May 19, 2010… The worst day of my life

May 19 marked one year since my wife’s death.  I decided that it would be better to go to work and gut it out at the office than sit at home waiting for a breakdown; that turned out to be a good decision, although I almost lost it when my boss IM’d me that she was available if I wanted to talk.  The weeks leading up to the 19th were very tough.  I thought a lot about Andrea and how life changed without her.  God… how I miss her.  I am lonely a lot and if my friends at work weren’t there to support me I don’t know how I would manage.  Friends outside this area are as supportive as they can be, but there is only so much they can do from afar.  One day at a time – there is no other way to manage the grief and loneliness.  It has been a little over a week since the 19th and in retrospect, I am surprised by how well I did.  It was sad, to be sure, but by the end of the day I also realized that I am continuing to mend and the future is not so bleak.

I took six days off from work leading into the Memorial Day weekend and began by flying to Key West to see friends and leave some of Andrea’s ashes at our old guest house (I think this was her happiest time in life and I hope she approves).  As I was leaving for the airport I ran into a neighbor I hadn’t seen in over a year walking his dog.  He wasn’t aware that Andrea had passed away.  Somehow, it gets a little easier each time I have to tell someone that she is gone.  I still run into people at work who aren’t aware that she died.  I work in a building with some 600-plus people but in a secured location so I don’t see people outside my unit often, especially since I only go to the office no more than two days a week.  When I have to tell someone that Andrea died, I sometimes wonder if they think I’m callous for not breaking down or being emotional.  Sometimes I wonder that too; I sometimes feel guilty for not being sad or because her death doesn’t occupy every moment of my life.

Well, on to more pleasant things.  I flew on SeaCoast Airlines to Key West and will never travel there on any other airline in the future!  SeaCoast flies 9-passenger single props most mornings from the Clearwater/Saint Petersburg airport, which is about 20 minutes from my house.  The flight leaves at the very civilized time of 10:00 a.m. and takes about an hour and twenty minutes.  But that is not the only time savings.  If I arrive at least an hour before the flight I can park right out front and walk all of two minutes to their office.  There is no security to go through since it is a general aviation flight and if everyone shows up before the departure time, they just leave early.

I stayed a couple of nights at the DoubleTree Inn on the north end of the island, which is far away from downtown Key West and my friends, but they have an hourly shuttle service that is actually fairly convenient.  The rooms are decent and there is free wi-fi.  I met up with Bonnie, her husband John and our friends Joyce and Craig at the Boathouse for drinks.  After dinner, John and Bonnie called it quits but Craig, Joyce and I went on to the Schooner Wharf and I finally called it a night around midnight.  Before coming to Key West I finally took my wedding ring off; I came to the realization that it had became a symbol of the past and it was time to move on.  It felt very comfortable and natural to be without it.  Joyce noticed that my ring was missing and commented that I had come a long way.  We talked about me dating again and how it felt like I was nearing the point when that would be possible.  Despite the pain of going through the anniversary of her death, I have made a lot of progress and I have accepted the fact that it is time to move on.

On Saturday, I met up with John and we went to Southernmost Beach Café for lunch before heading over to see Joyce and Craig’s house.  Craig is quite the craftsman.  He built his own 42 foot sailboat that he sailed from San Diego south to Panama, through the Canal and up to Key West, meeting Joyce along the way.  Craig did much of the renovation to their house including handmade doors, furniture, kitchen cabinetry and even the master bath sink is made of an exotic wood.  Both couples sold their guest houses a few years after Andrea and I left Key West.  Craig and Joyce still have a couple of rentals, but are semi-retired.  Two years ago they decided to buy Circle Pacific tickets and traveled for four months, going to Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Fiji and Australia, among others.  Last year they spent a month in South America touring Peru, Argentina and stopping to see friends in Uruguay.

On Sunday I hung out with John and Bonnie before going to Duval Gardens to place Andrea’s ashes outside of what used to be the kitchen.  I stopped and saw a few other friends since I was already downtown.  That night the three of us went on a sunset sail on the Sebago followed by dinner at Finnegan’s Wake.  All-in-all, it was a good weekend and I needed to get away from St. Pete and spend some time in the only town I ever lived in that really felt like home.

Finances & traveling...

I was reading an article in the May edition of International Living about credit card and debit card use abroad and it reminded me of an incident that took place while I was in Belize.  I had reserved a rental car with Budget using my American Express card because AmEx covers the CDW and, depending on the country and rental agency, can save you $15 - $25 per day on your rental.  In the case of the car I was picking up in Belize City, I would save $90 in total.

At least that was the plan.  In my last minute packing I decided to minimize the potential for any problems if I lost a credit/debit card, so I chose to bring only one credit card and one debit card.  I have a CitiBank card that earns me miles on America Airlines and chose my secondary checking account debit card to bring with me.  Duh.  I ended up having to use my debit card because not only did I not bring the AmEx, I forgot to pay off my CitiBank card prior to the trip.  Dumb, dumb and more dumb.

OK, I learned a couple of lessons.  But in the meantime I came across a great new card.  I opened a self-directed trading account with Merrill-Lynch and a cash management account to go along with it.  The CMA comes with a debit card that works the same way the AmEx card does to waive the CDW when renting a car.  The beauty is that there is no annual fee.  I probably won’t get rid of the AmEx because it is the oldest card account I have and is good for my credit rating, but it is good to know there are alternatives.

Getting from San Pedro to Chetumal

According to Ambergris Daily, new options are coming to San Pedro for getting to Mexico.  Currently San Pedro Water Taxi and San Pedro Express both provide service to Chetumal.  Tropic Services is a new water taxi service that will supposedly be starting soon (“soon” being a very relative term).

With that much competition the options are likely to be excellent in terms of both schedule and pricing in the long term.  If any of the resorts slated to be built on the north end of the island actually come to fruition, there could be additional routes/schedules opened as traffic demands.  This is good news for getting to and from Mexico for shopping, but also great news for when the Tulum airport opens as more options will be available for both tourists and locals alike.

Round trip to Chetumal via San Pedro Water Taxi is US $60.00, leaving at 8:00 a.m. and returning at 3:00 p.m.  San Pedro Express is the same price, but departing 7:30 a.m. and coming back at 3:30.

Still thinking

Although I have put off further travel until I have the house on the market, that hasn’t kept me from continuing to research, read and think about the future.  I have reached several conclusions:

1.   I need to live on or very close to the beach.  I love the water and since I have a choice I can’t imagine not being as close as possible.

2.   I don’t want to live in a big city.  So if the best options involve large cities, I will at least live a small town some distance away.

3.   I know myself well enough to know that in addition to returning to Belize, I need to check out a few other countries.

4.   High on my list for further research and possible exploration are Mexico (it is close and familiar), Ecuador (it’s currently “hot” and intriguing) and Panama.

If I have the urge to go to the opera (I don’t see that happening any time soon!) or a large museum or any of the other things offered by large cities I can make a special trip.  These are not amenities I will use often and I just don’t like living in a big city… been there, done that.  I grew up in a town of about 50,000 and loved living in Key West, which was about 30,000.

Based on the above, I have resisted all of the hoopla about Panama.  I don’t want to live in the hills surrounding Boquette and I don’t want to live in Panama City with its nearly one million people.  At the same time I know there are coastal areas that have strong appeal and Panama is a gateway to both Central and South America with good airline connections to the US.  At the very least, I will do more reading before discounting it as a place for me; there may be smaller coastal towns that might be just right.

I love Mexico; always have.  The people are friendly and the infrastructure is good.  There may be areas of the west coast that are affordable and attractive, but my first draw is towards the southern Yucatan (Tulum and points south) and maybe the area around Merida.  Another advantage to Mexico is that the economy is growing, albeit not as quickly or strongly as Panama.

Get your money off shore!

I just finished re-reading the dismal “budget” speech by our Demagogue-in-Chief. 

I am more committed than ever before to get the hell out of Dodge.

He truly doesn’t have a clue.  He spent twenty minutes establishing the underpinnings of his plan to not cut the budget in any meaningful way, use class warfare to further divide the country, and promote enlarging a government that already consumes more than 25% of GDP.  Either he has no understanding of history, or he intentionally tried to deceive the American people.  There is no other answer.

It is already starkly apparent he does not understand how the economy works and that government does not “invest” – it spends.  Government does not create jobs; it siphons off the earnings of individuals and business at the point of a gun to spend the money on programs and schemes that ultimately only serve to make its citizens more dependent on the nanny state.

It’s time to move money and investments off shore.

I’ve already opened accounts in Belize where I am getting over 6% on my money.  I think my next move is to put more money into emerging market ETFs and purchase real estate in a country that will not be caught up in the coming hyperinflation of the US dollar.  If you thought the Carter years were fun, just wait and see what Obama will do to the economy.  I had a mortgage for almost a year at 16.25% when Jimmy was in office.  I remember waiting in line for over an hour to be able to buy ten gallons of gas at a time.  Obama is Carter without the administrative experience and keen understanding of economics… yikes.  I wish I were retiring tomorrow.

Making plans to sell...

I just had a couple of days off from work and set up a meeting with a real estate agent.  Mo had done his research, had a good list of comps and if I can sell for the price he is suggesting, I will walk away with about $30K above what I put down initially and the cost of my improvements.  That’s certainly not what I had in mind when I bought the house, but in this market it’s not bad.  I would be happy with half of that; it’s just time to move on – start the next chapter of my life before my move abroad.  Sure, I would like my profit to be more but as I have mentioned before, I hope to make up some of what I will not make on the sale of the house by buying on the cheap for a condo.

I will miss my house… not because the house itself is so wonderful, but it is full of memories of Andrea.  May 19 will mark one year since Andrea passed away.  This is not a day I am looking forward to.  I am thinking of going to Key West for a few days around that time both to see friends and to place some of her ashes at Duval Gardens, the B&B we owned there.  I think she would be happy knowing that part of her will remain there.

I need to make a list of repairs so that I can do this in an orderly fashion.  Fortunately, most of the repairs will be relatively inexpensive.  I have made good progress on going through boxes of records so I can get rid of that mountain of paper, as well as deciding what trinkets, kitchen  supplies, books, etc., etc. that I can get rid of in a series of garage sales.  I’ve never done this before, so I am unsure how to price things.  I am going online to get prices of items as they would be if new, and then comparing that to what I think I might pay for it used.  This is not an exact science, but it is capitalism at its most basic level – an item is worth what someone is willing to pay.

I’m thinking of selling the china on eBay; I seriously doubt I would get a decent price via garage sale for high end Noritake.  I also have several dozen Lladro, Herend and Nao china collectibles.  Some of the Herends have been passed down within Andrea’s family so I will likely give those to my sister-in-law.  Since all of these items together don’t take up that much space, I will just pack them up when the time comes and sell them over time.  We also inherited quite a few paintings from my in-laws so I will have to talk to them to get an idea of what they feel comfortable with.  Many of them are very nice, but not what I would have picked out for myself, so this will have to be handled very diplomatically.  Good times.

I also need to get rid of a lot of furniture.  None of what I own is expensive, so I will just try to get rid of it as best I can and pare down to what I need for a two bedroom condo.  I just want to get through these next few months so I can get on with my search for a retirement spot. 

...and even more on Sapphire Beach

I am getting the Ambergris Daily email delivered to my in-box each morning.  While I have come to take their ramblings with a grain of salt (would it kill them to use spell check once in a while?), I assume there is occasionally a kernel of truth to this daily dispatch.

Today they report more problems at the now infamous Sapphire Beach resort.  This is the group that was supposed to have paid for my stay in San Pedro.  The last few emails I traded with them were from Sam Gomez because the principals of the project were enjoying the hospitality offered by the Florida penal system.

Ambergris Daily reports that Dan Keeler, who was head of sales at Sapphire Beach, has been fired along with his assistant. These two reportedly sunk around $80,000 USD into the project but due to poor sales they have been removed leaving Sam Gomez and a Mr. Cochrane in charge of the whole resort (or what there is of the resort).

I just want to get this over with...

I just had a couple of days off from work and set up a meeting with a real estate agent.  Mo had done his research, had a good list of comps and if I can sell for the price he is suggesting, I will walk away with about $30K above what I put down initially and the cost of my improvements.  That’s certainly not what I had in mind when I bought the house, but in this market it’s not bad.  I would be happy with half of that; it’s just time to move on – start the chapter of my life before my move abroad.  Sure, I would like my profit to be more but as I have mentioned before, I hope to make up some of what I will not make on the sale of the house by buying on the cheap for a condo.

I will miss my house… not because the house itself is so wonderful, but it is full of memories of Andrea.  May 19 will mark one year since Andrea passed away.  This is not a day I am looking forward to.  I am thinking of going to Key West for a few days around that time both to see friends and to place some of her ashes at Duval Gardens, the B&B we owned there.  I think she would be happy knowing that part of her will remain there.

I need to make a list of repairs so that I can do this in an orderly fashion.  Fortunately, most of the repairs will be relatively inexpensive.  I have made good progress on going through boxes of records so I can get rid of that mountain of paper, as well as deciding what trinkets, kitchen  supplies, books, etc., etc. that I can get rid of in a series of garage sales.  I’ve never done this before, so I am unsure how to price things.  I am going online to get prices of items as they would be if new, and then comparing that to what I think I might pay for it used.  This is not an exact science, but it is capitalism at its most basic level – an item is worth what someone is willing to pay.

I’m thinking of selling the china on eBay; I seriously doubt I would get a decent price via garage sale for high end Noritake.  I also have several dozen Lladro, Herend and Nao china collectibles.  Some of the Herends have been passed down within Andrea’s family so I will likely give those to my sister-in-law.  Since all of these items together don’t take up that much space, I will just pack them up when the time comes and sell them over time.  We also inherited quite a few paintings from my in-laws so I will have to talk to them to get an idea of what they feel comfortable with.  Many of them are very nice, but not what I would have picked out for myself, so this will have to be handled very diplomatically.  Good times.

I also need to get rid of a lot of furniture.  None of what I own is expensive, so I will just try to get rid of it as best I can and pare down to what I need for a two bedroom condo.  I just want to get through these next few months so I can get on with my search for a retirement spot. 

More on Sapphire Beach...

The Ambergris Daily online news feed refers to the Sapphire Beach project as a Ponzi Scheme.  According to the Daily, it appears that Sapphire Beach owes $1,000,000 on phase two of the project.  The Daily suggests that this means that anyone who has invested is almost bound to lose money. 

And now on with life...

Well… now it’s back to the mundane.

I really need to sell my house.  I have approximately five years to get ready for a move and while that sounds like a long time, it really isn’t; I have to do it all myself and there is a lot to do. 

In my effort to downsize I am hoping to have a series of garage sales to get rid of the tons of stuff I never use, don’t need and must ultimately get rid of.  Whatever is left over will go to the Salvation Army.  I have a four bedroom house with a study and two-car garage.  I have tons of stuff to unload including all of Andrea’s clothes, jewelry, knick-knacks, etc.  We (I still think of myself as “we”) have thirteen Persian rugs and dozens of paintings and I don’t even know how we acquired half of them.  I don’t need four televisions or the pasta maker that I haven’t used in eight years.  You get the picture.

I also need to make a few repairs around the house.  The front porch light quit working and I have to finish the bamboo floor I installed in the second floor bedroom along with a dozen or so miscellaneous tasks.  Fortunately I have a few days’ vacation time in April, a week in May and a few days in June.  If I can make good use of my weekends and this time off, maybe I can set a date to put the house on the market.

I realize this is a lousy market, but I have picked out a condo complex right on Tampa Bay that has a number of foreclosures and short sales listed, so what I don’t make in the sale of this property, I will make up in a lower purchase price on the condo – in theory.  This would be much easier if it were just me, but if I end up living in an apartment for a few months between properties it will be more complicated because of the cats.  Anyway, I will see a realtor this weekend to get an idea of what I can get and what needs to be done.  I have bought and sold several properties in the past without a realtor, but I still should probably test the waters before making plans.

Final thoughts on my Belize trip

I ultimately let Mike, my realtor, know to pull my offer on the San Pedro condo.  After going over the numbers I came to the conclusion that this deal just won’t work for me now.  I need to sell my current house, downsize and move so I can better control my financial picture before committing to such a purchase.  I remain interested in San Pedro, now is just not the right time to make a purchase.  I am also interested in the Corozal area, but the rest of the country does not have the same appeal as far as a long-term residency is concerned. 

I like Belize.  Granted this is my first visit to the country and clearly more research and visits need to be done before a final decision is made.  But there are aspects of Belize that appeal to me in a way I doubt many other countries could.  There are facets of Punta Gorda, Placencia and Dangriga I thoroughly enjoyed as a tourist – I wouldn’t want to live in any of those towns for the reasons I have already covered, but I will go back as a sightseer.  Belize as a whole has a combination of qualities that few other countries can match:

·     Once you buy a place to live the actual monthly costs are pretty low and rent is inexpensive if you decide not to buy.

·     The country has a slower, simpler life style I find very attractive.

·     If I decided to, I think there are good possibilities to start a new business.

·     Fresh vegies, fruit, fish and meat are readily available and mostly raised on small farms.

·     The meats I ate were good enough to turn any vegetarian into a confirmed carnivore (well, maybe not my friend Dean).

·      Belize is just a few hours from the US and when the new airport opens in Tulum next year it will be even easier to get to.

·      World class diving and snorkeling.  I might even take up fishing.

·      As the world economy turns around, Belize has a future that will be increasingly brighter.

·      Universally, the people I came across were very helpful and friendly.

·      Belize is not a country of wall-to-wall attorneys and it shows; there is no nanny state telling everyone how to live their lives.

·      Although helpful, I would not have to learn another language.

·      The general sales tax is high, but property taxes are all but nonexistent and there is no income tax if you don’t earn an income in Belize.  In other words, my pension, annuities and Social Security would be totally tax free.  I would still have to file taxes in the US, but it would be more of a formality except for any interest or rental income I might have.

·      Weekend trips to Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico would be easy and fairly inexpensive.  Even El Salvador and Nicaragua aren’t that far away.

Are there downsides?  Of course.

·     The Barney Rubble internet service is awful.  I have fiber-optic service at home where it takes about four seconds to download an average-sized MP3 file.  That same file would take nine minutes to download via Belize Telecommunications.  The overall communications infrastructure (internet, phone and cable) is antiquated primarily because of a government monopoly, but there are signs that this is changing.

·     Penny told me that veterinary care is basic, at best.  There are two vets in the Corozal area and she goes to the American expat because he has a microscope.  OK…  that’s definitely concerning since I will still have a couple of cats by the time I move.

·     Bribery and corruption are a part of the social fabric and I heard about it from many an expat.  But corruption was rife when I was in Key West where I had to engage the “help” of natives to get building permits and ensure that inspectors did not take an overzealous interest in my property.

·     You can’t drive to Target, Albertsons or Lowe’s to get everything you want.  Some things just aren’t available, would have to be purchased in Mexico or can be had only for an exorbitant price.  Canned goods are generally twice what I pay in Florida.  A bottle of Barefoot wine (not that I would ever buy this label) sells here for about $5.99 and goes for $22.00 in San Pedro.  I would probably have to give up wine and exist only on rum and Belikin (hmmmm… maybe this belongs in the list above).

·     While getting to and from Belize is easy, on average it is nearly twice as expensive as flying into Cancun.

·     While everyday health care needs and minor emergency care is readily available at an inexpensive price, I would probably have to go to Chetumal or at least Belize City for more specialized care.

There are plusses and minuses no matter where you go and many of the items above in my “plusses” list can be found in countless countries… just not in the combination that meets my needs.  This trip forced me to face certain realities and I learned some things about what I am looking for in a retirement location.  I discovered that life in a really small town like Sarteneja has a certain allure.  I really, really miss living on or close to the water.  You would think that living in Florida would be enough, but to live on the water in Florida is outrageously expensive.  Waterfront property prices in Florida are through the roof.  I pay almost $5,000.00 annually for my homeowners insurance because the majority of that is for windstorm coverage… and I live over a mile away from the water! 

No matter how much you read about living the expat life there is nothing like putting boots on the ground, walking the back streets, talking to the guy behind the counter at the hardware store and driving around the country.  The pitches made by developers and professional expats may make some sense in the abstract and look good on paper, but when you are there you can do a gut check to see if this is where you would want to put down roots.  I loved the view from my room in Punta Gorda, but I know that I hate incessant rain and that area gets totally waterlogged for five or six months of the year.  On the other hand I knew immediately after driving into Corozal Town that this was a place I could live.  You can’t get those impressions by looking at the pretty pictures online or reading guide books.

I hope to return in either late August or early November.  August would be better since it will be important to be there during hurricane season.  I would like to fly into Cancun and drive down to check out the ease of making the border crossing and, at the same time, check out the Costa Maya area south of Tulum including Xcalak and Mahahaul.  However, for the time being I am concentrating on paring down and taking care of loose ends here.  Once those items are off my “to do” list I can concentrate again on finding a new place to live in retirement.  I also think I will enjoy the hunt more without other issues nagging at me.

I hope my writings have proven useful and/or entertaining.  If you are a future expat like myself and have questions, are in possession of information you think I would find useful or have comments, by all means please feel free to click on the comment box located at the end of each post. 

That’s all for now.  I have to get started on today’s Spanish lesson.

Corozal Town Part Deux...

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.

                                                           * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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.

The local deluxe ferry

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, then 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.

Getting a workout on the ferry

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.


Miles upon miles of rum waiting to be made

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.


Fishermen off the coast of Sarteneja

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.

Looking NE from the Sarteneja pier

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 is 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.

The pool at the Progresso Heights club house

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.

Road between lots at Progresso Heights

Back on the road again I went through Copper Bank on the way to the Orchid Bay development.  This road was pretty good and I sped along at about 80 to 85 KPH.  I traversed the river by ferry for the second time only to be told at Orchid Bay that there was a very big tour taking place that day and I could not be admitted even to just look around. This was disappointing because I had actually heard some very good things about this project.  The friendly guard sporting an Orchid Bay t-shirt just gave me a toothy grin and dutifully handed me a pamphlet.  I now know to make advance arrangements to see this property.  Next time.

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.

Farewell to Belize

Sunday morning Penny made breakfast early to accommodate my early departure.  She made an absolutely heavenly banana-chocolate chip bread that I washed down with more fresh squeezed OJ and strong Belizean coffee.  After chatting a bit with Ron and Gayle from Iowa City, I drove to Philip S.W. Goldson International airport, which is located in Ladyville, northwest of Belize City.  I guesstimated a two and one half hour travel time, actually making it in about two hours including the time it took to fill up the rental car on the edge of the airport.  One more post to go that will include my summary notes and thoughts about a move to Belize.

Last but not least... Corozol Town

My last sunrise picture from the dock in Dandriga

I reserved the last two days of my trip for Corozal Town and environs partly because I figured it would take at least half a day to drive from Dangriga north, and because on the day of my departure I would need a couple of hours to get back to the Belize airport.  I also had a sneaking suspicion that the only two areas I would ultimately be interested in would be San Pedro on Ambergris Caye and the area around Corozal… it turns out I was right.

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.

Turn left, not right

Belize is not big on road signs.  Even when there is a sign, distances are never included and you almost have to be on top of it to read it; I finally learned that if I see green signs in the distance I needed to start braking immediately so I could slow down enough to read them.  As Penny noted in her directions, there is a "T" intersection after you pass Orange Walk and by turning left you will to continue a fairly short distance through a number of small settlements right into Corozal.  But only if you turn left.  Turning right, as I found out, takes you through Libertad followed by miles upon miles of sugar cane fields.  Now this would not have been so bad had I followed her other suggestion of filling up the gas tank before leaving Belize City.  Oops.  So after driving on “roads” surrounded by cane fields for about forty-five minutes 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 town for a while before finding the road to Consejo, which would 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, a small immigration and customs station for the boat that goes back and forth to Chetumal, Mexico but little else.   Nonetheless, it is very pleasant and only about half an hour from town.  After nosing around a bit, I drove through Consejo Shores until I found an office and walked in.



Serenity Sands from the beach

One of the things I value greatly is honesty.  If you’re straight with me you gain my trust and respect; with that comes the ability to do business.  The lady I met at Consejo Shores didn’t try to sugar coat anything or convince me to buy today.  She told me about the lots for sale, the houses that were for sale, the history of the development and very candidly said that the golf course was nothing more than a rustic, amateur 9-hole course.  Oh, she would have loved to sell me a lot or help sell one of the existing homes, but she wasn’t pushy and answered any question I had without deflecting or making things seem more than they actually were.  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 nice tropical location close to the amenities we all require.  If you need fancy restaurants, clubs, the opera and 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.



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 large market area and, as in most towns, there were many Chinese grocery stores and restaurants.  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 seriously great rib dinner with salad, tortillas and beer for $18.00 BZ including a generous tip.  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.

I have one more post on Corozal to come and a final comments post.

Dandriga...

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.


My photography buddy

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.  Since it was nearing lunch time 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 to 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.

The mask and its owner

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!

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.


Bad picture of an iguana in a tree

After returning to the resort I spent some time on the dock and 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 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.