Belize Has a New Prime Minister, Did You Know I Wrote a Book And Thoughts…

Yesterday was a big day in Belize…a national holiday…so a quick report on what I know about that and some other thoughts and hopes from my perspective.

Belize Votes RESOUNDINGLY for change in yesterday’s election

Yesterday was election day in Belize!  And over 70% of the Belizean electorate turned out to cast a resounding vote for a new administration.  The country has flipped from RED – United Democratic Party to BLUE – People’s United Party in a huge way.

6 Interesting Facts about Elections in Belize

We have a new minister/area representative in San Pedro – Belize Rural South.  Minister Heredia graciously conceded and congratulated Andre Perez, the owner of Pan Dulce Bakery and our new Area Representative.

Our new Prime Minister is the Leader of the PUP party, Johnny Briceno.  And only 5 of the 31 seats are now RED.  (The previous administration was 19 RED and 12 Blue)

I’m excited for change.  Better communication and a bit of transparency would be great!

Pantone 2020 Color of the Year was pretty SPOT ON for both the USA and Belize.

Hoping For An Eye on SUSTAINABLE Tourism

Something I hope HOPE HOPE our new minister of tourism pays attention to – SUSTAINABLE tourism.  Sustainable for the environment, SUPER important.  And tourism growth is very important, yes…for sure.  But it seems to have been the ONLY goal for the previous administration.  More. More. Bigger. More.  More hotel rooms, more golf carts, and then more jobs.

A focus on sustainable growth would be fantastic – we NEED sewage, roads, a hospital, roads, garbage disposal, affordable housing, policing of environmental regulations, electricity, water supply, and more.

An eye towards what will keep visitors coming to this island in the years to come.  Is it large modern hotels packed together or small unique lodging?  Or both?

The country has a pretty amazing sustainable tourism plan – that was commissioned by the Government of Belize and presented to the country in 2011.  An excerpt:

Northern Islands: In Ambergris Caye, San Pedro will be regarded as a charming and attractive destination including a vibrant town with a walkable and attractive waterfront experience where beaches able to be enjoyed and unobstructed water scenery. Caye Caulker will continue to offer low-key charm along with attractive beaches and a cultural offering. Both destinations will provide a mainly nature-based niche product as well as nautical and sun&beach in second rank.

Nowhere in that do I read bigger hotels, more golfcarts!

If you want to take a look:  National Sustainable Tourism Master Plan for 2030.

I got sparked this morning by this CNTraveler article:  Five Reasons WHy Colombia Became a Model for Sustainability.  

I linked up my blogs about my trip to Colombia years ago below.  What a GORGEOUS country.  The only place (other than Belize) where I thought…I could live here.

8 Things You Maybe Not Know About Traveling in Colombia

Now I’m rambling.  To the next topic!

My Book On Ambergris Caye

It’s been just over a year since I published my book:  50 BIG Experiences On Ambergris Caye Belize.

Since then, I have new readers and lots of new subscribers.

What it’s about:  I booked a trip to Belize because of the snorkeling and the reef and the beach and the great weather but I fell in LOVE with Belize because of the community.  The FOOD!  The bartenders and waiters that felt like great friends after only a week.  The rice and beans.  The crazy fun-scary night snorkeling trip I took.  The small things.

So I wrote a book about the 50 Experiences I would recommend to friends and family to get them started.  TO hit the ground running and loving Ambergris Caye.  The fun facts and quirky tidbits that I think lots of people will enjoy.

It’s got 5-stars on Amazon.  106 ratings.  I mean…just in case you don’t believe me. 🙂

It’s available as an Ebook/Kindle or a paperback.

Support The Scoop

I love doing the Scoop so much…I will probably be doing it into my 80s but going without significant income for 8 months now and…you can imagine.  My computer has to go to the shop today…and…I’ll stop.  Because I know how lucky I am in many ways.

If you can, if you are able, I would appreciate it so much. 

I’d ALSO love to hear your thoughts on anything additional you’d appreciate from the Scoop.  A private-troll-free forum on Facebook. Or not.  I understand if you are OVER Facebook…I am too.  Let me know any ideas you have…PLEASE!

And thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has been SO kind in the past few months.  Thank you for the kind notes of encouragement too.  It’s all really helped – and knowing that you like to see pictures of Belize…has inspired me to get out there.

I’m VERY excited to get my camera back from repair in the states…it should be any day now!

As  Much As I HATE to Say it or to even think it, Keep An Eye on The Storm Maps

It would be named IOTA.  What a stupid name.  But let’s hope it stays true to it and is an extremely small and short-lived storm.

How INSANE is it…it’s November 12 and there are 2 named storms out there – Eta and Theta and this one…ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Watch on National Hurricane Center

Tropical Tidbits – especially for the models and the blog updates from Levi

Wunderground Hurricane Info

And as always, the best predictor I know of for weather on Ambergris Caye – Windfinder

It’s predicting LOTS of rain for next week.  That’s a ways off and subject to lots of factors…but AHHHHHHH!

My computer’s going in for repairs today – hopefully just a 24 hour stay and HOPEFULLY she’s fixable.  GOOD LORD, I HOPE SHE’S FIXABLE!  So bear with me. And have a great Thursday!

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