Challenges of crossing the ocean…

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Towel pet on our bed last night.  The eyes are inverted coffee creamers.  Too cute.

Challenge #1:  Time changes

Since leaving Belize on April 9, we’ve experienced a number of time changes. Although a small amount in terms of world travel, it has affected us. We had wrongfully assumed that the gradual time differences occurring while crossing the ocean would be insignificant.  With Belize not observing Daylight Savings Time resulting in a two hour difference in Miami, at this point, the four hour difference has hit us.
Since boarding the Norwegian Epic on April 20th, we’ve had two time changes with another coming tonight. Why I thought we’d be invincible to these changes escapes me.
The almost full moon taken from our veranda last night.

Each of the past four mornings, we’ve awakened around 9:00 am. I can’t recall a time in the past 20 years that I awoke this late. Tom with his prior work schedule occasionally slept a little later. I’ve always felt that half my day was over by noon upon awakening most days between 5:30 and 6:00 am.

It appears that the only way to adjust as we venture toward Europe is to start getting up earlier. At this point, still on Belize time, when we awaken at 6:00 am, it’s still 2:00 am to our bodies.  This morning, we committed to getting up by 7:00 am going forward, starting tomorrow morning. We’ll set the alarm.

Doing so, and following this concept as we traverse through time zones in our travels, will allow us to adapt more quickly. Also, leaving the drapes open at night to allow morning light to awaken us along with eating our two daily meals at regular intervals, for us, within an hour of awakening and five hours before going to bed, should get us on track in no time.

Challenge #2:
Rough waters at sea

We were warned by our captain a few days ago. When nothing major occurred, I dismissed it as a stroke of luck, again making a wrongful assumption, that this crossing of the Atlantic Ocean would be “smooth sailing.” Ha! 

As I write this, we are sitting in our favorite booth (coincidentally available, three mornings in a row) in the Garden Cafe, after a satisfying few cups of coffee and breakfast, watching the horizon rise and fall through the walls of glass surrounding us. For the past 20 minutes, I contemplated getting up and getting a cup of tea, wondering how I’ll carry it the short distance from the beverage area back to the booth.
The magic of moon appeals to all of us, wherever we may be. (The orange line in the upper left corner is the overhang on our balcony.  To avoid including it, I would have had to hang over the railing.  No thank you!)

Alas, I made my tea, while practically trotting to and fro as the rolling waves attempted to catapult me across the room.  Tom, of course, after 42 years of rocking and rolling on the railroad, experiences no such sensation.

Thank goodness, at this point, I don’t feel seasick. Why, not?  I don’t know. The captain made an
announcement about the rough seas over the loudspeaker a few minutes ago, but people wouldn’t shut up long enough to be able to hear what he was saying.

Perhaps it is better that way. Ignorance is bliss. Bouncing and rolling, not so much. Will it get worse? I imagine so. We’ve heard stories since boarding this ship, of rough waters resulting in order that passengers stay in their cabins, taking everything off of the shelves. 

We have our zillions of bottles of vitamins on a shelf in our cabin which I expect will be all over the floor when we return.  Tom just went to the window here in the Garden Cafe to look out, in awe of the waves, coming back with a big smile, loving the adventure of it all. 

As long as we don’t get seasick, I’m OK.  This surprises me.  During the first few nights on our first cruise on the smaller Celebrity Century, I was unable to sleep as the ship rolled from side to side. Now, on our 5th cruise since January 3, 2013, I am at ease, although well aware of the sensations.

How quickly we adapt, we humans. Ironically, I think we are designed for change by possessing the emotional and physical where-with-all to grow, to learn and to adjust to a new environment, a new way of life and ultimately of a new way of observing the world around us. For this, my friends, we are grateful.

Sailing across the sea…

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Rain and clouds as we cross the ocean.

The threat of rough seas has subsided for the time being. The ill passenger was dropped off by tender in Bermuda. Within hours the ship was back on course for the Atlantic crossing. We sighed with relief.

When returning from dinner each night we find these little towel characters on our turned down bed.

The Norwegian Epic, rated a five out of six stars by Cruise Critic, lives up to its reviews as a quality vessel with the utmost of amenities and services.  A few items we’ve observed in the three days on the Norwegian Epic include:

1. There are only two banks of elevators resulting in very long walks getting from one end of the ship to the other.
2.  One of the two pools is currently under repair. This is located in an area where hundreds of passengers could conceivably relax on lounge chairs with no pool in which to cool off, weather providing.
3.  The evening meals, in the “included” restaurants, is mediocre at best. Is this a ploy to encourage  passengers to use the “cover charge” restaurants ranging from $10 to $40 per person? Breakfast in the Garden Cafe is quite good, cafeteria style, food is fresh with real eggs upon request and they have smoked salmon, a favorite of mine.
4.  Our prior four cruise ships since January 3, 2013, have had traditional long decks on both the port and starboard sides of the ship, suitable for walking and lounging. The picture we’ve always had in mind, was of crossing the sea, in expected inclement weather, covered in a blanket while lying on a lounge chair reading a book. That’s not possible on the ship.  Lounge chairs are near the pool areas only.
5.  No indoor daytime movies which would be a treat with the cool, windy weather.  Few educational classes are available (although Tom will attend a WWII seminar this afternoon).  Big push for the “pay for” services:  gambling, shopping, spa and cocktails.  None of this is unusual by cruise standards. 
6.   Limited evening entertainment as compared to our experience on the Celebrity ships when each night there was new entertainment options.  We went to the “Blue Man Group” on our first night aboard the Epic, which was quite enjoyable but it repeats every night in the main venue, leaving only two other shows with are included in the cruise fare plus,  one “pay for” option, a Cirque de Soleil type show at $40 per person including dinner for which we won’t partake.
7.  Poor Internet connection, slower than old fashioned “dial-up.”  Price for the Internet at $.40 per minute is outrageous, highest we’ve paid thus far.

This morning we attempted to attend a seminar entitled, “Running a Floating Hotel” presented by three top officers, including the captain.Without a seat available after arriving 15 minutes early, we only stayed a few minutes when Tom was unable to hear the presentation and I preferred not to stand for over an hour in a crowded area. With the older crowd aboard this ship, we will need to arrive at least a half hour early for events in the future.

Some items we like about the Norwegian Epic:
1.  Our cabin steward, Arnold, is absolutely among the finest.
2.  Our cabin has tons of storage space, a huge shower, with a comfortable bed and exquisite bedding with extra pillows.
3.  The entire ship is impeccably clean and organized.
4.   All of the staff is friendly, saying hello when passing, ultra courteous when providing service, referring to us as: Ms. Jessica and Mr. Tom
5.  Last night when dining with yet a new batch of four delightful passengers in the Taste Restaurant, the Assistant  Maître D, Steven Metzger, immediately tended to me when I had requested a gluten free, starch free, low carb, grain-free, and sugar-free meal. He couldn’t have been more helpful, checking back several times during the carefully prepared meal and showing me the next night’s menu to order in advance to ensure my order complies. I didn’t mind ordering in advance when doing so results in less attention drawn to my complicated diet while others are trying to order.  Tonight, when we meet our new friends for dinner, my order will already be posted with the chef, listed under of cabin number, streamlining the process.
6.   Due to the sheer size of this 6000 potential passenger ship (including crew) there’s less sensation of movement. With five days remaining crossing the sea until our first port of call in Funchal Madeira, Portugal, we expect rough seas, as warned by the captain over the loud speaker.  Yes, doors sway open and closed, along with the endless creaking and cracking sounds, day and night. One may feel they’re losing their footing when walking as the ships rocks to and fro. None of this bothers either of us, nor have we had a moment of seasickness thus far.  We shall see how it progresses.
Mr. Penguin.
Overall, we’re pleased to be aboard the Norwegian Epic for the this cruise.
Breakfast this morning in the Garden Café.
Embarking on our next cruise on May 6th, we’ll sail through the Suez Canal to the Middle East, ending aboard Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas. We’ll visit Jordan and Egypt ending in Dubai, United Arab Emirates where we’ll stay for 13 nights. 
Next time there’s a seminar, we’ll arrive a half hour early to ensure we are able to find seats.

We’re doing well, meeting interesting people, relishing in our pleasant surroundings, living life one moment at a time, happy to be together and totally in awe of the world around us.  At times, we look at each other, shaking our heads one of us saying, “Can you believe we’re
doing this?”

Last night out to dinner in Belize…Packing…Photos…

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Hopefully, our new camera takes better night photos Tom standing outside Mango’s last night.
Last night we went to Mango’s a popular local bar and restaurant with our friend Bill from Minnesota. We headed to Maya Beach, a five-minute drive north of us. Bill has wheels. Tom, Bill, and I headed out around 6:00 PM.
Mango’s menu had several good options.

On the way, we stopped at a nearby grocery store to look for contact lens solutions. No such luck. With only five more nights until we board the Carnival Liberty in Belize City, I’ve decided that if I run out of solution, I’ll sleep in my contacts, using eye drops in the mornings.

 The backside of Mango’s menu.

Once aboard the ship, it should be easy to find the solution.  Most certainly, the tiny drugstore in Placencia village has the solution. As I mentioned earlier, paying the $25 round trip cab fare doesn’t make sense. If each time we run out of an item incurring additional expenses to procure it, the budget can get out of control. That’s a situation we’d like to avoid.

Over the two-plus months we’ve lived in Belize, we heard many comments about Mango’s reputation as a fun spot for locals to hang out at the bar and dine on delicious fresh food cooked to order by their locally famous chef, Rachel Welch. 

Look at the size of Tom’s Margarita.  Add that smile for a winning combo.  He had two of these monstrosities.

Yes, her name is Rachel Welch, as in the US actress.  Apparently, when people starting talking about her name, she had no clue who Rachel Welch was. By now, she is familiar with her namesake.  It has become a local point of humor. She’s a native of Belize with long dreadlocks and looks nothing like Rachel Welch. Regardless of whose name she similarly bears, Rachel is a great cook. 

Me and my club soda and lime.  Cocktails would be more fun!

I had one of the best meals I’d had while dining out while in Belize. Ordering the special of the day, an 8-ounce grass-fed burger the waitress looked at me in amazement. She looked inquisitively at me asking, “Do you know that’s a full half-pound of meat?”

I chuckled, “Yes, I do!  Bring it on!” She shook her head, surprised by my answer, wondering if, in fact, I’d eat the entire thing. I did.

The quaint restaurant was hopping.

The burger was stuffed and topped with grilled onions, mushrooms, and blue cheese (minus the bun) along with a generous portion of the most amazing sautéed vegetables. Bill and Tom had the same. The total bill for the night was Belize $132 with tip, which is US $66.

The place was hopping with lively conversation with a seemingly constant flow of customers. Looking around while sitting at our three-person table, Tom and I acknowledge that we would have enjoyed coming here on a regular basis. 

However, based on the prices, although reasonable, we could easily have spent US $70 a week with cab fare if we’d stopped in once a week, resulting in an added expense of approximately $800 for our time in Belize. With the added expense we incurred for rent when moving to LaruBeya on February 5, 2013, the money we’d lost on the last property, we had to forego unplanned expenses. 

Mango’s bar, a favorite haunt for locals.

It’s all part of the process. We never want to be in a position whereby we’re overrunning our budget having to “dip into” other resources. At that point, we’d be forced to “settle down” a decision we’d prefer not to make under duress if at all possible. 

Yesterday afternoon, we began the process of printing our boarding passes and cruise documents with the support of LaruBeya’s customer service desk who gladly agreed to print all of our documents on their printer.  Tom felt uncomfortable using our thermal paper portable printer for these documents, me less so. 

With the five sets of cruise documents printed and placed into our “Cruise Documents” manila envelope, kept in one of our two computer bags, we’re good to go. The documents for our upcoming 6th cruise in this time period, scheduled to sail on June 4th, are yet to be available online for printing with 63 days until the sailing. 

If we can’t get them printed prior to leaving here next Tuesday, we’ll print them in the computer center on one of the other cruises. Hopefully, in time the cruise lines will use electronic documents only. The unnecessary page after page of printed material is wasteful and pointless.  Surprisingly, Carnival only required a one-page boarding pass, in itself, progress. 

Now, back to packing.  Instead of packing all at once, we’re doing it in bite-sized pieces each day. This time it’s more complicated than it will be in the future.  After all, we’re packing three large suitcases with belongings we’re saying goodbye to for what may prove to be a very long time. 

As we’ve discovered how difficult it is to find contact lens solution, perhaps I wasn’t so nuts after all, packing a two year’s supply of products we frequently use. At the time, I thought the solution could easily be replaced. Not so the case.

We continue on in five more days.

National day of celebration…Belize history with photos…

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Yesterday, while lounging on the veranda and continuing to recover from my fall on the collapsed steps on Thursday night (the night of our anniversary) the management at Lara Beya kindly stopped by to check on us. 

Chatting with the two gentlemen, who’s names I’m embarrassed to say, I don’t recall (will find out today) told us that it was National Heroes and Benefactors Day, formerly known as Henry Edward Ernest Victor ‘Baron Bliss’ Day, with the date of recognition as March 9th, continuing through the weekend.  Banks and institutions will be closed on Monday.

This is a time of celebration in Belize, revered with dignity and appreciation for their rich culture and history.

This weekend our resort continued to fill with new guests, evidenced by the occupied lawn chairs by the pool, more than we’d seen since arriving on February 5th.  We knew something was going on, assuming wrongfully that it was due to Spring Break in some parts of the world. 

Alas, the influx of tourists is a result of their enthusiasm to celebrate this special day in Belize’s history most of whom are arriving from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.  Many have friends and relatives in Belize prompting them to share this special time together, as we often share our holidays in the US and other countries.

Rather than try to explain this important day in my own words, possibly missing some valuable information, I have provided the history below from a local web page.  There a link below for additional details. 

Whether one is a world history aficionado or curious about history in other parts of the world, this story may be as interesting as we found it.

“Happy Birthday Henry Edward Ernest Victor ‘Baron Bliss’.

Many of us know the British-born traveler willed two million U.S. dollars to a trust fund for the benefit of the citizens of what was then the colony of British Honduras simply as Baron Bliss and yearly we look forward to the holiday that marks his death, but today 16 February 2009, we would like to mark the 140th anniversary of his birth.

The national benefactor of Belize, was born Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss in Marlow, county of Buckinghamshire with a family lineage that went back to Edward Bliss, an Englishman who gained the Portuguese title Baron Barreto in the1820’s. The English Barons Barreto considered that, being Bliss’ too, they could legitimately use the name Baron Bliss. It was during his early adulthood that Bliss became the Fourth Baron of the Former Kingdom of Portugal. It is generally accepted that Bliss received his title of Fourth Baron through a family lineage with one Sir John Moore, a war hero of battles past.

As an adult living in Quarry Court in Marlow, he was an engineer by profession and had been appointed a Justice of the Peace. A marriage to Ethel Alice Bliss produced no children. By the end of the first decade in the new century, Baron Bliss was wealthy enough to retire to his love of seafaring & fishing. However, in 1911 at the age of 42, the Baron was stricken with a paralysis, probably polio, that left him paralyzed from waist downward, confining him to a wheelchair. Though paralyzed from the waist down from 1911, Baron Henry maintained his love of sailing and fishing. Undeterred, the Baron remained active and acquired a yacht, the Sea King, using it for leisure travel around the United Kingdom. After the start of the First World War in 1914, the Baron’s yacht was commandeered for the British war effort. Once the War had come to an end in 1918, Baron Bliss commissioned the building of the Sea King II. She was a yacht for meant for tropical waters, built to the Baron’s specifications. When the Sea King II as competed in 1920, the Baron prepared left England, never to return, he left his wife and his native land for the Caribbean, spending the next six years living aboard his yacht Sea King II off the Bahamas and apparently spending time at Dunmore House (now the official Governor’s Residence), on New Providence. He had purchased property on some of the islands, but whether he intended to settle in the Bahamas is open to speculation.

By late 1925, the Baron had grown tired of the social & administrative life that had become his routine so he decided to move on. His next stop was Trinidad where he contracting food poisoning shortly after arriving. This sickness coupled with a dislike of the general atmosphere led the Baron to hoist anchor again. This time he would head for Belize (then British Honduras), following up an invitation from the Attorney General, Willoughby Bullock. After a brief stop in Jamaica, most likely for medical attention, the Sea King II on January 14th, 1926, dropped anchor in the Belize City harbor. After arriving in Belize, the Baron’s health seemed to improve. He took every opportunity to venture forth in his small launch to go fishing, to visit the cayes and to visit the barrier reef. Unfortunately, about a month after arrival, doctors called to the yacht to attend to the Baron found him to be gravely ill. Baron Bliss asked that the Governor of Belize, Sir John Burdon, visit him aboard his yacht. When the Governor arrived, the Baron informed him that he wished to bequeath the bulk of his estate to country of Belize. And on 17 February, one day after his 57th birthday, the Baron’s will to that effect was signed & executed aboard the Sea King II.

The Baron Bliss Trust

The Baron’s will was meticulous. It called for the formation of a trust fund, and dictated whom the main bankers were to be, Messers Coutts & Co., of London, England; the auditors, Messers Alexander Clapperton, C.A., also of London, England; and the Board of Directors, initially the Governor, the Colonial Secretary & the Attorney General of Belize. The Baron Bliss Trust was to invest his money, and all income generated from the principal would be used for the permanent benefit of Belize and all its citizens.

The principal amount of the Trust, consisting mostly of British stocks, securities & term deposits was not to be touched. The value of the Baron Bliss Trust stands at about US$800,000. The money is not to be used for churches, dance halls or schools, except agricultural or vocational. Only the interest is to be spent and no loans can be raised on the security. An interesting stipulation is that no American is to be a trustee or an employee of any trustee — no reason is given. At the time of his death, the Baron’s bequest to Belize was valued at some one million, eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars, but before we were quite finished counting, England had dropped a bombshell. Even though it is specifically stated in the first line of his will that Baron Bliss considered himself domicile in Belize, and while he even wrote a letter to his brother to that effect, the British government decided to contest the matter in court. On March 11th, 1929, a decision was handed down by a Mr. Justice Rowlatt of the King’s Bench which read and I quote, “I must find that it is not made out that this gentleman acquired a British Honduras domicile.” As a result, at least a quarter of the original amount given to us by Baron Bliss was taken out for British taxes.

Part of the trust was designated for an annual boat regatta which is held every year in honor of the Baron. This regatta is the focus of Baron Bliss Day activities in Belize City. Other towns in Belize celebrate the day by having small boat races and parties.

Baron Bliss Memorial Light House

The Baron also left instructions that he be permanently interred in a granite tomb near the sea, surrounded by an iron fence, and an obelisk or lighthouse should be built nearby. The Baron Bliss Lighthouse stands as a welcoming beacon and as a fitting memorial to a man who deeply loved the sea and demonstrated great caring for those who showed him kindness and hospitality in his last days.

The entire inscription on his tomb, shown to the right, reads:
In memory of Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss J.P. Of Marlow in the county of Buckingham, England.
4th Baron Bliss of the Former Kingdom of Portugal.
Born 16th February 1869, Died 9th March 1926 on board his yacht “Sea King” R.Y.S. in Belize Harbour.
A generous benefactor of this colony.

We would like you to remember a man who spent years in search of a place to call home and finally found it on our shores. But it’s not the money that he left behind we appreciate; it is his own gesture of appreciation to those who gave him a sense of contentment in his last days; Happy birthday Mr. Bliss.”

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.

Shopping in Belize…Shopping in the US from Belize and more photos…

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Karel’s Barber Shop doesn’t open until 10 am.  We’ll come back next week for Tom’s much needed new “do!”  Of course, we’ll post photos of that!

It was a fine day. We love the charming little village of Placencia.

Once again, Estevan appeared at our door promptly at 9 am to drive us to Placencia Village for our weekly errands which this week included a haircut for Tom, a trip to the fish market, a stop at the drugstore, a visit to the vegetable stand and finally a trip to the largest of the grocery stores in town. 

Tommy’s Restaurant.  Guess who got a kick out of this?

The neighbors on either side of us are from Minnesota and Friday night we’re having a Minnesota Potluck dinner making the shopping expedition all the more enjoyable.  What would we find that would be reminiscent of Minnesota?

As it turned out, the barbershop doesn’t open until 10 am and the fish market was out of fish.  We asked Estevan to drop us at the end of the peninsula, leaving us to walk the full length of the road through the village, stopping along the way. Next week, we’ll arrive later for Tom’s haircut and again check with the fish shop nearby.

Another quaint shop along the main road in the Village.
Cooler today, the walk was pleasant and relaxed. With Estevan picking us up in two hours from the larger grocery store at the opposite end of the peninsula, we had plenty of time to take photos, stop at each of the several small grocers along the way looking for ingredients for the items we’d planned to bring to the potluck dinner.  We kept the dishes simple knowing certain ingredients may not be readily available.
 Tom, outside the grocery store where we shopped today.

Shopping.  A necessary part of life.  Unless one lives on a farm, weaves their own fabrics, makes their own clothing, doesn’t use any toiletries, doesn’t drink alcohol, doesn’t require any medications, and on and on.  We shop.

Some of us enjoy shopping in stores, others online, others both, others not at all.  I lean toward the online category.  Tom falls into the “not at all” category.  Back in the US a year could go by without stepping into a mall, preferring the anonymous lurking online comparing prices, products, and reviews

Local clothing well priced on display outdoors.

With a plan to go pick up a box of necessary supplies at the UPS store near the pier in Miami on April 13th, where will also ship our excess luggage to my sister Julie, we’re busily placing our online orders. 

 The local pharmacy, at the top of the stairs.

How will we receive our items without paying the $10 per box/per day fee that UPS charges to “hold” purchased items?  We’re having the approximate 10 boxes shipped to our mailing service in Nevada, Maillink most of which have free shipping.  They’ll store all the items until we instruct them online, to open all the boxes, place every item into a larger box and ship the larger box to us to arrive at the UPS store in three days.

Check out the verbiage on this sign.  Love it!

The potential cost of this box:  $65 plus perhaps $20 additional in case UPS receives it a day early, holding it for two days.  While we’re port we’ll pick up the box and bring it aboard the ship.  This maneuver increases our cost for the items by about 20%.  We can live with this. 

An indoor clothing store filled with local fashions.

You may ask, why not rent a car when we disembark the ship for the eight-hour layover in port and drive around and buy the items?  Ten items, ten possible stores, the price of the rental car, the gas, the day spent feeling stressed is why to avoid that scenario

Notice the colorful signs on this corner, pointing in every which way to other businesses.

Plus, many of the items we must receive in the box will include the rental of the XCOM Global MiFi device we’ll be using while cruising for two months and later in Italy for the summer. 

Cowfoot soup is on the menu today.

Another example is my favorite tea, Pouchong, an Oolong tea introduced to me by my son Greg  (thanks Greg!) a number of years ago, the only tea I drink.  We gave up many favorite items when we left the US.  I gave up many favorite foods when choosing this strict way of eating.  I was not willing to give up this tea!

Omar’s Restaurant, covered in flowers and vines.

But buying the tea in itself presents a problem. One of few companies that stock this tea, (one cannot find this tea in a tea store) is a well managed, customer service orientated online store, Adagio Teas which I’ve used for years.

The Placencia mail delivery vehicle!

Last week I visited their site to place an order for enough tea to last me for the next six months, which amounts to one pound of tea at $58 per pound.  With no room in our newly revised luggage for a greater amount, I figured they’d send it anywhere in the world where we can receive mail, not necessarily in Kenya or South Africa.  This requires careful planning.

The Placencia Post Office and Social Security Board.

With a new mailing service address, I updated my shipping and credit card billing address in their system as I quickly breezed through the checkout process as I’ve done so many times in the past.  A message appeared: “we aren’t able to process your order.”  Duh?

One of two banks in the Village.

My first reaction was that I made an error in entering the credit card number, the expiration date, or the little 3 digit number, that I had entered in the appropriate fields. I re-entered all the information. Again rejected. 

 The local cemetery in the village.

Immediately, I brought up the website for that particular credit card to make sure the past payoff had in fact processed. Every month we pay off all of our credit cards to avoid interest charges and also to keep them free to use when our cards don’t charge exchange rates fees.  We’d recently charged several upcoming cruises.  Perhaps, they hadn’t processed the incoming payoffs.

Organic, pesticide-free produce.  We purchased this entire batch for US $12.

Nope.  A credit of ($.97) appeared on the account.  There’s no reason for the transaction to be rejected.  I wrote an email to Adagio Teas, almost panicking. What if my teas days are over?  I’ve tried dozens of other teas.  None appeal to me.

Within a few hours, I received this response:

“Hi Jessica,

Thank you for your message. Could you provide a little more information?  It would help us to know the billing and shipping addresses you are using, and whether you are trying to place the order from outside the U.S.
 
Last year we had a large number of international fraud attempts, and we put in place more stringent fraud prevention measures. You may be getting caught in these measures, but we’re happy to help figure things out.
 
Please visit us again soon, and let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
 
Adagio Teas
http://www.adagio.com“

OK. I get it. Their system detected that we’re in a foreign country, Belize, and the transaction was blocked. I wrote back to them immediately. They entered my email into their system as “safe.” Yesterday my order went through using the same credit card. The tea is en route to Las Vegas to be among the items to be shipped to us in Miami. Once again, Adagio Teas provided fast and courteous customer service.

A well-stocked pharmacy.  I needed to buy a pair of reading specs for reading Kindle on my smart phone while in bed after the contacts lenses come out.  $10 (US) for an adorable pair in white.  With no TV in the bedroom we read books.  We do adapt, don’t we?  For the first time in years,  we’re both are relaxing enough to enjoy reading novels.

I knew about this risk while in the early planning stages of our worldwide travels.  This is the first time I’ve encountered it.  Its time to begin thinking about acquiring a VPN, a virtual private network that reroutes the connection to create the “appearance” of the inquiry coming from the US, an entirely legal and convenient tool used by many expats and businesses. 

With plenty of food on hand for our share of the Minnesota Pot Luck dinner on Friday night and for our dinners over the next week, we’re rather content.  Tonight we’ll have a homemade meal of more coleslaw, which I made earlier to ensure it’s well chilled, fresh steamed wax beans, and a big platter of sautéed locally made sausages with buttery caramelized onions.

Tomorrow is our 18th anniversary. Our plan is to dine out but with so much good food on hand, we may decide another night’s dinner at “home” is a perfect way to celebrate.

Our upcoming itinerary…The next 801 days is here…Scroll to end of post to see…

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The beach in front of our villa this morning, cloudy, wavy, and cool in the ’70s.

Our itinerary is in a state of flux as we await the postings of upcoming cruises. Cruise lines post a portion of their cruises approximately 18 months in advance and others at 12 months.  We’ll see a cruise listed for 2013 or 2014, hoping it will recur again in 2015.  However, many do not repeat the following year.

Our more imminent concern is a cruise posting to get us out of South Africa around March 2014 to travel along the safer western coast of the continent.  If it is never posted we’ll fly from Nelspruit, South Africa back to Europe. 

With our upcoming lightened luggage load on April 13th which we’ll handle when our ship docks in Miami for the day, we’re more comfortable with flying as necessary.  We’ll pay for the allowable two bags each as required, neither of which will be overweight. 

We’ll always prefer to travel by cruise provided the daily expense stays within our budget.  There are many cruises available that meet our needs to get from one location to another. Unfortunately, the cost is often prohibitive, at times upwards of $10,000 for 14 to 15 days!  That’s not for us!

With political unrest in many parts of the world, we remain in close contact with the US Department of State as to the safety of visiting any of the countries in our itinerary.  We’re not foolhardy. If there is an imminent danger, we’ll change our plans, regardless of the potential loss of any deposits paid.

Should this happen, we’ll rebook the time period for a location, we’ll enjoy as much and go on with the remainder of our plans.  We’d decided this strategy when we began our research.  Of course, we’ll post changes as soon as they occur.

As you can see our current bookings end on May 14, 2015.  This is NOT the end of our journey.  As we travel on we’ll continue our research, which we both find quite entertaining.  We’ll make decisions for traveling on, health providing.
In 801 days, we’ll have only experienced the “tip of the iceberg,” speaking of which…perhaps Antarctica is on the agenda.

So here it is folks, our next days with more to follow.  Items marked in turquoise are booked cruises.

Locations # Days Dates
Belize Rental 62 2/5/2013-4/9/2013
Cruise Belize
to Miami  		 4 4/9/2013 – 4/13/2013
Cruise Miami
to Miami		 7 4/13/2013-4/20/2013
Cruise Miami
to Barcelona 		 11 4/20/2013 -5/1/2013
Cruise
Barcelona to Barcelona		 4 5/1/2013 – 5/5/2013
Barcelona
Hotel 		 1 5/5/2013 – 5/6/2013
Cruise
Barcelona to Dubai		 15 5/6/2012 – 5/21/2013
Dubai Hotel   13 5/21/2013 – 6/3/2013
Flight Dubai to Barcelona 0 6/3/2013-6/3/2013
Hotel Barcelona 1 6/3/2013-6/4/2013
Cruise Barcelona to
Venice 		 12 6/4/2013-6/16/2013
Venice to Tuscany – Train 0 6/16/2013
Tuscany Rental – 17th century
villa		 76 6/16/2013 – 8/30/2013
Tuscany to Rome – Train 0 8/31/2013
Rome to Kenya – Flight 2 9/1/2013
Kenya Rental – Diani Beach
house		 90 9/1/2013 -11/30/2013
Kenya to South Africa –
Flight		 1 11/30/2013
South Africa Rental – Kruger
National Park – House		 116 12/1/2013-3/26/2014
Kruger National Park to
Durban, South Africa – driver		 0 3/26/2014
Cruise Durban
to Capetown – waiting to book		 4 3/26/2014 – 3/30/2014
Cruise Cape
Town to Genoa Italy  – waiting to book		 18 3/30/2014 – 4/17/2014
Drive Genoa,
Italy along French Riviera to Cannes		 1 4/17/2014 – 4/18/2014
Cannes to
16th Century Stone House, Cajarc, France		 30 4/18/2014 – 5/17/2014
Stone House
to Lisbon – Flight to Madeira		 1 5/18/2014
Madeira, Portugal 76 5/18/2014-7/31/2014
Spain, London, France, Portugul (free time to explore) 66 7/31/2014-10/26/2014
Cruise
Barcelona to Miami 		 14 10/26/2012-11/9/2013
Cruise Miami
to Miami  		 7 11/9/2014 – 11/16/2014
Miami Hotel  1 11/16/2014 -11/17/2014
Cruise Miami
to Los Angeles – Will book 6/1/2013		 13 11/17/2014 -11/30/2014
Hawaii Rental
– Big Island		 46 11/30/2014 – 1/14/2015
Kauai Condo
Rental		 120 1/15/2015-5/14/2015
Estimated
Days Remaining from 3/5/2013		 801
5/14/2015 on…we’ll begin adding to the end as soon as bookings become  available

The magic of Skype…

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Willie waiting to Skype with his “aunt” when we were in Nevada for business.

As a kid, I remember fantasizing about being able to “see” using the phone. In the 1950s there was talk about such technology eventually existing, being referred to as Phone-A-Vision (or something like that).  Here we are many years later and this technology not only exists but works rather well.

With the advent of cell phone service providing free long distance in the US, we weren’t frequent users of SKYPE in our old lives.  

For a period of time, I had worked in Nevada, leaving my husband and family behind. (Knowing I’d be gone for several months I brought along our precious little dog WorldWideWillie). With the ease of calling family members on my smartphone, there was little need to use SKYPE. Shortly after I arrived in Nevada my little sister Julie suggested we talk via SKYPE rather than on the phone.

For those of you unfamiliar with SKYPE please click here for a detailed description.

Julie and I began to use Skype on a regular basis.  Willie, a huge fan of Julie, went nuts when he’d hear her voice coming from my laptop while seeing the live video of his “aunt” who had often visited our home.  After only a few occasions, he’d anxiously wait by the computer for me to Skype Julie. He’d bark at my laptop looking up at me with pleading eyes, to make the call.

With both voice and video turned on while talking to Julie, I was able to walk around the house with my laptop showing her where I lived, the inside of the refrigerator, a new gadget I’d purchased, or the bruise I got on my leg when making the bed;  lots of “sister” stuff.

Since leaving the US we’ve talked to family members and friends using Skype.  As soon as we moved into our villa in Laru Beya, I immediately called Julie to “show” her our new place while we giggled in awe of this amazing technology. 

It was necessary to work out a few glitches with Julie to ensure a clear connection.  Discovering that turning off the video aspect along with her calling me using the Skype app on her iPhone, I was able to answer for perfectly clear reception on either my Android phone or on my laptop using the Skype app installed on both devices.

You may wonder, if we no longer have cell service, how can we make a Skype to Skype call using our smartphones? LaruBeya has free WiFI throughout the resort. Our unlocked smartphones (meaning we aren’t locked into a cell contact, our phones are classified as unlocked GSM and thus enabled for SIM card use) don’t currently have SIM cards but are able to pick up a WiFi signal wherever it is available: at this resort, at a Hotspot or any other location that offers free or a pay-for-use wireless Internet connection.

Using Skype, we have no bill to pay and no account to maintain.  All we need is a Skype name for others to easily reach us.  As long as the computer or phone’s sound is turned on, an incoming Skype call rings to a familiar musical tone.

What if both the computer and the phone’s sound is on and a Skype call comes in?  Whichever device we use first, to “pick up the receiver” via clicking on the old fashioned phone handle icon, is the device on which we will take the call.

Since arriving in Belize, we’ve discovered a vital fact about Skype that has saved us a considerable sum. We can call any US toll-free numbers at no charge.  This enables us to handle business matters back in the US calling a landline.

However, if one is calling a non-toll-free number, for instance, a friend’s regular cell number, as opposed to their Skype name using Skype, it is necessary to place funds into a Skype account using a credit card and to pay per minute use. For example, while here in Belize, if we call the local cab company for a driver, we’d have to pay for the call on Skype.  Why?  They don’t have a toll-free number.

We deposited $10 into my Skype account for this purpose which remains intact in the account, less $2.10 for one local call we made at the end of January when inquiring about a golf cart rental. Were we to call family or friend’s landlines or cell phones without their using Skype on their end, the call on Skype would be approximately $2.89 per minute.  As you can see, this adds up.

Back in Minnesota with a shared cell service plan, our average minutes use was a combined 800 minutes per month, resulting in approximately 22 minutes per day for each of us. While outside the US, if we each used the 22 minutes per day, our monthly cost through SKYPE (or through our old Verizon account which we’d investigated) would be $2312!

You may ask, why don’t we have SIM cards installed in our phones for use in Belize?  Simple.  We can use Skype for free.  Why use up minutes on a SIM card when we can use Skype at no expense?  If we had SIM cards, we’d suddenly find we’re frequently loading minutes onto the card while spending huge amounts a month in cell calls.  Plus, we’d eventually end up with dozens of unused balances remaining on SIM cards from all over the world.

As for the magic…my eldest sister, Susan, living in Boulder City, Nevada has been unable to use a computer these past years due to a medical condition. We last spoke on January 3, 2013, the day we left the US. 

In her career she owned a successful travel agency, traveling the world experiencing many cruises, mostly on upscale cruise lines.  How fun it would be to share our experiences with her!  She educated us on cruising when we visited her in Nevada over Christmas, tips that we’ve treasured from the moment we boarded the ship.

Without a laptop and only recently receiving a Kindle Fire, a gift from her daughter, Susan had yet to load Skype. I wanted to speak to her!  While “Skyping” with sister Julie a few days ago, an idea hit me! 

What if I call Julie on Skype at a prearranged time.  She picks up the Skype call on her iPhone verifying that we have a clear connection, (without using video which requires more bandwidth). With her landline next to her, she dials Susan’s landline while pressing the SPEAKER button. 

She sets both phones down on the desk and says to Susan, “I have a surprise for you on the phone!”  Susan cringed.  She doesn’t like to talk to people she doesn’t know on the phone.  Who does?  She made the assumption that whoever was on the line was a stranger. 

Speaking in a normal voice, I said, “Susan, it’s me, Jessica!  I’m calling from Belize through Julie’s Skype!”  

The three of us squealed with delight. Once again, we were together! The sound was clear, free of background noise or static.  It was as if I had called her directly on Skype.  We chatted on endlessly in our usual way with an enthusiastic interest in one another’s lives and well being. 

Well, of course, I can’t expect Julie to be an intermediary on all future calls to Susan. But now, she is highly motivated to take the easy steps to install Skype on her Kindle Fire, making it possible for us to chat anytime we’d like at no cost, anywhere in the world. I’m looking forward to that!

Another “workaround” worked for us in our world travels!

Last week, while talking on Skype with son, Richard in Henderson, Nevada, he was using his smartphone and I was using my laptop, both voice and video were clear. His funny pug Monty, heard my familiar voice, snorted, and licked the phone. See, dogs like Skype, too!

Thanks, Julie!  Thanks, Skype!

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.

Countries we’ll visit, real estate to explore, plus photos…

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Famous long sidewalk in Placencia Village with houses scattered along the way.

After spending most of my career as a real estate broker in Minnesota, USA, real estate in Belize peaked my curiosity and Tom’s as well.  With our possible plan to “settle somewhere” when and if we tire of traveling, we’ve decided to research real estate when we find an area particularly appealing. 

An excellent example of local property design, the restaurant, the “Caribbean Breeze Coolspot,” offers sweeping views of the lagoon and the mountains from the deck.

With our newly discovered wanderlust, we can’t imagine living in one locale for an extended period.  But, let’s face it, advancing age may require a fixed location some time down the road

House along the drive into Placencia Village.

How can we make this potential eventuality fun and exciting, rather than a dreaded eventuality of aging?  Taking care of our health is firmly implanted in our lives.  As we all know, unforeseen medical issues can occur in a flash, no matter the attempts one has made to avert it.  We’re products of our genes, our environment, and past bad habits, that can haunt our DNA for a lifetime.

House on the way to Placencia Village.  There’s a tremendous amount of poverty in Belize.

Keeping a positive attitude isn’t a guaranty either, as much as we’d like to believe it is.  So, we’ve decided to live now, as if we’ll live long and healthy lives, full of energy, full of passion, and full of hope.

House we see each time we walk along the beach heading south on the Placencia peninsula.

This hope precipitates a desire to explore what options will be available to us for not only our pleasure but also for a certain degree of ease of living.  Would Belize fill that bill?  We don’t know.  We’re yet to define a frame of reference from one locale to another.

Occupied house near the pier at Monkey River.

We will have visited the following countries including many of their cities and regions in the next two-plus years. Health providing, we’ll add many more in the years to come.  With a three and a half month unplanned gap in Europe in 2014 and a plan to explore more countries during that time, perhaps we’ll add three to four more countries to this list.  (These are listed in no particular order).
1.      USA
2.      Belize
3.      France
4.      Italy
5.      Spain
6.      Turkey
7.      Greece
8.      United Arab Emirates
9.      US Virgin islands
10.  Honduras
11.  Grand Cayman
12.  Bahamas
13.  Puerto Rico
14.  Grand Turks and Caicos
15.  Portugal
16.  Egypt
17.  Jordan
18.  Kenya
19.  South Africa
20. Panama
21. Mexico
22. Guatemala
23. Costa Rica
24. Columbia

With ten upcoming cruises from April 2013 to November 2014, we’ll have an opportunity to look at properties while in port along the way, both for sale and for rent. This process may not give us a definitive view of our eventual long term location but may inspire us to return to live in a particular locale for a number of months to better acquaint ourselves with the lifestyle.

House along the canal leading to the lagoon, leading to the Caribbean Sea.

So often, while on vacation, we’ve all fantasized about moving to the location to live an idyllic life lounging on a pristine sandy beach, with the waves lapping at our feet. 

In only a short time, we’ve come to realize in our own naivety, that however romantic and inviting a location maybe, in time, we all settle into the comfortable and the familiar which hopefully brings us a sense of contentment, fulfillment, and a certain degree of happiness.