Jobs for Belize

When we moved to Belize we were told that, as retired folks, we can't work or volunteer our services, but were to just live and of course, bring down US dollars.  By US standards we're quite poor, but to Belizeans I know it appears we may not be rich, but we have more than most of them.  We see that most of our neighbors don't have work, or if they do, it's only day work, usually building a little house or working with a machette.  There is almost no industry here outside tourism.  We hear about funds being donated to Belize by various countries, for varying reasons, but note that there's usually no noticeable sign of where the money went because it usually ends up being siphoned off into political pockets.   How foolish is it to send money to a backwards country like Belize without demanding accounting and proof that it's being spent generally as specified?  Twice in my working life I was responsible for US government grant reporting and would expect at least that same level of responsibility to accompany third world grants.  


 There are a few wealthy, generous, thinking folks in the world, such as Bill and Melinda Gates, who give so much to the poor of the world.  My view tho' is that giving computers to people with nothing is worse than nothing.  I see parents and children struggling here to pay for schooling beyond the primary grades.  Some who pay for and complete "college", which is the US equivalent of high school, go on to Galen University or the University of Belize.  They sacrifice so much, but just like in the US, there aren't many jobs waiting for any of them when they finish.  The computers and cell phones give them a hint of what is out in the world, but has very little to do to with helping them survive right here.  


What they really need (and I think this probably applies to the rest of the world too) are jobs.  Belize needs industry.  They've lived with promises, but the machette is still their best survival tool.  They're definitely not lazy, just have little hope of a better tomorrow.  In so many ways they're barely into the 20th century.  I pray that the outside world will help Belize to develop and help her to survive as a beacon of hard work in an environmentally sane direction.  

Wall of rain

We were just changing into our work shoes when I went out on the front veranda.  It has been somewhat overcast, but some sun and comfortably warm all morning.  There's a phenomenon here that I had never heard in Oregon.  Off to the east it sounded as tho' a freight train was heading for us.  No wind, just sound.  I'm getting somewhat used to it, but it's still interesting.  It was a wall of rain coming thru the bush right at us.  When it arrived we were hit with an instant downpour and wind.  I looked out at the open area across the drive and could see occasional hail bouncing.  This took about 5 minutes and now it's stopped.  We can hear thunder off in the distance, but only getting the rain dripping from the trees.  We'll wait for a bit to head back outside where I want to chop at a haleconia that is taking over the front and under the house.  Art's doing what he can to try to help and it's wonderful to be able to do things together.   

slow motion

It's frustrating that, when there's illness in the home that things seem to move in slow motion.  I don't get nearly as much done and time and dates seem to lose their importance.  I just try to keep things going by doing the basics.  It's actually good to have tasks to occupy my mind and hands.  Art's vertigo keeps him from being able to do much that's physical.  He is able to take Bailey for his short walks, which is wonderful for all of us.  I've pretty much given up on any gardening, except for a few new hibiscus and bougainvillea.  I'm additionally frustrated right now as the heavy rains that come periodically have beaten off the new little blooms on my hibiscus.  It's probably better for the plant, but I'm so anxious to see the blooms.  I've planted two Sunsets, which are a large singe bloom of bright red with splashes of bright yellow.  I did get to see one before it fell.  Actually, the blooms only last a day anyway.  I also planted a double yellow and a double orange. 

We just had a wonderful gift of a visit by one of my nephews from Oregon.  He went to Cancun for an intensive week of studying Spanish and then took the ADO (Mexican bus) down to Belize City and then the local bus to San Ignacio.  He was only here for a few days, but we had such a lovely time.  His wife and younger daughter went to Colorado to help his brother move and their older daughter was on a school trip to Spain (isn't that cool?).  We visited some of the ruins and he took a cave trip to Jaguar Paw.  Time passed way to quickly, but the family hugs did more good than any medicine.  It was hard to drop him off at the local bus depot (what a hilarious term for a muddy parking lot).  As I told him, my family worry gene kicks in and I'm not totally comfortable until I know that everyone is safely in place.  He emailed that he arrived back in Mexico safely, so I relaxed again.  

I hope that some day our daughter and son & families can come down, but the economy has made it very difficult for all of us.  Our two family guest rooms sit vacant, waiting to welcome them whenever they can come.  

I'll try to be more diligent about posting.  I enjoy this connection with family & friends.         Blessings,    Gale

Moving forward

It's so frustrating that when you get sick you can be fine one day and in the hospital the next, but the road to recovery is very slow.  That's the problem for Art, but I'm pleased to say that he is slowly getting stronger.  It seems that age comes up and slaps you in the face and says, "hey, you can't do all the things you used to, so you have to adapt."   It isn't easy, but its wonderful to see him with color in his face and walking around. 

Our weather has gone from dry and hot to muggy and hot.  The temps aren't as high, but the humidity makes the "feels like" temp pretty tough.  My friends and I all carry cloths to wipe our faces and forget the bit about ladies don't sweat, they glow.  Ha!  We just plain SWEAT!  I try to get up fairly early to take Bailey for his longest walk before it gets too hot.  I feel so put upon having to take him out, but I enjoy it when I finally get going.  He's so undemanding and will patiently wait until I decide to go.  The walks are all tough since we're on the top of a hill, the beginning is downhill while the end (after I'm pooped) is uphill.  Since we can't let him roam on his own, I try to let him sniff and investigate a little along the way.  He has an incredible nose and I know the scents give him visions of traipsing thru the bush after some interesting creature.  After he's sniffed and marked every twig and bush, we slog our way back, both of us panting. 

Since the solar provides so much power during the day, we're able to keep a box fan going all the time on the floor of the veranda so that Bailey can always have access to a nice breeze.  I've been enjoying doing some drawing and painting again.  Bailey and I share the space in front of the fan and keep each other company.  This is the part of retirement that I really enjoy. '

Through all of our troubling times, we've been blessed with good friends who keep checking on us and are ready to help if needed.  What a blessing.  

Speaking of blessings, we're excited that my nephew will be able to visit us for a few days at the end of this month.  Dreamer Farm isn't fancy, but it's a lovely, comfortable spot and it gives us such joy to be able to have family share it with us, even for a short time.  

A tough decision

I haven't posted anything this time about Art being sick again.  It's been tough, but, thankfully he's doing much better.  Still not sure where the problem lies, but hope to get some answers soon.  He's getting some help here, but if test prove that he needs more help, we'll have to get him back up to Oregon to the VA.  This has prompted us to face the fact that Dreamer Farm is getting to be too much for us because of our ages, Art's health and our limited resources to have outside help.  We've had a website created and have put the property up for sale.  Of course we're not holding our breathes, thinking that it will sell immediately, but we need to acknowledge our situation and be practical.  If we do sell, we're not sure if we'll return permanently to the U.S. or find a smaller place here.  We can definitely live in Belize much cheaper than in the U.S., but, as with so many seniors, we have health insurance up there.  A tough decision! ! 


Our website is   www.belizerealestatebullettreefalls.com


Until things change, we're going to continue to love Dreamer Farm, planting flowers and enjoying all it's wonders.     Blessings,    Gale

Honey

Not sure if I posted about this before, but when we first moved in we had an old cooler that didn't work well.  It sat on the veranda as we sorted out our stuff.  When I got around to moving it I noticed a little wax tunnel going into the drain.  Some very tiny honey bees had taken up residence.  It took a bit of maneuvering to get the cooler off the porch to under the house.  If we went too far, they'd not find it and start over somewhere else.  They swarmed around a bit and I have to mention that they don't sting, and eventually found their home again.  Last year we got a large bottle of honey from them, but we just opened it up and found that one side had gotten too hot from the sun and had scorched a large area.  We only got about 1 1/2 cups this time.  

This has been so interesting to me as the honey bees in the N.W. are the large, yellow and black, bumble bees.  They deposit their honey in combs.  These little buys create little beads, the size of a small marble to store their honey.  Rene helped me remove the beads, which I squeezed and set to drain on a rack.  Not hard, just messy.  

These photos aren't very clear, but the surprising thing to us was that it appears that there are two different groups using the same cooler as there was a queen at the bottom and a second one at the top.  She's ensconced in a circular bit of tiny comb, behind the waxy leaf shapes.  Rene told me the leaflike material is insulation.  I'm learning more fascinating things.  

Rene & the Gillie hat

I was sitting at the table on the veranda when I looked out at Rene, working in the yard.  He's a wonderful Mayan/Mestizo man who's helped us out here for six years.  He's done 99% of the work on the grounds here and has also become a dear friend.  

Anyway, I couldn't see Rene's head as he was working.  I watched him for a bit and then had to laugh out loud.  I realized that, because it's really hot right now, he had bushes on his head.  Who really invented the gillie suit?  The locals of every land know so much more than we do.  With just his machete he can survive in the bush.  

I showed the photos to my friend, Diane, and she said, "why didn't you wait until he moved out from under that branch?"  Then we both had a giggle when I explained that that was the point.  He was the branch.  Love it and both of them.  

Answering questions about Belize

The best way to find answers about moving and living in Belize is to make one or more trips down to determine where you'd like to live and what things you'll need to make your life comfortable.  Even tho' the country is small, it has diverse areas offering very different life styles.  

Land  -  Unlike many Central American countries, foreigners can own property here without having a Belizean partner.

 Most of Belize is for sale.  You can scope out areas with a realtor if you're most comfortable that way, but your best bet for the best price is to get to know folks and ask if they know of land.  Prices are all over the place.  Prices are usually quoted in US dollars.  That's because Belize dollars aren't recognized outside Belize and it makes the price more understood.  

 One huge thing to watch for is that you only purchase Titled land.  Citizens are allowed to lease land and will often try to sell it.  Don't buy leased land with the idea that they will transfer it to titled land for you.  This can take years, can be very expensive and often just doesn't work.  

Crime -  The main area of concern is Belize City.  We don't travel there any more than we have to, but find it relatively safe during the day.  It isn't recommended that you travel outside at night.  Some of the best shops are in Belize City, so some trips are inevitable.  

In other areas, theft is an issue.  Lots of folks in the towns have burglar bars.   Dogs are a definite help as most Belizeans are afraid of big dogs.  Gringo's are targets, so we just try to look as tho' we don't have much money, which isn't a stretch for us. 

The smart  is to not leave your house unattended for long stretches of time.  There isn't a lot of work here for folks and many feel that if you're not using something right now, they can make better use of it (steal it / sell it). 

Shopping - We do miss shopping at Costco.  We can find almost anything we want here, we just have to look several places.  There are good hardware stores in Spanish Lookout (Mennonite) and a couple of lovely stores in Belize City for Home Depot type shopping.  We rarely find it necessary to go there.  For a few troublesome things, we can either have a store order them from the US, or I go on the internet and order, having them shipped to a freight forwarder in Houston and they bring them here to Cayo.  Takes time, but it does work.  

 We do our regular grocery shopping at the Taiwanese grocery stores and our fruits and veggies from the outdoor market in San Ignacio.  Some are grown in Belize and lots are imported from Mexico and Guatemala.  
 
Snakes and spiders and other creepy crawlies -  We really don't worry a lot about them, altho' we do try to stay aware.  Frankly, tarantulas are not a concern.  We see holes where they live, but we rarely see one.  They are extremely shy and afraid, so stay in their holes until night.  

Basically the same with snakes, which are more of a concern.  We don't travel in the deep bush without our friend, Rene.  We had the underbrush cleared in a large area around the buildings, which discourages the snakes.  The only deadly snakes we've seen are ones that Rene has killed and brought to show us.  Icky, but helpful.  We did have a large, non-deadly snake go thru the yard, but it's the kind that eats bad snakes so we cheered it on it's way.  The most wonderful thing for us has been our friend Rene.  He has worked for us for 6 years and is of Mayan ancestry.  He knows so much and tries to educate us and keeps the place cleaned and safe.  

Gardening - Lots of folks have gardens here.  We haven't had great success because we wanted to go organic and the bugs defeated us.  You don't notice them, but they do eat the tiny starts. Also, our place was hacked out of the bush and we are slowly amending the soil for better results.  

Weather -   If visiting, don't come down in late April or May.  It can really get hot.  From June thru October or November would be hurricane season.  Hurricane's rarely make land in Belize.  If they do, it is mostly in the Toledo area or around Corozol.  In the seven years that we've owned our place only one small hurricane came our way.  That was Richard, which came from the east.  We lived for many years on the Oregon coast and the winds got harder there than those that hit us with Richard.  


Our house has screens for windows and wooden shutters that we close with the weather.  


Friends and family - We have a satellite dish for internet service to allow us to keep in contact with family and friends in the US.  

We enjoy our Belizean neighbors, but find that there is a language difference (most only speak a little English) and much different lifestyle.  There are lots of expats here, so, with a little effort, you can make friends.  Here in Cayo we have a once-a-month women's luncheon at different restaurants.  Usually between 20 and 30 women attend.  It's informal and just to get acquainted.  There are quite a few expats here in the Bullet Tree area also.


Medical care - This is the tricky one.  There are physicians here, who have been trained in the U.S., Cuba, Guatemala or Mexico.  For general things, the care is good, caring and immediate.  The hospitals are definitely third world.  There is a new hospital in San Ignacio that was supposed to be state of the art and was going to function as a model for the rest of the country.  Is suspect that it does, but it has no equipment and all the fixtures look as tho' they came from a very sad garage sale.  The problem that we're facing right now is that Art is having some serious issues, so to get better diagnostics and care, we'll probably have to return to the U.S.  


I know that there are lots of other questions, but for now, these might help.  I try to tell things as they really are, but am afraid that it portrays Belize in an excessively bad light.  It is definitely an adjustment to live in a third world country, but there are so many lovely things to appreciate.  We just tell folks that you have to able to accept life here, "warts and all."     Blessings,    Gale

The Bush (Jungle)

It's lovely to sit on our veranda and listen to the birds.  The heat has also encouraged the hatching of crickets and cicadas.  Sometimes the sounds are almost overwhelming.  It's early morning and the Chachalakas are announcing their locations to each other and the world.  Its a goofy, but wonderful chorus.  

A sadness to me is that more and more of these sounds are joined by those of chainsaws.  Everyone in Belize seems to be obsessed with cutting down the bush.  It gives me a small hint of what must be happening in the Amazon jungles.  Belizeans are obsessed with cutting down every tree, setting fire to what they've cut and planting corn.  The diet here revolves around the maize or hard corn.  They can't seem to tolerate a tall tree.  Traveling to Spanish Lookout, where the Mennonites raise crops and cattle, the land has been totally cleared and it resembles the Midwestern U.S.  The gringos are so afraid of bugs and snakes that they clear the land, forgetting why they came here in the first place. 

When we first started clearing for our buildings, we allowed the boys to cut everything.  We finally realized that wasn't right and had them leave the trees and just clear the underbrush.  This keeps the snakes away from the house, but lets us enjoy the shade of the trees and the residing birds and animals.  The cleared area is to the east of us, which is the direction most hurricanes would come, so we hope to spare the buildings from falling trees.  

The cleared area is probably only three to four acres.  We plan to leave the remaining eight or nine acres in bush as an island of refuge for wildlife.  It's small, but the best we can do.  

It's so wonderful up here on our hill, with the almost constant breezes and the beauty of the bush.  What a blessing.  

Hard to be sick when it's HOT!

It's been a trying couple of weeks.  I had a really uncomfortable case of stomach flu which lasted for several days, made worse by the heat.  As I've said in earlier posts, there are basically two seasons in Belize - wet and dry.  This year the dry season has arrived a little early.  Our last rain was in mid March and it's gotten steadily warmer since then.  The past week it's reached 100 every day.  Ick!  I have to admit that I don't handle these high temps very well, but I am over my flu.  It's hard to have much energy to do anything outside.  We get up early and take dear Bailey for a walk before it gets too hot.  Not sure if his heavy coat makes him hotter or serves as insulation against the heat.  He's such a gentle giant and I feel so helpless that we can't offer him more relief.  

Our solar is performing beautifully now, so we are able to keep fans going, which offers a lot of help, along with the wonderful breezes that seem to find us here on our hill.  A technician from ProSolar came by and installed a Trimetric meter that will tell us charge in the batteries and he lowered the panels to be at a better angle to the sun.  It's exciting to see the meter read batteries 100% charged. 

 This is the Easter weekend, which is causing a lot of frustration for many of us.  Our observation is that Belize isn't a particularly religious country, but the government declares every possible day as a holiday.  Easter is a 4 day holiday, starting with Good Friday thru Monday.  They've now passed a law that even the Chinese stores must close, which doesn't make any sense.  Why should the non-Christian religions shut down for every Christian holiday?  The government in this tiny country of some 300k folks, seems to want to divorce itself from it's British foundation and passes many laws without much tho't or discussion.  It's sad to sit back and watch them flounder with stupid things, while the infrastructure is in such sad shape.  Wow, I didn't plan to say any of this, it just spilled out.  

It's great to feel better and at least be able to talk to and see friends.   We're doing a lot of reading and I've actually picked up a paintbrush to do a couple of watercolors.  I guess the heat is the nudge that I finally needed.  Feels good!

water pump

Ok, UNCLE, UNCLE - We've had so many repair expenses lately that we've both become somewhat numb.  The less money we have, the more that's needed.  We have been trying to recover from having to buy a new generator and then it was new solar batteries with accompanying expenses.  This last week has been heaven, with enough sun to give us lots of power so we haven't really been worrying about the utilities.  WELL, last night, out of the blue, we lost our water.  We have a 10,000 gallon, in ground, cistern with a 1/2 hp well pump and a pressure tank to supply our water.  The pressure switch showed zero pounds.  OK, now what.  We'd recently had the pump reset and rewired.  I was too upset to even be upset, just numb.  Besides the injustice of it, it was Friday night.  I sent out a call for help with a text message to our electrician/pump guy.  Of course, no answer.  Nothing we could do but start hauling buckets of water up from our plastic tank and worry!  I was so tired this afternoon that I took a short nap (something I never do).  I woke to a sound like the pump running.  Art came in and told me that he decided to poke around and took the cap off the pressure valve.  Inside was a bee and a small nest.  As soon as he removed the bee the pressure gauge jumped to 32 lbs, and WE HAD WATER AGAIN.  What a relief.  I'm so proud of him and we're both so relieved that, at least for today, we won't have another huge expense.  You might be able to hear our collective sigh and see our smiles.  I'm working on making my glass half full again.   Blessings

I know it's not exciting, but I decided to add a photo of the tank for info.  The pressure valve is the little grey box with the two wires extending up.  Such a little thing to cause to much trouble.  G. 

The charm of Belize

My last post sounded somewhat negative and I feel badly about that.  It's true that the roads in Belize are horrible, but that's just one piece of this place we now call home.  There are so many lovely bits to focus on that make it wonderful.  This morning I went to the market in San Ignacio with my dear friend, Diane.  Now when you're a tourist, it's fun to go to the market on Saturday to see all the mosh of people and things.  It's probably not the most colorful market in Central America, but there's lots to see and great produce to buy.  Besides the food stalls that are there every single day of the year, small farmers bring their produce in, along with some Mennonites.  You'll find clothing, plastic, videos, food booths, fresh fish and sometimes farmers selling live animals.  If I want to just shop for produce, it's nicer to go on Tuesday or Friday when the regular vendors get their produce deliveries and things are freshest.   Diane and I like to do our shopping and then stop at Lucy's little place for a cold drink and $2 panada's.  Yum and just a lite snack to get us back home. 

The true beauty of Belize has to be her people.  I'm not talking about the ones in the government offices, or the banks where the slowness and inefficiency can drive you wild.  I'm talking about the gentle souls you see walking along the street or riding their bicycle.  Yes, they can make you crazy when you're driving your car, but when you actually look at any of these folks, making eye contact and smile, you'll be rewarded with a big smile in return.  If we ever leave here we'll miss the fact that almost everyone along our road will wave and smile.  We don't really "know" them, but we give folks a ride to the village in the back of the truck when we can.  We still don't speak Spanish and many folks don't speak much English, but as long as we're friendly and make an effort, up here in Cayo, we find almost everyone will help. 

Yes, even tho' almost everyone has a cell phone and some can use a computer, the houses are simpler and so are most of the people.  It's not uncommon to see a man riding to town on his horse and of course there are the Mennonite wagons.   In most ways, Belize is about 50 years behind the West, but that's not all bad.  Yes, we miss some of the shopping and conveniences of the US, but in many ways, we've been transported back to our childhood when many things were simpler.