Placencia First Impression

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It's about10 minutes to walk to downtown Placencia from our condo. The road on the way is not paved as most are not, they're red iron oxide dirt, a few potholes from the recent rain mean its a good idea to watch where we step. We walk along the canal, the ocean is just on the other side of a row of homes, there's a nice one for sale with an extra rental house and a couple of lots - we stop and chat with the owner. Most houses here are built on stilts, the main floor is open below with living quarters up on the second floor. We turn right at a small school which is made up of several little buildings housing classrooms instead of one large building like what we're used to.

The center of town surrounds a soccer field and basketball court, there's a group of young school girls in blue uniforms learning to play baseball - their teacher is pitching, obviously it's their first time with the game but they are doing pretty good, all smiles and having fun. We grab some lunch at an outdoor stand, sit on the picnic table and watch for a while.

Restaurants, gift shops, tour stands and markets line the street which ends at the ocean where there's a dock we learn is the port of Placencia. Off to the side of the marina starts an elevated sidewalk which used to be the main street corridor and was noted as the narrowest main road in the world before the new road was put in. There's just one main road in Placencia, just one way in and one way out.

There's nothing fancy about this town, some folks are selling clothing on the side of the road, others offer fruits and veg. Some of the stores are nicely painted and tidy and quaint, while others are look more delapitated from weather and age. We venture into a couple of markets picking up a few groceries. Everyone is so very friendly, people on the street smile and say hello, we feel genuinely welcomed.

The weather is warm, about 28 C, humid, and mostly cloudy which suits our white skin just fine.

There's something different about this place, something hard to describe. I think it's the people, they don't seem to have a lot but they just seem very happy and overall Placencia has a very good vibe.

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