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.