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.
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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.
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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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