Let me start at the beginning.
Last May I lost my wife of nineteen years, Andrea. As I got older (I turned 56 in December) Andrea and I had talked frequently about what retirement would look like and where it would take place. Andrea was Australian and spent the first eight years of her life growing up in Melbourne. She spent the next six years in the Philippines (Manila) before moving to the United States, followed by studies in Spain. I, on the other hand, had traveled little outside of American borders before meeting Andrea and had never lived anywhere but the good ol' US of A.
Although we were fortunate to have traveled in many parts of the world before she died, we both had wanted to see and experience more. We agreed that retiring "elsewhere" would give us the opportunity to continue exploring and get to know more people, places and cultures -- we didn't want life to become a downward spiral with the delivery of the first Social Security check.
When Andrea died, I decided to continue with our dream of spending retirement as expats and began a search for the right place. To make a long story short, I had read a lot about Belize and decided this would be my first country to explore.
I spent nearly three months planning my trip, reading up on the country and choosing places to visit. I ultimately decided to start with three days in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye because the Sapphire Beach Resort would cover the cost of my hotel in return for being squired around the development in the hope that I would buy. Following Ambergris Caye, I would go to the mainland and drive south to Punta Gorda and make my way north through Placencia, Dangriga and finally Corozal Town. Eight days to see the major towns of coastal Belize.
I originally thought about flying to Cancun and driving down because it would save money, but opted to fly directly into Belize City to save time.
My plan was simple: mosey through each town, checking out local markets and sights and generally getting impressions of the areas as I went. Can I live here? Does it fit the lifestyle I envision? Is the infrastructure sufficiently advanced for me to live comfortably? I planned on asking lots of questions of locals regarding utilities, internet speed and costs, local rents and general quality of life questions. I started with the basic question of would I be happy living here and then moving on to the question -- is it practical to live here? My goal was to find out if Belize is just a nice place to visit or a great place for me to live full time. That, after all, was the whole point of my visit.
What follows is a sort of day-by-day story of my trip. Just remember, I really spent less than one whole day in most locations. Also, these are my impressions influenced by my background, prior knowledge, interests and preconceived notions.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Belize -- Day One
Well... I arrived in Belize City and made it through immigration and customs in about 10 minutes and then wandered over to the domestic terminal (it turns out that it is in the same building, just a different room and you have to go through security only to be put into the same departure lounge with the international flights). I was able to get an earlier flight and got an upgrade – from a 7 passenger to a 9 passenger plane!It was about a 20 minute flight to the San Pedro airport (more like an air strip). I sat behind the pilot and took this photo over his shoulder as we landed. The airstrip is in between houses and commercial buildings and we nearly took out somebody’s laundry on a clothesline with the tip of the wing (I’m not kidding… missed it by about a foot). You get a luggage receipt when you get your ticket and then identify your bag when they bring it to the terminal (an open air building with a shed roof).
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| Maya Air "Terminal" |
It is soooo good to smell the ocean breeze again. It makes me miss living in Key West.
I can’t quite get out of banker mode… the first building I noticed next to the airport was ScotiaBank (where I later opened an account).
I shared a cab with two other couples and $5 BZ later I was at my hotel. The Banana Beach is a mid-priced property on the Caribbean side of the island with 66 rooms; a few of them long-term condo rentals. It has two pools – one small and one medium sized – and a smallish, man-made beach. There is a decent restaurant on site (I had a conch ceviche that was out of this world) and an activities desk/store that also rents golf carts.
After checking in, I was unpacking when I got a phone call asking me to come back to the front desk; it seems the Sapphire Beach Resort neglected to pay for any of the guests who agreed to do a tour of their property in return for three nights free at Banana Beach. I later heard all kinds of rumors (who knows if they are true) about the owner being in jail in Florida (check out Ambergris Daily and Update). I found a mug shot of a woman by the same name on the internet and noticed that the arrest warrant was issued through the US Marshalls – not a good sign. Someone also told me that the project is in receivership. So I paid for the hotel at the rate they offered to Sapphire Beach and promptly sent an email to my “host” suggesting that I was no longer interested in their services. I received a seemingly genuine response saying that it was all a mistake. Regardless, the experience left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I now needed to get some beer and other necessities. I was at the street entrance looking up and down the road in hopes of spying a small store when a voice behind me asked in a distinctive Canadian accent if he could help. I turned around and met Mike – a ReMax agent who lives at the hotel. After getting directions to the store two blocks away, I also relayed the short version of my story and we agreed to discuss my real estate needs over dinner.
I decided the best way to cover a lot of ground quickly would be to rent a golf cart so I did an about face, stopped by the store for a couple of Belikins and made arrangements at the activities desk to rent a golf cart (you can't rent an actual car on the island). More on this later.
Exploring Ambergris Caye
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| The beach "road" |
The driving rules are also interesting. Drinking and driving, I am told, is allowed (this explains a lot). It seems that there is only one driving rule, "Don't go smackin' into shit." I felt safer in a tuk-tuk in Bangkok than driving through downtown San Pedro with tourists, bicycles and golf carts weaving in and out. On the other hand, it is a tort lawyers dream come true – so many accidents just waiting to happen.
I drove to the far North end of the island where it becomes mostly mangroves and lagoons. At that point the "road" was about 5 feet wide and after seeing a crocodile run across the road in front of me, I found a place to turn around. I'm adventurous, but I have my limits.
Prior to my turning back point, the road followed the beach for about half a mile and for good parts of this stretch the road is literally no more than 2 feet from the water and maybe 2 feet above sea level. In a good Florida-style thunderstorm the waves must be splashing up on the road and maybe going over it. The road turns inland and about 20 minutes further are several large condo developments with about 600 units total that range in price from about $250K to $1.5million. Can you imagine spending that kind of money and then being stuck in town on a regular basis, unable to drive on the road to your home?
My impressions are that Ambergris Caye is a combination of Key West 40 years ago, third-world country, tourist haven and Wild West. Everyone is friendly and it seems very safe, but when it comes to business and real estate you need to be cautious and keep a tight grip on your wallet. I have not done an in-depth market analysis and looked at only a few properties, so please take my comments with a grain of salt. Remember, the whole point of this trip was not so much to find a property to purchase, but to get general impressions of whether or not this is a country I could retire to.
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| Condo project in progress |
My Canuck real estate friend and I looked at a number of properties the next morning and I generally found that I don't have enough money to buy here. There is almost no bank financing available and I have heard that a standard contract is 50% down with the balance at 10% over 10 years. Once you buy a property the overhead is pretty cheap: $200-$300 per year for real estate taxes; $500 - $1000 per year for insurance; and $200 - $300 per month for the homeowners association fee (if a condo), which typically includes water, sewer, garbage, common area maintenance and insurance, telephone, cable and internet. The last three vary a bit, but even at that you get a lot for the money once you buy.
Let me be clear -- I spent a whole two and one half days in San Pedro so I can scarcely be called a market expert, but these are my impressions. There are a few affordable (obviously a very relative word) houses or condos, but they tend to be near lagoons full of crocs and mosquitoes or they are older, wooden buildings (that I seriously question if they are made to withstand a good hurricane) and are likely to be eaten up by termites in a few years. Those properties on or close to the Caribbean side tend to be of concrete construction and appear well built, but start at $175K for a one bedroom condo with no financing. I am hoping to find better prices on the mainland.
I also stopped in a couple of hardware stores and grocery stores. You can get just about anything, but prices for appliances and anything American are pricey.
Getting to Punta Gorda, Belize...
Prior to leaving San Pedro I asked Mike to present an offer on a condo. The asking price is $189K and I said to offer $169K, with $100K down and the balance financed over 10 years at 10% with the first payments beginning one year after closing. This would give me time to sell my house and buy the condo on the water I’ve been looking at nearby, which will substantially lower my living costs and make a second mortgage a possibility. If I can rent the SP condo out half the time, this could work. We’ll see.
Tuesday morning I caught the 7:00 am water taxi to Belize City where I was picked up by Budget car rental and driven to the airport to pick up my vehicle, a Suzuki Jimmy. It is about a 6-7 hour drive to Punta Gorda, which is almost on the Guatemala border.
The water taxi left late because the three genius deck hands couldn’t figure out how to get the mooring line off of the dock post; everything they tried just made it tighter until one of the future engineering prodigies managed to use a claw hammer to loosen it up. I would guess there were about 50 people aboard. I sat at the back, which was not enclosed. As we pulled away from the dock we were backing into the east wind and the waves caused a number of sprays that got several of us square in the face; a bracing way to start the day. Despite three-foot seas driven by the morning wind, the taxi sliced through them and the ride was quite comfortable.
I was glad that we stopped for a few minutes at Caye Caulker to take on a couple of passengers, because I at least was able to see what the island looked like from the shore line. All in all, it took about an hour and a half to get to Belize City. My driver was about 15 minutes late, but he was a fairly pleasant young guy who gave me a bit of geography and history lesson of BC as we went.
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| Coming into Caye Caulker |
The water taxi left late because the three genius deck hands couldn’t figure out how to get the mooring line off of the dock post; everything they tried just made it tighter until one of the future engineering prodigies managed to use a claw hammer to loosen it up. I would guess there were about 50 people aboard. I sat at the back, which was not enclosed. As we pulled away from the dock we were backing into the east wind and the waves caused a number of sprays that got several of us square in the face; a bracing way to start the day. Despite three-foot seas driven by the morning wind, the taxi sliced through them and the ride was quite comfortable.
I was glad that we stopped for a few minutes at Caye Caulker to take on a couple of passengers, because I at least was able to see what the island looked like from the shore line. All in all, it took about an hour and a half to get to Belize City. My driver was about 15 minutes late, but he was a fairly pleasant young guy who gave me a bit of geography and history lesson of BC as we went.
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| On the road from Belmopan to Punta Gorda |
I finally became accustomed to the signs announcing bumps in the road as the signal to slow down because I was approaching yet another town or village or cluster of homes. Following the bumps were “Pedestrian Ramps” – Belizean for ginormous speed bumps. These things are about eight feet across and about nine or ten inches high. As I got closer to PG I was thinking that it must still be quite a distance because I was still in the midst of the hills, but the hills actually come down almost to the ocean so it was a pleasant surprise when I rounded a corner to see the Caribbean dead in front of me.
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| Looking towards Guatemala from PG |
I found the Blue Belize Guest House and got settled in. The owner is a marine biologist specializing in studying sharks and was away on business, so her research assistant got me checked in.
The room was very nice. It was on the second floor of one of the two houses that made up the property and opened out onto a huge, half-covered veranda with hooks for hanging the hammocks found in each room. I found myself wishing I was staying longer. As a former B&B owner, I really appreciated the thought that went into each aspect of the room.
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| Sign for Barber/Financial Adviser/Tutor/Accountant office |
I took a long walk about town, going up and down each of the main streets at least once. I came across a chocolate shop whose smell alone made me wish I could move here immediately. This shop grinds the beans, separates the oil from the mixture and makes the most wonderful chocolate imaginable. The proprietor gave me a spoonful from the large milk chocolate batch she was making. I wish I could have brought some home but the heat it would have to endure over the next several days made that impractical. I did buy one bar that, in the interest of avoiding a melted brown mess, I consumed immediately. I also bought a chocolate swirl soap bar for my crazy cat lady cat sitter, Melly. I looked over sidewalk menus of several restaurants before settling on the Olympia Restaurant and Bar, and I’m glad I did. I had the curried fish with salad, beans and tortillas and it was excellent. The owner said she had finished the renovations about six months ago and she did a very nice job.
Blogging on the run...
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| Taken from airplane: The most important building in Belize |
We are part way through my travels and I just want to remind everyone that I am not a Belize expert. This is my first foray to the country and I am noting my general impressions only. If you are thinking of making the move to Belize, do your own research and keep in mind that my reporting is based on my own needs, values, requirements, etc.
More on Punta Gorda...
Before calling it quits for the day, I wandered about Punta Gorda for another hour and then walked home just prior to sunset. I had a beer (OK, it might have been three) out on the second floor veranda and marveled at how bright the stars were. There is nothing like viewing the twinkling stars to make all things in life seem quite puny. Off in the distance you could see a halo of light from Puerto Barrios, Guatemala and I watched a cruise ship some distance off shore followed by a couple of what I assumed from their size were container ships. It was a glorious evening to just sit and be alone with my thoughts.
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| Sunrise in Punta Gorda |
I slept with the windows open and was very comfortable with the ceiling fan providing my AC. I woke a bit before sunrise to an obnoxious banging sound on the veranda. I had already begun to awaken as the local roosters had been at it for some time already, but I got up to check out the noise. It turned out that one of the two house dogs had laid on the mat in front of my door and probably had to scratch, causing the screen door to make a clatter like a wood pecker on steroids. Since I was awake anyway, I made a pot of coffee and read my email while watching the sun rise on the Eastern horizon. Elizabeth arrived in a bit with fresh orange juice, wonderful homemade banana bread and fruit for breakfast. After breakfast I said my good-byes and drove the few blocks to the center of town to see the Wednesday morning market.
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| Wednesday morning market |
The market was on the road closest to the water and was mostly sellers of fruits and vegetables, but there was a Mennonite man selling pots and pans and there were a few other stands selling miscellaneous items like sandals or clothing. Buses, cars, bicyclists and people on foot competed for room on the narrow street. In the midst of this two-block long affair were two buildings about eight feet apart… one for the fish mongers and the other for meat sellers. The fish market had half a dozen or so long tables and there were people cleaning grouper, snapper and a few fish I did not recognize. One guy had a huge Jew Fish that had to be about four feet long and probably weighed well over 100 pounds. The meat market had six to eight stalls made of white tile, including the counters. About half the stalls were occupied with various home-butchered meats. Back out on the street I found a small store and bought a new pair of sandals for $6.00 BZ.
There was a group of four or five American girls and apparently one had lost an earring as they were searching the pavement for something obviously small. Very quickly several locals joined in the search. It didn't hurt that these young ladies were fairly attractive, but nonetheless a willingness to help and the natural friendliness of Belizeans was on full display.
I hit the road around 10:00 am for the approximately two hour drive to Placencia, a destination with many new developments and, from what I have seen on the web, high prices. The town of Placencia sits on the southern tip of a peninsula. I'll see if the promises of marinas, club houses and other accoutrements is reality or just marketing hype.
Placencia, Belize and the HIE...
Placencia was a whole different experience. I guessed correctly, and it took about two hours to drive the ninety odd miles from Punta Gorda passing more banana fields and citrus orchards along the way. I knew immediately that I had arrived on the peninsula as there was water on both sides of the road and at some points it wasn’t more than 100 feet or so from the lagoon to the Caribbean. It was soon after beginning my drive down the peninsula through Siene Bight into Placencia proper that I had a momentary fit of insanity and total loss of common sense; I picked up a hitch-hiker. This would NEVER have happened had Andrea been with me because she was much more cautious than I.
In my defense, I had read that hitching was common in Belize and had seen a few others along the way, but this time I decided to offer a lift to a young woman who was going all the way to Placencia. I figured I would be there soon anyway, so what could go wrong? Within a few minutes she launched into hair-raising stories of how her ex-boyfriend or husband beat her, and how her and her two-year old son had to flee and he later ended up in jail for who-knows-what and when he got out and caught up with her, he cut her on her stomach (envision her shirt being lifted up at this point to display the scar as proof of her lurid tale), but she is rid of him now and quite proud of the fact that she got thin again shortly after giving birth and she has no stretch marks like some of her friends. TMI !!!
Now, you can imagine the things running through my mind while we are driving: first and foremost, I am in idiot; second, when will this nightmare end; and third, will she roll down the window and start screaming bloody murder just as we go past the police station? Oh, did I mention the part about how she can’t get a job and would do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g for money? Yes… it was an absolute stroke of genius to pick her up. It fortunately ended well when she asked to be let out just past the Chinese grocery store as we drove into Placencia and I quickly drove the remaining block to the turn-off for the Sea Spray Hotel.
So -- I located the Sea Spray Hotel that I found through Trip Advisor and checked in. To say that my room was basic is to understate the case dramatically. After the wonderful accommodations in Punta Gorda, this was a bit of a letdown. The ventilation was not very good so I had to sleep with the AC on, which was inches above my head and quite noisy. The bed was hard as a rock (I like a very firm bed, but this was ridiculous) and I did not sleep well, waking with an uncomfortable knot in my shoulder. But… the room was clean and right on the beach.
One of the charming things about Placencia is the concrete walkways that run up and down the beach separating the various buildings. I found the Tipsy Tuna restaurant down the walkway a bit and had (take a good guess) a Belikin or two while breathing in the sea air and getting a good view of the beach from my stool. After a couple beers I began to recover from my Hitchhiker Insanity Event (HIE) and went for a walk around town.The tourist section of town is not that large so I covered the area between the Chinese store and the fishing pier at a leisurely pace in about an hour or so. This is a pleasant town with plenty of restaurants and small shops.
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| Beach at the Sea Spray Hotel |
Now, you can imagine the things running through my mind while we are driving: first and foremost, I am in idiot; second, when will this nightmare end; and third, will she roll down the window and start screaming bloody murder just as we go past the police station? Oh, did I mention the part about how she can’t get a job and would do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g for money? Yes… it was an absolute stroke of genius to pick her up. It fortunately ended well when she asked to be let out just past the Chinese grocery store as we drove into Placencia and I quickly drove the remaining block to the turn-off for the Sea Spray Hotel.
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| Good advice from the Tipsy Tuna |
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| Very nice -- but unaffordable |
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| Just what I am looking for -- but not for sale |
I also learned that she deals with a bank in Belize City that offers rates in the 7-8% range and she promised to email me the information. She also confirmed for me that my suspicions regarding many of the developments are true. Most (but not all) developments are lots with roads and utilities in place, but very little actually built. Promises and grandiose plans abound, but the reality is that many plots remain undeveloped because the financing disappeared when the recession hit or because the backing never materialized to begin with. I also looked at the pictures in the window of the ReMax office in town and confirmed that the vast majority of properties are bare ground and the houses available far exceeded my modest budget.
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| Hurricane disaster waiting to happen |
It now struck me that 99% of the peninsula is a hurricane disaster just waiting to happen. Nearly all of the land is two to four feet above sea level. One place had sea walls built along what appeared to be man-made canals and these sea walls topped out at no more than two feet above the water. I learned a thing or two about sea walls while living on Clearwater Beach. If the sea wall isn't constructed correctly it is a nightmare to repair and extremely expensive.
I was living in Key West in '98 when category three hurricane Georges hit. My property there was a whopping eleven feet above sea level. With the house sitting on piers it was probably at about thirteen feet. I was quite taken aback after the storm when I discovered debris in the street washed up in front of my house. I can only imagine what would happen here if a medium-sized storm or larger were to hit. I immediately decided that Placencia was not the place for me. I know people who were fighting for years after Georges with their insurance company and FEMA about their losses, so I am fairly certain it would be even worse in Belize. After all, this is a country that moved their capital from Belize City inland to Belmopan after a big hurricane.
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| Placencia Sunrise |
Following a swim in the Caribbean, breakfast and yet another glorious sunrise the next day, I put Placencia in my rear view mirror and took off for Dandriga, about an hour down the road.
Dangriga...
As I understand it, the town of Dangriga is one of a half dozen Garifuna settlements in Belize. The Garifuna are descendants of Carib and Arawak tribes, found principally in the Caribbean islands, and West African slaves. Although they fought the British for years, they were finally forcibly removed from the island of St. Vincent in 1797 and deposited on the bay islands of Honduras. They later migrated to Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Dance, drumming and remnants of African religious beliefs are combined with traditional Catholicism into the Garifuna religious culture. This is obviously a much abbreviated description of the Garifuna people, but you can read more about this interesting people and their history at the National Garifuna Council of Belize website.
I arrived in Dangriga fairly early in the morning and not wanting to leave my belongings in an unattended car, I checked into the Pelican Beach Resort and then promptly drove back into town to walk around. The resort is nice and although the main building is fairly old, the building and grounds are very well maintained. The staff is very friendly and gave the impression that there is nothing they would not do to make sure you are happy.
There is a small river that runs through the middle of town and a fishing pier on the north side. Near the pier is a community market similar to the one I saw in Punta Gorda. After wandering through the market it was nearing lunch time , so I walked over to the central street where I had seen a small taco stand, stopping at the Belize Bank ATM on the way.
I bought three tacos for $1.50 BZ from the lady who very carefully wrapped them in foil so as to avoid having them drip on me as I ate. Her son was playing with the camera feature of his phone and took a picture of me, so I naturally insisted that I be allowed to take a picture of him. I ate my tacos as I wandered the back streets of town. Back on the main street was a hardware store named Habet's. I had heard that a number of hardware stores throughout Belize are owned by immigrant Lebanese. Sure enough, the gentleman sitting outside the store was wearing a kufi; he gave a cheery “hello” as I passed and waved towards the entrance, inviting me inside.
I found some influence of the Garifuna culture in the signs of the stores. Combined with the Kriol spoken widely within Belize, I suspect (I’m guessing here) that a sort of shorthand was developed that could be understood by all. After wandering around on foot, I drove south of town and found a few nicer homes but nothing to indicate an expat community. The same was true north of town; the resort and airstrip were the last places I could find. So -- Dangriga does not look promising and I didn’t even find a real estate office in town (I suspect there is at least one, but I did not see it). I decided to just enjoy the town and see what I could see. I had asked the lady at the Pelican Beach front desk about any museums or galleries.
I found one of the galleries a street or two towards the ocean from the main road. The Garinagu Crafts and Art Gallery is not large, but it has one room full of antiques that show a bit of the life of early Garifuna settlers. Owner Francis Swaso warmly greeted me with a big smile and explained the items displayed in the museum room including the implements for grating and preparing cassava. One of the items immediately grabbed my attention; a pink, wire mesh mask worn in the traditional Jankunu dance. The dance is a satire of the white foreigners where the dancers dress as colonial slave masters, hence the pink mask to mimic the skin of the Brits, French and Spanish. I promptly picked out an excellent replica mask for $70.00 BZ. I have a collection of masks from South Africa, Burma, Mexico, Venezuela, Thailand and other places I have traveled, so this was a real find!
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| My photography buddy |
There is a small river that runs through the middle of town and a fishing pier on the north side. Near the pier is a community market similar to the one I saw in Punta Gorda. After wandering through the market it was nearing lunch time , so I walked over to the central street where I had seen a small taco stand, stopping at the Belize Bank ATM on the way.
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| Depiction of a Jankunu dancer at the museum |
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| The mask and its owner |
I also went to the Garifuna museum just outside of town that I had passed on the way in. Although not particularly impressive, there was a lot of information presented and I was the only one there. I got a personal tour by one of the distant relatives of the matriarchal founder of the first Garifuna settlements in Honduras. She was quite gracious and didn’t display a hint of impatience even when I asked what must have seemed the stupidest of questions. After my tour I started at the beginning and read through most of the displays. Outside I could hear a drumming lesson being conducted for the children of the attached Garifuna school.
After returning to the resort I spent some time on the dock, spied a fairly large iguana (around three to four feet) that is kind of hard to see in this picture, but it was fun watching him climb up the tree like it was his own personal territory. I had a great dinner at the beach-side restaurant followed by a couple of Belikins (this time I stuck with the stout). I went to bed early with the windows wide open and the sound of the waves lulling me to sleep; I slept like a baby.
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| Bad picture of an iguana in a tree |
After returning to the resort I spent some time on the dock, spied a fairly large iguana (around three to four feet) that is kind of hard to see in this picture, but it was fun watching him climb up the tree like it was his own personal territory. I had a great dinner at the beach-side restaurant followed by a couple of Belikins (this time I stuck with the stout). I went to bed early with the windows wide open and the sound of the waves lulling me to sleep; I slept like a baby.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Last but not least... Corozol Town
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| My last sunrise picture from the dock in Dandriga |
The day before leaving Dangriga I received an email from Penny at Serenity Sands, the B&B I stayed at outside of Corozal, with directions on how to get there from Belize City. Her directions were perfect and it would have been even better had I followed them, but that is another story I will relate a bit later.
I awoke to another glorious Belize sunrise in Dangriga, had a late breakfast and headed out of town back past the Garifuna museum and the district hospital on the Hummingbird Highway back towards Belmopan. From Belmopan I picked up the Western Highway to Belize City and then the Northern Highway to Corozal Town. With all these highways it sounds like the transportation network of Belize is top rate – believe me, the roads barely meet the standards of the second-rate county road I drove on every day to get to my house back in Montana. Still, for a country of around 300,000 with very little tax base, the roads meet their needs and are certainly better than the ones I drove on in Burma. Many of the graded, gravel roads are so smooth that I had no problem driving comfortably at speeds of 60 to 70 MPH.
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| Turn left, not right |
So after driving on “roads” surrounded by cane fields for another forty-five minutes and sweating bullets over the possibility of running out of gas (no AAA our here!) I finally came across two women walking down a road in the middle of nowhere who got the Gringo pointed in the right direction. I filled up the gas tank at the Texaco station on the edge of Corozal.
I like Corozal Town. It’s active, full of small businesses, restaurants and stores. There is a feel of progress and hope that was definitely lacking in Dangriga. I drove around for a while just enjoying the town before finding the road to Consejo, which would also take me to Serenity Sands.I got checked in, walked around the property and then got back in the Suzuki Jimmy and headed four miles further down the road to Consejo; about seven miles total from Corozal. Consejo is more a community or collection of houses than an actual town. There is the Millennium restaurant (which I had dinner at on Saturday night) the Consejo Shores development, St. Leo's church, a small store, Casablanca Hotel by the Sea (that looked totally vacant) a small immigration and customs station for the water taxi that goes back and forth to Chetumal, Mexico but little else. Nonetheless, it is very pleasant and less than half an hour from town. I immediately noticed that the houses here seemed a bit larger and were better maintained than many areas I had seen. After nosing around a bit, I drove through Consejo Shores until I found an office and walked in.
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| Serenity Sands from the beach |
Consejo Shores isn’t a gated, luxury resort style development; it has the look and feel of a nice neighborhood anywhere state-side, but in a fantastic tropical location close to the amenities we all require. If you need fancy restaurants, night clubs, the opera or the ambience of Buenos Aries or Miami… you’re in the wrong country. If you want good neighbors, a relaxing environment and proximity to the necessities, I suspect Consejo might fit the bill.
Having quick access to Chetumal is important because if you can’t find something locally, you are likely to find it in Chetumal. The population of this southern Mexico city is about the same as the whole country of Belize – around 300,000. In addition to specialty shops and good health care, there are big box stores such as Wal-Mart (actually the Mexican version, Bodega Aurrera), Office Depot and Sam’s. I have also heard there is a Home Depot but have not been able to confirm it. In addition to Chetumal, the Belize Commercial Free Zone is only miles from Corozal and has many stores with discount prices and this is a favorite place to buy petrol.
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| Feline buccaneer Jack Sparrow |
I could see that I was losing the light as the sun dropped further in the western sky, so I drove into Corozal and wandered around. There is a large, well lit soccer field with bleachers on the north end of town that was full of youngsters at practice. The central part of town has a nice plaza complete with a fountain, large market area and, as in most towns, there were many Chinese grocery stores and restaurants (forget learning Spanish -- I should learn Chinese).
After driving up and down the streets for 30-40 minutes, I began looking for a restaurant. Penny had recommended several but I forgot the names so I just drove around looking for a combination of a nice looking place and one that had a decent number of patrons. I settled on Patty’s and lucked out. I had a great rib dinner with salad, tortillas and beer for $18.00 BZ including a generous tip. The bar tender kept me regaled with stories of local color and made sure I was well cared for. I also met a couple from Iowa who was also staying at Serenity Sands; we spent time later in the evening and the next day talking and comparing notes.
Back at Serenity Sands I learned that there is a film crew staying on the property that will be filming in and around Corozal for the next few days. I was also introduced to Jack Sparrow, one of the two cats on the property. I had met the two dogs and other cat earlier. Jack was a rescue cat who lost his left eye as a kitten, hence the pirate moniker. Penny provided directions on how to find Sarteneja the next day (without driving through the cane fields) and I headed up to my second floor room for a good night’s rest.
Corozal... Day Two
Sorry it has taken so long to follow-up on my last post, but I had used the voice memo function on my Blackberry to provide myself a running commentary on my travels and wanted to go through and take down notes before completing this travelogue. I just hope I don’t write the way I rambled in those recordings. Anyway, this jogged my memory on many things and I’m glad I held off on my final entry regarding the Corozal area.
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Serenity Sands operates off the grid; a wind turbine, solar power, a large generator and excellent architectural design and planning provide all the power necessary. Penny had apologized the day before that she would have to be running the generator to top off the batteries between 7:00 and 8:00 pm. I lived on generator power for two weeks after Hurricane Georges so I wasn’t too concerned. It turns out she needn’t have apologized since it was a barely noticeable hummm in the background. I slept with the windows and balcony door wide open to catch the ocean breeze and woke to the first stirrings of the birds.
After a great communal breakfast of tropical fruit, breakfast pizza, fresh made bread and hand squeezed orange juice I took off for Sarteneja. Tony’s Inn and Beach Resort is on your left as you begin to leave Corozal. Per Penny’s directions, the second left past Tony’s has a small sign for the Cerros Mayan archeological site. Down this stretch of road a few miles is the first ferry across the Rio Nuevo after which you take a right at the “T” intersection, continue past Progresso, Chunox and into Sarteneja.
Outside of Progresso there was a police “road block”. I have a sneaking suspicion that the police and local schools cooperate in this endeavor because this was the second time I had gone through such a check point that didn’t seem to have much point other than to slow down the traffic (such as it was). This time I was approached by a very polite, well-mannered young girl of nine or ten who said that she and her class mates were raising funds for a summer camp. From her neatly printed name badge and very serious demeanor, I judged that Ximena and her chums were on the level and gave her $20.00 BZ. I figured it was for a good cause and even if I had just been scammed I was out very little.
The ferry across the river is nothing like the Staten Island ferry or the Star ferry in Hong Kong. This ferry is little more than a small barge that holds up to three vehicles and is hand cranked along a cable stretched across the river. There is no fare to pay and although not required, it is considered polite to help with the cranking. My first trip was with a truck load of young guys on their way to work and a family from the Mexican state of Quintana Roo that appeared to be on vacation. Some things are obvious in any language as it seemed clear that dad cajoled his teenage son into doing the cranking. With a “do I have to?” look on his face, the young man took his place across from the ferry tender and actually got into it once he realized he had a small audience. While mom took pictures, his younger sister giggled and made faces at her now sweating sibling. Seven or eight minutes later I reached the other side of the river with a heavy thump into the opposing bank, drove off the ferry and down the pot hole-filled road towards Sarteneja.
As I traveled back into sugar cane territory I paid closer attention to Penny’s instructions to avoid ending up wandering in the wilderness for the next 40 years. I could tell that some of the cane had been recently harvested because there were workers in the fields burning off the stubble in preparation for the next crop. With populations under 1,500 you might be wondering why I would want to check out Sarteneja or Cerros. To be honest, I did not (and still don’t) know much about Cerros. But I had seen information on various web sites regarding developments such as Cerros Sands, Progresso Heights, and Orchid Bay. On top of that the descriptions I had read of Sarteneja sounded positively charming. The further I went the better the road got and I was now in third gear.
The town of Progresso is small, but nice. Just don’t blink more than twice or you will miss it. Just past town is the Progresso Shores project. I had not heard of this one and was impressed with the large gates out front and decided to explore. Without question this was the worst road I had been on in all of Belize. Despite the nice “front” on the property there were only a few out buildings and one or two residences. Why would you build a supposedly upscale development with such a lousy road? My first impression was that my vehicle’s suspension could not handle this road on a daily basis. Don’t waste your time.
Sarteneja is nice and lives up to the accolades I had seen. Yes, it is small but the waterfront is beautiful and quaint. There are a couple of modest park areas along the water and I stopped at a teeny restaurant across from one of the piers. I had three sabutas (sp.), a fried tortilla with chicken, cabbage and onion with Marie Sharp’s habanero sauce, and a couple of Belikins for the whopping price of $13 BZ that included a $2 BZ tip. Naturally, there was a Chinese restaurant in town as well. More accurately it is a restaurant owned/run by Chinese, since they all have a combination of Chinese and Belizean fare. The road into Sarteneja is not great, but it is not bad either. Other than the roads the town seemed to have a passable infrastructure and, more importantly, everyone was very friendly. Folks nodded or waved as I walked around; a genuinely warm and inviting community. I could see myself living here.
Chunox was a also a nice small town with a decent soccer field, a church, a school, hurricane shelter and a paved main street that ran for the whole three blocks of the town. I didn’t notice a restaurant or store, but to be fair I was through the town almost as quickly as I noticed I was in the town.
As I took the road back towards Corozal I passed a pair of Mennonite gentlemen as they ambled down the road in their horse-drawn cart. I also stopped at Progresso Heights. As I slowed to stop at the front gate I wondered if this would just be a repeat of Progresso Shores. I was pleased to see that this was a whole different story.
Again, the road sucked but at least here there were a dozen or more actual houses completely built or in the throes of construction. There did not appear to be any half-finished buildings that hadn’t been touched in years as I had seen elsewhere. Most of the houses seemed to be a fairly simple ranch style and the community pier looked to be finished. I came across the club house and got out to look around. There was no one present so I could not get in so I walked around the side and discovered a large, nice pool with an outdoor bar and I could envision a community party taking place here. The pool and club house are part way up the hill so they have a nice view of the Chetumal Bay. All of the lots are free of tall weeds and seemed regularly mowed. Someday this may become a nice little community, but it is not there yet.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Serenity Sands operates off the grid; a wind turbine, solar power, a large generator and excellent architectural design and planning provide all the power necessary. Penny had apologized the day before that she would have to be running the generator to top off the batteries between 7:00 and 8:00 pm. I lived on generator power for two weeks after Hurricane Georges so I wasn’t too concerned. It turns out she needn’t have apologized since it was a barely noticeable hummm in the background. I slept with the windows and balcony door wide open to catch the ocean breeze and woke to the first stirrings of the birds.
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| The local deluxe ferry |
Outside of Progresso there was a police “road block”. I have a sneaking suspicion that the police and local schools cooperate in this endeavor because this was the second time I had gone through such a check point that didn’t seem to have much point other than to slow down the traffic (such as it was). This time I was approached by a very polite, well-mannered young girl of nine or ten who said that she and her class mates were raising funds for a summer camp. From her neatly printed name badge and very serious demeanor, I judged that Ximena and her chums were on the level and gave her $20.00 BZ. I figured it was for a good cause and even if I had just been scammed I was out very little.
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| Getting a workout on the ferry |
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| Miles upon miles of rum waiting to be made |
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| Fishermen off the coast of Sarteneja |
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| Looking NE from the Sarteneja pier |
As I took the road back towards Corozal I passed a pair of Mennonite gentlemen as they ambled down the road in their horse-drawn cart. I also stopped at Progresso Heights. As I slowed to stop at the front gate I wondered if this would just be a repeat of Progresso Shores. I was pleased to see that this was a whole different story.
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| The pool at the Progresso Heights club house |
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| Road between lots at Progresso Heights |
As long as I was this far I drove on to see Cerros Shores. After driving around and through ruts in the road almost as big as my vehicle, I finally arrived at Cerros Shores… I think. Aside from a pile driver and a small thatch-roofed building in the distance there was nothing there. There was clearing taking place and some work being done putting in roads but nothing beyond site development. Back I went through Copper Bank and across the ferry for a third time. This time I had barely come to a stop when the ferry operator began cranking away.
I had dinner that night at the Millennium in Consejo and chatted up an soon-to-be-expat from Saskatchewan who was just putting the finishing touches on his house. He had spent four years building his home, only working on it during his regular two month-long visits. He had found a good local contractor who he said did an excellent job as long as you were very clear and specific as to what you expected. My new Canadian friend (I am embarrassed to say that I don’t recall his name) said that he wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again and was very happy with the final product. He anticipates completing the house in November when he moves down for good.
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| Farewell to Belize |
One more post to go that will include my summary notes and thoughts about a move to Belize. Click on Older Posts to get to my "Final thoughts" page.
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