Five Things on My Mind This Week

When I first moved to Belize, there always seemed to be an older gringo/gringa (generally found semi-permanently-parked on a barstool) with advice like:

“If you want to make a million dollars in Belize, bring $5 million down to Belize”.

Or “Life in Belize is simple but it’s never easy”.

You know those know-it-alls.  The ones who have lived here a few years longer than you have…and always want to one-up you with stories of Belize “back in the day”.  (You remember the sand streets?  They remember before there were golf carts!)

Anyway…the second piece of “advice” struck home this week.  With my court appearance and our crumbling golf cart in constant need of repair, medical human issues and…the mosquitos and the mud and a dog with heartworm.  When it rains, it pours. 🙂

You can read:  Things I Took For Granted Until I Became an Expat in Belize

The big picture?  Life is pretty good overall.  I am very lucky.  It’s just easy to get bogged down in the…stuff.

Speaking of that…I’ll start my list of Five Things On my Mind with Britney Spears.

Britney Spears in Belize…Again

The entire country was in a tizzy when, a few days ago, it appeared that Britney Spears was in Belize!  She posted a clip on Instagram complaining about the heat – on the airstrip at the Belize International Airport…getting into a helicopter and flying to a private island…

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVl2GgcMKhP/
She made the nightly news.  2/3 of my Facebook feed was Belizeans welcoming Britney to Belize!

AND, from her video, you could tell that she was touching down at a spot called Gladden Private Island.  I MEAN LOOK AT THIS PLACE!  It looks..beyond amazing.

And then the very next day…bubbles were burst when Britney posted again.  (This obviously wasn’t in real-time – Britney can’t have the paparazzi after her!)

“OK … I wish I had cool pics to show from this place but it rained the whole damn time ‍♀️ … I’m not really that upset because I’ve slept like a freaking baby !!! I just wish they would have told me that there’s no air conditioning … or no room service menu … so I learned my lesson here !!! Don’t believe them when they say it’s five stars ⭐️ … go by someone who has actually been there !!!! This trip wasn’t a success but as my boyfriend always says, “stay GRATEFUL” ”

And like that…oops…she lost about 350,000 fans.  The population of Belize.

Oh Britney.  That seemed really really bratty.  And like you need a new travel advisor.

I mean don’t you just hate when five stars doesn’t mean five stars!  When you can’t get a club sandwich delivered to your open-air villa on the barrier reef?

Note:  This is NOT Britney’s first time in Belize.  When I visited Turtle Inn and stayed in Sofia Coppola’s house (how great does THAT sound) – one of the staff told us that Britney and her family had been there within the last year.  And that they were great.  (I don’t remember if there was AC there…but I do know that it was FABULOUS)

Bridge Toll on Ambergris Caye

The bridge in San Pedro – that separates south Ambergris Caye (and San Pedro town) from what is called the north side of the island – was completed in 2006 and always had a toll.  In the beginning, there was even a toll for bicycles crossing!   The price for carts has always been $5bzd each way (or a monthly pass of $150bzd purchased at the town council.)

But at the beginning of the pandemic, the toll booth was taken down and…no tolls.  For anyone.

The toll is back and the final rates were announced earlier this week by the town council.

Starting tomorrow.

And yesterday…I saw a toll booth being erected.  On the other side of the road from the old one…

Mystery Fanta

Earlier this week, I saw this sign going up at grocery stores around town and I thought to myself…who would fall for this?  Clearly…this beverage, which appears to be the dregs….the leftovers when they are cleaning the brewing vats…will appeal to no one.  It looks like motor oil.

Well…I fell for it.  And bought myself a bottle of the Mystery Fanta.

I mean…just a few years ago, I bought all the flavors to taste and rank them:  The Many Colors of Fanta in Belize and A History You Might Not Have Imagined

It was research…my work!

And…

Here’s the mystery!  It tastes like Orange Fanta with a bad aftertaste…like a diet soda chemical aftertaste.  I mean…maybe the color is fun for Halloween?  But who wants black teeth and a black tongue on any other day.

You are welcome 🙂

More Bridges for Ambergris Caye

A few weeks ago, our new Prime Minister announced that he had spoken to the President of Mexico and discussed a bridge from Mexico to the far north of Ambergris Caye.  A plan that could be an extension of the huge Maya Train project in the Yucatan.  A project that is way over budget and moving quite slowly.

Here is the proposal for that.

Here below – a map from Wikipedia of the area of Belize/Mexico our PM and the GOB are talking about.

Xcalak is the closest village – and it’s barely 500 residents on a sandy beach road.  South of that…you can get a sense of it on Google Earth – is a whole lotta mangrove and lagoon, probably lots of iguanas, a few jaguars and then…nothing.

There have been debates within government, there have been environmental concerns…the PM backed up a bit to say that it is “just an idea”.

I…I don’t want to sound overly cynical but…does anyone actually think this is a real possibility?  That this could happen in my lifetime?  I mean…COME ON!

If so..I am going to start picking out a name for the unicorn that I might find when walking on the beach.  Candy Corn maybe?

I felt the same way about an International Airport on North Ambergris Caye – I still do!

Let’s not even discuss the Formula One Race track idea at Lighthouse Reef Atoll

The Weather!

And while Britney might be bitching about the rain, I think we’ve had a fantastic October.  Not a tropical storm in sight!

2 days of rain…some heavy rainfall at night last week, but overwhelmingly hot and sunny.

And the first “cold front” of the season blew in on Friday night – a nice north wind pushing temperatures briefly below 80 degrees for the first time in months.

Yesterday, I settled into Lavish Habit (my favorite coffee spot) for a deeelicous Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Whip cream and all.

Things are looking up.  Way up.

I hope you are all having a great weekend.  Happy Halloween!

And as Britney’s boyfriend says STAY GRATEFUL!