Back in Belize

After our flawless trip from Costa Rica we are settled into our newest abode. Karen and I are staying in a friends condo here on Ambergris Caye and I have to say, we do love it. We stopped by our favourite dive shop, Belize Pro Dive Center, and touched base with the best dive staff in Belize, setting up a tentative dive plan for our stay. The next order of business was going to the Palapa Bar and have a Belikin with the friendliest bar staff we have ever met. And according to Karen, the best huggers. Thanks Ivan and Abner.
There is something deeply satisfying about coming back to a place where people know you and take the time to say hi. Every place in the world has its problems, but this little slice of paradise certainly checks a lot of boxes for us.
We were fortunate enough to find a gentleman, Albert, to supply us with fresh seafood while we are here. The one sad part of that was he confirmed for us that the fellow we had purchased our fish from previously, Fishman Johnson, had indeed passed away since our last trip here.
Headed into town to get my unruly mop of hair cut the day after we arrived. I never really thought about the value of getting your hair cut, as Karen has cut mine for the last 25 some years. But after having had it done in Bocas del Toro, Panama and here in San Pedro, it is a great way of getting a feel for an area. As well, you never know when you will get a new experience. I have never had someone shave me before and certainly not with a straight razor. A little nerve wracking at first but a positive experience. I’ll be back there before we leave.

We did an exploratory drive up the new concrete road that heads up the north end of the island. It is very exciting here right now. Between what we have seen in town and our drive north there has been more development on Ambergris Caye in the last 16 months than we have seen here in the last 8 years. Certainly looking forward to checking out more of the island and seeing what else is going on.

Today marked another new experience for us. We finally got around to booking a dentist appointment down here. There are plenty of blogs and articles about medical tourism to in Central America, and I am not sure I would classify our trip to the dentist as a view into the industry. However I will say it was a fantastic experience for us. The building and office are not the chic modern affairs we are used to in Canada and the front desk staff are not the highly efficient, pleasant professionals we have come to expect at home. but the dentist was friendly, communicative, and skilled as he handled the cleaning. The equipment appeared clean and functioning. The most telling part of the experience is that both Karen and I walked out of the office smiling and thanking him for the great job. He even took the time to chat with us which is something we were definitely not used to in Canada. All in it cost $150Blz (75US) per person for a consult, check up and cleaning. For us about the same as we paid at home over and above what our “100%” coverage paid.

We also finally got our act together and applied for international health care insurance. You have to have it to get into Australia and really it is just stupid of us to have travelled the last year with no coverage, though medical costs are still realistic here in Central America. I will be curious to see how smoothly this process will go. We will keep you posted.
Now it is time to start prepping our dive equipment……very excited!