Where else should I go?

My quick jaunt to Belize is just the first of what will likely be many trips I will take in search of a new home.  I have a long list of potential sites, most of them in the Americas, but not all.  Malta, Morocco and South Africa are on the list, though I doubt they will remain there long.  I would like to return to Morocco and South Africa, but I suspect that once I take a closer look at both of them, they will remain exotic but not the kind of place for my retirement. 

Thailand, Malaysia and India are in my Asian research queue and I’ve heard that Bali, Indonesia is quite attractive as a retirement destination.  Thailand can be quite cheap and Malaysia has a program created to entice foreign retirees.  India is so vast and full of amazing places that it would take years to really see and appreciate the whole country.

Central America includes Mexico, which is technically part of North America, Costa Rica, the bay islands of Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.  Panama and Mexico seem the most likely spots among them, but you never know what may crop up as I take a closer look.

South America has Columbia, Ecuador, Brazil and Uruguay.  Brazil and Columbia have up-and-coming economies that present many opportunities.  Ecuador is incredibly cheap and Uruguay is like a bit of Europe, refined and sophisticated.

Each of these countries in South and Central America, with the possible exceptions of Mexico and Panama, would demand that I learn Spanish.  Practically speaking, to get the most of any country would require knowing the local lingo even if English is widely spoken.  I found my Berlitz Spanish course as I was rummaging through boxes in my effort to get rid of things I no longer need.  I will have to devote time each day to working on my Spanish and engage my Hispanic friends at work to help me out.  Learning a new language will be good exercise for my brain; I need to start a physical exercise regimen as well.

Returning to fundamentals...

Now that the plans for my trip are set, it’s time to return to big picture research and planning.  There are some things that need to be looked into and thought out no matter where I end up.  Health care is a major concern and I will begin there.

I have learned that Medicare cannot be used outside of the states, so that means relying on the health care system where ever I end up.  While local clinics in many countries may not provide the level of care we typically demand, almost every country has well trained, private doctors that charge a pittance compared to doctors here at home (and actually spend more than ten minutes with you). 

As an example, if I end up in Belize they have a system of local clinics that can take care of the most common ailments, but more serious matters would require going to a private hospital in Belize City or, more likely, traveling across the border to Chetumal, Mexico.  Chetumal has several first class hospitals and is relatively close to both Corozol and Belize City.  Living further south in Belize would provide more serious challenges, but if I am able to fly there is good, cheap travel by air from the towns I am considering to Belize City or even Cancun.

I’ve been pretty darn healthy all my life, but I know that as this body wears out I will have greater needs and increasing costs.  At present, I have two doctors – one that I see for my annual check-up and routine matters, and another who has a much more holistic approach and who I credit with keeping my wife well even after she had been diagnosed with cancer.  This two-doctor system works for me and perhaps some sort of dual track approach to insurance and health care will work elsewhere.

The question becomes, do I purchase an international health care plan, use a local, hospital-based insurance or pay out of pocket.  At the very least, some type of critical care insurance would likely be necessary.  While many countries allow you full access to their health care system once you have established residency, each country approaches this differently.  This ability to access the local health care system could definitely be a factor in my choice of country.  If I am able to travel as much as I would like to, then maybe a long-term travel insurance plan might work in conjunction with local health care, since most decent travel insurance includes repatriation and emergency health care coverage.

I can tell this is going to take a lot of consideration since there are so many variables.  Health care is definitely in my “major research” bucket.  Despite our Yankee pride in our health care, most countries offer health care that rivals our own.  The question often isn’t if the actual care is good, but rather access to that care and the cost.  For the most part, our health care problems in the U.S. are related to cost and access, not the quality of the care we receive or the skills of our medical professionals.  OK, I got off the track there.  The bottom line is that I need to do in-depth research of each country that interests me and at the same time find out as much as I can about the various insurance possibilities.

The itinerary is finally done...

Everything is finally set.  I have a car reservation and all of the hotel reservations have been made.  This is costing more than I anticipated, mainly because the car is so expensive.  I researched the available cars to make sure I get something economical since gas prices are in the $5.00 per gallon neighborhood and I got a small SUV because Belize roads are notoriously bad.  Getting the cheapest car possible still set me back over $400.00 for just five days of use (bloody hell!).  If I decide to return at some point in the future, I will fly into Cancun and rent a car there; it means wasting time on the road but it will be cheaper for both the car and the flight.

Anyway, I will take a 7-passenger puddle jumper from Belize City to San Pedro and start off my trip on Ambergris Caye as planned and then catch the ferry back to Belize City three days later.  The car rental staff will pick me up from the ferry terminal and take me to the airport to grab the car.  From there it is about a five-hour drive south to Punta Gorda where I will be staying at Blue Belize Guest House, which is just off Front Street near downtown PG.  It's funny, but half the seaside towns in Belize have a Front Street just like in Key West.

From PG I'll make my way north to Placencia and the Seaspray Hotel.  The following night I am booked at the Pelican Beach Resort in Dangriga and I will finish the trip north of Belize City in Corozal Town at the Serenity Sands B&B.  I have a feeling I will come home exhausted, but the whole point of the trip is to figure out if there is an area of Belize that I can see myself retiring to.  If the answer is yes, I will return for a closer look at the areas I find attractive and comfortable.  If the answer is no, then I will look elsewhere (yet another opportunity for adventure).

Now that I am alone, I find myself being much more introspective.  I have the time to just think and, unfortunately, I have only myself to worry about.  Regardless of what I discover about Belize on this trip, I am certain to have an interesting time and discover new things about myself.

Thinking of Andrea...

My friend Melanie sent me the link to her wedding pictures.  It was fun to see pictures of her and Dean so happy.  It also reminded me of our wedding and the anniversaries that are now forever over.  Time makes things easier but I am still coping with the daily reminders of what will never be.  It’s the little things that get to me the most.  Andrea and I shared everything – big and small, important and of little consequence – we talked about everything.  Every time something happens in my life the first inclination is to tell Andrea.  Only now every event loses its meaning because the most important person in my life isn’t there to appreciate it.


It’s sort of like the old philosophical riddle:  If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?  My own personal equivalent is:  If Andrea isn’t there to appreciate it, does it really matter?  This sucks.  I want my life to have meaning again.  I want to share with her again.  Once again I find myself in a doleful frame of mind with nothing but a future of self-pity and emptiness in front of me.  And once again I find myself returning to the only thing that keeps me going (for now); planning for a future purposely created to set an environment of self-re-creation and re-invention.  I hope this makes sense.


Every Thanksgiving after her cancer diagnosis we had a special celebration for just the two of us; usually a good bottle of champagne and chocolate (one year we celebrated in the morning with bacon and champagne).  We toasted her survival of another year and counted our blessings.  Each year she made me promise that if she died first, I must marry again.  Looking back on those moments now, I realize that it is slowly becoming easier to believe I can live up to that promise.  

Even more details on Belize trip...

If anybody besides me is actually reading this you must be bloody bored of me carrying on about the trip to Belize.  I can understand that, but you need to understand that, for right now anyway, this is the only thing in life that I still have to look forward to.  Pathetic, I know.

Anyway, I got a good map of the country and started figuring out distances between the areas I will be visiting.  From Belize City to Punta Gorda it is roughly 200 miles.  Given the way the roads are described and the time necessary to get out of Belize City, I figure it will take around 6 to 7 hours.  So I plan on getting the first ferry out of San Pedro, which is at 7:00am, in order pick up my rental car and get out of town early enough to get to Punta Gorda by mid-afternoon.  My plan is to stay at Blue Belize Guest House, get dinner in town and check out the local stores, available housing, and generally just meander about to get a general feel of the area.

My understanding is that this area of the country, the Toledo district, is the wettest part of the country and has rain forest conditions with up to 170 inches of rain per year – sort of like Seattle, but always warm and a with a population of around 23,000 (the whole district, not just Punta Gorda).  OK, so the rain is the only thing similar to Seattle, but the point is that growing moss on my backside is not my cup of tea.  I have also heard that the sand flies are positively horrific.  Nonetheless, I want to check out the area if for no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity.  PG itself is around 6,000 souls and sits at a whopping 15 feet above sea level.  My house in Key West was 11 feet above sea level, so an additional 4 feet is a 36% increase in elevation!

There is a water taxi from Punta Gorda across Honduras Bay to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala that takes about an hour and costs a whopping $3.75.  If I had more time I would check it out.  Wednesday morning I leave for Placencia, but not before checking out the Wednesday morning market in PG.

A New Year's resolve...

Yesterday was my birthday—56 years since first appearing on God’s earth.  I was feeling sorry for myself because this was my first birthday without Andrea.  I’ve never been one to celebrate much, so it wasn’t that I didn’t feel much like celebrating, it was that this became just one more day to focus on the loss of my best friend and soul mate.  After work, I spent the evening with a bowl of popcorn and a movie whose name I have already forgotten.  A friend from work called to see how I was doing and I finally fell apart.  I can’t pretend that all is well, but I also can’t spend my days moping about; finding the right balance while mending my heart is difficult.

Today as I was getting ready to attend a wedding, I decided that the first day of the new year had to be a new start for me as well as my friends who are beginning a new life together.  There will still be many days that I will fall apart, but I am determined to find new ways to be positive and heal, while not forgetting.  If Melly and Dean have even half as many wonderful days that Andrea and I did, they will be truly blessed.

It is wholly appropriate to mourn the loss of my wife and healthy to grieve, but I must move forward as well.  The problem is that there are many difficult days throughout the year… the anniversary of her death, our birthdays, our wedding anniversary and the holidays; they are each difficult in their own way.

So, on that somber note, let the new year begin.