http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Central America Caribbean , Belize , Stann Creek District , Placencia Village en-us Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:22:39 +0000 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:22:39 +0000 As soon as I got back from the Great North we had one week until Aly and Zach moved back to Wisconsin and we knew we had to maximize every minute Karaoke called Karleoke here after our gracious host Karl was the usual spectacular of performances and we met some legendary people that week. One in particular was a girl that was rapping with Zach all night long Angela from SF who is traveli http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-456604.html Birthdays are my favorite time to be happy wear crazy hats and drink brightly colored drinks This year was no exception as I was sharing my birthday with two other Aries legends Zach Polman and Chris Jackson As per every other birthday I had about a weekrsquos worth of events planned for me and anyone who was lucky to be caught in my hurricane. The festivities started on April 4th when http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-438924.html I have been lucky to spend a great deal of time observing and thinking about the seas this summer through snorkeling and diving with educated guides and reading some amazing scientific and sciencefiction books. The ocean is a living breathing and adapting organism with a geologic evolution we can barely appreciate Because Belizersquos entire coastline is protected by a 170 mile barrier re http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-438250.html It sounds like I made it up but no the hokey pokey water taxi to mango creek is the name of the boat trip that was the final leg of our journey from Granada Nicaragua to Placencia Belize. There was a bus ride on offer for less money than the boat but with a name like the above there's only one choice really It took three days to reach Placencia much of the way using the bus company Tica B http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-426493.html I tried uploading some pictures but it didn't work so you'll have to wait a bit longer for them sorryI'm in Placencia at the moment which is a beach resort about 2 and a half hours from Punta Gorda. It's very nice here chilled out lots of sand palm trees and sunshineWe are staying two nights in the Seaspray hotel which we managed to get pretty cheaply. After arriving last night we went to http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-397537.html Hello my dearest family and friends A heartfelt birthday THANK YOU to every one of you who made my day soooo special from so many miles away Especially MOM The Friday before my birthday I was able to find the 39 minute slot our post office was open and had duty tax receipts and excited to see a huge birthday box from my mom Now in order to pay duty tax we are required to open the b http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-395555.html April 22 WednesdayHappy birthday to me. I've never been 51 before so I'm not sure how to act but I'll just keep on faking it as I've done for the last 50 years and everything will work out fine. I decided to sign up for the Open Water Scuba course at the Splash Dive Shop. Cost is 350 USD and it includes all gear books and 4 dives out on the reef. Today was all academic work I read some of http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-395296.html April 19 SundayWe were up fairly early and packed then I had the desk clerk call the Mayan Air office to reserve a couple of spots on the 900 flight. She told me that the flights for Corozal are at 700 am and 1000 am so we booked the 1000 and got a taxi ride to the airstrip where we dropped off our duffel bag and then walked into town for a bit of last minute shopping. San Pedro is sever http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-392825.html A hard rains gonna fall After enjoying our visit to Tikal we thought we would visit Belize as we were relatively close to the border. After a 3 hour journey to the customs office in Guatemala we were left a little lighter in our wallets after the unofficial 'tax'. On the Belizean side after declaring our contraband banana we found we were stranded with no local transport to the nearest town or bu http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-379174.html text http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-377103.html I sit here at my six month anniversary of expatriation and wonder where the days have gone I came to Belize hoping to accomplish many goals and finish numerous projects all of them still patiently listed on the back of a Suduko puzzle. Somehow when making that list I forgot to factor in the People of Placencia I recently read a captivating story called ldquoTherersquos No Place Like H http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-376876.html When Aly and Zach and I moved to Placencia in November we were surprised and delighted to find that we were not the only newbies in town As a matter of fact quite a collection of young people have moved here recently from Austria Canada NY and England In particular we have become good friends with another threesome from Canada Jodie Erin and Brad. They have opened a fantastic restau http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-375721.html Wow this internet is slow so this is going to be very very short. I've tried a few times now to upload some pics but no luck.We left Caye Caulker this morning after completing our open water scuba diving yesterday. I was pretty happy to get that certification I tell you.We're in Placencia now this tiny little village down the coast. We're heading to Punta Gorda tomorrow where we will be catching http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-364889.html As so it goes from one great adventure to another... I look forward to sharing this international relocation adventure with you But first a recap After returning from ATW over the summer I visited most of my friends and family all over the country and the world My sister Alyssa and I took a 2000 mile road trip through Utah NV and CA and took in hikes and awe at Bryce Canyon Zion Lake Ta http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-342940.html PlacenciaWe caught the 7am boat to Belize yesterday morning. It was around an hour and a half across the bay mostly through open water with the land off in the distance. It was another pretty trip and a big change to be in open water with the hills around just blue rises along the western horizon and water as far off as you could see toward the east.Unfortunately we had to slow down a couple http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-307552.html Hola Patojos little kids in guatemalanPato and I have made our way to Belize. Rio Dulce turned out to be kind of a laid back place and we quickly got on our way to Livingston which is highly dominated by black people who were brought over as slaves and then have dominated the area. It is a really cute town and the boat trip that takes you there from Rio Dulce is even better. It was full of l http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-284526.html Placencia is a relaxed beach town in south eastern Belize that is situated at the end of a long peninsula. After 20 miles of bumpy dirt road we arrived in town looking for a place to stay. An interesting aspect of the town is that its main road is actually a footpath near the beach where all the hotels are located. We parked the car at the harbor and walked to Lucia's Travel Inn which offers http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-277627.html DisembarkingYesterday we did our cleaning and packing as we sailed back to Placencia from Lagoon Cay. We were greeted at the dock by a couple of brothers who were selling the souvenirs they 'made.' They were smart guys to be there as it was simpler to buy from them as run around to any stores.After about an hour in the sweltering humidity all the dive gear was returned our stuff was off the http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-277335.html I woke up to snow this morning and I laughed. I laughed because it was 4am and I was getting ready to go to the airport to fly to Belize. The friends I'm traveling with picked me up at 445am. I had to navigate past a drunk homeless guy in a wheelchair who was taking shelter in the front entry of my apartment and through the snow in my sandals because I was determined not to take socks and http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-266616.html Our bus took us to the capital of Belize Belmopan as we weren't planning on staying here we quickly found out the bus times for the coast and went for some lunch. For those that don't know Belize used to be part of Guatemala but was then taken by the English a couple of hundred years ago. The majority of the population are Spanish speaking native americans but they also have a high percentage o http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-264863.html