February 16, 2011: Playa del Carmen

The city of Playa del Carmen is part of the fabulous “Riviera Maya”, also known as the Mayan Riviera. The “Riviera” is a thriving tourism district which follows coastal Highway 307 parallel to the Caribbean coastline of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The Riviera is located along the eastern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula, and it is incredibly beautiful. The district historically started at Playa del Carmen and ended at the village of Tulum. Today, the towns of Puerto Morelos and Cancun (north of Playa) and the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto (south of Tulum) are also being promoted as part of the Riviera Maya tourist corridor.

The Riviera Maya was originally called the “Cancun - Tulum corridor”. In 1999 it was renamed as the “Riviera Maya”. The Riviera Maya is famous for its large scale all-inclusive resorts and a historical tourism base of smaller boutique hotels as well as the many fine-dining restaurants available along Highway 307 and on or near the beaches. Luxury travel entities have been instrumental in increasing luxury villa rentals and yacht charters in the area. However, these only represent a small fraction of the total tourism accommodation available. Government development plans include establishing a number of medium sized (i.e., approximately 200,000 inhabitants) cities within the Riviera Maya with initial planning spanning 20 years. Target areas for urbanization include the towns and villages of: Puerto Morelos (technically outside the Riviera Maya), Puerto Aventuras, Akumal, Chemuyil, and Tulum.

A major attraction throughout the Riviera Maya are coastal and reef aquatic activities dependent on the coastal water and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (also known as the Belize Barrier Reef) which begins near Cancun and continues along the whole length of the Riviera Maya continuing southward all along the coast of Belize to Guatemala. This barrier reef system is the second longest in the world. Activities at the most visited locations include Jet Skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming in cenotes, swimming with dolphins, zip-lining, horseback riding, sailing, and guided jungle tours. Archeology is also a big tourist draw in the area, including the popular archeological sites operated by the Instituto Nacional de Archeologica such as Tulum on the coast, and Chichen Itza and Coba located a short distance inland. The self-named ecoparks of Xcaret and Xel-Ha also include some smaller archeological ruins as part of their attractions, but these natural water theme parks operated by private business consortia attract much larger crowds due to the diversity and range of activities provided, such as swimming with captive dolphins. The long and the short of it is... the Riviera Maya is paradise … and just a couple hours by air from the United States.

After a late afternoon walk along the beautiful beach that is the epicenter and very definition of Playa del Carmen, I jumped in the shower and then took a short siesta to get ready for the evening’s festivities. My young Scandinavian friends were meeting me next door at “their favorite mojito bar” – Siesta Fiesta – at 7:00 PM. They were right on time, and at such an early hour it was no problem getting “ringside seats” directly across from the band stand.

The Fabulous Siesta Fiesta Restaurant & Bar FAH on Fifth Avenue in Playa del Carmen

Tobias and Trygve told me that the place featured live music every night, so we would have a great view of the band when they started playing. We ordered some enchiladas and beer (“cerveza”) for starters and got started catching up on our respective “stories”. Tobias and Trygve told me they met when they were both working for the Thomas Cook Group. I had heard of this company before, but I had no idea how idea just how large, broad and diversified the company is. Thomas Cook Group plc has been in business over 170 years and currently has more than 22.5 million customers, 31,000 employees throughout 21 countries, and nearly 3,500 stores all operating under the founder's name. The company offers its guests a myriad of different vacation destinations and experiences, and my Scandinavian buddies had worked at some of the more exotic destinations in Europe including the Canary Islands. The first band took the stage at about 8:00 PM, and they were pretty decent. Two young ladies sitting next to us were shouting something about the band, so I turned to them and asked if they liked the music. They told me that they had heard this group and another group (that starts playing at 9:00 PM) the previous night, and that the second group is really good. The talk about the bands had cracked the ice a little bit, so we talked a little more about Playa del Carmen and I told them that we had just arrived by van this afternoon from Belize. “Can you believe Belize is only about four hours from here?” I asked them. “Really?” one of the gals remarked.  “Yes”, I told them. “And you can take a bus there for less than $20.00.” “Wow!” the dark-haired woman (whose name I found out a few minutes later is Megan)  remarked. Megan's eyes gleamed brightly as she smiled excitedly and said, “I can’t believe Belize is that close. I’m definitely going down there next time I come down”. I told Megan she looked like somebody famous and she said I was probably thinking of her resemblance to Meryl Streep. "Exactly", I said. "A younger, hotter version of the legendary film icon." For sure. The photo below will give you the general idea.

The Lovely Megan (Ontario, Canada)

“Hey”, why don’t you guys join us over here”, I suggested, as my silent partners kept glancing over at this crazy old timer holding court with the two lovely young ladies. I was not at all surprised that Tobias and Trygve were quiet and shy as Minnesota is the land of Scandinavians -- and I am 50% Scandinavian myself-- so I am very familiar with the phenomenon. Eventually, the women moved their chairs next to ours and we made it a five some. Now the entire table could take part in the conversation, and we had a great time talking about the band and our respective trips. The girls, Megan and Jenn, were both from Ontario, Canada, and they were very cool—and attractive. Megan is a social worker and had recently broken up with her boyfriend. Jenn is a nurse. Jenn said later that she thought Tobias was “super cute”. She had told Megan that her nickname for Tobias was “Hot Swedish Love”.

Jenn the Nurse from Ontario

Unfortunately, shortly after the introductory material Tobias disappeared and Jenn got impatient and went off looking for someone who would pay attention to her. Tobias told us later that he was talking to his girlfriend back in Sweden on his cell phone. I was giving Megan bad relationship advice (who better than someone who had failed repeatedly over his career at this?) and our Norwegian pal Trygve was getting more and more intoxicated. At some point during the evening Trygve complimented me on my superb “wing man” skills and mentioned that he really liked Megan. I made the big mistake of failing to tell him that – in that case—he needed to tell Megan this rather than me. I probably forgot because I was also (a little) intoxicated and I also thought Megan was the bomb. 

We all bid our farewells at about midnight, and after hearing that Megan and Jenn had to check out of their hotel in the morning -- but did not depart until late afternoon I told them they could stash their luggage in my hotel room in the morning. I suggested we all meet at the Starbucks across the street from Siesta Fiesta at 9:30 AM if they wanted to do this. And that was that (but I DID get Megan’s e-mail and Facebook details so we have been keeping in touch since our February encounter).  I still think Megan is the bomb.

February 16, 2011 (Wednesday) [Leaving San Pedro: Again…]: Part One

Today I had to be sure to wake up at 6:00 AM (without an alarm clock s usual) so I could once again pack my bags and make sure I catch the 7:30 water taxi to Chetumal, Mexico (I was told to be there at 7:00 AM to make sure I got a seat). I had paid for my ticket (US$30.00) the night before just in case. While waiting on the dock (directly in front of my Hotel—the fabulous Spindrift) I met a friendly and interesting young (29 years) couple from Australia. They told me about the whirlwind world tour they were in the middle of – and mentioned a bunch of the exciting places they had already been on their voyage. They had already been to a number of great U.S. cities and would soon be heading to Europe. They gave me their web site (www.aviandange.com) which is no longer an active site but was active when I checked it upon my return to Minnesota in late February. It was a great web site which featured a map showing all the places they traveled and a bunch of interesting commentary about their adventures (too bad it is no longer active). I commended them for taking their dream “Ferdinand Magellan Voyage” while they are still young and energetic rather than waiting until they are old and feeble (or never at all) as happen with most people. 

The San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi was running a bit late on this particular morning, and we did not actually get underway until about 8:00 AM.

The weather was great for the cruise and the water was calm, so it was both a comfortable and beautiful experience. In no time at all – it seemed (it generally takes about 90 minutes)—we were pulling into the port at Chetumal. As you can see from the map (below), the water taxi brings you from the southern tip of Ambergris Caye all the way to the top of the Bay of Chetumal (which separates Belize from Mexico).

There were only a handful of fellow travelers on the boat, and during the voyage one of the water taxi employees (they have excellent employees by the way) told us about the van service they offer as an alternative to the “luxury bus” than ran daily from Chetumal to Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Two of the best things about traveling by water are that you pay a slightly smaller "departure tax" for leaving Belize than you have to pay if you leave via bus or automobile and the customs process is much "classier" when you travel by sea. Just for fun I decided to take the van to Playa del Carmen offered by the San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi people. I could have taken the bus for about US$18.00, and the van cost US$30.00 -- but it would save the taxi ride to the terminal and would be yet another adventure. It was a fortuitous decision on my part, because on the long van ride I met two of the coolest young guys I could have hoped to meet along the way. One of the guys-- Trygve-- was from Norway, and his friend -- Tobias-- was Swedish.

A Photo of Me with My New Friend Trygve from Norway (on the beach in Playa)

My Other New Friend-- Tobias -- from Sweden

Fortunately, both Tobias and Trygve both spoke English well, because I can speak hardly a word of either of their languages. We had a lot to chat about along the way, and the van stopped at a tourist spot called the Blue Cenote for lunch. The cenote was beautiful and was supposedly over 200 feet deep. We saw several of the hotel patrons swimming right outside the hotel. The Scandinavians told me they had been in Playa del Carmen for a few days but got bored, so on impulse they decided to go to Belize to check the place out. They had no idea how far it was, so they were in for a shock when their taxi driver told them the price for the trip was US$120.00. But just imagine how much it would cost for a four hour taxi ride anywhere in the USA! We finally arrived in Playa and I had absolutely no idea where I was going, so I got off at the same place my new friends got off. They mentioned that they had seen a sign for a very reasonable hotel room near their place, and they even helped me find it. It was nothing fancy, but it was only 300 pesos per night (about US$30.00) and it was right in the middle of Playa del Carmen -- on the famous Fifth Avenue - so I was "all in". Their hotel was nearby, so we agreed to meet at the place next door to my hotel called Siesta Fiesta - which they said was their favorite mojito bar in Playa-- at 7:00 PM for some adventures. To be continued...

February 14, 2011 (cont.): Valentine's Day Evening and "The Dating Game"!

Before reality television (waaaay before) —there was the television game show! Earlier in the week I had seen some signs at Wahoo’s Lounge advertising that tonight- Valentine’s Day evening—Wahoo’s was staging a local version of the old school American television show popular in the Late Sixties and Seventies – The Dating Game. Wahoo’s co-owner Noele even placed the following ad in several local publications about their exciting new game show promo:

“REMEMBER Wahoo's will be hosting SAN PEDROS FIRST EVER DATING GAME Come on down and sign up to be a contestant on our new game show.
All you need to be is single and willing to go on a date. If you don't remember the concept (or are too young) here is a description from WIKIPEDIA: Typically, a bachelorette would question three bachelors, who were hidden from her view; at the end of the questioning period, she would choose one to go out with on a date paid for by the show. Occasionally, the roles would be reversed with a man questioning three ladies; other times, a celebrity would question three players for a date for themselves, a co-worker or a relative of theirs. Many celebrities played the game looking for love themselves. The pre-stardom Farrah Fawcett, Suzanne Somers, Lindsay Wagner, Tom Selleck and Lee Majors appeared as "contestants" on the show in the 1960s and early 1970s. We are going to start this new weekly “game” show right here in San Pedro on VALENTINE’S DAY 2011, which falls on a Monday this year. If the show proves successful (and judging by how many applications we have already received it will be) the show will be ongoing and will be supported by the local TV station. In addition to being a lot of laughs it should help bring the community together and maybe even strike up some love and even marriage between our friends and neighbors! Yes, even some San Pedro “celebrities” have expressed interest! Come on down and sign up today!”

I decided to check the Belize version of The Dating Game out for laughs. But in the meantime I was starving to death again so I visited a famous local place called Waruguma. I had walked by Waruguma many times but- for some reason- up to this point I had never stopped in. I decided that tonight was the night. I had noticed that the place was always packed with tourists. It was literally a “hole-in-the-wall” (it had only six tables) but the food was supposed to be cheap and fantastic. They are famous for their delicious “papoosas” and are operated by an entire family from El Salvador. On my first visit I had their rice, beans and chicken plus two Belikin beers for a total of about US$8.00. Waruguma definitely lived up to its reputation.

I returned to Wahoo’s Lounge about 7:30 PM but the game had not started yet. Everyone was outside—on the beach side of the bar – and a local television camera crew and the television host were setting up for the production. A crowd was starting to gather--- both locals and tourists—and at about 8:30 PM the game got started.


One of the Winning Couples at Wahoo's

The crew at Wahoo's tried to follow the game plan of the classic daytime game show created by the legendary producer Chuck Barris back in the Sixties. The original TV show, hosted by Jim Lange, first aired in 1965 (boy—am I embarrassed that I actually remember this…). Lange hosted through 1973 and then handed off to Chuck Woolery. Ultimately, the show had over two thousand episodes on the air! On the popular Dating Game TV show they always put one unmarried man behind a screen to ask questions of three women who are potential mates, or one woman versus three men - thus hearing their answers and voices but not seeing them. The audience could, of course, see them all. The various suitors were able to describe their rivals in uncomplimentary ways, which made the show work well as a general devolution of dignity. Questions were often obviously rigged to get ridiculous responses, or be obvious allusions to features of the participants' “private parts”, etc. Many of the questions asked on the show were masterful innuendos, often with “sexual overtones”. For example, a question might have asked what the participant would want for dessert after they went out on a date including a delicious gourmet dinner. The answer might have been something like: “I won’t say what the dessert will be but it will involve whipped cream.”
Noele had told me that her primary purpose in hosting the Dating Game event was to ingratiate the bar with the locals. Most of the show participants were locals, many of whom were actually looking to get hooked up with someone interesting. After three or four rounds they had started to run out of volunteers, so Noele suckered me into participating as one of the three “potential mates”. You can see Noele’s husband Doug (the master of ceremonies) interrogating me in the photo below:

Ronaldo is In the House!  (in the blue shirt to the left of Doug)

Along with the other two prospects, I had to answer the lady’s questions to the best of my ability. Thankfully, she didn’t pick me (she was a local—and I was leaving the island in a day or two). But it was another interesting night at the place that “puts dive back in dive bar”—and the best damn bar in Central America!


The Wahoo's Crew!



February 14, 2011 (Day 3 San Pedro Revisited: Valentine's Day Part I)

I woke up this morning and suddenly realized that I would be spending another Valentine’s Day all by my lonesome. Well—sometimes miracles do happen. Maybe today—or tonight—would be my lucky day!  Nonetheless, my mission for the day (Monday) was to go next door to the San Pedro Town Building and attempt to get “the scoop” on the elusive Caribbean Coves Subdivision. After my first weekend in Belize without seeing the sun, it was nice to wake up to a sunny day on the island (or peninsula actually). I decided to start the day with breakfast, and maybe try to take another bicycle ride later in the day. I was anxious to try my luck with the Town Council. I went next door at about 9:15 AM and met a nice young lady named “Candy”. By yet another bizarre coincidence, Candy was the one who had given my young friend (the future law student) the paperwork I have mentioned previously. As it turned out, he did not really “own” the property after all (as I had suspected). Candy said he had only paid the Town Council the sum of $200 BZ (US$100) for the cost of the survey on the lot he had told me he "owned". Candy said he could buy the lot from the Town Council for $6000 (US$3000) but he couldn’t sell "his" lot to another person. But Candy said that—even as an American citizen—I could buy a similar lot from the Town Council for the same price (i.e, US$3000) as the kid could! Candy was very up front with me and mentioned that many of the lots in the Caribbbean Coves Subdivision were presently underwater, and that a great deal of additional fill was needed before many of the lots would be buildable. Candy also printed out a subdivision map that was stored on her computer, and I studied it for a few minutes. I was not too excited about all the small, landlocked lots, I told her, but I was interested in the availability of any of the larger parcels shown on the map with frontage on the lagoon. I asked Candy if any of those parcels for sale. And, if so, I asked her what the price would be for these parcels.  Candy said that I would have to speak directly to the mayor about this, and that she would be happy to set up an appointment for me. At the present time, she said, the entire subdivision was accessible by boat only, and there was no electricity available or other infrastructure for the subdivision as of yet. Hearing all these negatives made me even more curious about this project, so I asked Candy to set up an appointment with Mayor Elsa Paz. Candy set up an appointment at 2:30 PM that afternoon.   

Over the noon hour I walked over to see San Pedro’s one and only fitness club—The Train Station. I had seen their signs plastered on a number of the walls in town, and I was curious to see what a Belizean fitness club looked like. I met the very nice husband and wife ownership team, and they gave me a quick tour of the facility (it was small by American standards but very nice and well equipped). They told me they made a sizable investment—about US$100,000—for their equipment—and they told me they were surprised (and quite angry) that the government had given them no breaks on the import duty charged (which added another US$50,000 to their investment)—even though they were providing a very important health and wellness service for the citizens of Belize (an argument which I totally agree with). At about 2:30 PM I had my audience with Mayor Elsa Paz. I found the mayor—shown below-- who told me she had been in office for about nine years-- to be very warm and helpful.

The Mayor of San Pedro Town: Elsa Paz

Mayor Paz gave me a similar story about Caribbean Coves Subdivision as Candy’s detailing the lack of infrastructure, etc. The mayor told me that the parcels with lagoon frontage—which were generally between one and two acres in size, were being sold by the Town Council for US$20,000 each.  She mentioned that the buyer would also have to pay several hundred dollars for the survey and a partial release from the blanket mortgage held by the local Atlantic Bank. The mayor said the bank also commonly financed 50% of the purchase price if the buyer put up a matching payment of 50% in cash. I told the mayor that this looked very interesting to me, and she introduced me to Juan Alamilla, one of the Town Board Councilmen, who showed me several of the waterfront parcels that he recommended and even offered to drive me (in his golf cart) to a place on the east side of the big lagoon where he could point out the white sand beaches of the subdivision. I told him I would see him at 9:00 AM tomorrow (Tuesday) morning for my guided tour of the Caribbean Coves Subdivision.

I surfed the Internet recently and discovered that Mayor Elsa Paz has joined some very famous international celebrities in policing offshore oil drilling in the Caribbean. The mayor has been San Pedro’s spokesperson in expressing grave concern about the impact offshore exploration will have on her island community of Ambergris Caye. Gulfport, MS – Oceana and its largest expedition supporter and corporate partner -- Nautica-- were in Gulfport, Mississippi some time ago to announce the findings from the first leg of Oceana’s two-month research expedition in the Gulf of Mexico and discuss Oceana's plans for the remainder of the expedition. Oceana reported on its efforts to document vulnerable habitats from the Florida Keys to Panama City at risk from future oil spills as well as the results of its project to tag whale sharks, a species at risk from the Gulf oil disaster. Nautica reaffirmed its commitment to Oceana by donating $100,000 to support the organization’s upcoming deepwater exploration efforts near the Deepwater Horizon wellhead. Oceana will use cutting-edge science to help map the subsurface oil plume and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of reaching depths of more than 3,200 feet and filming in high-definition to explore seafloor habitat areas that may have been harmed by underwater oil. The organizations were joined by award-winning actors Ted Danson and Morgan Freeman as well as mayor Elsa Paz and New York-based Spanish model Almudena Fernandez. Oceana in Belize VP, Audrey Matura-Shepherd accompanied the mayor on this visit (shown below with Morgan Freeman and Ted Danson).

Morgan Freeman, Mayor Elsa Paz, Audrey Matura-Shepherd and Ted Danson

February 13, 2011 (San Pedro Revisited: Day 2)

It had rained most of the night in San Pedro, but it had stopped by the time the sun came up Sunday morning so I was able to get in a nice one hour run/jog along the beach. I much preferred running the beach in San Pedro to Placencia because most of the beach I had found in Placencia was banked like a bicycle-racing velodrome. The morning was relatively cool and the sky was still overcast. After my beach run I had a leisurely breakfast at my new next door neighbor’s- Estel’s – during which I took great pleasure in reading a few more chapters of Jonathan Franzen’s fabulous new book, Freedom. I spent the balance of the morning back in my room at the Spindrift checking e-mails and writing another episode of my travel blog. At about twelve noon I headed out for a stroll through “downtown” San Pedro and on the beach, and ended up having a bagel at a nearby bakery. When I returned, I stopped downstairs at Wahoo’s Lounge and had a nice chat with Noele Sutherland.

The Lovely Noele Sutherland: Proprietor of Wahoo's Lounge

Together with her husband Doug McLain, Noele owned and operated Wahoo’s. According to Wahoo’s Facebook page, they are “[L]ocated in the heart of San Pedro on the beautiful island of Ambergris Caye. We are home to the WORLD FAMOUS CHICKEN DROP and many other special events throughout the season. Overlooking the second largest barrier reef in the world on the beach, our pub offers drink specials, parlor games and an amazing view. Come refresh yourself after a dive or sailing trip or for happy hour before hitting the town. We can't wait to meet you!”

Among other things, I discussed the relative merits of both Facebook pages vs. web sites as marketing tools with Noele. I also asked Noele if she could e-mail an explanation of the rules of Wahoo’s legendary “Chicken Drop” so I could write about it in my blog. I found out that they had only had their bar open since about the first of the year, and that the place had undergone a pretty major remodeling job. Doug is also a scuba instructor, and he and Noele are also affiliated with Island Divers Belize which is located on the beach directly in front of Wahoo’s Lounge.

Doug McLain with One of His Underwater Friends

Hence Noele’s catchy new T-shirt proclaiming that Wahoo’s “Puts the Dive Back in Dive Bar” (pretty damn clever)!  In the middle part of the afternoon I decided to revisit my real estate obsession of the previous day. I found an Internet site for Grand Belizean Estates and read it carefully to make sure it was not the subdivision described in the appraisal I had obtained from the pre-law student I had run into on the bus earlier. The appraisal for the parcel in the Caribbean Coves Subdivision had been done by a gentleman named Lincoln Eiley of Triton Properties Realty. Coincidentally the address for his office on the appraisal was in the very same Spindrift Building in which my hotel was located! I found out from the hotel staff that Mr. Eiley had recently moved his office to Corozol. According to a posting on an Internet site I found while GOOGLING “Caribbean Coves”, the “original” Caribbean Coves subdivision was owned by an entity called Caribbean Coves Ltd.”

 “Over the years,” the post continued, “many portions of the land have been sold off, I am pretty sure you are thinking about purchasing some land in the Caribbean Coves subdivision that is now owned by a new "developer." This new developer has nothing to do with the Caribbean Coves company.” What the Internet poster failed to say is that the new “developer” is the Town Council of San Pedro!  The poster concluded her post by stating that “if you want to buy a lot in the original Caribbean Coves subdivision from a shareholder in Caribbean Coves Ltd, drop me a line. If you want to buy a lot from the new developer, it sounds like you already have his contact info. When you buy real estate in Belize it would be wise to work with a reputable established real estate company, pay for a title search and use a reputable attorney or paralegal for the transfer of title work.... The land in the Caribbean Coves area offers some of the most beautiful water front and sunset views on Ambergris Caye.”

Tomorrow—Monday – I intended to go next door and try to find someone with the Town Council who could (hopefully) give me the “skinny” on the Caribbean Coves subdivision. Sunday night I visited Micky’s again for dinner and was somewhat embarrassed to be the only diner in the place. They had already put up a bunch of Valentine’s Day decorations in anticipation of the big day (tomorrow) – and I figured that nobody was eating out tonight as they were probably saving their money for the real thing tomorrow night. After dinner I returned to Wahoo’s Lounge and found out that it was also empty. Weird! I went back to my room at the Spindrift and – for some reason – turned on my television set (probably for the first time since I had left Minnesota). My timing was amazing, as I had turned the television on just in time to watch the Grammy Awards. I actually got to see Lady Gaga emerge out of her gigantic egg and rock the world with Born This Way for maybe the first time! Having not seen any television for almost thirty days it was actually pretty entertaining!

February 12, 2011 (San Pedro Town, Belize-- Again: Day 1/Part Three)

After pedaling for several miles across the gravel road which crosses the big lagoon just north of San Pedro Town (the road that must have had over 1 million truck loads of gravel brought in to build it) I was getting pretty tired. The road was incredibly rough, and I was surprised that my old and rickedy bicycle had made it this far without blowing a tire. After pedaling in a westerly direction for several miles I finally reached an area that I thought had to be the project. It was crazy! It looked like the project had been built right on top of a gigantic swap! At this point I still thought this might have been the project I was looking for, but the whole proposition was starting to feel like an bizarre detective story. It was like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle, and I was trying to fit the pieces together. I was anxious to try to talk to someone with the Town Council on Monday to see what was going on with this property. I continued west on my bicycle for about another mile -- I found out later that I had been riding on the first east-west road to cross the peninsula-- and that the road "opened" in October, 2010! Now I was able to see a number of small signs and other markers which seemed to indicate that this was in fact a real estate subdivision in its early stages. But I never made it to the other side of the peninsula. I found out after the fact that the new subdivision I had just seen was a private project called Grand Belizean Estates. I have since visited their web site and I found that "GBE" is a big project that sits on almost 200 acres of land that was selected for its (relatively) high elevation, dry ground, lush, tropical jungle vegetation and proximity to San Pedro Town (4 to 5 miles by golf cart trail from town).

The subdivision has been carved into 1,200 lots -- all at least 60 feet by 75 feet (or larger) in area. Today it costs just US$750 to reserve a lot. The balance of the purchase price can be paid in cash or you can take advantage of their "developer financing". Lot prices range from US$12,500 to US$20,000 (depending on location) and all lots require a US$3000 downpayment. The developer financing allows you to make 36 monthly payments ranging from US$472 to US$681 per month to complete your purchase. Two great aerial photos showing outline of the subdivision traced by the famous gravel road are shown below:

Grand Belizian Estates as of the Spring of 2011

Another Aerial View Showing the Layout of Grand Belizian Estates

After taking a quick bike ride through part of the subdivision (I checked out the upper part of the rectangle shown above-- I didn't realize the road let all the way to the Caribbean). I decided to head back to San Pedro Town in view of the fact that I had already been riding my bicycle for about two hours and I had not had any food for a long time. It was time to go back. On the return trip, about halfway back one of my tires did go flat. I was lucky enough to run into someone along the way that was able to let me use a bicycle air pump, so I was able to fill the tire up and get started again. Unfortunately, about half of the air immediately deflated from the tire, but somehow enough air remained to allow me to get back to within about 1/2 mile of San Pedro Town. I returned the bike about four o'clock in the afternoon, which meant that I had been on a four-hour bike riding adventure to try to find a real estate project called Caribbean Coves but I accidentally stumbled into Grand Belizean Estates instead.
Thirsty, tired, and starving, I cleaned up and went to Wahoo's Lounge downstairs to grab a couple of beers. In one who's, I spoke with one of the owners of Wahoo's named Doug. Doug is a super nice guy from Colorado, and among other things he told me that summers here on the island were actually better than he had experienced in Colorado. Colorado is largely high desert, he said, and in summer temperatures can reach higher than 105°F. On the other hand, Doug said, the weather in San Pedro and the entirety of Ambergris Caye is fantastic. It was a little early for dinner, but I was starving. I decided to eat at another famous place in San Pedro called Caramba, which I had noticed walking around on numerous occasions but had not tried yet. I had a fantastic chicken burrito and several beers -- and my bill was still less than US $20. Afterwards, I splurged on some fancy ice cream sold at a nearby store (US $4.50 for the "double cone" for which I had splurged for the second night in a row)! The ice cream place was called D and E's Island Original Frozen Custard & Sorbet and was owned and operated by an American ex pat gal. By now it was only 6:00 PM, but I was already exhausted due to my triathlon training that day. I chilled in my room for a while and eventually went back down to Wahoo's lounge about 10:00 PM to listen to the guitar player/singer (who played the guitar -- and sang -- about as well as I do-- which is not very well) and have a couple more Belikins. The guitar player played until midnight, and from my room you could hear every note he played. There was point in trying to go to sleep before 12:00. once again I cursed myself for having forgotten my earplugs!

February 12, 2011 (San Pedro Town, Belize-- Again: Day 1/Part Two)

About noon on Saturday, February 12, I headed off on my rented bike in search of Caribbean Coves subdivision-- which I had heard about from the young Belizian kid I met on the bus a few days earlier. A long bike ride appeared to be a little risky for today as it looked like it might rain any time-- and I certainly was not dressed for rain. Nevertheless, I headed north on the one and only gravel "road" (trail) along the Ambergris Peninsula in search of the elusive subdivision. After pedaling past the Paradise Theater (the only movie theater I had come across so far in Belize!) just north of the San Pedro River bridge, I pulled over to ask a local if he had any idea where some property owned by the San Pedro Town Council might be. He told me to turn left (into what appeared to be a slum) and ask for a person named "Pastor Palacio" who probably knew all about it. I had ridden my bike into an area called San Mateo--very much reminiscent of the Sao Paulo slums immortalized in the movie City of God as you can see in the photos below:

A Snapshot of San Mateo: Next Door Neighbor to San Pedro 

I Almost Killed Myself Trying to Walk Across This "Sidewalk"

The "Streets" of San Mateo After a Rain 

San Mateo: This Is What Happens with No Infrastructure

Suddenly finding myself in a slum only a mile from a thriving Caribbean resort hot spot made me realize that, on occasion, the outside perception of a region's growth can be distorted. Sometimes, due to economic shifts and even normal market fluctuation, investment in seemingly popular areas tapers off. What happens when the "supply" of workers far exceeds the "demand"? Such is apparently the case on Ambergris Caye. With its currency tied 2 to 1 to the American dollar, Belize feels every bit of the economic crisis in the United States. With much of the island's investment money coming from the US, it doesn't take an analyst to figure out what the market conditions have done to the rates of development and building on Ambergris. Ambergris is still growing, just not fast enough to keep up with the migration of hopeful souls who travel from the interior of Belize, Guatemala and even Mexico in search of a better life. They arrive, often having spent their last penny, only to find that the “Promised Land” is not exactly what they expected. Jobs are hard to come by, housing costs are (relatively) astronomical and there is insufficient infrastructure in place to support all these families.
In perhaps a half-hearted attempt to accommodate the working and non-working poor on Ambergris, an area on the island known as San Mateo-- just a short distance north of the tourist “Mecca” of San Pedro-- was "given" to these families by the government on which to build their homes. In all fairness, they were told in no uncertain terms that no services would be provided to this "neighborhood". No water, no sewer, no garbage collection...nothing. They simply were being provided with a place to build shelter (a shack literally) and live. Nothing more.

And so it is. Years later San Mateo is exactly as you would expect-- a filthy, unsanitary blot on an island that demands and collects top dollars from tourists from all over the globe. Sandwiched between the desirable town of San Pedro and upscale villas and condominium complexes to the north, one can only wonder how long the residents of San Mateo will be "allowed" to inhabit the area. Already it seems, the powers that be are conspiring against the residents of San Mateo. Efforts to bring in clean fill to combat the almost constant flooding in the area have been blocked. Rumor has it that certain developers have lined the pockets of local politicians and service providers, thwarting the attempts of caring, local citizens to clean up San Mateo and create safe and sanitary living conditions for these families. The recent death of a young child, presumably due to the festering, disease infested water around her home sounded an alarm and elicited a public out-cry for governmental help and funds to ameliorate the deplorable conditions in this neighborhood. Months later, nothing has been done and everyone seems to have slipped back into complacency. Still, there is no source of clean water, no sewer system, no garbage removal service; nothing to sustain a "tolerable life". The wheels of change move slowly on Ambergris Caye.

One of the residents of San Mateo tried to help me find this "Pastor Palacio". After helping me negotiate a number of rickedy wooden bridges and walkways across the swamps surrounding the shacks in San Mateo, and even carring my bicycle for me over some of the difficult sections, my guide actually found someone knowledgeable for me who told me that the project owned by the Town Council was quite a bit further north. He mentioned that it was adjacent to a place called Captain Morgan's, which I remember having passed on a previous bicycle ride. Once again I climbed back on my bike and headed north. After pedaling for several miles I reached Captain Morgan's Resort, so I went inside the bar and asked one of the employees if he had any idea where a new planned subdivision owned by the San Pedro Town Council might be located. The Captain Morgan employee had no idea, but outside near the road I spoke with a different person who told me that I had to find the new road across the lagoon which was several miles further north. After pedaling for several more miles, I finally saw a sign for a subdivision called "Grand Belizean Estates". There was a very rough (new) gravel road that appeared to be heading straight west across the lagoon that must have had over a million truck loads of gravel brought in to build it! I had no idea how long this new road was but I started across it... (to be continued...)