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...)

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

February 12 was a Saturday, and it was my first day back in San Pedro Town to try to take care of some business before I crossed the border to Mexico for my return to the USA. The main reason I allowed a few extra days to hang out on Ambergris Caye was to check out a possible real estate deal that had come up during one of my recent bus trips in Belize. I had been reading in one of my travel books -- or possibly on the Internet- that it is not unusual for Belizians to receive a parcel of land from the government or family at a special price. Since many of the locals did not have the financial ability to develop the property, on some occasions they might sell a parcel to an outsider at a very reasonable price. I had also found that there is generally no prohibition in Belize on foreigners purchasing real estate. So on one of my bus rides I ended up sitting next to a young man who told me he had been accepted at the Cayman Islands Law School (CILS) -- which I found later is affiliated to the University of Liverpool in the UK. He even showed me his acceptance letter. I congratulated him and told him that I was a lawyer and had attended the University of Minnesota Law School in the U.S. about a million years ago. Then he proceeded to pull some other papers out of his briefcase, and he started telling me that he had worked for the government a couple years ago and that he had been given a parcel of real estate on Ambergris Caye in lieu of cash. In order to help pay his law school tuition, he was going to try to sell his parcel, which he told me had been appraised at US$25,000.00. He even showed me the appraisal, which also contained a plat drawing showing the location of the parcel and the legal description. He said that even though the lot was supposed to be worth US$25,000, he was willing to sell it for $5000 because he needed money for tuition right away. I told him that-- in my opinion -- most appraisals are just worthless pieces of paper, but that I would still be happy to check it out. I told him that if it could be verified that he had the right to sell the parcel, title was "clear" and if recent sales in the area would substantiate that the parcel was legitimately worth even US$10,000, I might be interested. He let me take a copy of the appraisal with me so I could do some "due diligence" when I got back to San Pedro.

I took my first step in checking out the parcel by stopping at the Belmopan Records Office on the way from San Ignacio and purchasing a copy of the "land register" for US$5.00. The land register verified that the subdivision of which the parcel was shown was indeed owned by the Town Council of San Pedro-- which matched the legal description on the appraisal. The young man's name was nowhere to be found in the land records, and he had never shown me a copy of a deed of any sort, so I was curious how (and why) he thought he "owned" the parcel and had the right to sell it. My second step would be to stop by the offices of the Town Council on Monday to check into the matter in greater detail. In the meantime, I had decided I would rent a bike in town and try to find the mysterious development known as the Caribbean Coves Subdivision. I didn't waste any time checking out of Martha's Hotel, and I came right back across the street and checked into the Spindrift Hotel. Even though the Spindrift cost more than twice as much as Martha's (US$55 vs. US$20.00) -- it was worth it. The rooms were not fancy but were very nice and sparkling clean. The hotel was literally next door to the offices of the San Pedro Town Council (yet another amazing coincidence), was next door to my favorite breakfast spot on San Pedro (Estel's) AND the hotel was in the same building as what was to become my favorite bar in Belize-- Wahoo's Lounge.

The Spindrift Hotel and Wahoo's Lounge: Right on the Beach in San Pedro!

I had a big breakfast right next door at Estel's to fortify myself for a wild bike ride, and then headed over to a bike rental shop about a half mile from the hotel. The bike -- which was heavy duty with big ol' fat tires -- cost US$10.00 per day to rent and reminded me of a kid's bike from my childhood. But it looked plenty durable-- which it would need to survive the crazy gravel roads characteristic of Belize. I jumped on and headed off to try to find Caribbean Coves -- the subdivision owned by the Town Council, which I had been told was located somewhere on the west side of the big San Pedro lagoon (see map below). I had also been told that the land was only accessible by water.... But I was looking for another adventure.

Ambergris Caye: Caribbean Coves Subdivision Is Somewhere on the West Side of Laguna de San Pedro

February 11, 2011 (San Ignacio Town, Belize -- Again- for a Day)

Today I woke up at 7:00 AM in San Ignacio to a cloudy morning -- which I had found was very unusual for Belize. It had rained the night before -- which was also a bit unusual. But every place needs some rain to keep things green and beautiful. After a nice morning run to the famous spot in San Ignacio where the Macal and Mopan Rivers merge I had a nice breakfast at my favorite restaurant-- Serendib -- and took care of my only business obligation of the trip. The reason I had to make a quick trip back to San Ignacio was that I had to retrieve two nice (brand new) pairs of shoes I had tried to send back home when I tried to ship the slate Maya calendar pieces I had purchased from "Elmer" several weeks ago. Shortly after dropping off a very heavy box with "Roxana" at Exodus International in San Ignacio, filling out reams of paperwork and paying a hefty shipping fee, I received an e-mail from Roxana telling me that Federal Express had refused to make the shipment to the U.S.. They were apparently not happy with the flimsy box I had used to pack the heavy slate pieces, and they would not allow me to include personal items (my extra shoes) with the shipment. I sent an e-mail back to Roxana asking her if she could remove the shoes (which I would pick up in a week or two) and re-pack the slate pieces in a sturdier box. She was kind enough to help me out with this little hassle, and today I dropped by her place (which was primarily a travel agency) in downtown San Ignacio to pick up my shoes. I thanked Roxana again for the help, and headed back to my room at the Tropicool Hotel. Thank goodness my room at the Tropicool only cost me US$12.50 for the night. If I had to pay a lot for a hotel room I would have been better off to simply forget about my new shoes. I had learned already that one of the keys to third world travel is to PACK LIGHT. There is absolutely no need for fancy top siders, loafers and other shoes which simply add weight and take up precious space in your luggage or backpack. I had found that all you need in Belize for shoes are a pair of sturdy "high tech" sandals, climbing boots (for jungle and Maya site exploration) and running or walking shoes. That's it!

Once I had packed my bags and checked out, I was ready to head back to San Pedro Town. As my departure from Cancun was set for February 18, I had exactly one week to have one last fling on Ambergris Caye, check out some real estate on the island I was curious about, and get down to Playa del Carmen to make it easy to catch my flight back to the U.S. I will write about my "great real estate hunt" in San Pedro in several upcoming blog entries. I caught the bus to Belmopan (which only cost US$1.50!) where I jumped out to look for the building which houses the real estate records for Belize. Fortunately the building was a stone's throw from the bus station, so I could simply drag my luggage across the street and a big parking lot. I found the office that handles real estate documents, and was able to purchase a copy of the "land register" for the parcel I was going to check out for US$5.00. I returned to the bus station and shortly thereafter I caught the bus to Belize City-- which cost me a whopping US$2.00! Once I reached the Belize City bus station I jumped in a taxi and paid the cabbie US$3.50 to bring me about a mile to the place where you catch the water taxi to San Pedro Town.

The water taxi -- which costs US$15 for the one hour trip to Ambergris caye-- is especially great when the water is calm. The scenery is spectacular, and it is a lot more fun than those old army buses you typically find in Belize. When the water taxi arrived at the main dock in San Pedro I immediately started looking for a nearby hotel because I was dragging a heavy suitcase and a small backpack. I found an inexpensive place called Martha's Hotel about a block from the main dock. The hotel (shown below) was cheap -- and it was close to the beach-- but it was (unfortunately) a real shithole! The floors were warped and slanting (the classic cracked linoleum from forty years ago), the toilet was tilted, the place was in severe need of undating (or being torn down) and it was just real creepy in general. I had to ask for toilet paper and pillows -- and there were no screens on the windows. But it was only US$20.00 for one night. That evening I strolled the streets of San Pedro again and ended up having dinner at The Reef. I dined on a dinner of snapper and three Belikins for about US$20.00. Not too shabby.

Martha's Hotel in San Pedro Town: US$20.00 per Night



February 10, 2011 (Leaving Placencia Village, Belize)

The morning of February 10 I awoke about 7:00 AM and went out for a one hour "power walk" on the beach. I headed north and went as far as the future marina project (near the air strip that serves Placencia) that looks like it was abandoned recently before turning around. I came back on the only road that travels north and south on the peninsula. Before I had come to Placencia I had heard people talking about a new (private) international airport that was supposedly under construction-- but I couldn't see it from the road. A recent posting on the Internet showed a photo of a new runway that appeared to be ready for paving. "Inside sources" have said the new 9,000+ foot runway and the new airport will be TSA and FAA compliant and will be operational in early 2011.The new airport will feature the longest runway in the country it will be capable of handling aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 787. The new airport is supposedly going to open Belize to direct flights from Europe and North America. Who knows how long it will be before a terminal is built?

A Recent Photo of the New Air Strip Near Placencia

After my beach hike and shower I had a big breakfast in the hotel restaurant and packed up all my stuff to be ready for my 11:00 AM checkout. This would leave me almost two hours to kill in "downtown" Placencia before the 12:45 PM bus to Dangriga was scheduled to arrive. My two hour wait was made a lot more pleasant by the apearance of my new friends Roy and Cindy who were also waiting for the 12:45 special. We chatted about Placencia and their future destinations of Hopkins, Tobacco Caye and the nearby Maya Center (which I didn't know much about but sounded very interesting-- need to put it on my list for my next visit). Also, we were able to split "luggage guard duty" amongst the three of us so we were able to run around town a bit while waiting for the bus. The bus to Dangriga cost only US$5.00-- another incredible bargain. Shortly before reaching Dangriga, Cindy and Roy jumped out at the same place I had the previous week to catch a van to Hopkins Town. I got lucky when we reached the bus station in Dangriga because the bus to Belmopan was just about ready to leave. The Belmopan bus -- which would take us a considerable distance along the beautiful Hummingbird Highway-- also cost only US$5.00 (10 BZ). It must have been my lucky day, because when I arrived in Belmopan the bus to Banque Viejo -- which would bring me back to my "home away from home" in San Ignacio-- was also just getting ready to leave the terminal. And the Belmopan-San Ignacio leg only cost me US$2.00 (which is ridiculous)!

When I finally arrived in San Ignacio Town, I realized that I had been in buses for the entire afternoon --- but all that transport had cost me only about US$12.00! I kept remembering how in Minneapolis (or Las Vegas, for example) a taxi ride for just a few blocks often costs that much. AND the cabbie expects a tip on top of that! It had actually rained a little during the last part of my bus ride -- one of the few times during my trip that the sun was not shining! I had a nice dinner that night at the Serendib and got to see Nettie and some of my other San Ignacio friends.

"Raj" from san Ignacio Town (Eric Bana's Doppelganger for Sure!)

Lorena: The Hardest Working Shop Girl in San Ignacio (24/7)

I was back at the Tropocool Hotel again, and the only glich that night was an inordinate amount of noise generated until almost 2:00 AM by about a dozen American kids at a nearby joint called Mr. Greedy Too. There was so much noise and commotion a little after midnight that I actually threw some clothes on and walked over to the place to see what was going on. It sounded like there were about a hundred kids in the place, so I was shocked that all that noise was coming from just a few loud young ladies.

February 9, 2011 (Placencia Village, Belize)

I woke up a little late this morning (about eight) but the weather was still fine for a nice run around Placencia Village. I ran all around the village for about an hour and took the opportunity to explore everything. The area still amazed me because of the wide range of development-- from virtual slums in the older part of the village to new and expensive private projects at the southern tip of the peninsula. The beach wasn't as good as Hopkins for running because it was extremely "slanted" (like a velodrome) but there were still plenty of beautiful places to walk and jog. After my run and shower I had the "Big Breakfast" at the Paradise Resort restaurant, after which I poked around on the Internet (using the restaurant's convenient WIFI hookup) before heading out to continue my exploration of Placencia Village. I took a number of photos such as the ones below:

One of the Beautiful new Projects at the Southern Tip of the Placencia Peninsula

Keeping the Riffraff Out in Placencia

Early in the afternoon I came across a cool looking dude ("Roy") smoking a big stogie and trying to fish off the dock in front of the resort. I asked him if anything was biting, which led to a nice long chat and my introduction to his wife ("Cindy"). Roy and Cindy had been in Belize for several weeks and were heading from Placencia to Hopkins (and maybe even Tobacco Caye). They were also my neighbors back in the U.S. as they lived in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (home of the original Playboy Resort many years ago).

This Is Roy Smoking His Big Cigar and Fishing Off the Dock in Placencia

Roy and Cindy were planning to visit San Ignacio after Hopkins, so I gave them the names of several of my new friends in both towns and told them to make sure they hook up with Manny (the "mayor of San Ignacio") when they got to town. I also recommended the Tropicool Hotel in San Ignacio if they were looking for very basic but inexpensive lodging. Cindy was also just starting her "early retirement" so we had a great time talking about that as well. She became my "Facebook Friend" so I was able to read a couple of her stories after she and Roy returned to the USA in the spring. According to Cindy's Facebook posts they enjoyed Belize as much as I did!

That afternoon I went back out exploring thre village and ended up visiting the Purple Space Monkey I had noticed the previous day. I met a couple of great young kids there who were divers from Canada, and who raved about the famous island of Roatan off the coast of Honduras (definitely being added to my "need to go there" list). They had some great stories about their trip to Roatan (which reminds me that I need to bring a tape recorder on my next trip).


If You Tilt Your Head You Can See the Purple Space Monkey Sign

I subsequently met the new owner of the Monkey (the Canadian) and his very hot wife, and I dined on a nice (and inexpensive) dinner of snapper. According to the young barkeep-- a local gal-- the Monkey had only been open since December 17, 2010. I mentioned my concern about very little traffic in Placencia --- especially in comparison to San Pedro-- and she said it had been pretty slow in Placencia all winter. All my exploration of Placencia made me wonder if there would be enough buyers and customers to support all the projects already operating in the village-- let alone all those that were currently "on the drawing board"??

February 8, 2011 (Leaving Tobacco Caye for Placencia: Part 3)

One of my favorite features of Placencia Village is their famous "mile long sidewalk" - also known as the "narrowest road in the world"-- which winds through the center of everything. It is supposedly one of the longest continuous sidewalks in the world. And it helps avoid getting sand in your sandals! During my visit, Placencia struck me as a land of contradiction-- as it is common to see a multi-million dollar project literally next door to a group of unpainted wooden shacks. The villagers occupy the same space as the tourists, and there is always an interesting mix of things going on about town. During my visit my observation was that Placencia was - for the most part- dead as a doornail during what I had expected to be the peak of the tourist season (February 8 - 10, 2011). It was eerie to see dozens of very nice and enticing bars and restaurants - many with spectacular views of the Caribbean - virtually empty during the peak evening hours. It was a marked contrast to the excitement and crowds I had seen in San Pedro I observed a baseball game on a dirt field right in the middle of the "downtown" area in which the local kids were playing with a wooden stick rather than an actual baseball bat.

The Dirt Field Where the Kids Were Playing Stickball

One of the most interesting places I visited was a bar/restaurant called the Purple Space Monkey. It had recently been opened by a Canadian to replace a previous venture that was unable to make it. At the time of my visit it had only been open for several weeks. As I compared the activity going on in Placencia with what I had seen in San Pedro earlier, I kept wondering if perhaps tourists prefer chaos and action to tranquility and laid back?

The Hippest Place in Placencia: The Purple Space Monkey

February 8, 2011 (Leaving Tobacco Caye for Placencia: Part 2)

It is hot and humid all year long in Placencia, but along the beach the Caribbean breeze generally keeps you quite comfortable. The beaches here are not the best for swimming or walking, and for snorkeling and diving you will need to take a boat from 10 to 20 miles out to a nearby reef or caye. The beachside views and the white sand, however, are the best Belize has to offer. During my visit there were a multitude of boats in the harbor, and the area offers world class fishing and boating as well. Once a sleepy and underpopulated fishing village, Placencia Village has become a thriving tourist center. Many visitors believe that Placencia offers the finest beaches on the mainland of Belize, and a more laid back alternative to the hustle and bustle of Ambergris Caye.

One of the Awesome Boats I Saw in Placencia Village

One of the Many Beautiful Views in Placencia Village

At present, the peninsula has a population of only about 3,000, mostly in two small villages (Placencia Village at the southern tip of the peninsula and Seine Bight, a Garifuna village about five miles north of the tip). Another large concentration of housing and development is at Maya Beach-- about nine miles north of Placencia Village. Most of the shops, restaurants and bars are located near the southern tip of the peninsula, but a number of large and expensive private developments are in a variety of locations all over the peninsula. A "land rush" of sorts occurred in Placencia and a considerable amount of venture capital was pumped into the area shortly before the "great recession" his America, so at present a great deal of Placencia looks either unfinished or at the planning stage. Near the small air strip a large marina has been laid out with nary a single home built or under construction as of the present date.