Jenn in Belize

Well, firstly I must apologise for my complete tardiness in not writing for 2 months. Time has completely slipped by and I guess an update is in order… So as most of you know, we have left Belize and are now in Honduras. The Mexico backpackers hasn’t happened yet. Basically the owner of it had no financial records at all. What he did send us was a bunch of hastily typed, inconsistent details that told us nothing. Apparently he runs his business without any financial record and does not get regular reports from the guy currently managing it. So we told him if he can get us a copy of proper financial records we may be interested and at that stage we could not validate spending around $US600 for us both to get there without knowing ... read more

So it was Chad’s birthday on Saturday, but things didn’t go quite according to plan… We had decided to treat ourselves for the occasion to a snorkel trip at the Hol Chan Marine reserve - known to be the best in the area for turtles, stingray, nurse sharks and lots of coral. We headed down to the office at the nicely respectable time of 10.15am having lathered ourselves in sunscreen, and being grateful it at least seemed it would stay very cloudy day, but better safe than burnt and sorry after 6hrs on a boat in the reef. So we got to the office and it appears that no one else was happy about this cloudy day to go snorkeling (damn tourists wanting every day on this island to be clear sunny skies - sometimes cloud ... read more

We’ve just moved into our new apartment, rented for a month, on Caye Caulker. As fun and fantastic as it is meeting new people every day, it is great to have our own space again, our own bathroom, kitchen (with a fridge!) and our own constant supply of hot water. We are now at the other end of the island near the airport, not that it really makes any noise. We are paying $US 450 for the month that also includes our hot water, gas, electricity, cable (though it’s been great not watching tv and we’re yet to turn it on), and internet once it gets sorted. Our landlords are above us, a lovely couple with two little kids. Albert owns a scuba tour company and Giselle has an incredibly good ice cream palour. We’ve got ... read more

So before leaving Dangriga, the debate began - south or north. Continue down south to potentially nicer areas, or head up north back to Corozal that we liked so much and could imagine living. Do we give up so quickly on the south? Should we spend money in the south to know for sure if we want to live there or not? Should we just go back north where we know we liked, and if it doesn’t work, spend the money coming back down? We talked for hours, met some tourists, talked to them. The decision came down to the fact that even if we liked the southern towns of Placencia or Hopkins, we could not afford to live there - thanks rich north american’s buying up land. So rather than going straight back to Corozal, ... read more

so it has been a while since my last update. Maybe I’m adjusting to belize time a bit easier than expected… so since New Years at Sarteneja: 02 Jan - we scored a free ride from a couple from Montreal that were heading to Belize City. They were kind enough to drop us off in Orange Walk Town. The trip in their VW was slower than the public bus, but we imagine far more comfortable and more enjoyable. Our trip to Orange Walk was the start of our ‘no longer on vacation’ time, so everything had to be looked at in terms of business potential. However, arriving in the town we immediately knew it wasn’t for us. Can’t really explain what it was - just wasn’t right. So we wandered around, took in the limited sites ... read more

Three days here now. We’ve spent the day/night in Corozal at the top of Belize. Was a picturesque town, with plenty to see and do. Also had a large market where stocked up on fruit and vege at a really good price. We gave ourselves a treat of a nice room to stay in and a meal out. We figured if we treat ourselves once a week or two, then we won’t feel too down and out, and we can stay in cheaper places for longer in order to treat ourselves down the line. So it was a great night sleep, a declisous meal and a few beers in a bar later on overlooking the sea. For a town on 9000, there were no backpackers which intrigued us, and made us quite hopeful. There were plenty ... read more