Belize Island Life

Laid-back lifestyle – Belize

Belize is a free country that offers a laid back tropical lifestyle.

Besides the people there are a few other thing I like about San Pedro one is that we drive golf carts.

I hate it when I arrive on the island and have to take a taxi to get home. It’s just not how I like to roll.

The other things I like: All the outside bars and restaurants. There is nothing better
than being able to set outside and have a nice dinner and a drink out on the water. The water and the reef are so calming. It’s a great way to relax after along day at work.

Taking long walks on the beach is also away great way to relax.

Remember the Motto for Belize:

NO SHIRT — NO SHOES — NO PROBLEM.

If you leave the house and forget to through on a pair of shoes, no problem. You can go into any establishment barefoot except on the plane. Don’t forget you shoes if you plan on flying.

If your a few minutes late to  appointment most people will understand. Just remember your on Belize time. We  like to take things at a slower pace.

A friend said to me once. If you come to Belize without patience it won’t take you long to get patience. This is a place where patience is forced upon you. If you come from the fast paced big city life, it will not take you long to fall into the Laid-back lifestyle most people come here for.

Manana

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Misinformed- San Pedro Belize

I, myself like many others, get on the internet for information. It is a great resource, but from time to time I will come across incorrect information.  Here is what I found.

I came across a website that stated the Barrier Reef comes very close to the island of San Pedro at the far north tip of  the island at Mexico Rocks.

The problem with this is that the far north tip of the island is about 15 miles from town and Mexico Rocks is about 6 miles from town. Considering we live on an island, there is a huge difference between 6 miles and 15 miles.

I will not mention the website, but here are some facts. The reef does not hit the island at Mexico Rocks. The person that wrote the article could not have ever possibly been on the island or even looked at a map. The reef  comes very close to the island at Robles (15 Miles north of  San Pedro Town) and hits the island at Rocky Point. Here is a link to a map that shows the island and the reef. Map of San Pedro Belize

This incorrect website is one that is all about Ambergris Caye and has all kinds of information and this information is on their home page.  I know that things change over the years and some information is out of date, but this is just not the case.

I just posted a blog yesterday about another article that I found with incorrect information. This article was just published yesterday and the author was by, “guest author”.

Once I start reading an article and I find information that is incorrect I stop reading and go to another source.

There is a lot of misinformation, out dated information and plain baloney out there.

Just do your due diligence when looking for information on the internet. There are many professionals out there that you can turn to to get the correct information. If you plan on coming to Belize and think you are getting all the right information off the internet be careful.

When you do your research on the internet make sure you check more than 1 source. I see a lot of misinformation out there.

I have had so many new people come to the island with knowledge they picked up from the internet and they thought they were right. Most had ended up losing more than they came with because they were misinformed.

Invest In Belize

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Staying More Than 30 Days in Belize

Tim,

I always read your blogs, I really enjoy them. On this one however, you need to correct something.(The People and Community – San Pedro Belize)

About the over 30 day stay, as far as the Belizean government is concerned, nothing has changed.

But the airlines have taken it upon themselves to do it differently. I have been told by all three major lines that if I plan to stay for over 30 days, I have to have a visa or I will not be allowed to board the plane to Belize.

The Belize embassy in Washington will not issue me a visa, as they say one is not needed.

I have an email from the Director of Hospitality in Belize (Below) stating that I do not need a visa, that I go every 30 days for extensions, etc.

The airlines say that is not acceptable. What it boils down to is this, the airlines seem to have found a loop hole in the entry requirements and are using that to force travelers into changing their returns once in Belize. Of course the airlines collect the fee for doing the change.

From a former condo owner in San Pedro,

Below is the letter from the Hospitality Officer in Belize

Warm Greetings from Belize

A passport is required for all visitors to Belize.

It should be valid for at least six months beyond the duration of the intended stay in the country. A 30-day visa will be issued on arrival, and extensions (up to six months) may be obtained from any Immigration Office for a fee of BZ$25 for every 30 days.

Citizens of the British Commonwealth (India excepted), the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the European Community do not require visas for travel to Belize.

All other citizens should contact the nearest Belizean Consulate or Embassy for details on obtaining visas before travelling.

For additional information contact:

The Immigration and Nationality Department
Phone; (501) 8-22611. (501) 2-33505

Application for permission to employ a foreigner:

Any foreign citizen who wishes to work in Belize MUST be a legal resident (have resided in Belize for at least six months). He/she must be in the country legally, with proper visas and/or permits issued by the Immigration Department.

For further information on the above please contact the immigration department at insbze@btl.net or call them at telephone number 501-222-4620.

For better clarification on the above, please contact the Immigration Department on the number listed above.   Should you have any additional question, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Do have a great afternoon!

Best Regards,
Zinnia Magana
Hospitality Officer

If  anyone has more information on this matter and would like to comment please do.  We would love to hear from you. You can also email info(@)investinbelize.com

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The People and Community – San Pedro Belize

San Pedro has a large expat community.

The people here are the most friendliest Tim and I have ever meet. This is the reason we choose San Pedro as our home.

You can meet Frank at Crazy Canuck’s on Sundays for the Horseshoe Tournament. Watch out he’s good.

We love the island life. The Belizean people are the best in the Caribbean.

A lot of  U.S.,  Canadians and others from around the world have made San Pedro their home. They have been coming here for many years. I know people that have been here since it was British Honduras. They still love it today just as much as they did he day they landed over 25 years ago .

Some come down to work

others retire here. There is a great retirement program for those 45 and over. You can choose to go this route as long as you don’t plan on working.

Staying in Belize is easy. You will need a round trip ticket to land in Belize. Once here you have to get you passport stamped every 30 days until you either have a work permit or permanent residence. People seem to come for vacation and just never leave.

San Pedro is a place where the people you meet will make you feel right at home.

Whats not to love?

Invest In Belize

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Building in Belize is much different than most places. If you are thinking of building there is a lot to learn. They are using a pulley system which is run By a 4 wheel pick up truck. Here is a picture of cement on the way up, there is no O.S.H.A. here.

We had a concrete pump on island and it was not ideal. The guys couldn’t make concrete fast enough and the pipe would get clogged, this created loss in time and the concrete would dry in the pipe damaging equipment.

Here the driver has engaged front wheel drive and uses gas pedal to pull load up and brake to lower. They have been using this brilliant system for years. It would cost about a thousand U.S. dollars for his service of truck and pulley system. Normally they do a bucket brigade, they hand each bucket to one another till they reach the top. You would be amazed at how quick they can do it.This system you are seeing is much better, concrete needs to be placed quickly in order to have a monolithic pour.

Basically the concrete needs to be placed quickly and not watered down for the most strength. I have always used Maya cement which has the highest strength 5,000 P.S.I.F ederal roads and bridges are required to have this amazing strength. Typically most contractors in the states would be happy  to get 3,500 P.S.I.,we are lucky to have products like this locally available (Maya Cement).

Construction has picked up, we have a lot of building going on the island. This is good it was slow for a while. I am getting reports from Tropic and hotel owners, this will be the busiest Christmas season in years !

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Why San Pedro -Belize

The picture is from my favorite blog

People ask me all the time, why I chose San Pedro. One big reason is there is always something going on.

Last night,Tina and I went to Banana Beach to help celebrate a friends Birthday (Happy Birthday Roger). While we were there guess who walks in ————–Kelly McGuire,
The Famous “Award winning” singer song writer. ‘Boat in Belize” won best album of the year in 2008. Kelly is one of the most down to earth guys I have ever met. It was an extreme pleasure meeting him. We headed over to The Royal Palms Villas where we enjoyed  him serenading us  under the stars.

We really enjoy his music. The best way for me to describe it; a cross between Jimmy Buffet and country. Everyone that loves San Pedro needs to get his C.D., he sings about our little island. His catchy songs will have you singing and your toes tapping.

This photo was taken with my i-phone(3) , no Flash. Tina forgot the big bulky camera but Rebecca (San Pedro Scoop) was there and got some great photos, check out her blog.

Kelly has made San Pedro his second home, we are happy that great people like himself are taking up residence here on  Ambergris Caye. If you read the papers or the news you may notice that San Pedro is the most popular destination in Belize. Before you chose a destination you might want to ask yourself why or why not?

Why does singer song writer Jerry Jeff  Walker have a second home here? Why do we see Jimmy Buffets plane at the airport or boat harbored out in front of the island? Why did Madonna write a song about the island “La Isla Bonita” ? Why did Leonardo DiCaprio buy the island off the West Coast of the island ?

After over 20 years of traveling and researching the Caribbean, we chose Ambergris Caye too.
We hope you enjoy the beauty of the island as much as we do.

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Yesterday was quite a day for some folks the power company is doing major work and had notified everyone of a scheduled outage. Here is what they announced days ago:

Belize Electricity Limited advises its customers in San Pedro Town that the supply of electricity will be temporarily interrupted from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 13, 2011.

Areas to be affected: the portion of San Pedro which includes Coconut Drive, Angel Coral Street, Sea Grape Street, Pescador Drive, San Telmo Area, Manta Ray Street & Mosquito Street and the entire area North of Boca del Rio.

Well things didn’t go as planned, imagine that! They drilled threw a water main on the edge of town and had the water company scrambling to restore water.

This is perfect opportunity for folks that are not seasoned to the islands. We don’t have many outages and when we do it is restored fairly quick, but; remember this.

Turn your fridge to the highest level hours before if possible, and keep fridge door shut. Keep a cooler around for items you will need during a planned outage.

Shut computer down before outage

Get gas for generator or boat etc.

Charge golf cart

Unplug all sensitive electronics in case of a brown out or a spike.

Keep water in the bathtub or washer or sink, sometimes the water company will have a generator failure. Find something fun to do for the day, Sundays are fundays. We have many beach BBQ’s and beach entertainment from Boat races to Beach Jams.

Located Caribbean Villas

Belize National Championship Regatta Nov. 13th 2011. races on Sundays

Crazy Canucks has a horseshoe tournament every Sunday and will rent a generator for the band normally. Some of the best days we have had, have been during power outages. Once the lights star to blink prepare for another activity and unplug the computer. Most resorts and businesses have back up water and generators, it may be a good question to ask.

We were lucky, but ready.They said we would not be effected but we had gas and battery back up.Tina and I got a lot done. I surveyed a property and she hung Christmas decorations. It’s official the holidays seasons are here.

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