2012 Caye Caulker - The Reconnaisance Mission

mid Feb to mid March

We headed down again through Cancun, and stayed in Playa del Carmen for one night and then bused to Chetumal to the water taxi to San Pedro and then to Caye Caulker. Five weeks of Caribbean living but this time to gather much needed information to see if our dreams of living here every winter could become a reality. We even enlisted help from Saskatoon friends to join us to see if they liked the place too. They came down two weeks after us as they were only able to get three weeks off of work. We rented a little house across the street from our first year's visit, a nice little one bedroom house with a small kitchen, living room and bath. It only cost us $550 USD for our entire stay. There was a bigger house across the street with three beds so we booked the guys into that house.

house we stayed in (2012)

the house on the left is the one we stayed in Jan 2011,

and the one on the right is where the guys stayed 2012

Randy and I enjoyed reacquainting with friends we made the previous winter, complete with dinners out with them and also being invited to their local homes for visiting and a meal. Humbling experience as most locals live very modestly with modest and mostly underpaid salaries. It was an honor to be invited, and they treated us with respect and kindness. Their kids are adorable and it is great to know them and to watch them grow as we have now been friends for three years (2013 as I write this).

typical local housing

We met with the real estate agent that was monopolizing the listings at that time, but has since left the island and others have now taken over many of his listings...private enterprises do very well here!  He showed us a few listings we were interested in and we discussed a lot of our options. We needed to figure out how we could make some money while we are down here and yet still return to Canada and work our jobs. We have several business ideas that we may act upon in the future. Renting out a Caye Caulker property while we are back in Canada is one of our options.

For the most part we just appreciated the scenery, the sunshine, the fresh produce, the fantastic lobster and fish, the friendly Belizeans and being away from the harsh snowy cold winter of Saskatchewan, and of course dreaming a new life, a new lifestyle and making a plan.

Once the guys got to the Island though, more information was needed to be gathered. They guys really liked our new found paradise. They said it was like going to the lake and hanging out at a cabin, but yet the water is warm and the most beautiful turquoise colors you can imagine. It really is a magnificent site.

Randy and our friends from home.

We met an ex-pat from USA that has been coming to the Island of Caye Caulker for thirty years and stays for six months every winter and then returns to USA. He was a wealth of information, and I still contact him today for needed info on occasion. He helped start the only high school, Ocean Academy by donating the land and he gave us quite a history lesson of the island as we enjoyed meeting him at his place and just letting him tell us as much as he could with all our questions. I took notes and he was quite amazed by that, because most people just come and ask and then leave and forget. He knew we were serious. We stayed and chatted for a good two hours and he almost was late taking lunch to the volunteers at the school who were in from central USA helping to build an additional level of the school. Volunteers from US and Canada are always coming to Caye Caulker, among other areas of Belize, to help out wherever they can. (photo: Ocean Academy High School)

Our goal was to learn as much as we could about Belize, real estate laws and generally how we could make living here a reality. We went home with so much information it was like information overload and it took us about a month to sort through it all and make a plan. Investing in Belize is easy actually, land titles work the same way as in Canada. Mortgages however are too expensive in Belize, so its's best to pay for it all, or negotiate terms for owner financing.

Which brings us to 2013 and our visit to another real estate agent and other real estate to consider.
We have a plan, now for action!

more later.....

Orange Walk, 2011  CONTINUATION

Our next excursion was a 5 day trip to the mainland. We boarded the water taxi and went to Belize City, where we stayed overnight at the Princess Casino Hotel before taking the morning bus to Orange Walk town where we were going to do the Lamanai Tour (Mayan Ruins Tour).  We didn't venture out into Belize City that night as we heard it can be very dangerous, so we tried out the casino for about an hour and then went to have supper in their dining room. The next morning we caught a cab to take us to the bus station. Now we heard about these buses as Randy and his sister had already ventured out on these, so this was gonna be a new adventure for me.  The buses are basically parked in a sandy gravel park area and they are lined up and all are colored differently. They are old painted school buses, probably from the 60's or 70's...they are old.

   

We got on our bus that said to Orange Walk. I think the cost for a 2-3 hr ride was $3USD each...it was very cheap!!  The bus made many stops along the way picking up and dropping off people, plumbing supplies, dogs, chickens and even goats...yes anything is allowed on the bus.  The bus was hot and clammy and I was glad I had snacks and water along. We finally arrived in Orange Walk and made our way on foot to our hotel, Del a la Fuentes Hotel, a very nice place. I booked it online from Caye Caulker. We stayed here for two nights.

 

CONTINUATION>>>

Orange Walk was our destination for sleeping so we could go to the Lamanai Tour the next day, and then return to Orange Walk for anther night.  Before I tell you about the tour though, I must say, we walked all over Orange Walk and really did not find a nice place to eat, so we went to the grocery store and bought a loaf of bread and some peanut butter and cheese and some juices..and that's basically what we lived on until we got to Corozal.  Dirty looking Chinese restaurants were just not our style..or the local food fair near the buses..we just weren't that trusting or adventurous with the local fair yet. Don't need digestive problems in the middle of a foreign country.  Otherwise the Hotel stay was quite nice, I highly recommend this Hotel, very clean rooms and a friendly manager.

The next morning was the Mayan Ruins tour to Lamanai by riverboat. Our very knowledgeable guide showed us many birds and explained a lot of history of the area and of the New River(as it is called).  We saw a Mennonite farm along the river and a Brown Sugar Mill.

We even saw a few alligators along the way, and a boa constrictor. I am not a fan of snakes!!  This is not a place to go swimming that's for sure!!  Although we did see some local teen boys doing just that, swimming and jumping in from the bridge.  Crazy boys!!  (PS-the snake was already dead...thank goodness!)

This was a full day adventure seeing the ruins, hearing the history, enjoying a very good home-cooked Belizean style hot lunch of chicken, rice, beans and corn....was very good considering we were living on PB & J, which is what we had upon our return.  We saw the howler monkeys, many lizards, and climbed to the top of the Lamanai....this is the same one that Bachelor Ben and Courtney went to on that show The Bachelor.  The view from the top is really Amazing!!  We did it first Ben, just so you know!

That's me in the middle, on the way up to the top.

The View!!

After the tour, it was back to the boat journey to Orange Walk, and along the way we saw more birds as well we were lucky enough to stop and see and feed a spider monkey. He came right onto the boat and allowed us to take pictures while he ate some bananas we gave him.

This is an amazing tour, if you have the right guide. I don't remember which tour company we went with this time. I did do the tour again a few years later and I must say the first time the guide was much more informative, as well as more relaxing. The second trip here felt rushed, but there was also a lot more tours coming here now, so that may have played a part into the feeling of being rushed through.

So the next day, we got back on the Belize Bus and headed north again, to Corozal so we could check out Consejo Shores and Corozal.  Consejo Shores is a residential community of many lots and houses just outside of Corozol and is owned by Bill Wildeman, who is originally from USA and planned and created this Development.  There are no beaches here though, all seawall and since it's in the bay, the water is not as crystal clear as in the sea area of Caye Caulker.  Friendly and nice people though, throughout Belize.  We stayed at Tony's Inn in Corozal, which was a nice hotel. We rented a car to drive to Consejo Shores to check it out. The road was sandy and very bumpy....more potholes than Saskatoon!!  We met Bill, and he showed us around. We decided it was not really the area we could see ourselves living at.  The next morning we got up early and caught the 7am boat to San Pedro and had breakfast at a cute little beach cafe called Latitudes Cafe. Very inexpensive menu items and the food is tasty. I recommend a stop here when you get a chance.

Randy and Bill Wildeman of Consejo Shores

7am at Corozal Peir

near San Pedro Water Taxi, on the shore

Very Good Breakfast place!!

Then we took the water taxi back to our cute little island, Caye Caulker.  We still had a few weeks left to enjoy our little paradise, sun tanning each day and enjoying the hot sunny weather. When it finally came time to leave, it was a tearful experience for me. I cried on the boat as we headed back to Chetumal, Mexico. I just knew my soul was being left behind and that I was gonna have to eventually return to claim it. So we do now go every year and are making plans to  own property and live there. Caye Caulker has got under my skin and into my blood, it is part of my soul now.

Stay tuned for more!! and thanks for reading so far!

Vicky