What to Do During an 8-Hour Sunday Power Outage on Ambergris Caye

A few weeks ago, Belize Electricity Corporation (BEL) announced a planned power outage for the entire island of Ambergris Caye. Sunday, July 23, 7am to 3pm. Oof.

You might be thinking…that’s not so bad! You can just spend the day at the beach. And I agree – there are worse things. But 7am on a Sunday is early. Too early for my liking. For the AC and/or fan to go off. The house starts heating up quickly.

You also might be asking: 7 hours with no power? Does this happen a lot in Belize?!? I guess that depends how you define the words: a lot. It does happen. Planning all day? Maybe once or twice a year? Unplanned – much more often. But generally shorter term. An hour or two. It happened to our area (8 miles north Ambergris Caye) last week after a particularly dramatic lightning storm. (If you want to delve deeper – see BEL Power Updates on Facebook where these things are announced and customers register complaints) Also:

15 Things No One Told You about Living In Belize

The power went off at precisely 7am. And we flipped on lifesaving battery-powered fans. (A new purchase – they go on serious sale during Prime days – and they are AMAZING)

By about 830, it was time to find the next location. We had originally planned to head over to Caye Caulker but changed our minds last minute. Use the water taxi fare to take ourselves out for a nice meal in San Pedro.

Generators are definitely a luxury in Belize…especially one that can keep the AC on during a long power outage. But some hotels have them. Red Ginger Restaurant at the gorgeous Phoenix Resort – one of my favorites – has both a generator AND a Sunday brunch.

Perfection.

That’s a good-looking generator.

And a mimosa bar.

There were only 2 tables left when we got there at 930am. And when we left at noon, it was PACKED!

I picked the Sourdough Benedict – and it was delicious.

My friend Jamie did the Belizean breakfast – with beautiful fry jacks.

We stepped outside to the strong breeze…

…and found sooo many people lining the beach. In golf carts, sitting in the shade, standing in the water. Kids were loving it.

I didn’t want to be a creeper taking pictures…but trust me. Families were everywhere.

Thank goodness for the breeze!

We headed home around 2. People were crowding the BBQ stands for lunch/dinner. We stopped at this fantastic (but spicy) spot just over the bridge for jerk chicken and ribs to go.

His ribs are AMAZING. Check out my last trip to this kick-ass roadside Jamaican BBQ spot.

The power went on a bit later than scheduled – 3:35pm. And we can only hope they got EVERYTHING done…and we will have power for the rest of the summer.

Maybe? 🙂