A Weekend at the Camps: Off-The-Grid on Ambergris Caye
My boyfriend Jeff has a penchant for finding off-the-beaten-path spots on Ambergris Caye. An island that is becoming busier by the day.
He operates Cayo Frances Farm and Fly on the west side of the island and now working on a new camp – on the NE side of the island…both off-the-grid…both WAY outta the way.
On Saturday, I visited both.
Here’s a map to explain WHERE I am talking about. He acquired the property for Cayo Frances Farm and Fly – a flyfishing camp THE BLUE STAR – about 15 years ago. Before the Secret Beach road crossed the island and opened up the west side of Ambergris Caye to vehicles other than boats. The camp opened in September 2016 for guests.
The Secret Beach area is marked by a YELLOW ARROW.
The newest camp – you can see the announcement here – is the Rocky Point Permit Camp at about 17-18 miles north Ambergris Caye. Under construction.
Here are some weekend pictures from Cayo Frances.
A few inside shots…all pretty simple.
Getting ready for Christmas – this year we put up two trees. A mini one for the bar with some very homemade ornaments.
And then the bigger tree inside which is a hodgepodge of homemade ornaments, fishing supplies like flies and bobbers and all sorts of stuff…
Including old Bicycles Licenses from Belize City…
And some Great Horned Owls that a mouse chewed on during the off-season. We have a couple of Horned Owls that live at the camp…they are known to make a RACKET as the sun is coming up.
A few evening pics and I’ll switch over to the next camp!
Oh wait…one last thing. Very cool heads (?) that were found on the property – one a few years back, and one just a few days ago. Maya…animals? Let me know if you have a theory about what they represent.
Onto Rocky Point Permit Club! A boat ride across the Cayo Frances Lagoon…
and a long, bumpy and wet golf cart ride up the island.
The recent heavy rain (one day – 5.5 inches) caused some of the road about 9-10 miles north to flood. We got thru it slowly – and if you can, watch another larger vehicle traverse it first. There is some higher ground!
Another AMAZING find. One of the guys we work with up north found a glass buoy buried in the sand. I’ve been searching for one of these all my life!
Time to search the beach for cool things…
I found a type of conch? shell that I’ve never seen before…the Queen Conch is on the left and the mystery shell on the right.
And a few construction pics.
I’ll leave it there. That’s A LOT of pictures!
For more information about the camps, see Cayo Frances Farm and Fly – and Rocky Point Permit Camp for information.
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Thank you for sharing daily life in Belize. I love your emails and adventures.
Rebecca, Both properties are very impressive. Wishing you and Jeff much success with second property.
I have a theory about the white ‘head’. It looks like some type of roundworm became fossilized and led to the hole. If a Mayan found this ‘Hag Stone’ they may have tied a string through it to wear as a necklace. Some cultures believed these stones with natural holes had magical power to bring good luck and ward off evil…
Thank you so so much.
Thanks so much. If someone had asked me 20 years ago, living in NYC, single and working like crazy what my life would be like in the future? I would have laughed long and hard if you told me this!
Great pics! Who are the builders Jeff is using at the Permit Camp in Robles.
We have lots there and are looking to build casitas. Appreciate all you do for Belize/Ambergris!
A great one – message him at jeffinbelize at gmail and ask. He’d be glad to recommend I know! Finding a builder is TRICKY!
Thanks//great pics—really enjoy your posts
So cool! As I think you know, we are between both of your sites on the Caribbean side, also off the grid. If there is one recommendation I might make that has made our life so much nicer, get no-see-um cloth on the windows. Maybe you already have it… Available on Amazon. Essentially, we live in a screened in porch. I love it. Good luck with both properties.🥰
We don’t have it but that is a great tip. The guys who work at our camp leave their windows totally closed and burn the coils – they are really bothered by the sand flies. Coils are amazing but let me look at that cloth! Thank you.
The two stones you found are net weights used to hold down the net corners when thrown to catch fish. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278416522000022
The one on the right might represent a bird, maybe a gull or sea eagle. The other one I would guess represents a mythical character with a bandaged right eye. My best guess but I not know Mayan characters associated with fishing.
We’ve found LOTS of net weights at the property – dozens? They are either small circles – like donuts like that article says – or just ovals with indentations on the side. These are so decorative and artistic, they seem like way more.
I ran across an article from Ecuador https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000050283 that shows one eyed figure that is associated with with rebirth and resurrection. Ecuador is not that far from Belize. The snake represents rebirth in ancient cultures.
Years ago, I saw some very similar heads on display at Marcos Gonzalez. I seem to remember they were feet for a bowl, maybe ceremonial(?). If you know Jan Brown, who used to run Marcos Gonzalez, I think she would be able to tell you.
Yes! They are broken off like they are feet or maybe decor on a vase…yes!
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