroidered on it as I recall.  The space is about 10 feet wide and 30 or 40 feet deep.  There is no barrier to prevent postal patrons from going into the back portion.  But why would they, only the staff knows where your mail is, there are no mail boxes.  You hand your outgoing mail to the clerk. 
But Belize has pretty stamps that promote various features of the country.  I spent about $5 BZD to buy the following stamps so I could photograph them.  Enjoy, and please read my comment at the end....

and the Placencia stamp...

     What does it cost to mail a postcard or a letter?  To the US a postcard I think the postage is 20 cents, and a letter 30 cents for the first half once, and in-country mail is 25 cents. In US currency the postage is half of that, but you don't get paid in USD.

      You have probably noticed the map at the heading of this blog that shows what countries visitors to the blog have come from.  What I would really enjoy, and would be a small benefit for the time I put into writing it, is for visitors to the blog to send me a postcard from their location.  If and when I get them, I will mention what country, state or province they come from if I'm able to tell.   Send them to

Carl Laws,

General Delivery,

Placencia Village,

Stann Creek District,

Belize, C.A.

 

Hope you've enjoyed this!  Be well!

I have a few photos and more information to accompany my post about transportation a few days ago..Here's a picture I took one day as I was driving into Placencia Village.  If there had been another car approaching I would not have the camera in one hand as I drove. Pedestrians will move to the side for the most part, dogs will look at you while they decide which side to go to,

and you can see the street is not terribly wide.

These next pictures were taken at the "temporary" bridge over Kendall Stream.  I had my good camera with me on this trip to Gangriga, so stopped and took the following:

Here's a dump truck crossing it.  The flatbed combo unit in the background is parked - the drivers of that one and another that you can't see in the photo are bathing in the stream just downstream of the bridge on the far side.

Yes, Crude Oil.  There is an oil well in Spanish Lookout, and the crude is trucked to the port at Big Creek and loaded onto tankers, which I assume go to the U.S. The trucks are the best trucks on the road here in Belize. I'm not sure how many there are per day, but they go over two temporary bridges. 

This is a picture looking downstream from the bridge.  Frequently I'll see Mayan women from a nearby village doing laundry along the shore.

An update about ground travel from Cancun, which is a cheap place to fly into:

Coming to Belize, best to take the 11PM bus from Cancun to Chetumal, arriving there at about 4 AM.  From there take a bus to Belize city.  If you take the express it will be a more comfortable bus, but also will probably have a high percentage of tourists, meaning a prolonged experience going through immigration, but the comfort may be worth it.  Or, you can take the "chicken bus" sans chickens, which will get through quicker but make lots of stops en route.  In Belize City take a taxi to the other bus station to get a bus to Dangriga.  From there take a "chicken bus" to Placencia, or an express or "chicken bus" to Mango Creek/Independence, and then the Hokey Pokey water taxi across the lagoon.  You'll get here in mid-afternoon.  If you need more details, drop me a line...

Well, that's it for now.  If anyone following this has things they would like me to write about that would be of general interest, please let me know!

be well...

my next abode and Garifuna Settlement Day

Found some pictures of the house I'll be renting starting next month.  Here are three views of the exterior.  This one is the south side..

This next is from the west..

And finally the north side...

There is one room, with a bath, on the lower level, but the real living space is on the second floor.  Large room with a kitchen area defined in part with an island, and a bedroom off that.  Verandas north and south. When I move in I'll take photos of the interior.  Truck can be parked undercover on the lower level, keeping it cooler than being in the sun.  For now I have to focus on getting furniture since it is unfurnished.  I was going to have to get some anyway, so now is as good a time as any.  I'm really quite excited!

Yesterday was a national holiday here in Belize, Garifuna Settlement Day.  Nov 19th has been recognized as the day Garifuna people stepped ashore to settle on the Belize coast 186 years ago.  They came in canoes from Honduras.  While the Garifuna represent only about 8% of the population, their cultural influence is much greater.  A musician named Andy Pallacio made a CD called Watima a few years ago that hit the top of the World Music charts.  Excellent music for anyone who likes African music.  Unfortunately, he died soon after making it, but if you like it, try to get: "Umalali-The Garifuna Women's Project" .  Also produced by Stonetree Records here in Belize.

I didn't go to Dangriga or Belize City for the festivities, but one of the TV stations was there, and I took pictures of what they broadcast.  So thousands of words in the form of pictures follow (I hope). Enjoy!

A drum band and majorettes that stood in place and played and moved...

Well , the photo function is working, tomorrow I'll post some more, it's 11 pm, so time for bed.

The Tooth Fairy

So much to write about!  However, tonight I'll let some pictures do the talking.  I went to Dangriga  Town yesterday to have a crown installed by the Tooth Fairy.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Here's a picture of her sign:

Before I go on, notice the PVC pipe along the beam.  Except in higher end buildings here, it is very common for fresh and waste water piping to run along outside walls and beams, since the temperatures never come close to freezing.  It still surprises me.  Now, here's a photo of the Tooth Fairy and her assistant:

She's the taller one, and is a very attractive young woman.  In fact, she was Miss Belize World in 2003, after earning a doctorate degree in dental surgery in Mexico City at age 22 in 2000.  I had had a crown fall out - and the cost of the crown prep, the temporary crown, and the permanent crown, all inclusive, was $380 Belize dollars, which is $190 USD.  She does very good work, the ex-pat community raves about her, with men raving about her appearance as well.  If you google Dalila Vanzie you can read more about her.

I had more pictures, but the google blog software is acting up and not letting me load them, so I'll ramble on a bit more with some really good news for me...I may have mentioned at some point in this blog that I am currently living in an apartment in my stepson's (?) house - the apartment owned by my ex-wife.  We are on excellent terms, so that's not an issue, but just the same, when she comes for Christmas and the winter, she would like me out.  That's fine with me - the place is a bit small, the oven has no thermostat, and there are a few other issues.  As the day approaches that she comes, I have been ratcheting up my search for an alternative that I can live in for 6 to 12 months - while I wait to build my own place.  Have seen some really marginal or below marginal places - too small, too run down, etc etc.  However, today I located a place - a place our company built  - still needs some fixtures, which I can buy with my rent money, and furniture, which I have to buy anyway.  But plenty of space, even place for visitors if I can afford to buy another bed.  It is really quite exciting - and I'll post photos by and by.  It is a huge relief to have that issue settled.  Well, that's it for now!

Transportation, Belize style

There are three ways to get to Belize: by air, by road and by ferry. The ferry runs from Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, which has its own access challenges. Amazingly, with an area the size of New Jersey the country only has two entrances by road, one via Guatemala Rt. 13 which arrives at the border near San Ignacio (Cayo), Belize, roughly central in the western border. The other entrance is at the extreme northern border near Chetumal, Mexico. That’s where I entered when I came here.

Most people come to Belize to visit, and come by air. There are international flights that arrive at the international airport near Belize City from Miami, Texas, Newark and possibly Charlotte, North Carolina. Continental and American Airlines are most active, Delta and US Air may also have flights, but as I write this (with Word) the internet is so slow I can’t check easily. Taca Airlines, a Central American airline, also has connections with Flores, Guatemala, near the Tikal Myan ruin, and possibly Miami.

An alternative way to fly, especially from points outside of North America, is to take a flight to Cancun. There is a lot of rate competition going there, but a connecting flight to Belize via Maya Island Air might offset those savings. Or, from Cancun you can take a comfortable bus to Chetumal, where you enter Belize. But enough of getting here, I wanted to write about in-country transportation.

In another year I expect the international airport that is being built on the mainland just west of the head of the Placencia Peninsula will be in use, and the game will change.

Air – Amazingly, there are two competing airlines that serve the air strips in the country. Both Tropic Air and Mayan Island Air fly aircraft with capacities of 6 to 20 passengers. They only fly in daylight, and although they have scheduled service, they don’t bother to stop at an airstrip if there are no passengers to drop off of pick up. If you Google them, you can see where they go and what their rates are.


Rail – There are no railroads in Belize, although there were once several short lines that served the banana or logging industries, taking those products to ports on the coast. There are still signs of the banana line, which was shut down in 1937. Although the rails were taken up, bridges over major steams and rivers were converted to use on the roads that replaced the railroads. Some of those are still in use. They are one, narrow lane wide, I would guess about 8-1/2 feet, with three or four foot high sidewalls. If a pedestrian or bicyclist is crossing one, vehicles have to wait because there is not enough room for both.


Buses – I think buses are the major means of intertown transportation in the country, and it is a very politicized system. To be allowed to provide service between towns, the owner has to apply to the government for a “concession”. They are awarded to loyalists of the party in power. Some of the buses in use are comfortable ones like Greyhound or Trailways, and those are often used for express runs. Most of the buses are former school busses brought to Belize from the U.S. Most are the long ones with “flat’ fronts. I think they are popularly known as “chicken busses” by young travelers from the U.S. That name might be appropriate in other areas of Central America, but I don’t think buses are used widely to haul produce or livestock to market in Belize. They aren’t particularly comfortable, especially on unpaved roads. But there are lots of them. The non-express busses have designated stops, but will also drop off or pick people up elsewhere when flagged down.

Unfortunately, and unlike Guatemala, where there are lots of the shorter type of school busses, the busses in Belize are painted in the colors of the bus company, with no frills. I recall the busses in Guatemala were quite colorful, but also were operated much more dangerously, which has to do with the landscape there.

Auto – Belize has a very low rate of vehicle ownership in relation to the population. I’ve had a series of dental appointments (with the Tooth Fairy – no kidding!) in Dangriga, about 2 hours away on the sole north-south highway in the last month or so. I don’t think I’ve ever passed more than two dozen vehicles going in the opposite direction, outside of Dangriga. The landscape in Guatemala is very hilly, with very curvy two lane roads and lots of traffic. Drivers there use a left directional signal to indicate to following drivers that it is safe to pass. Belize, on the other hand, has long, straight roads, with lots of visibility, and drivers tend to go too fast. That Belize is English speaking is also convenient for English speakers – signs are in English, although there aren’t many of them.

When I drive into Placencia village, about 5 miles south from where I live, there might be one or two vehicles coming in the opposite direction. In Placencia Village, the pavement narrows so that it is a little more than 2 vehicles wide in most places, and lots of vehicles there. When you add to that the great number of bicycles and lots of pedestrians, and lack of sidewalks, and cars parked along the edge of the road, driving in the village is tricky. I’ve wanted to take a photo of what a driver faces to post here, but I can’t do so in safety. Often two vehicles can’t pass, but have to take turns threading through this mix of pedestrians, bikes and parked cars. Buses and large trucks face their own challenges.


Many vehicles are Izuzu or Mitsubishi pickups, or older Toyotas and other mini-pickups used by vendors bringing fruit into town. Wide trucks, like my Ford F-150, are the exception. It takes skill to drive in the village, and knowledge of the physical limits of what you are driving. Gasoline costs $9.78/gallon in Belize dollars, which is why I converted my truck to butane.

No mention of the roads should leave out the speed bumps. On the main north-south road there are raised pedestrian crossings at villages along the way, preceded by raised rumble strips. These were built some years ago, so in some cases the warning signs are missing. At night, they can come up with some surprise, and you really don’t want to cross them going faster than 10 mph. Here on the peninsula with the new paved road, there are lots of the raised pedestrian crossings, generally 6” high, and you don’t want to cross them faster than 5 mph. There are signs, but no warning rumble strips. In Placencia Village the speed bumps are short and high, not to be taken faster than 2 or 3 mph. Because I drive the route frequently, I know where they are, and slow down even when I can’t see them.



Taxis – Really a sub-category of Autos. There are lots of taxis of varying ages and qualities. Frequently they are mini-vans like Toyotas. There are no meters, the rates are point to point, and should be agreed upon before the trip starts. You can take a taxi from the international airport near Belize City to anywhere in the country. Many of the higher end resorts also have vans or mini-busses to shuttle their patrons.


ATVs – There is also a variety of ATVs in use, either by homeowners, or local wholesale businesses, or by tourists who rent them from a vendor near the airstrip. Some have roofs and/or even windshields.

Bicycles – Everyone rides bikes. Standard heavy framed basic bikes with no fenders or gears, but occasionally with baskets or child seats. You see people riding bikes carrying infants, or lumber, or butane (propane) tanks, or 5 gallon plastic pails hanging from the handle bars, or friends. Lots of skill shown there. No helmets. Locals ride ‘em, ex-pats ride ‘em, tourists ride’em.


Legs - Some folks walk. People in Seine Bight Village walk to work at resorts a half mile or more down the road. Others who go into Placencia Village and miss the shuttle bus or do not get picked up by helpful drivers, walk the five miles along the road into the village. Although it has not happened here (yet), I read in the papers every now and then of pedestrians on other roads in the country being killed by cars while walking along highways.

So that’s the long story about travel in Belize. I’m glad I have my truck because of the flexibility it gives me to get around the country.

life interrupted

When I wrote about the coldspell some time back, I thought it was the door between the summer/fall wet season and the winter/spring dry season. After several days of relatively cool weather and west winds, it was warm and dry. (75F = cool, 85F=warm) The big puddles dried up, lots of sun with showers in the night. I was already to write about it, and then the wet season returned. The wet season features spectacular thunder and lightning storms, mostly at night, and windy rain squalls that blast through in the course of the day. Typically the storms drive the temperature from the mid 80s to the mid 70s for a couple of hours, and are really nice. Last weekend "hurricane" Ida stayed well west of us, but since there hadn't been any threatening storms this year, there was lots of talk and hyping of it on the Belize media, keeping it in conversation.

Lately we've had erratic electrical service. The Sunday paper carried the news that Mexico is backing out of its commitment to sell power to Belize because one of tgheir plants is down and hydro is weak because of dry conditions. Belize is making do with its own hydro capacity and power it is buying from an aquaculture (shrimp) company that has a generator. The utility claims the interruptions are due to improvements they are making in the distribution systems, but others claim they are due to defects is the system. I'm sure the storms play a role as well.

There isn't a whole lot of redundancy in the systems here. There is one paved north-south road in the country. Between here and the capitol, Belmopan, there are two bridges that washed out many months ago, with temporary one lane bridges carrying the traffic. Whenever there are major rainstorms in the headwaters a few miles inland, the temporary bridges are underwater, and the southern half of the country is cut off from the north.

I tried to post this last night, but we had no telephone or internet. The telco provides the backbone to the cell phone systems and the internet, and last night we had neither, and actually we weren't back in business until 8 this morning. So I prepared this in Word with the hopes of copy and pasting it, but that isn't working, so I'm retyping it. Last night no phone or internet. The night before the power went out at about 10 for 15 or 20 minutes, a relatively short spell. I have all my sensitive electronics like stereo stuff, TV, printer, etc, on battery backup surge protectors. Almost everything else that plugs into an outlet goes through low end surge protectors. This is to protect everything from surges caused by lightning or the utility. The only thing I have to remember is to unplug the cable from the back of the TV during electrical storms.

On a completely different topic, i've picked up two new clients. One is a condo developer that we built a three story reception center for, and is finally putting together the financing to build two 6 story condo buildings. They are in between construction phases, and I'll be handling the bookkeeping during this caretaker phase for a few months, and then who knows? The other is a more complex situation being the business manager for a guy who has an excavating business, with two bulldozers, three excavators and four dump trucks. Does somewhere between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in business annually, but can't read or write. Has to give his checkbook to vendors to write themselves a check, and you know what kind of mischief that can mean. After doing business on handshakes for years, people are now taking advantage of his illiteracy and good nature. What is really neat is that he is the uncle of the young man who led me through Mexico when I drove here last March. I hope the work i do for Jake is as valuable to him as David's guidance was to me last spring.

Well, that's it for now. Have do some work for Jake.

Be well.

Win a fabulous trip to Belize for two!

I am a member of the Rotary Club of Placencia, and we are running a raffle, the winner of which will win an amazing trip to Belize! We’ll pay for your round trip air fare from Miami or Houston, and once in Belize, you’ll stay first at a resort on Ambergris Caye (Key), the most developed resort area in the country. Your stay there will include First Class accommodations, golf cart rental, and a snorkeling trip out to the barrier reef. The biggest barrier reef in the western hemisphere is off the coast of Belize, and should not be missed!
From there you’ll go to a resort in the Cayo District, in a jungle setting in the Maya Mountains. You’ll enjoy a side trip to the important Myan ruin at Xunantunich, and have a full spa treatment at the resort.
After several nights there you’ll come to our home village of Placencia, where the laid back atmosphere and friendly people might make you cancel your trip home! You’ll have a trip to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a Jaguar Preserve, where at the end of a hike through the jungle you can take a dip in a pool of cool, crystal clear water at the foot of a waterfall. Or, you may have enjoyed that snorkeling trip the week before, and want to do it again, but this time from Placencia. We would love to have you join us at our weekly meeting at Yoli's Restaurant over the water on Tuesday at noon!
You’ll receive a $100 USD food allowance so that you can eat at the wonderful restaurants we have – and here in Placencia that includes Austrian, Italian, French and Belgian cuisine!
The prize does not include souvenirs, your departure fee at the airport, and your other minor expenses. It does include transportation in the country, your accommodations at three First Class Resorts, and a real chance to visit what is called The Jewel for ten days. The prize is for two people, and there are no blackout dates!
How do you get in the game? What are the resorts? How does it work? Go to our Rotary Club’s website at www.rotaryclubofplacencia.org and click on the raffle tab. We are only selling 500 tickets, and they are $50 each. We will hold the raffle when 500 tickets are sold.
The proceeds that are not used for your trip will be of great help to us in furthering our goals!
Questions? Use the comment section here and I'll be sure to respond!

Big shift in weather!

One of the reasons I moved to Belize was because I was tired of being cold. Never thought that would happen, always thought I needed 4 distinct seasons, but have learned that not only can I get along without New England weather, but can enjoy the subtle changes that take place in a tropical climate. I arrived here last March, having stopped outside Mobile, Alabama, to ship my winter coat back to Maine.
The average daily temperature here seems to be about 85 degrees Farenheit, or about 29 Celsius. In direct sun it is hotter, so you see more folks with umbrellas (even on bicycles!) using them to provide shade than you see them for rain. One of the delights about being on the coast is that there is usually a breeze, which provides a cooling effect. If you don't have that breeze, ever-prsesent ceiling fans and pedestal fans do the trick. Or you turn on the AC.
I expected substantially higher temperatures in the summer months, but it didn't really happen. We had more days when the temperature would creep up to 89 or 90, causing even the locals to comment about the heat, but summer brings the rain. So rainstorms during the day or night cools the air, although when the sun comes out again the humidity rises.
So what has been the "lifestyle effect" of this weather? I always wear shorts. I always wear sandals, unless I'm barefoot, which I am, most of the time. I wear shirts designed to be cool in hot temps. I drink lots of cold fruit based beverages.
And then yesterday it changed. A front passed through, the wind came from the west, from the Maya Mountains. The temperature plunged to 74 F, 23C. Today I had a dentist appointment in Dangriga, and I wore long pants, a first. It has been overcast now for two days, with occasional drizzle. I slept under a sheet last night, instead on top of the bed. 74 feels cool! I guess my blood is getting thinner, which is OK by me.
I saw the highlights of the Patriots game on Sunday, when they frolicked in the snow, and saw that nighttime temps are in the low 30s in Portland. After being here for seven months, I don't think I could face going into a Maine winter, with cold lasting for eight months, especially after suffering through a cold wet start to summer as my many friends in Portland did.
So I don't complain about the heat here; I enjoy it, adapt to it, and stay sensitive to the changes that take place, although they are considerably less dramatic than they were for the first six plus decades of my life.
Be well, my friends, stay warm.

Crime and Punishment II - Good news

Also on a more positive note are the actions being taken by the Government’s Police Chief, who took office last April. As part of a week long examination of the crime and violence issues, a local television station interviewed him. He has six officers in the U.S. being trained by the FBI in evidence gathering and analysis, more at a facility in Roswell, N.M. being trained in police work, and still more in Guatemala in training. In all, over 100 officers are being trained outside of the country. He is very aware of the problem and seems quite capable.

What is also important is that the Belize “community” is talking about it – people do not accept that “this is the way it is, and always will be” - the crime and violence are unacceptable. So they will find the skills, mechanisms and will to turn the problem around.

An article in Sunday’s paper reports that the prison has 1500 inmates, reportedly making Belize have the highest incarceration rate in Central America, and one of the highest in the Caribbean, and in the top 10 internationally. As I recall, the United States heads that list. The good news is that none of those 1500 is a political prisoner, Belize is a functioning democracy.

The other interesting thing I learned as a result of reading today’s paper is that the prison system is managed by a non-profit organization called the Kolbe Foundation. Apparently, in 2002 the prisons were so bad the government sought outside help. Members of the Rotary Club in Belize City formed a separate organization, a received the contract to manage the prison system. Included is the only drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in the country – entirely within the prison’s walls. Because drugs and alcohol account for so much of the crime, and that includes the U.S. as well, it is a huge benefit to have a 90 day rehab in the prison, staffed by ex-cons who are in recovery. It’s too bad that enlightened course of incarceration and treatment isn’t used in the U.S. You can read more about the facility at www.kolbe.bz, although the site hasn’t been updated for a while.

So there is a high level of crime, especially in the inner city of Belize City, but the government, the media and the public are taking steps to correct it that could be a model for other communities in the world, and that includes the U.S.

The last word: Anyone considering visiting, moving to or investing in Belize should not be dissuaded by crime statistics. My experience has been very positive.

Crime and Punishment (revised)

I've been meaning to write about the crime in Belize, and was stirred to do so by an e-mail I received recently from someone who has been reading my blog and is planning to visit. I understand that The Economist magazine recently labeled Belize the murder capital of the world, based on the number of murders relative to the country's population. The label is similar to the label Mexico got when it was called on the border of being a failed state because of the ongoing struggle between the drug gangs and police/army.

There is no question about it, Belize does have a crime problem, particularly murders, in Belize City. Many of them are in Belize City, but occasionally it will spill out of that community into the communities west of it. I think there are several causes. The country of Belize has a small population, and Belize City is the only even moderately large city, so the crime there skews the numbers for the country as a whole.

First, there is a big community of Belizeans in Los Angeles, California, and another in New York.There are people who travel between those cities and Belize, bringing elements of culture of those cities. As I read about the senseless killings in the paper, I occasionally see references to gangs, specifically the Bloods and the Crips (?), which are notorious gangs in LA. There are a lot of young men in Belize City who are un(der)educated, un(der)employed and are fodder for gangs. So I think there are gang against gang killings, and there may be initiation killings.

There is a growing sense of frustration in Belize City about it, even this weekend there was a “peace march” there to protest the violence. In the meanwhile, although the police frequently catch the perpetrators, they rely heavily on eye witnesses. But Belize is small country (see below), and it’s said everyone knows everyone, and witnesses often fail to appear at the trials, presumably because they have been threatened or just intimidated, so the murderers go free.
Although, I my view, alcoholism is rampant in the whole country (except, I believe, among the Mayans), Belize City is also the center of hard drugs. So armed robberies are not uncommon, frequently drug related, but if there is anything different about Belize from the western world, it seems to be a willingness to shoot.
Belize has a very small military, unlike other Central American countries, and they don't get involved in law enforcement. (Having traveled in Mexico and Guatemala, I don’t mind not having trucks with mounted machine guns patrolling the roads.) Belize is not a wealthy country by a long shot, and outside of the “cities”, the police are hired and trained, and answer to, the national government. There are not nearly enough of them to deal with the problem, nor are they given the resources they need. The Judiciary seems competent, but they can't do much without evidence or eye witnesses.

(A word about the population of Belize and the impact on national resources. Belize is the size of New Jersey, which is the most densely populated state in the US at 452 persons per square mile. Belize, on the other hand, ranks 170 in a list of population density of 192 countries, with a density of 31 persons per sq. mile. For comparison, neighboring Honduras has 161 p/sq/mi, Guatemala has 348 p/sq/mi, and Mexico 139 p/sq/mi. This means there is a small population base to provide taxes to support the government. Although wages in Belize tend to be higher than surrounding countries, they are still low. We attract and keep good workers on our construction crews because we pay well – masons earn $75/day. With a generally poor local population, there is not a strong base to support the government, so programs like police protection are not supported as much as they need to be. In fact, we had a spate of boat motor thefts here in Placencia, and the local police came to our Rotary club asking for funds to fix their boat so they could patrol and pursue.

20% of the country’s population lives in Belize City. The most significant crime belt is from Belize City west through Belmopan, Cayo and Benque Viejo del Carmen. Those four communities have 35% of the population and probably in excess of 50% of the violent crime.

Before I came to Belize, people who had come here would tell me they didn't like it. I would ask them if they had come on a cruise ship, and they would answer yes, which is all I needed to hear. The cruise ships stopped at Belize City, and people who did not take excursions by bus to attractions in the country, but stayed and wandered around in Belize City, saw the worst of Belize. People here in Placencia express fear that when the road is paved all the way to the Southern Highway that thugs will come down from B.C. I tend to doubt it - it is a 3 hour drive, but the improved road will make a difference.

I should also note that the violence tends to be among people in certain neighborhoods, and you rarely hear of any tourists or expats being targeted. In fact, there is a division of the police called the Tourism Police, and they not only look out for tourists, but also insure that tour operators are qualified and licensed to provide the services they offer. So tourists and expats are safe provided they don’t walk around bad areas of Belize City at night – and that can be said for many, many cities around the world.

The most rampant crime in our area is petty theft of opportunity. I always lock my truck, even if I'm going into the bank or a store for a minute, but I did that in Maine, too. Most people with items of value in their homes will have bars that go over windows, and metal gates at their doors, to prevent break-ins. People leaving their Belize homes for extended periods will often find someone they trust to stay at their house.

Fraud is so common it is almost taken for granted. The previous national government left office in disgrace, with millions of dollars missing or unaccounted for. The current mayor of Belize City, as well as other local officials, has been arraigned on charges related to $275,000 missing as a result of a practice they called “underdepositing of funds”. This stuff is in the news constantly, and it doesn’t seem that anyone goes to jail for it, and I think it filters down the food chain so to speak. It is not unusual for tradesmen to request full payment for a job before completion, and then disappear. Would you go along with that wherever you are now? Probably not, and there is no reason to do so here.

I've recently read some good stuff about the prison at Hattieville. Seems that they have a good program for training inmates in making crafts that are in demand, and so the recidivism among that group is very low. When Bob and I went to Belize City to go shopping, we stopped at the prison store. There was very little there, but there were some amazing carved doors and other large carvings.

If you have read this blog from the beginning, including my drive through Mexico, you know I don't speak Spanish, and that I was led through that country by a Mennonite driving a truck that attracted the attention of the police. They would pull him over, and I would pull in behind him. He would speak/argue with them in Spanish, and usually one or two would come speak to me. I led off the conversation with, "No habla espanol." End of converstation. If I had gotten into trouble requiring police protection or assistance, the language barrier would have been a real problem. Belize is an English speaking country, but Spanish is also spoken widely. So English and Spanish speakers have a definite advantage in any contact with the police.

Finally, I don't mean to create a negative impression of Belize, but the reality is that crime exists here as it does everywhere. I live in a resort area, adjacent to a village marked by poverty. On almost every trip to and from Placencia village there are people looking for a ride. I have no hesitation to offer rides, and if there is room, they ride in the cab of my truck with me. I know several by name. I feel perfectly safe, but I do lock the doors to my apartment and truck when I am not in them, but that was true in Maine as well.

So if you come to Belize to visit, don't go to Belize City, there is very little to see. You are safe if you take the same precautions you would take anywhere you travel.

Entertainment options

This post probably falls under the category of “lifestyle”. Visitors come to Belize for the many recreational opportunities it offers. Where I am, that includes hanging out on the beach, snorkeling or diving at the barrier reef just off-shore, or sport fishing. In the evening there are many fine restaurants (although most are closed as I write this during the rainy season), and multiple watering holes. You can also take day trips to Mayan ruins or jungle preserves. For someone coming for a week or two, there is plenty to do.
For longer trips, Guatemala and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula border Belize.

For those of us who live here, and who have limited budgets, and especially for those who work, entertainment options are more limited. There are no movie theaters, no lectures, no bookstores. The only nightlife is the bars, which I do not frequent. That leaves internet, TV, or early to bed.

Internet here is high speed DSL, which means not nearly as fast as broadband cable. It can also be somewhat problematic – my connection here at the house has been erratic for several days – so erratic I am composing this post in Word, and will copy and paste it into the blog when I can get on line.

TV is via the local cable company (which has been promising internet for a long time). I think their cable signal is from a Direct TV satellite(s), and the channel lineup can be pretty “interesting”. My biggest disappointment is that it does not include a U.S. PBS link, since most of my limited viewing in the US was of PBS news and documentaries. What do we get? Well we have about 10 kids channels, and then standard ones like Discovery, History, Food, Travel, HGTV, TV Land, ESPN and ESPN2. There are channels for each of the broadcast networks: ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. There are the cable news channels: CNN, HLN, C-SPAN, MSNBC and CNBC. Lots of movie channels, you know what they all are, so I won’t list them. The oddities to me are channels like GSN – the Game Show Network, which is nothing but game shows. And SOAP, nothing but soap operas. The 4 local channels all have their slots, but aren’t necessarily on the air at any given time. As I’ve mentioned before, the English version of Al Jezeera is a good source of international news, much less sensational in its approach than the US networks.
There is a channel called RFD, which has shows like “Cattleman to Cattleman” dealing with livestock issues. There is an International Soccer channel, followed by GOLTV, which is also soccer 24/7. MTV, VH1 and CMT are all there, as well as several channels that actually show music videos. There is a fitness channel. Then we climb into the regional channels and beyond. There are Mexican, Guatemalan, and Honduran channels (all in Spanish, of course), including music video channels, and CNN Espanol, which has different stories from the US CNN. There is also Fox Sports Latino, and movie channels with Spanish language films. Then there is CCTV4, a channel from China that is programmed for Chinese living in other parts of the world. There is also a channel from Taiwan, as well as two from India. The Indian channels have movies with lavish sets and weeping women.

One of these 115 channels is the local cable’s channel, which lists local coming events, death notices, and what the channels are. There is no channel telling the viewer what programs are being broadcast. No way to know what movie is coming up. No way to know who the soccer teams are that are playing or will be. The Spanish channels seem to have more attractive women wearing sexy clothes than the US channels.

I am glad I brought a variety of DVDs, my music collection, and a lot of books. I did not catch on to The Office or 30 Rock until the last weeks I was in Maine, so I brought with me one season of each on DVDs, and have since gotten more. I’ve really been enjoying them, and haven’t yet resorted to seeing what DVDs local vendors are offering.

They do offer the kids programs from PBS during the day, and when I first got here they had the PBS News Hour. However, they lost the signal so frequently that I gave up watching it, and now it is no longer offered. As I write this, the cable system has dropped the signals from about 15 stations across the spectrum.

A last option I should mention is Sirius satellite radio. I have it hooked into my stereo system, and it has a couple of NPR talk stations, so I can listen to Prairie Home Companion and other programming I enjoy.

I’ve linked into the community through my membership in the local Rotary Club, and the Volunteer Fire Dept. I’ve also started a “dinner group” to go to the local restaurants every month, although we have yet to do so.

So that’s the entertainment side of “lifestyle” here in Placencia – questions?