Real estate for sale in Belize…Offered by our Minnesota neighbors, here in Belize…

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The lagoon side of the house.

This morning we took a short hike to see the home being built across the road on the lagoon, by our new friends and neighbors from Minnesota here at Laru Beya.

Upon completion and landscaping this meticulously built and designed home will be a virtual paradise for the discriminating buyer.
Tomorrow night we’ll have our Minnesota Pot Luck dinner with our new friends, neighbors and the builders and owners of this unique property.  We’ll surely have plenty of stories to share about our lives back in The Land of 10,000 Lakes (now they say its over 15,000 lakes).
View from the rooftop to the lagoon.
As for tonight, today is our anniversary and we plan to celebrate it in style at a gourmet dinner next door, only feet from the ocean, the sound of the waves, slapping at the shore, music to our ears.  Happy Anniversary, my love.  Thanks for this pleasing, low key, low stress lifestyle of our own. 
  Closer view of the rooftop’s spiral staircase that, can you believe, we climbed up without handrails (as yet) with only ropes for a guide.  Not big on heights, I hung on to Tom for dear life, managing to go up and down without screaming.  Once handrails are installed not only on the stairway but fully around the rooftop, this will be one of the best viewing spots in Placencia.

The house is currently listed on MLS but what we saw today is much more complete than the photos depicted on the listing.  Thus, we’ve added some photos of our own.

The lagoon and marina.

Spending most of my career in real estate and now retired, I can’t quite get real estate out of my blood.  This is a fabulous well constructed and designed property, ideal for those seeking a primary home in a tropical climate or as a second home that could be fully furnished and stocked to be utilized as a vacation rental home, such as those that we are renting all over the world.

The beautiful kitchen is almost completed.

The property is reasonably priced at USD $575,000 with its expansive ocean and mountain views offering easy access to the Caribbean Sea via a deep lagoon suitable for larger boats.

 The future pool will be completely round.

Close to shopping, restaurants and adventure activities, this home presents the utmost of desirability for the those seeking not only an investment property in this rapidly expanding area but a virtual paradise for one’s personal use and pleasure.

With our new friends from Minnesota, their Minnesota area code and phone number are displayed on this sign.

Yet to be completed, there were no less than 11 local workers hustling about the property zeroed in on various projects with the hope of completion in the very near future. 

Tom was checking out the rooftop bar.  The railings had yet to be installed making it a little freaky to walk around so many stories above the ground level.

As is common in tropical areas, the pace is slower than that which we’re used to in more metropolitan areas of the world.  As we’ve so well experienced in our time here since January 29, 2013, the slower pace definitely is not as a result of laziness in the case of the workers. 

From what we’ve experienced the work ethic is strong in Belize from the quality of the individuals we’ve met.  It appears to be more a matter of balancing one’s life making time for family, personal activities, hobbies and strong community involvement.  Those of us from the fast paced, stress inducing lifestyles so common worldwide, have much to learn from the Belizean lifestyle.

Soon, this enchanting property will be sold and in the hands of the perfect buyer seeking a complete lifestyle change or a modern, unique upscale home providing them with a respite from the stresses of daily life elsewhere.

What did we do in the past 24 hours?…

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Today, during our usual walk along the beach, we took this photo of the sprawling dock at Robert’s Grove Resort, located next door to our home at Laru Beya Resort in Placencia, Belize.  We find ourselves enjoying the resort next door’s four restaurants and health club.

We’re not on vacation. We’re living our daily lives in a manner not dissimilar to other retired couples, wherever they may live, wherever we may live.

Most days, we don’t awake to a day of planned activities as vacationers often do, ensuring every moment is filled with “getting your money’s worth.”  Usually, we plan an outing once a week or less, weather permitting.   

Dinner at Robert’s Grove Resort again last night, their usual Saturday night barbeque. Along with this scrumptiously prepared pig, there was all you can eat jumbo shrimp, crab legs, grilled red snapper, barbeque chicken, and a wide array of salads.  Dessert was homemade eclairs and Bananas Foster. I didn’t try any.  Tom couldn’t resist. 

Our intention, from the beginning of our planning for this many year’s long travel experience, was to live in an area for one to five months, exploring at our leisure, embracing its people and its culture, leaving behind any feeling of urgency, stress or a lengthy list of “must do’s.” 

We knew that ultimately this state of mind would ensure our ongoing happiness and contentment.  It has.

Arising early as do most seniors, the first thing item on the agenda after starting the coffee is to open the floor-length shades and sliding door to inspect the nature of the day, letting the fresh warm air fill our senses. It’s beautiful, almost every day.  A cold spell came through the past few days with temperatures in the 70’s with a bit of rain off and on. Today, cool, windy, and clear.  Perfect.

Wearing bathing suits all day, washing them with us in the shower each night before dinner, keeps our laundry costs to a minimum. I wash our underwear each day in the sink with a Tide lookalike, hanging it to discretely dry on a canvas chair on the veranda.  By evening, we can slip it on again, dry and fresh from the salty air. 

Tom relaxes with a cocktail before dinner at Robert’s Grove restaurant.

When we dine in as we will tonight, we wear shorts and tee shirts which, when dirty we leave in a mesh bag for the resort’s laundry service. Its returned hours later, wrinkle-free and neatly folded, still warm. Our laundry bill in the past month has been $19. 

Our divinely sweet Mayan maids, Gloria and her equally lovely helper Melinda are scheduled to arrive every Saturday and Wednesday morning at 9 am. Usually, it’s between noon and 4:00 PM. We don’t care. We adore them, their demeanor, their generous spirit, and their hard work. We try to clean up as much as possible before they arrive, trying to lighten their load.  We’ll tip them generously when we leave here in a little over a month’s time.

The aroma of the locally grown coffee provided by the resort fills the air;  the taste, the temperature, impeccable. Pouring ourselves, each a cup, ready for the day, we park ourselves as we often did in our old lives, on the now comfy sofa as opposed to the less comfy chairs (we rearranged the furniture a few days ago). 

Checking email, Facebook, financial matters, and balances on our credit cards each day has become as commonplace here in Belize as it was in Minnesota. 

We find that paying off our credit cards frequently gives us peace of mind in avoiding huge balances and potential interest charges with the constant influx of required final payments for upcoming cruises and rentals.  Our cards don’t charge exchange rate fees.  That’s worth more to us than any other perks

With the weather cooler and windy, I wore jeans to dinner for the first time in two months.

If we’ve spent any money in the prior 24 hours, I log the purpose and the amount on our Excel spreadsheets, placing the receipt in a file all of which I’ll soon scan, later tossing the needless slips of paper.  No point in dragging paper receipts all over the world. I do this daily. I check the budget, daily.  Obsessive?  Perhaps. But we always know where we are financially. It avoids worry. We both prefer that. 

Some days, we make breakfast, others we do not. We eat when we’re hungry, not at a set time unless we dine out. We both seem to get hungry at the same time or maybe we simply accommodate each other’s mention of hunger. Either way, it works for us. 

The walk along the beach invigorates us both, surprisingly a good workout as our feet drag through either the water or the soft sand, moving at a good clip. We can either head left or right on the beach.  We alternate, never tiring of the scenery, the smell of the sea, or the bright sun in our faces.  

Lounging by the infinity pool is a daily occurrence.  Often we’re engaged in lively conversation with other guests or with the villa owners from Minnesota, across the walkway from us. (They share mutual Minnesota friends with Tom! Small world!) We languish in the sun for an hour moving to the shade after an hour.

 Today, the little bird, a Kiskadee, and a crow friend stopped by while we lounged by the pool.
(Click on the link to find the Kiskadee toward the bottom on the page).

After pool time, we return to our villa again lounging on our veranda until close to 5 pm when the no-see-ums attack with vigor requiring us to escape indoors until after dark when they seem to dissipate to some degree. 

While preparing dinner, usually one of a small list of meals that we enjoy considering our limited diet, I drink hot tea and on occasion, Tom will have a cocktail.  We love the evenings, our meal, our conversation, and the sound of the waves lapping at the beach, only 15 feet from our veranda.

Tonight’s dinner, again our favorite, our gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, starch-free, low carb pizza will go into the oven soon at 375 degrees for 25 minutes until bubbly.  Luckily found Italian sausage, Chinese button mushrooms, jumbo green olives, and organic onions to make this pizza. With no available grated mozzarella cheese at the store this past time, I improvised slicing the cheese instead. No, we didn’t bring a grater. No, we’re not tired of the pizza. “They” say we all rotate only 10 meals, over and over.
After dinner and dishes, we again pick up our laptops, while the TV with US station hums quietly in the background, neither of us paying much attention as we chatter on endlessly laughing at funny Facebook entries, smiling over the photos of our grandchildren and other family members. 
In the endless quest to refine and research our upcoming travels, we find ourselves often busily clicking away at night, sharing tidbits we find along the way:  a rental car agency in Kenya we could use, a grocery store nearby our vacation home in Madeira, a pub within walking distance in Tuscany or a cruise we may consider in the future. 
By 10:30 pm, we head to the comfortable king-sized bed each bringing along our smartphones neither of which possess a cell phone service although they each have WiFi available from our resort, both of which are loaded with books to read on our Kindle apps.  With no TV in the bedroom, we both read in the dark until we each doze off, peacefully sleeping through the night. 
So, there it is.  Our quiet days on the road, not so glamorous, just living life, enjoying each other, sharing our story with thousands of loyal readers all over the world which in itself adds so much to our experience.  Thank you for joining us.

A walk on the beach…Changing our ways…

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This photo of Tom clearly depicts our quiet, contemplative, uncomplicated lives, relatively free of stress. 

Tom always jokes that he never imagined that his retirement would include walking other the necessary steps from his comfy chair to the bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom, and the yard.  Yes, he was quite the handyman, fixing and fussing as needed, walking about the house.  We never took a walk together in our neighborhood.

As I began planning our worldwide travels over a year ago I budgeted for rental cars for most locations fearing that Tom would seldom want to walk to nearby restaurants, shops, and pubs.

Living in Belize for an extended period, the cost of a rental car or even a golf cart was prohibitive.  After all, we are on the secluded peninsula of Placencia, a four-hour drive from Belize City where our ship arrived. 

Upon arriving, we resigned ourselves to occasionally renting a golf cart as needed.  Much to our liking, we now have our own cab driver Estevan, whom I’ve mentioned here, who will take us anywhere we’d like to go for reasonable rates during daylight hours leaving us to “hoof it” for dinners out at night.

With multiple good restaurants nearby requiring no more than a 10-minute walk each way, our transportation needs are fulfilled.  We dine out two or three times a week and love rotating our favorites, especially on the nights they offer their stupendous buffets.  If we go on an adventure, transportation is provided.  So, we walk.  Tom walks.

After moving to Laru Beya on February 5th with a massive expanse of white sand beach in front of our villa, Tom surprised me when within a few days of arriving he suggested we walk the beach, a popular tourist outing.  I always treasured walking in our old neighborhood with our precious little dogs to their favorite spot, Poop Park, often walking with our equally wonderful neighbors and their little dogs. 

As long as the temperature was above 10 degrees we walked. The pads of their little feet would quickly freeze at lower temperatures.  Often, our World Wide Willie would stop dead in his tracks looking up at me with sorrowful eyes that asked me to carry him home when he’d had enough and of course, I did.  In the snow, on the ice, I carried him home, all 22 pounds of him, often as much as a 1/2 mile.  I loved walking.  Tom, not so much, having never walked the neighborhood with me once in 22 years.

Each day we began to walk along the beach at a lofty pace, in the water or on the sand, carefully watching for stray rocks, shells and bits of glass, engaged in idle chatter or in quiet contemplation. 

We can change, can’t we?  Life circumstances often unplanned, force us to look at our often rigid ways, leaving us open to change, to grow and to learn.  Some take advantage of the opportunity, others do not.  We revel in watching each other depart from that which we knew as familiar and comfortable, to the new people we are fast becoming. 

The chairs here aren’t comfy, the kitchen supplies are limited, finding foods for our way of eating is challenging, not owning cars is peculiar and no Walgreen’s is daunting. But we change to accept the differences, growing and learning in the process, all the while reveling in our personal ability to adapt. 

As I over-packed for almost a year in Minnesota all the things that “I couldn’t live without” much of which is now packed to be shipped to my sister in Los Angeles when we get to Miami on April 13th, I realized that I too could let go of things, learning to live without the comfortable and the familiar.

All the kind and generous advice others gave us regarding our excess luggage could only have meaning to us when we discovered it on our own, in our own time, on our own terms.  We’ve changed.  We’ll continue to change.

Suddenly, we look at one another with new eyes, with a new interest, knowing that wherever we maybe we’ll learn new ways of life, we’ll release old ways that don’t work in a new environment and, without a doubt,  we’ll walk, we’ll walk and we’ll walk. 

Visa extension day…sheer wonder!

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We rode on one of two identical boat across the lagoon to Mango Creek on the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi.

Initially perceived as a necessary responsibility laden experience, getting one of our two required visa extensions proved to be a fun filled day.  Having decided many months ago that creating an adventure out of what may appear to be mundane would greatly improve the possibility of a positive outcome.  Indeed., that’s true!

The hut where we waited to board the Hokey Pokey boat.

Only two and a half months ago while living in Scottsdale Arizona, preparing for our upcoming travels, Tom had to have his final dreaded colonoscopy and endoscopy.

As it turned out we ended up having a wonderful time, meeting the gastroenterologist in his office for not only great news on Tom’s results but a bird’s eye view of his wide array of photos he’d taken while on safari in Africa.  While admiring the quality of his photos, a lively conversation ensued that we’ll both remember for a long time to come….an otherwise unpleasant experience resulting in a memorable day.


While driving through the channel to the lagoon, we saw several of these houses on stilts, a common style in Belize with potential hurricanes and high tides.

His work inspired us to learn to take good photos along the way, a gift to ourselves and others who share in our passion of the treasures Mother Nature has bestowed upon us all, not only in exotic locales but in our everyday lives.

Today, was a venture out into our new everyday life…taking care of business.
Little camera in hand, our cab driver Estevan appeared at our door, promptly at 9:30 as planned to drive us the five miles to Placencia Village to the dock on the lagoon to the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi.

Estevan, what a guy!  Concerned that we might not get a knowledgeable cab driver, he started making phone calls, first to his wife to get the phone number for a cabbie he knows. “Vic” who works the Mango Creek pier was more than willing to  take us on the 10 minutes drive to Big Creek where the Immigration Department is located. 

Minutes later, he was talking to Vic, not only negotiating an equitable fare for us in advance, a mere $10 (US) round trip, but also asking that Vic would wait for us while we were in the Immigration office obtaining our 30 day extensions.  Wow!  Need I say that we were appreciative and impressed? 

Dropping us off at the tiny waiting area for the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi, Estevan suggested we met up in front of the local grocery store, The Ming at 1:30 so we could shop and perhaps find more available items.  A perfect plan.


The dock in Mango Creek where Vic picked up the five of us for the drive to the Immigration Department in Big Creek,

With Estevan’s phone number neatly tucked into my shorts pocket, we bought two one way tickets  US $6 for the boat ride to Mango Creek.  Scheduled to depart at 10:00 am, we waited patiently sitting on the wood benches in the shaded hut while more passengers purchased tickets. 

It was hot and humid.  We’d frozen two water bottles for the journey, later grateful for having done so.  As required we had our passports, ID, money and potentially required documents that we listed in yesterday’s post directly from the Belize Immigration office.  Based on comments from both locals and travelers, the likelihood of being asked for additional documentation was low. 

In our usual “be prepared just in case” way, brought along everything they asked for in their forms.  It’d be a shame to go all that way and expense to be asked for a document we didn’t have in our possession.  (When in line at Immigration, we observed that some others also had the myriad documents on hand). 

No, we weren’t asked for the additional documents.  In a month, when we return for the second extension, we’ll bring along the same package we prepared for today, just in case that we’re the one out of a hundred that is asked, we’ll be prepared.

Seventeen passengers were seated in the small boat with us which zoomed across the water with ease with its huge newer looking outboard motor humming along.  With such a load, the boat was low in the water.  We weren’t concerned as we enjoyed the cool breeze thumping across the massive lagoon to Mango Creek.

Sitting next to us, both in the hut and on the boat, was a delightful couple , Margaret and Fred from Switzerland with smooth as silk accents, whose daughter and grandchild lived in Placencia, visiting them every year.  They were not only familiar with the country of Belize but were experienced world travelers who’d spent considerable time living in Africa.  

Claus, Margaret, Jess and Fred, our newly met Visa Day companions.

The conversation with Margaret and Fred was enhanced by the four of us meeting yet another passenger, Claus from Germany, who recently moved to Placencia with his wife and young child.  They all asked if they could ride in our prearranged cab, Vic’s large van, for the ensuing trip through Mango Creek and onward to Big Creek, the location of the Immigration Department.

Arriving at the dock in Mango Creek around 10:15 am, Vic was looking for us.  Estevan, thank you!!!  Quickly agreeing to take the five of us, we were on the road for the 10 minute drive to Big Creek.  The conversation among the five of us made the time fly by not only along the ride to and fro but the 25 minutes total it took for the five of us to get our passports stamped.

We made it back to the pier in Mango Creek at 11:05 and thank goodness, the return boat had yet to depart.  Waving goodbye to our newly found “friends”, Tom and I took off on foot from the pier to walk along the busy main road of the village to for a stop at a local vegetable stand, to a bank to exchange US $100  money to Belizian money (Belize $1.98 for US $1.00) to eventually end up at The Ming grocery to hook up with Estevan for the ride back to Laru Beya, our temporary home.

The stop at the vegetable stand was more fulfilling than I could imagine.  With no marked prices on any of the fresh organic produce we loaded up all we could carry and use over the next 9 days until Estevan returns to take us grocery shopping again.  Imagine, we purchased all of these items for a total of $12!  Fresh, organic, Roundup free, vegetables in the natural colors intended by nature, not chemically induced to be darker and brighter.

  • 2 pounds of carrots
  • 2 large heads of cabbage
  • 3 pounds of green beans
  • 3 large onions
  • 2 medium size eggplants
  • 2 pounds of pea pods
  • 1 large zucchini
Tom in the vegetable stand bagging up our produce.  We couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about our loot, all for only $12

Fresh produce!!  We couldn’t have been more thrilled.  As we’ve discovered, with only occasional carrots, cabbage, onions and peppers in most grocery stores, our selection has been limited.  Without wheels and the cost of a cab into Placencia at $20 plus tip, we’d decided it greatly added to our otherwise ample grocery store budget of $800 a month (dining out adds another $700 a month). 

Thus, we’ve limited ourselves to canned vegetables and homemade home chopped coleslaw which we now have made as a staple in our diet.  With lettuce at the vegetable stand, we looked at each other wondering if we wanted lettuce salad, shaking our heads “no”. We decided to stick with our standby coleslaw using our homemade dressing.  I make it early in the day, to ensure its ice cold by dinner.

In the future, we’ll go shopping in the village which has a much wider selection than the few stores we’ve frequented in the past.  On the return trip, Estevan offered to take us to the village going forward for $15 round trip enabling us to select from a wider range of foods. We purchased enough food today at a cost of $190 to get us through until a week from Wednesday when Estevan returns.  Of course, we gave him an ample tip, appreciative for all that he did for us.

Back in our villa, we put the food away, content with our purchases and locked up our documents in our built-in safe.  I began preparing dinner for tonight, a fresh batch of coleslaw, a giant bowl of chicken salad using the leftover chicken from last night along with big plate of buttery steamed green beans.

We’ll go back on the Hokey Pokey by March 20th to extend our visa for the remaining 20 days until we sail away on April 9th.  Now, for our much anticipated vegetable laden dinner, a sense of satisfaction for another great day and an evening with a full moon. 

Humm…maybe we’ll get a few good shots tonight! Check back tomorrow to see!

Visa day tomorrow…on the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi…

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Contact Mr. Burgies and Get your ticket at the Placencia Terminal is locate at the water Taxi Gas Station

                                                 Hokey Pokey Captain (we think).

While still in Minnesota, we researched the possibility of getting our visas for Belize based on our extended stay of two and a half months. 

As indicated in the post regarding disembarking in Belize City on January 29, 2013, the immigration officer that boarded our ship would only provide us with a 30 day visa, ending on February 28, 2013. 

In Belize, it’s only possible to get one 30 day extension per personal visit to an immigration office, resulting in the necessity of our going twice to immigration, once good until March 30th and another good until April 9th, the date we depart on our upcoming cruise out of Belize City. 

From what we’ve heard from expats, they will not make an exception for the extra 10 days and give us a visa from February 28th to April 9th.  We understand the necessity of such rules applying to everyone and surely, we have no right to an exception.

Tomorrow morning at 9:30 am, our trusty cab driver, Estevan will arrive to take us the five mile drive to the village of Placencia to the pier to hop a ride at 10:00 am on the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi to take us the relatively short distance across the lagoon from Placencia to Mango Creek/Independence, located on the mainland.  The cost per person is US $3 per person each way.

Once we arrive in Mango Creek, it will be necessary to take another taxi for a ride to the immigration office at an unknown address which apparently is too far to walk.  Both Tom and I looked online for an hour for an address finally giving up looking.  From comments we’ve read online, most taxi drivers know where it is. 

In order to be granted a visa extension, a number of documents must accompany our passports.  Here’s the list copied directly from their form:

The application form  MUST  be FULLY completed, signed and dated, then submitted with the  following:  1. Your passport
2. One recent passport ­sized photograph
3. Proof of Travel Arrangements:  Copies of Tickets or a Confirmed Travel Itinerary
4. Proof of Accommodation: Copies of Confirmed Hotel Reservations or Full contact details of family/friends in Belize
5. Proof of Financial Means: Copies of most recent bank statement or Letter from Financial Officer (for Business travel  only)
6. Purpose for Trip: Educational – Letter of Introduction from University or Educational Institution Business – Letter of Introduction from Company or Organisation and supporting documents Tourism – see number 3 above.
7. Payment of Fees: Single Entry $50 per person, per extension

Our equally trusty Planon PrintStik, printed all of the above and we’re ready to go.  Providing a bank statement is a bit unnerving but, if asked (and we may not be) we’ll be prepared.  It would be a shame to go through this process and not have the necessary documents in one’s possession.

We could have applied to the immigration department in the UK.  However, we are unable to send or receive mail here in Placencia in a timely fashion to ensure we’d get our passports back in time for departure.  We have two US passports but, feared it would be returned long after we’ve left.

Another option was to rent a car and drive the two hour winding Hummingbird Highway to get to Belmopan, the capital city and apply in person.  This surely would be a full day’s outing. 

We opted for the trip to Mango Creek/Independence, hoping we can get done in time to return to Placencia Village on the 12:00 PM Hokey Pokey.  This would give us time to have lunch in Placencia at one of the highly recommended diners, grocery shop in the larger grocery store, the fresh fish market and the vegetable stands, having Estevan pick us up when we’re done around 2:30.

This choice gives us an opportunity for a fun outing as opposed to a long drive up and back.  It all made more sense to us.  If the time at the immigration moves quickly, all could go as planned.  We shall see how it goes, reporting back here tomorrow with photos and a rundown of our day.

Have an enjoyable evening watching the Academy Awards!  Much to our delight (mine more than Tom’s) we’ll be able to watch it in HD on the flat screen TV in our little villa.  Oh, we’re getting spoiled.  Expectations will be reduced considerably after we leave this fabulous spot! 

Thoughts from a milestone birthday…

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Stormy windy day on my birthday.
Repeat photo from a sunny day a few weeks ago.

Yesterday morning, on the day of my 65th birthday, clouds rolled in from the white capped sea creating a gloomy blanket over us.  Standing at the glass door at 6 am, I wondered if it would clear in time to spend the bulk of the day outside, as we’ve done over the past two weeks since arriving at Laru Beya, a virtual paradise of lush gardens, shifting sands, and non stop congeniality.

As raindrops propelled by the fierce winds splayed on the glass, for a moment I allowed myself a little whine, “Goodness, can’t it be nice on my birthday?”  Quickly reminding myself that the “old me” might have been annoyed by an inclement day, I straightened up and threw my brain into reverse.

“It’s a perfect day.  I’m 65 years old today, alive, healthy and living in a haven of loveliness with the man of my dreams, living a life I’d never imagined, a life I never dared to dream. Let it rain!  Let it pour!  It doesn’t matter.

No walk on the beach.  No long walk next door to be driven to the outdoor Singing Sands, five miles down the road to celebrate the occasion with yet another special dinner.  No one-hour by the pool soaking up our daily dose of Vitamin D, which now “they say” reduces the effects of aging.  We shall see how “that’s working for us!”

Coffee, shower, dress for the day and tidying up our place in preparation for our Mayan maid Gloria to come in and clean at 9:00 am, the same time our trusty cab driver Estevan appears to take us grocery shopping so we’ll be out of her way.

She was early.  We like her.  Tom blurted out, “It’s Jessica’s birthday today!” Obviously, he was fishing for birthday wishes for me when back in the US, the wishes came in abundance on that day. 

Gloria throws her head back and laughs, “Its my birthday today too!  Happy birthday, Miss Yessica,” she says with her sweet broken English.  We all laughed together.  Tom and I couldn’t give her enough good wishes.  How ironic?  I can’t recall ever meeting anyone with the same birthday.

Determined to find something fabulous to make for dinner, we rummaged through the three freezers at the grocery store in Seine Bight, the little town next to us, a short cab ride away.  Sensitive to Estevan waiting outside, I had an awful time making a decision:  frozen chicken parts, thin frozen steaks, frozen hot dogs or frozen short ribs. 

Hummm…what shall it be?  The limitations of our diet added to feeling confused and rushed.  I grabbed the chicken, parts unknown, unable to make a decision for any other nights. 

We grabbed the four packages of cream cheese we’d ordered a week ago,  several packages of local peanuts in the shell, a head of cabbage, six giant carrots and three onions from huge bags that had just arrived from the farm.

After a total of only $35 plus $10 plus tip for the cab, we were back on our way “home” still wondering what we’d cook for the birthday dinner.  As we put the perishables in the ample ice cold stainless steel fridge, perusing its contents, we decided on eating the leftover homemade pizza still in the freezer while I’d make a fresh batch of coleslaw by shredding the vegetables by hand. 

The knife in the drawer was dull.  I sharpened it on the rock Tom had brought inside  and washed for cracking coconuts.  It worked much to my surprise.  When does one “wash a rock” while living in the US?.  Never.  I made the coleslaw early in the day to chill.  Coleslaw and pizza?  Sure, why not?  A perfect birthday dinner.  (This was the other half of the pizza we didn’t really love but ate it anyway a week ago).  It tasted better the second time.

The rain continued throughout the day into the evening.  We’d cancelled the dinner reservation online.  We stayed in all day and evening.  I finished Part 2 of Monkey River for this blog, posting multiple photos (a slow laborious process in Blogger).  Tom watched the stock market news on TV. 

I responded to a multitude of thoughtful birthday wishes posted on Facebook, spoke to family on Skype and paid bills online. You know, the stuff we do on rainy days, snowy days, days we’re stuck inside.  I was not disappointed.  It was a good birthday.

Tom did the dishes as usual.  I played solitaire on my computer scoring my highest score ever.  At 9:30, my head nodding into my computer, I decided to turn in.  For some goofy reason I was tired. I guess that what 65 year olds do.

Part 1…Our day trip adventure to the Monkey River and rainforest…

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Looking like tourists, off we went on our adventure this morning.

Covered in bug spray, looking like tourists loaded down with a camera, binoculars, water shoes and swimsuits under our clothes, at 7:45 this morning we walked across the street to the pier at the lagoon to meet up with our well versed guide, Jason, born in the tiny community of Monkey River, an area rich in Belizean history and culture.
Along the way, we met a lovely couple, Ruth and Howard from Brooklyn, New York staying here in Laru Beya over the next several days, also participants in our planned outing which was arranged through the resort.  The cost per couple for the six hour expedition was $150.

After a high speed bumpy boat ride from the Placencia peninsula across the rolling Caribbean Sea to the mainland of Belize, we made our way to the Monkey River, a well known 10 mile long winding river literally amass with wildlife and overgrown vegetation. 

Vultures hovering in the trees along channel as we left Placencia.

By 9:30 am, we were docked at the pier in Monkey River to stop at “Alice’s Restaurant” to place our lunch orders, with a plan to return around noon for the included meal of stewed chicken, rice, beans and pan fried vegetables.  Moment later, we were off on our excursion of the river.

Tom in front of Alice’s Restaurant in Monkey River where we had lunch.
Inside Alice’s Restaurant in Monkey River.
Monkey River locals enjoying the day.
The gift shop outside Alice’s Restaurant.  Notice the conch shell border around the entrance.

Speaking mostly a combination of English and Creole, Jason was an articulate wealth of information possessing the eye of an eagle, quickly spotting every morsel for our excited attention to behold.  We saw all we could have hoped to see! 

Jason, our tour guide and Jess, outside Alice’s Restaurant.

Luckily, the day was overcast, less humid than normal, around 80 degrees making it a perfect day for our adventure.  With low expectations and a little apprehensive about the abundance of horseflies, mosquitoes and no-see-ums hovering around us in the boat, we slathered on the bug spray while bracing ourselves for what was yet to come.

Pair of dolphins we saw on the way to Monkey River.
Moments later, we saw another dolphin.

Jason slowed the boat as we entered the winding river, stopping frequently to point out crocodiles, many species of birds, unusual fish, families of the Black Howler Monkey known for their loud screeching.  Halfway through the four mile river journey, Jason pulled the old fiberglass boat up to a shore as we climbed out to explore a rough trail in the rain forest.

Dense vegetation along the Monkey River’s edge.
We lost track of the names of the endless variety of birds.
Immature Blue Heron are white prior to turning blue as adults.
Believe it or not, there were three Black Howler Monkeys hiding in this canopy in the rain forest.   We saw them move, heard them screech but so high above our heads, we couldn’t focus for good shots.

As soon as our feet hit dry land, Jason began banging his machete against a tree.  Curiosity brought out dozens of the black monkeys high in the trees to begin of earsplitting chorus of a sound unfamiliar to our ears, both annoying and entertaining at the same time.

Dozens of Black Howler Monkeys hovered in these trees.

It was difficult to take photos of the monkeys as it was of much of the wildlife, rapidly flitting around, shy of uninvited visitors.  They moved so quickly, staying buried in the leaves and branches of the enormous trees. 

After a time with our necks straining from looking up, Jason steered us deep into the rain forest along a narrow, head ducking, ankle turning, rock and vine covered path into a world neither of us imagined.

The entrance to Monkey River.

Magical sounds filled the air of creatures big and small, hidden out of sight protecting their young.  Over and again Jason warned us to look out for dangerous plants that were either poisonous or possessing needle like thorns difficult to remove once merely touched. 

We learned about medicinal plants for almost every imaginable ailment as we carefully lifted our feet over potential pitfall from burrowed holes from hidden creatures such as the blue land crab to termite nests to the dreaded red ants meandering across the forest floor.

Jason, his machete and Tom as he explained the medicinal uses of this tree that the locals call “The Tourist Tree” since it relieves the sting of a sunburn.

Bug spray in hand, we continually soaked ourselves, as flies, bugs and spiders presented themselves at almost every turn.  As Jason described some of the dangers in the rain forest I looked down at my water shoes and screamed a scream that must have echoes through the jungle.  I thought I saw an enormous black bug on my shoe.  It was a part of the laces.  We laughed after we all calmed down from my senseless scream.  See the photo below.

I can tell that Tom’s chomping at the bit as I write this!  Its time for me to shower and get ready to go to our now usual Tuesday night Mexican buffet at Habanero’s Restaurant across and down the road.  I’m hungry too looking forward to their wide array of meats, veggies and cheeses that I can enjoy along with the best guacamole in the world.

In the dark of the rain forest, as Jason is explaining the dangers, I looked down at my “worn for the first time” water shoes thinking that this black clasp was a huge black bug.I screamed scaring the daylight out of the five of us in our group.

Tomorrow is my 65th birthday. After grocery shopping for which Estevan will pick us up promptly at 9:00 am come celebrate with us, my first birthday on our worldwide journey, as we tell the “rest of this story” with lots more photos and stories about our day trip to Monkey River. 

Preparing for tomorrow’s expedition, weather permitting…

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Our water shoes, Swarovski binoculars, sunglasses, shorts, bathing suits, tee shirts, sunscreen and of course, bug spray and the camera.

Tomorrow morning at 7:45 we’ll be taking off for an expedition, subject to good weather.  Upon returning later in the day, we’ll describe our experience and hopefully post many photos.  Above is a photo of the “stuff” we plan  to wear and bring along.
 
We’ll take photos of us, before, after, and during our greatly anticipated exploration.  No, we won’t be bungee jumping or, much to my dismay, zip lining.  My hope, at the time we booked our travels was to experience the zip line.

As we’ve treasured the opportunity to travel the world, we ‘ve recently made a decision to avoid potentially injurious situations.  Let’s face it, on Wednesday this week, I’ll turn 65. Tom, who doesn’t exercise, other than walking vigorously (as of late) is 60. 

Yeah, we know, travelers older than us take monumental risks.  That’s not us. Although, throughout the world, we’re definitely exposed to many risks traveling in certain lands.

View from beach outside our veranda of Robert’s Grove pier bar.

Not athletic but generally fit and now in good health, no experience is worth risking damage to my delicate spine.  After being totally pain free for over 18 months based on the benefits of my strict anti-inflammation diet, we’ve decided that no adventure is worth ruining the remainder of the world travels awaiting us. 

Without a doubt, now that we’re settled, relaxed and… our 2012 prep spreadsheet is in the hands of our accountant (as of this morning), we’re anxious to venture out to further explore the amazing country of Belize, learning about it’s people, wildlife, geography, vegetation and history, all of which we’ll share here.

The past few days the weather’s been unpredictable with a combination of high winds, fast moving clouds and some drizzles resulting in rough seas.  Yesterday, we avoided our usual lengthy walk along the beach.  It was cold!  Tom laughed at me shivering in 70 degrees but, after days of 86 degrees with 80% or more humidity, it felt chilly. 

Windy and cloudy on the beach today.

This afternoon, the clouds moved out.  Minutes later we were ensconced in our favorite lawn chairs, our phones loaded with multiple books on Kindle apps,  in order to lazily lounge for our usual one-hour of sun worshipping ending with a dunk in the pristine unheated infinity pool. 

I hadn’t read a novel in years, never taking the time to “get out of my head” in a novel.  Instead, I read volumes of informational, educational non-fiction books.  Having completed an entire  mindless novel in the past few days, I felt refreshed and content to have allowed myself to relax to this degree.

Tonight, we’ll dine in.  With a whole leftover roasted chicken, onions and carrots and homemade coleslaw (made with a tiny head of cabbage and a few giant carrots that I shredded with a knife) we’ll partake in a pleasure from our past, watching  the TV show, The Bachelor.  Much to our surprise, in Belize, we have full access to US television shows broadcasting all major networks and cable channels from New York. 

Seldom watching TV since leaving the US, tonight’s the night.  Freshly showered, in comfy clothes, we’ll soon park ourselves in front of the flat screen TV, trays on our laps, great food on our plates, doing what we love the most, simply being together.  Gee…it’s fun to be retired!

Check back tomorrow for details of our outing. 

Party Time in Placencia, Belize…

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Gunter, the chef, baker and purveyor of fine foods at Mathieu’s deli.

Who knew that less than one week after moving into our ocean front villa at Laru Beya that we’d be going to a local party?  Yep, that’s us, social butterflies. 

An element of our ability to travel the world is wrapped up in our combined enjoyment of meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, ultimately making new friends.

After our first friends, Kari and Stu from Canada left Friday morning off to visit another island and then head home, we’d planned dinner Friday night with our favorite newlywed couple, Pam and Jerry, who’d invited us to join us.  

Last night was their last night in Placencia and they too were heading off to another resort in Belize for the remainder of their honeymoon.

The marina at Habanero’s/Mathieu’s.

Early in the afternoon Pam, a long time resident of Belize and a US citizen, came dashing over to our veranda as we lounged after a long walk on the beach.  Her enthusiasm along with the bounce in her step, led us to anticipate she had something exciting to tell us. 

“We’re invited to a party!”  she blurted. 

“We?”  I questioned hoping that the invitation did indeed include us.

“Yes,” she babbled, “all of us are invited to a wine and cheese party across the street at Mathieu, a quaint bakery attached to Habanero, our close and favorite Tuesday night Mexican buffet spot.

“Its at 4:00 pm. Would you like to go with us?”  she questioned with eyebrows raised.

More boats at the marina.

Tom and I looked at each other for a moment reverting to our “old selves” thinking of a reason “why not?”  But our “new selves” chimed in simultaneously,
“Yes, we’d love to!  We’ll look for you there at 4:00 pm sharp!”

Pam smiled wide.  We’re going to a party!

Planning to attend the party for a few hours returning to our respective villas to get ready for the evening and drive the five mile distance to De Tatch, a local eatery consisting of multiple little huts on the beach and one large thatch hut, known for its traditional Belizean food and juicy imported steaks (I prefer the local grass fed meat).

Arriving promptly at 3:55, we grabbed a rattan table for four with comfy padded chairs, seeing few people.  Tom and I looked at each other surely thinking the same thing, “Where are all the guests?  Not much of a party.”  No wine, no cheese was in sight.

Nice catamaran!

Within minutes, we found Pam and Jerry, happy to find us.  We all reveled in how thoughtful promptness is, as we gathered around the table, looking around the sparse area. 

In a flurry of activity, the Belizean way, the area filled with locals, expats, tourists and us, leaving us feeling excited and included in what proved to be a delightful experience as you can see from the attached photos.

Cheese being served at the party. Ian Anderson, the cheese maker, manufacturing cheese made in Belize, is the gentleman serving cheese. 

Frosty lasses of fresh squeezed pineapple juice was poured all around. (None for me.  No sugar here.  No problem.) The imported red and white wine flowed freely and the food…much more than cheese. 

Servers passed trays of appetizers including many locally grown fruit, hand carved imported deli meats, Bruschetta made with locally grown tomatoes piled atop breads made right there at the Matthieu Deli plus a wide array of the most amazing cheeses actually made right here in Belize at the resort, owned by Ian Anderson, featured in the photo above.

Breads served a appetizer table.  Drool worthy.

The cheese making factory is located in Ian’s resort, Caves Branch in Cayo District. Its by far the best cheese we’ve ever eaten.  The proceeds from the sales goes to an organization for the betterment of Belizean children.  What an amazing operation.

Tom tried a few small slices of the amazing breads, as he has from time to time when we’ve dined out recently with no adverse effects, when eaten in moderation. None for me.  

Our newlywed friends, Pam and Jerry, as the area fills with party-goers.

Gunter, the chef, baker and cheese purveyor, a charming salt and pepper haired man from Germany was busy making platter after platter of his delectable delights.  The servers were darting in and out of the congested gatherings of party goers with platters in hand, serving generous portions. 

The cheese was to die for.  Immediately after tasting four or five of the cheeses, I dashed off to the counter in the deli, credit card in hand hoping to purchase a few of our favorites. 

Tom calls me a “food voyeur.”  So true!

Alas, in the Belizean way, they didn’t have any to sell.  This truly was a party!  It wasn’t a promotion to sell cheese.  I drilled Gunther, “When can we come back and buy some of these cheese?” 

“Come back tomorrow,” he proudly stated, “It should be here tomorrow.”

This morning when the maid arrived to clean our villa, (love having a maid twice a week), Tom and I walked over to the deli, hoping to find the cheeses in stock. 

With limited options at the grocery store, it will be a treat to snack on a variety of cheeses as dessert which I learned to enjoy after dinner aboard the Celebrity Century cruise ship.

Tom, wrapped up in lively animated conversation!

Alas, most of the cheeses we loved were available and we happily spent US $72.00 for a variety.  The blue cheese hadn’t arrived yet giving us a good excuse to meander to the deli (a seven minute walk) again in the next few days. 

While there this morning, we chatted with Gunter and Ian, both of whom were more than willing to visit with us.  Ian invited us to his cheese factory in Cayo District, an hour and a half hour drive from here.  This definitely is an option for the near future when we’ll rent a vehicle for a few days.

After the party, we headed back to our villa, changed for the evening and met Pam and Jerry by the pool for a 10 minute drive to the village for dinner.  Already full from cheese, I couldn’t imagine having dinner until I saw grilled conch on the menu.  Since arriving in Belize I’d longed for conch but, each time it appeared on a menu it was batter fried, not for me.

Tom ordered the imported rib eye steak, seasoned well but, thin and tough.  My conch, chewy as anticipated, was delicious.  Seated in the large thatched hut with literally no breeze, the no-see-ums were feasting on us.  Shortly after eating our long overdue dinners and many rounds of interesting conversation, we headed back to LaruBeya.

Saying goodbye to Pam and Jerry, knowing we won’t see them again, left us a little sad.  All of our new friends were gone.  But, today is another day.  The pool will start calling us in a few hours for our hour of sun and fun.  Without a doubt, in the next few days we’ll make new friends and begin once again. 

This, my friends, is the intended nature of our new lives “wafting through our world wide travels with ease, joy and simplicity.”

Splurging on dining out this past week plus the cost of the cheese, put us over on our budget by $30.  Thus, we’ve decided to dine in tonight and tomorrow roasting the two free range organic chickens we’d purchased on Wednesday. 

Right now the two chickens are marinating in the refrigerator.  With a small piece of cabbage left along with our ample supply if huge whole organic carrots, I’ll make a batch of coleslaw (sugar free, of course),  roasted garlic and roasted carrots to accompany our diinner. 

Homemade food sounds especially good right now.  For dessert, we’ll enjoy a platter of the Belizean made cheeses.  Thanks Ian.  Thanks Gunter.  We’ll surely see you again!

Be warm.  Be well wherever you may be.

Happy Valentine’s Day…staying happy…staying fit…

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Valentine’s Day sunrise photo of the Caribbean Sea taken by Tom this morning while standing less than 10 feet from our veranda.

Heartfelt Valentine’s wishes for all of our family and friends.  This morning, Tom arose before sunrise waiting to take this extraordinary photo for me while I remained in restful slumber.  This is truly the best Valentine’s gift I’ve ever received.  Thanks, my love.

After a fun happy hour last night with our tourist neighbors from Canada, another couple we’ve befriended, we dined on our homemade pizza made using Polish not Italian sausage.  It wasn’t quite the same, missing the familiar spices in the sausage that make pizza so tasty.  Not having eaten all day, we devoured half of it leaving the remainder for tonight’s dinner. 

While grocery shopping a few days ago, I’d purchased a whole coconut, wondering how we’d open it. With my limited way of eating, I was craving something sweet.  The thought of eating fresh coconut got me salivating.

During last night’s happy hour festivities, we asked a resort employee if he could help us crack the coconut. He dashed off, moments later returning with a awe inspiring machete. 

Helpful employee at LaruBeya cracking open my coconut.

In a matter of seconds, he’d split the coconut.  Unfortunately, as an inexperienced coconut buyer, I had purchased one with a crack it in.  The employee explained that the meat would be dry and the milk unsafe to drink.  I had hoped to use it to make coconut flour pancakes. Live and learn.  We dumped the milk placing the two chunks in the fridge to deal with later.

As I peeked in the refrigerator this morning, seeing the leftovers wrapped in foil and the two chunks of coconut, impossible to remove from the shell after trying late last night, a sense of disappointment came over me, such sorry leftovers for Valentine’s dinner and no coconut meat.   Oh well, no big deal.  I tucked it away in my mind to “think about later.”  We had chicken and beef in the freezer and could easily make a new dinner.

After our usual morning coffee on the veranda, checking our email and Facebook, it was time to wander over to the resort next door, Roberts Grove, a five minute walk along the beach so I could work out once again. We darted in and out of palm trees on the scenic walk along the beach.  Me, in workout shoes and Tom, barefooted.  He never ventures outdoors without shoes.  It’s fun to see that he too, is falling into the Belizean way, barefoot and laid back.

Staying fit as we travel the world is important to me.  Its not about “burning calories” which I’ve never found to be effective.  Its about maintaining a level of fitness and well being to ensure my continuing good health, mobility, strength and endurance, many of which dwindle away as one approaches old age. 

Turning 65 years old in a mere six days, February  20th, is a huge motivator for me.  Since we left Minnesota on Halloween, I’ve only missed one week, that horrifying week without water in the little beach house.  Once we moved here to LaruBeya on February 5th, I signed up next door (no health club here) to use their health club at $39 a month, as mentioned in a prior post.

My workout consists of a program I adopted from the book, The Smarter Science of Slim by Jonathan Bailor which extols the virtues of 1000 scientific studies done by researchers at Harvard as to why we need to eat more and exercise less (and smarter) utilizing the concert of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). 

This concept along with the book Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis, not only changed my life, now free of pain except for the testy shoulder on occasion but helped Tom lose 45 pounds which he has maintained after two cruises and many nights of dining out.  I know I’ve mentioned these many times in the past but we would not have been able to travel the world prior to these startling life changes from eating this new way, now 18 months later.

Tom has never had interest in working out.  He’s lost all this weight from diet alone.  Now, living on the beach, its not hard to get in my preferred 10,000 steps of walking per day. I don’t nag or cajole Tom into doing more. Its entirely his decision, one I doubt he’ll choose to make. 

In any case, my workouts continue leaving me feeling refreshed, renewed and energized.  Although I only go to the gym twice a week for short periods, HIIT is an excruciated short period, as little as 10 minutes of torture.  Once done, I wait 3-4 days to do it again, ideal with our current lifestyle.

As discussed many times in this blog, our diets continue to be a source of careful planning and sometimes difficult choices.    Tom had planted himself in a comfy chair in the shade reading a book on his smart phone (we no longer have cell phone contract but use WiFi for data on our phones) while I’d work out.  While standing at the desk at Robert’s Grove to collect the key to the workout room, I noticed three fancy Valentine’s Day menus spread out on the counter.

Thinking about the leftover pizza and impossible to shell coconut in the fridge, I called Tom over to peruse the menus.  Pizza or filet mignon and lobster tail????
Filet and lobster won!!!  We made the reservation for 7 PM tonight, Valentine’s night.  All we do is show up at that desk at 6:45 tonight and the staff at Robert’s Grove will drive us the five miles to Maya Beach to their sister resort for dinner at the Singing Sands Resort and return us to our resort later in the evening.  

Tom washed a boulder and then used it to crack my coconut, making it possible to eat. It wasn’t dry at all.  Tonight’s dessert!