Planning and prep...

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.