We arrived at Placencia 2-9-05 after a rather calm motorboat trip from Colson's
Cay. The picture is of the mountains of central Belize from the ship
channel. Note the calm water. It did help me get rid of some more dirty diesel.
There are a
lot of other cruisers here and it is a good harbor. Protected from North
West through South East. This seams to be a hub for the cruisers in Belize. We
have been traveling a lot recently so I think we will stay here a while.
This is the main road in Placencia. In fact it is the only paved road
in Placencia. Most of the stores are on this road.
This is the famous sidewalk. It runs through town and is the original main
street. It supposedly took 30 years to complete. Most of the restaurants and craft stores are on the sidewalk.
Everything else looks like this or worse. Really not that bad, however
the sand is coarse and loose. It is difficult to walk in.
If you wander down one of these alleys you might meet one of these guys.
You really don't have to go down an alley to see one. This one was
right in front of Wallens Hardware.
Then there is the one that waits at the dock. Really, they are all over.
They do have some modern things though. Here is the internet cafe.
It is $5.00 / 1/2 hr. US and can be a little slow. There is more than one
internet cafe here. In fact there are four or more. They cost about
the same and are all slow.
There are several grocery stores. The biggest one is Wallens.
They have the best selection and prices. However you have to go from store
to store as different stores have different things. The prices are less
than Belize city but still about twice or more what they would be in the US.
They have a pharmacy, house wares, hardware, and Italian restaurant. The
hardware has 5200 and some other boat stuff.
There is another hardware which is bigger and has more stuff. They are
on the lagoon and have a gas dock. Both hardware have a small selection
of boat stuff. Both have a good selection of house type stuff.
There is a third hardware way down the road to the airstrip. It is
"Professional Builders Supply". It looks as if it has more than
either of these.
If you want fruits or vegetables you go to the fruit stand lady. Better
quality and selection not to mention price. The pineapples here are
sweet. They make the greatest snack to have with your rum and juice
sundowner you can imagine. She is open seven days a week and the stores
are not.
On 2-23-05 we started the process of extending our visas and boat papers. Things have changed. The water taxi no longer goes to Big Creek. It goes to Independence instead. The picture is of the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi office.
It is about a 5 mile walk to
Customs from the "Hokey Pokey Water Taxi" dock in Independence.
We took a cab. We went to the police station where immigration is supposed
to work first. I told the person there we wanted to renew our
visas. He stamped them and ask for $15.00 US. I knew that was not
right and ask him what he had done. He said he had checked us out of the country
of course. I reminded him we wanted to renew our visas not leave. He
held our visas a little farther away and looked at them as if they were going to
bite. Then he mumbled "I don't know what to do". He left
and went to talk to the other person at the police station. When he came
back he crossed out the stamp in our visa and told us he could not renew our
visa. I had a very bad feeling for just a second. He then said we
would have to go to the "other" immigration office back in town but
they were only open on Thursday. I pointed out our visas were due on the
23rd which was that day. He said, no matter, it would be alright.
We left and went to Customs. This fellow was polite and business like but
very grumpy. I think he was having a bad day. He was nice to us
though. He signed our boat papers and gave us 37 days instead of
30. Now that would seem nice at first but then you realize that means the
boat papers and visas no longer have the same due date. That means twice
as many trips to town which aren't cheap. Oh well. We went back to
the boat for the night. We returned the next day, Thursday, and went to
the "other" immigration. This man was nice and business like
both. He extended our visas after putting a big stamp in them
that said we could not work etc while in the country. Like I really wanted
a job in Belize. He gave us two months instead of one.
Refer back to the comments about boat papers and visas not having the same due
date. Anyway we got it done and will leave tomorrow for the Cays.
Total cost to renew visas for 60 days and boat papers for 37 days was
$160.00. That includes the necessary transportation.
In case you want to mail a letter here is the post office. It is
upstairs over the fisherman's co-op. In spite of
the looks I am told the lady there does a good job and your letter has a fair
chance of getting to it's destination.
One of our favorite spots was the Bare Foot Beach Bar. They have rum
drinks for $1.00 US during happy hour on Thursday through Saturday. Nice
view and a cool place to sit while you drink your drink.
Another good hang out was the Cozy Corner Bar. They have good lunch
specials as well as good rum and coke. They do not have the happy hour
like Bare Foot Bar has. The view from both was great. The picture is
from our seat in Cozy Corner Bar.
Everything here is expensive. Diesel is $6.23 BLZ /gallon. Gas is about the same. They have the pump "adjusted" so that you pay for more than you get. Water is $0.10 / gallon. Garbage is $5.00 per bag. There is a $20.00 agriculture inspection fee. Cucumber Marina is close to Belize city. Their diesel is $5.83 / gallon and the pump is accurate. Water there is $0.05 / Gallon. Garbage is free and there is no agriculture inspection.
They have made many of the coral cays into parks. There is a $10.00 min per person per day fee to enter. Some are higher. One is $60.00 per day per person during whale shark season. They tell you where you have to anchor which is not always a good place with respect to the yachts safety. They tell you where to walk and where you can't go which is most of the cay. They are trying to get more of the cays and atolls turned into parks. I have already talked about the fees to renew your visa and get a ham license. They like Tourist (yachts) here but it is because they view them as cash cows. They are not singling out yachts. All tourist pay. Still it is a nice place. The people are friendly and helpful. It is just expensive. There are many mangrove cays that are still free. Most of the barrier reef is free. They have lots of fish and coral. The people are some of the friendliest and nicest we have met so far. I am glad we came when we did. We are enjoying it very much. I think it may be "closed" in the future!
If you plan on coming here stock up before you get here. Our experience is that the states was the best place to provision a boat. Mexico is a close second. This is not the place. However we have not been to Guatemala yet.
Bob and Peggy