Ahhhh, February!

All month long I've been thinking about how wonderful February has been, especially when compared to February in Maine when we were sick of winter, and aware we had at least two more months of it.  February here started with seasonably low temperatures in the low 70s in early morning, with some overcast days mixed in with sunny days.  The sky has not been as spectacular as in past months, making those skies even more enjoyable.  Now, as we are in the last week of the month, I am enjoying sleeping on top of the bed again, with the ceiling fan going, and really appreciate the heat.  There was a wonderful thunderhead the other day, here are a couple of photos:

On another subject, I received a new low in customer service today, something that puts even Time Warner cable to shame.    I signed up for cable in January, paying a pro-rated amount, which started on the day I signed up, not the day they actually strung the wires and connected me.  I signed up to get my bills by e-mail.  I don't get all the channels, which they want to blame on me, although I was getting them all when I was at Bradley's house.  But today took the cake.

I had been enjoying the Olympics, but last Friday night I had no cable.  Yesterday I stopped at the cable office to find out what the problem was, and was told to call the office across the lagoon in Mango Creek.  No conversation in our Placencia office is easy, because the girl who works there sits in a low chair while responding to your questions, while you talk through  a hole in the glass barrier that is at mouth level for someone 5 feet tall.  I called Mango Creek and they said to go into the Placencia office and pay my January bill.  They said the office was open until 5. At 4:30 it was closed. 

Today on the way to work I stopped and learned that they had turned off my cable for lack of payment for January, although I have never received a bill, don't know what the amount should be, and don't know what I paid for initially.  So I had to pay $40.70 for January, plus a $25 reconnection fee.  When I suggested that they had a responsibility to provide me with a bill, or notice of their intention to disconnect, I was met with a blank stare.  Of course the manager of the company was not available at the Mango Creek office today, but I'll call her tomorrow. 

I really shouldn't be surprised because customer service in Belize is not part of the DNA.  But Southern Cable  Company, which is reselling a satellite based service, has taken the concept to a new low.  I've been taking advantage of the lack of TV by listening to the blues channel on Sirius radio, and spending more time reading. But I have missed the olympics...

Another transportation threshhold crossed....

In my life I’ve operated a wide variety of modes of transportation. I was a student pilot, and took that as far as my solo flight from Maine to Burlington, VT, to Keene, NH, and then back to Maine. Ran out of time & money, and had a dislike of the rotund instructor who replaced my original one. Cessna 172s are tight quarters. Was an engineer of the diesel locomotive of the narrow gauge railroad in Portland for a few years. As one of the trainees on the square rigged tall ship HMS Rose sailing from Antigua to Martinique I spent my share of time at the helm of the ship (as well as going aloft to deploy or take in sail).

The ship was later sold to a movie company for the movie Master and Commander, and is now at the San Diego Marine Museum. Had a power boat for a few years. And of course have ridden assorted bicycles and driven assorted trucks and cars over the years.

Until this week I had never operated a motorcycle. Now I own one, pictured below. I live about 8-1/2 miles from the office, so every round trip is 17 miles. I converted my truck to butane, which I can buy at a discount because we sell it in one of our businesses, but my monthly fuel cost is still approximately $400 BZD. Too much, considering my income and other expenses.

So I bought the pictured Honda at the local hardware store for $4400 BZD, or $2200 USD, which includes the 10% sales tax. At 125 CCs, it is a small bike, and I use it for my local commute, and the truck for longer trips. I suspect many readers of this blog, especially in North America, have never driven a motorcycle, and it takes some getting used to.

The throttle is operated with the right hand, but twists counterclockwise toward you, which is not intuitive. The lever for the front brake is on the handle bar like a bicycle lever. The rear brake is operated with the right foot. The lever on the left handle bar is actually the clutch. The transmission is operated with the left foot, pushing down with your toe to shift up, and down with your heel to shift down. I have not yet found the “sweet spot” on the clutch for smooth transitions between gears. And with all the speed bumps, there are lots of opportunities to shift. Going less than 5 MPH is tricky, especially when the speedometer is measured in kilometers.

Registering vehicles doesn’t seem to be an issue here, so next week I hope to get to Dangriga to get a plate. I’ll tell them my Maine driver’s license covers motorcycles. I can’t get a Belize drivers license until I’ve established residency, a process that takes time, and doesn’t start until I’ve been in-country for a year, which will be about a month from now. Also have to get to Belize City to get a helmet.

This particular bike is not sold in North America. When I looked it up on the internet using the product number all the sites were in Spanish, and using the platename “Storm” brought up South African sites. There are a lot of cheap Chinese bikes sold here, but I’ve had good experiences with Honda equipment in the past, and they have parts in Belize City.

I’ll end this post on another note- I had the pleasure this week of meeting a reader of the blog who hails from near Vancouver, and who started reading it when I first started it. He came to Belize via Cancun, and has spent time in several places in country near the coast so he could pursue his interest in diving. We had several meals together, and a good time. I encourage any readers who come to Placencia to get in touch – I work in the Century 21 office over Wendy’s Restaurant.

That’s it for now..

Another Vancouver winner!

On Saturday night following our very successful auction at the Sidewalk Arts festival, our rotary club held the drawing for the two week all expense trip to Belize that we have been raffling, both on line and via ticket sales.  All the raffle tickets were the same type and size, and were folded up.  The winner was Michael Porter of Vancouver, British Columbia, who bought his ticket on line.  Our member Sandi, under whose presidency the raffle was started, has or will call Michael to tell him of his success.  
I am curious to know how he learned about it, and whether it was the result of a search  engine or whether he reads this blog.  So Michael - if you read this, how did you learn about the raffle?

On another subject, Wilma posted a comment in my posting titled ' "Free range" chicken' about gibnut, a local delicacy.  It is a large rodent, and I'm not sure if someone is raising them for sale or if they are being caught, but gibnut stew appears on local "special" menues when it is available, and is tender and better than the Belize raised beef.  It's too bad Tapirs are a protected species, because they might yield better meat than the beef as well....Never heard of one?  Google: "tapir in belize"....  Want to read a really fun and interesting book about a young woman's experience living in a Myan village back in the 60s?  I thiink you can get "How to Cook a Tapir" at amazon.com.  You won't regret it...

"Free Range" chicken

Last weekend I decided not to cook on Friday night, and went across the road to the restaurant at the Singing Sands Inn. Feeling frugal, I ordered the cheapest item on the menu, the half Free Range Chicken, flattened and grilled for $36 BZD. I’ve eaten there several times before, and have liked what I’ve had. The wife of the couple that own it is Korean, and usually the menu includes items directly or indirectly influenced by that cuisine – but I digress. The chicken was generously seasoned, and also typically tough and dry.


The only kind of chicken available in Belize is true “free range”. Chicken in the U.S. is produced in large barns with highly controlled food, water and temperature. The chickens have been bred and fed to be plump. I recall seeing a report about so called “free range” chickens that were in barns that had a very small door that would allow the chickens to get out of the barn, if they found the door.


The chickens here are small and lean. I don’t know if they ever see the inside of an enclosed barn. I do know that they are tough. I’ve been disappointed when I’ve tried grilling some chicken with my favorite herb BBQ sauce, and still having tough and stringy chicken. But then, voila!


Last Friday I bought a crock pot and a whole chicken. On Saturday I cooked the chicken in water with celery, onion, carrots, garlic and lots of herbs – for TEN hours. It was falling off the bone finger lickin’ good. I used some of the liquid to make rice to accompany it - also very tasty. So now I have to find the sweet spot – how long do I need to cook it to be tender, and be able to remove it to cook with some other method. If any of the readers of this blog cook home grown yard raised chickens this way and want to offer suggestions, I’m all ears.


This issue raises the issue about the meats and vegetables available here. The beef is tough, and doesn’t taste very good. I like beef, but would guess that I now have it once or twice a month, only to be disappointed each time. There is probably no food I miss more than a really good rib-eye steak. I’ve heard that the type of cattle that are raised in North American can’t be raised here, and of course the cattle there are fed in feed lots and don’t get much exercise. Cattle here are raised on big farms, no barns, outdoors. All the meat sold here is frozen. Stores have big chest freezers that they keep it in. Pork products are also available, and are reputedly good, but I haven’t been impressed. Shrimp (frozen) is readily available because there are big shrimp farms in Belize to serve North American and European markets.


Although the markets (the word “super” really isn’t appropriate) have veggies, the best bet is to stop at a veggie store, or buy from the truck that parks in the lower village 3 days a week. Last night on my way home I stopped at David Perez’ Vegetable Market in Seine Bight and bought two small tomatoes, a cucumber and six bananas for $2.50 BZD. The day before I bought 15 juice oranges for $2 BZD from some folks on the side of the road in Placencia Village.


When I moved here last spring there were two grocery stores in Placencia, Wallen’s and the Everyday Market. Now there are five, with the three new ones (plus the Everyday)  being owned by Chinese. The newest one has been trying to stock different foods – so has become a source of frozen veggies. One week he had frozen peas, another week he had fozen peas and carrots, and today he had frozen broccoli spears.

Today we are turning off the raffle page on our Rotary website. If the winner is someone from Portland, or someone else I know, I’ll send you an e-mail on Saturday night or Sunday morning.


My appeal for a CPA on this blog has been productive. Mary from Washington State has the type of experience I need, and owns property here, and is able to move, so we are in discussions by e-mail about what might be. It is quite exciting, and the prospect of starting this new enterprise stirs my entrepreneurial soul.


I’m also thinking about buying a 125CC Honda motorcycle. A round trip between my house and the office is 17 miles. I get about 9 MPG burning butane, which I get at a near wholesale price because we are in that business. So I spend $350 to $375 BZD a month for fuel, and considerably more when I leave the peninsula. (Gasoline is currently at $9.75 BZD per gallon). And my old truck is showing its age. The big issue at this point is my residency. I can’t get a Belize Drivers license until I am a resident, which is a few months away, I hope. I’m not sure they’ll let me drive one with my Maine license. I’ll keep you posted….


Been watching the news about the big winter storms hitting the East Coast in the U.S., and am really enjoying being here…..

Last chance for raffle entries!

I'm the "webmaster" in our Rotary club, and have been instructed to "take down" the raffle page on our website on Thursday, Feb 11th, so we can be fully prepared for the drawing on the 13th at the sidewalk art festival.  So if you've been lingering - enter now!  If you win, it is a fabulous prize, and if you don't. your money will go far in helping us with our good works here in the village.  Recent studies indicated that 43% of the population of Belize is living in poverty, so the needs are substantial.

Good luck to all who have entered - and thank you!

Still seeking CPA ready for adventure!

On Jan 29th I posted that I was looking for a CPA who would like to join me in a new enterprise built on a foundation I already have here in Belize.  Mary from Washington posted a comment indicating her interest, and she even has property just across the lagoon from Placencia.
I should note that comments you post here come to me as e-mails, but I cannot reply to them other than posting a comment in reply.  I believe in posting a comment that you can send it as an e-mail, which I think will provide me with your e-mail address that I can reply to.  The bottom line here?  Mary has not replied to my comment, and has not sent me an e-mail directly. I want to send her a substantive reply that is not appropriate for this blog, but can't, because I don't know her e-mail address.  So I don't know if she is serious. 
I am serious, and hope she will contact me, and/or other CPAs will consider this opportunity.  Remember, on the journey through life you accumulate and get rid of lots of "stuff'', and in the end the most valuable thing you have are the stories of the adventures in your life!

Last chance!

As many of you know, especially those who have read this entire blog, our local Rotary Club has had a rafflle with an exceptional prize - a ten day all expense paid vacation in Belize.  The prize includes flights from Miami or Houston to Belize, and several nights at a resort on Ambergris Caye, then transportation to and several nights at a resort in the western mountains, and finally transportation and several nights at a resort here in Placencia.  Includes a $100/day allowance for food, and more and more.  There are no blackout dates, and we would like the winner to take the trip within a year.

Here's the deal:  Tickets are $50 and can be purchased on line.   We originally were going to sell 1000 tickets, then have the raffle.  Ticket sales have not been very brisk, so we lowered it to 500 tickets.  Because the raffle is almost 2 years old, and we have now passed the break even point, we've lowered it again and are going to draw the name of the winner on Saturday, February 13th.  We are doing it at a local arts festival where we will be holding an auction to raise money.

That means the chances of winning are substantially higher than they were originally.  Those who have read this blog, and the comments thereto, may have read the comments of someone who said they had not received an acknowledgement of their ticket purchase.  In fact, we had acknowledged it at the time of purchase, but she had missed the e-mail, or it had gone into her junk mail folder.  The program is working fine, and the winner is going to have a wonderful trip!

So go to www.rotaryclubofplacencia.com/raffle, and buy a ticket before it's too late!