2002 Placencia
News Archive |
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Christmas and
New Year's Celebrations. The Christmas and New Year's holiday period
in Placencia were plagued by damp and cool weather, stranding many tourists
at local bars and restaurants instead of at the ruins or reef. (The
flu kept me indoors for almost the entire holiday period, so I can't really
report on the celebrations around town.)
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Whale Shark Interaction Tourism.
A public consultation will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, 16 December at the
Placencia Village Community Center to discussed new whale shark interaction
regulations proposed by Friends of Nature (the managers of the Gladden Spit
Marine Reserve where most of the whale shark congregation occurs in April
and May). New regulations proposed by Friends of Nature include:
A $25 USD per person per day conservation fee (will affect both divers and
snorkelers)
Limits on the number and size of
the boats that may visit Gladden Spit each day during prime whale shark
interaction times (around the full moon in April, May and possibly June)
Limits on the number of
snorkelers and divers per boat
Maximum dive depth not to exceed
eighty (80) feet
Closure of the area during
inclement weather.
Police.
Mike McDougal has donated the use of the first floor unit in his
two-story building immediately to the west of the Purple Space Monkey as a
temporary police station. Ten Village residents have been nominated as
special constables by the Placencia Village Council. Background checks
are now being made on all nominees and all nominees are undergoing extensive
training. The special constables are also raising funds for the
renovation of the temporary station and are in charge of the renovation.
The BTIA will pay for the insurance on a motor scooter donated for police
use by Regent Insurance.
Emergency
Healthcare. Subject to the raising of funds, formal EMT
training is being planned for next summer for 8 people on the Peninsula.
Volunteers will be screened and trained by the Belize Emergency Response
Team, as well as the purchase of a fully equipped ambulance for the
Peninsula. Jake Roberts of the Purple Space Monkey is heading the
fundraising efforts and hopes that much of the funding will be donated by
the Vancouver (Canada) Lions Club. Jake also hopes to raise enough
funds to send someone from the Peninsula to the University of Belize
advanced EMT 2-year training program.
Education.
The Iris Foundation
headed by Marilyn Beckstead has purchased new teacher and student
reference books valued at $10,000 BZD and is donating the books to the St.
John's Memorial Anglican School in Placencia Village. The books will
be the foundation of a new library that will be located on the school
grounds. Volunteers are needed to help build and install bookshelves.
Village Bylaws.
The Bylaws (ordinances) are being reviewed by the Office of the
Attorney General and Glen Eiley reports that he hopes they will be approved
and ready for gazetting by the end of the year.
Sidewalk
Reconstruction. The
Placencia Sidewalk Fund
needs approximately $15,000 BZD to fund the construction of the remaining
600+ feet of destroyed Sidewalk at the northern end of the Village and
recapping of the existing (but damaged) Sidewalk from the former location of
Sonny's Resort north to Westwind, plus a small section near the old BTL
office on the Sidewalk. The Fund also continues to raise money for
concrete trash receptacles, additional lighting and landscaping along the
Sidewalk.
Village Cleanup.
The Placencia Clean and Green Committee is busy removing abandoned
vehicles and appliances from the Peninsula (plus the remaining Iris debris
that has not yet been removed). The Committee is also removing
diseased and dead palm trees. Anyone aware of any vehicles or
appliances that still need to be removed should contact David Vernon at
Toadal Adventures.
Tourism Center.
The new hours for the Placencia Tourism Center at the Placencia
Village docks will be 9-5 Mondays-Fridays and 11-3 on Saturdays. The
center will close on 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve and will be closed on Christmas
Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Tour Guide
Training. Twelve people from Placencia just completed the new,
intensive national tour guide training program and received some of the top
scores in the country. Fourteen people also just graduated from
bartender training and twenty-eight people have have signed up for a new
marine tour guide training program designed to provide commercial fishermen
with alternative job opportunities that are less damaging to the marine
environment.
Hotels.
Ben Ruoti of Nautical Inn has been elected and installed as the new
President of the Belize Hotel Association for 2003.
Births.
Wyatt and Carina Cabral are the proud parents of
Baby Wyatt (Wyatt Carl Cabral) on November 15, 2002. Tiffany Westby
and Shawn Young welcomed their son, Cameron Westby, into their family on
November 12, 2002. And, Beverly Louise Small greeted her new mom and
dad, Alex Small and Norvia James, on November 23, 2002.
Weekly Events.
Thursday nights will be busy with fun starting at 6 p.m. at Jungle Juice
with $25 BZD pitchers of Margaritas and Mexican appetizers, continuing on to
Sugar Reef for a Cultural Night every Thursday evening from 8 pm to Midnight
with Garifuna music, living singing, dancers, drummers, cultural food, $2
BZD rum punch, punta lessons and dance prizes. (And then you can go on
to karaoke at Tipsy Tuna every Thursday if you're still comatose after
Jungle Juice and Sugar Reef.) A Happy Hour marathon isnow
possible every day starting with happy hour at Jungle Juice from 3-5 p.m.,
continuing on to Pickled Parrot from 5-6 pm, and then on to Sugar Reef for
happy hour from 6-7 p.m.
BTL. On
Friday, 6 December 2002, BTL held an opening reception for its new
"compound" in Placencia (that's what THEY call it). Ediberto Tesucum,
CEO of BTL, gave the opening remarks and overview of "service improvements"
in Placencia. On Saturday, half the phones in Placencia were out.
On Sunday, the BTL email server in Dangriga apparently started acting up
since BTL email has been behaving erratically since then. According to
the BTL repair operators, only one repair person is on-call for the
Peninsula on weekends, and if he doesn't or can't answer his phone, our
phones just remain out . (Notwithstanding that BTL told us on Friday
that they could now detect and repair faults from Belize City - hah!)
Sunday, December 1, 2002
Road. The
road is finished from the dock up to the southern side of the curve around
the landing strip! However, the non-paved portion (especially through
Maya Beach) is in bad shape because of rain.
Weather.
Rain, rain and more rain -- every day for at least the last week.
Rain has kept the temperatures moderate, though -- good sleeping weather.
Bylaws.
Village residents at a meeting on Friday, 15 November 2002, voted to
accept the Bylaws and to send them to an attorney for review. The
attorney, Rodwell Williams, has had the bylaws since Monday, 18 November
2002, but no word yet.
  Food.
Jackie Tipton is opening Flavours, a gourmet carry-out place at the
dock. She's already serving some items in the evenings such as
barbecued baby back ribs and lobster curry. Looks like Sea Spray is
building a new restaurant to replace DeTatch. Wendy Lemus opened a new
restaurant in the space next to Olga's Grocery (Wendy's Restaurant and Bar)
-- GREAT fried chicken! Jake's Purple Space Monkey Internet Cafe is
again open for dinner. Serenade Hotel on the Sidewalk is finishing its
new restaurant next door. (They're thatching it now.)
  Lodging.
Casa del Sol, a 4-bedroom, 3 bath seafront villa with 2 large
kitchens and 2 living room/dining areas, large wrap-around verandah, air
conditioning and swimming pool has opened just south of the old location of
Village Inn at the northern end of the Placencia Village proper. Casa
del Sol may be rented by the night, week or month, in 1, 2 and 3 bedroom
combinations. (The fourth bedroom is a special children's room
with 4 beds (two bunkbeds).
The Captain's House near the northern
end of the Sidewalk (3 bedrooms, 1 bath, full kitchen) is also now
available for weekly and monthly rental.
  Jack
McDermott has two new waterfront houses for weekly and monthly rental on the
Placencia Lagoon (double bed, full bath and efficiency kitchen).
Next door to the Easy Living
Apartments, Denys and Emily Barrow have added a new 3-bedroom house with
full kitchen and bath, living room, private verandah and air conditioning in
each bedroom. Available for nightly, weekly and monthly rentals.
Jackie Tipton's new Dew Drop Inn (see
picture at left under "Food") located above her new Flavours Gourmet
Carry-out Restaurant provides affordable and comfortable budget lodging.
Salva Zabaneh is constructing a new
apartment building on the road near the new Placencia Discount Super Market.
(No information yet on whether the apartments are for short or long-term
rentals.)
Contact us for more
details on any of the lodgings listed above.
 Dock.
Myrtis Villanueva (Miss Cunchee), Hortense Cabral (Miss Tensy), Sarah
and Jim Robinson, owners of Viva Verde Landscaping, and the Board members of
the Placencia Sidewalk Fund
completed plantings in the new planters at the dock that were donated to the
Village by the Plantation Development. Two royal palms will also be
planted. Plant material, soil and labor were donated by Sarah and Jim.
Shell is also installing a new canopy over its pumps at the dock.
Pumps have been temporarily moved to the northern edge of the Shell
property.
 Grocery
Stores. Placencia Super Market (on the road near Kingfisher) is
the newest addition to Placencia's markets. Wallen's is also now
carrying a new line of products (Waitrose) and is stocking items such as
brie, arborio rice, English mustard and imported Italian dried pasta -- plus
a larger variety of fruits and vegetables including red and yellow peppers,
plums and apples.
Tours.
New day trips now being offered from Placencia included Xunantunich
Mayan ruins, Blue Hole National Park and St. Herman's Cave, Davis Falls or
Mayflower Archeological Ruins and Pomona Caves, and a half-day tour of the
Placencia Lagoon and Viva Verde Farm.
Contact us for more
details.
  School
and Church. The new classroom building at St. John's Memorial
Anglican School is complete and children are now using the classrooms.
St. John's Memorial Church is being completely renovated, including a new
concrete support structure.
 Iris
Recovery. Placencia Village is definitely back -- lots of new
construction and businesses as evidenced by the above, PLUS the vegetation
on the Peninsula is starting to look really good again.
If you haven't been back in awhile,
it's definitely time for another visit.
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Politics.
Glen Eiley has been appointed the new party standard bearer by the
UDP (United Democratic Party). This means Glen will be running for the
Area Representative when the next elections are held. The PUP
(People's United Party) standard bearer is Rodwell Ferguson from Dangriga,
who will oppose Glen as the PUP candidate for Area Representative in the
next election. No word yet on the date of the next election.
(Unlike elections in the US, parliamentary elections are not held on the
same dates each 2 or 4 years.)
Road.
Progressing quite nicely. The road has been completed up to around
Turtle Inn. Please drive slowly, no speed bumps and kids and pets
still wander the road freely.
Weather.
Pretty good this month. No inordinate amounts of rain, wind or hot
weather.
Village Bylaws.
New Village Bylaws will be presented to the Village for
consideration within the next two weeks -- target date is this Friday, 15
November 2002. The Bylaws will then go to an attorney for review, then
to the national government for gazetting. After the Bylaws are
gazetted, they'll become official. We'll publish them on this site
once gazetting has occurred.
Sidewalk.
Recapping from Sonny's to Westwind is scheduled for next week. The
remaining destroyed portion of the Sidewalk past Lydia's Rooms to the end of
the Sidewalk as it existed pre-Iris will then be rebuilt. That will
leave only a small portion to be recapped in the area of BTL. The
Sidewalk Fund still needs money to completely finish the Sidewalk, plus
install garbage cans, so donations are welcome. See the
Placencia Sidewalk Fund Website
for information on donating.
Ranguana Caye.
Ranguana Caye now has new management. Cabanas rates have been
increased to $100 USD per night, double occupancy, plus 8% service charge
and 7% hotel tax. Each additional person in a cabana is $30 USD per
night. Meal service is now $35 USD per person per day, plus 8% service
charge and 8% sales tax. No word yet on the new cost of transport to
the Caye from Placencia.
Contact us for information on booking Ranguana.
Thursday, October 24, 2002
Miss Cordelia.
Cordelia Oriana Lopez died Friday, 18 October 2002. Miss Cordelia was
born on 28 October, 1926 and lived in Placencia most of her life.
Approximately 300 people attended her funeral on Tuesday, 22 October 2002 at
the St. John's Memorial Anglican Church in Placencia Village. Miss
Cordelia was known best for her laughter, her kindness and her caring.
She is survived by her husband, Mr. Clarence (Clarence Lopez), sons Sydney,
Errol and Fenton, daughters Cynthia and Monica, and many grandchildren,
great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews -- and friends.
BTL.
BTL's new office building opened on 21 Monday, 2002. BTL promises that
phone service will soon be restored throughout the Peninsula. All
subscribers will received three (3) months of free line access and
maintenance, while subscribers who have been without phone service since
Hurricane Iris last year will receive three (3) months of free local calls
(within Placencia Village only). (Too little, too late?)
Road.
It's getting there. Cisco has laid asphalt from the dock to the area
around Kingfisher and has lots of heavy equipment on sections north of the
water tower to the airstrip. Still no resolution of the speed bump
issue.
Sidewalk. The
Placencia Tour Guide Association has pledged $500 to the Sidewalk and the
Belize Tourism Board has pledged $2,500 for 5 concrete garbage containers.
(The Sidewalk Fund is sponsoring a contest for the design of garbage
containers.) Donations are still needed to complete the rebuilding.
See the Placencia Sidewalk Fund
Website for more information.
Village Bylaws.
The scheduled Village Council meeting to review the revised Bylaws was
postponed due to the death of Miss Cordelia.
Weather.
Rains have greatly diminished and the weather has been pretty good for the
last 3 weeks. (The fishing has been great!)
Resorts.
Robert's Grove assumes management of Ranguana Caye as of November 1, 2002.
Rumors are that RG will increase the nightly rate for a cabana from $75 USD
to $100 USD, plus 7% hotel tax and a service charge. Turtle Inn is
still under construction, but the management is holding to its projected
mid-December opening date.
Halloween.
The Placencia Humane Society is hosting a children's Halloween costume party
at Jake's Purple Space Monkey Internet Cafe on Wednesday, 30 October 2002
from 4-6 p.m. Prizes will be awarded by age groups and special costume
categories. The Placencia PTA is providing refreshments. (Come
by if you'll be in the area that day and can help. The Humane Society
is figuring on 250 kids, so they'll have their hands full, we think.)
Adult parties are being hosted by Bella Beach and Sugar Reef the evening of
Thursday, 31 October 2002.
.jpg) Placencia's
Queen. Therese Sierra (wife of Chelo Sierra, of Omar's Diner
fame) was voted Placencia's Queen for the over 40 set. First runner-up
was Arlene Farrell.
The evening of the pagent was GREAT
fun, with story-telling, humorous skits, and the evening gown and talent
show portions of the contestant's competition.
Therese and Adrian Vernon wowed the
crowed with a side-splitting Creole version of a "Hole in the Bucket."
The retiring Queen, Louise Yearwood,
graciously presided over the crowning of the new Queen and the Queen's
court.
More pictures
of the competition.
Wednesday, October 9,
2002
Sorry for the long hiatus, but the
inverter card or some such thing on the laptop needed to be replaced - in
the States, of course. It just got back yesterday via FedEx -- in time
to provide a slide slow at last night's "Remembrance of Iris" get-together
at Sugar Reef. (Look for pictures a little later in the week after
some semblance of order is restored now that the computer's functional
again.)
Following is an attempt at a quick
catch-up on the news for the last 30 days:
Road.
Yes, it IS really happening. Cisco has actually started construction
of the road from the airstrip to the dock. They've laid a great base
-- the surface of the road is now about 6 inches higher. Gravel was
just added last week. Don't know yet about a completion date, but
they're working steadily. The Village is very concerned about speed
bumps and is working with Ministry of Works to have at least four installed
from the water tower to the dock.
Telephones.
According to Liston Hall of BTL, phone service will be restored to everyone
in Placencia Village in November AND everyone who had phone service pre-Iris
will get 3 free months of basic phone service. We're still not holding
our breath.
Groceries.
A new grocery store is opening in Placencia at the location of the old Dis'
N' Dat across the road and south of Kingfisher's. It's an outfit from
Dangriga that supposedly offers discount prices. Not much stocked yet,
and the prices didn't seem to be much less expensive than Wallen's or
Olga's. But, it's nice to have another source for groceries.
Also, Wallen's is now stocking some of the British Waitrose brand of
packaged goods - stuff like arborio rice and English mustards! D&L
Produce even brought in some fresh portobello mushrooms last week, and
Wallen's red wine stock is now pretty decent. Who woulda thunk it in
little ol' Placencia down here in the middle of nowhere?
Sidewalk.
The Sidewalk Fund just finished recapping the old Sidewalk from the
fisherman's dock to the old location of Sonny's Resort. Plus, The
Plantation development from up in Maya Beach donated a small "park" at the
dock -- they've run a sidewalk from the main sidewalk to the parking area,
installed planters and are now working on benches. The Sidewalk Fund
has recruited a group of our Village horticulturists to plant the planters,
and is looking for a source of reasonably priced royal palms for the bench
area. (The old dock is actually shaping up quite nicely.) The
Fund still needs about $40,000 BZD to finish the entire Sidewalk, though.
Weather. Incredible
amounts of rain for the last 4 or 5 days as a tropical depression south of
us in Honduras dumped rain up this way. Lots of thunderstorms and
lightening, too. Unbelievably, the electrical service has held up
throughout the thunderstorms. Cooled things down nicely, though.
Had a very scary moments with Isidore and Lili -- everyone is still pretty
hurricane-shy.
Village Bylaws.
The Village Council held a meeting two weeks ago on the Village Bylaws.
Copies of proposed bylaws were distributed and residents were asked to give
written comments to the Village Council by last Wednesday. The Council
is now compiling comments and should be acting on passage of the Bylaws in
the next month or so.
Sunday, September 8,
2002
Roads and
Phones. Still neither of either. BTL purportedly
installed the wrong equipment of some sort and now has to go back and do
more line work. The building isn't finished, so we don't know when
full phone service will be restored. And, as usual, BTL ain't talking.
We do know that because of the rumored road work, BTL will have to go back
and do something or other to its underground installations. (Don't you
just love all this technical talk?)
 Sidewalk.
Jungle Juice held a fundraiser for the Sidewalk last night. Lots of
fun, but we don't have any numbers on amounts raised as yet. Tuca
provided DJ services, the turnout was pretty good, and a great time was had
by all.
About 1,200 feet of the original
Sidewalk still remains unfinished, and the Fund's Board of Directors is also
trying to raise funds for a park at the southern end of the Sidewalk near
the Fisherman's Cooperative.
St. John's
Memorial School. The PTA and the School Board have decided to
install a learning center on the second floor of the new concrete classroom
building. Books, computers, a/v equipment, software and other learning
materials will be needed.
Thursday, August 15,
2002
Drainage Ditch
or Canal, Part II. Purportedly a stop order was issued
requiring the Plantation developers to stop work on the "drainage ditch."
The government sent down two truckloads of police to quell a riot in
Placencia over the ditch. They came, they saw, they left. (We
imagine they left somewhat perplexed since the biggest gathering on the
Peninsula that day was composed of about 10 people in Jake's eating lunch or
waiting to log-on to check email.)
Jungle Juice.
The new Jungle Juice Bar and Restaurant officially opened Sunday, August 11,
2002. Vance Cabral and Brice and Penny Dial are the new proprietors.
Jungle Juice is the old Nite Moves Bar across from Miss Lydia's on the main
road into Placencia Village.
Pictures.
BTL.
BTL says it has installed all new fiber optic phone lines for the Placencia
area and that the new phone network here is complete. However, it
won't install phones until it completes its new building -- whenever that
might be. (They just don't get it, do they?)
Road. No
signs of any road work except north of the Plantation Development.
Shooting.
On Saturday, August 10, 2002, Robert Moore (Mr. Bob to everyone in Placencia
Village) shot and killed Paul Westby on Frank's Caye in the Sapodilla Caye
Complex south of Placencia. Paul Westby's common-law wife, Dorla
Martin, was also shot but is in stable condition at Karl Heusner Memorial
Hospital in Belize City. (She may have been released by now.) Paul's
funeral was on Monday, 12 August 2002, and Mr. Bob is being held on murder
charges in Punta Gorda. No official report on what happened, but
locals believe the incident had something to do with a long-standing dispute
between Mr. Bob and Paul Westby. Bob and Delia Ysaguierre, his common-law
wife, were living on the Caye as managers/caretakers for Serenade Island
Resort which operates a small resort on Frank's Caye.
Sunday, August 4, 2002
 Drainage
Ditch or Canal? The Plantation
developers claim it's a drainage ditch -- does this look like a drainage
ditch to anybody out there? Looks an awfully lot like a canal -- that
happens to end in a big cleared spot on the Lagoon -- a marina, anyone?
Politicians and government have repeatedly assured the residents of the
Peninsula that no approvals for a canal or a marina had or would be given to
the Plantation Development. Rumors are that the "drainage ditch" is
over 30 feet deep.
Hmmmmmmmm. More pictures.
%20Aug%204%202002.jpg) Another
Road Round Turtle Inn?
The Peninsula Road seems to be pushed
around a lot this days.
The makings of another move
appeared just south of Turtle Inn about two weeks ago.
We're not sure if this is new
Turtle Inn road work, or another new development. Rumor has it that
it's another new development.
And speaking of new roads, there's a
LOT of roadwork going on just north of the Plantation Development. No
info as yet.
 Night
Moves Gets a Face Lift and New Management.
Brice
Dial, Penny Dial and Vance Cabral have taken over management of Night Moves
Bar in Placencia Village (near Dave Rabren's Harbor Place development).
Night Moves was originally opened by Garret Longsworth, Lydia Villanueva's
son. (Lydia of Lydia's Rooms.) Brice, Penny and Vance are planning
their Grand Opening for sometime in the week of August 4, 2002.
 BTL.
Will wonders never cease. BTL appears to FINALLY be doing something to
restore phone service to the Peninsula -- it's only been 10 months now.
These guys are working on the fabled new switching station that BTL says is
needed to restore phone service to one and all.
Phone service purportedly will be
available by October, but we're
betting December or January. (This is taking "Belize time" a little
too far.)
Casino. Rumors
spreading far and wide that Tipsy Tuna (all or a part) will be the home of a
new casino in Placencia Village. A license has
already purportedly been issued by the Belize government (who also swore
this wouldn't happen if the residents of the Peninsula didn't want it -- see
pictures of "drainage canal" above for reference).
 Sidewalk.
The Placencia Village Council has donated $8,000 BZD in proceeds from
LobsterFest 2002 to the Sidewalk Fund for Sidewalk reconstruction.
Approximately $60,000 BZD is needed to
fully repair and reconstruct the Sidewalk -- about half has been raised.
Work began in the area of LuJen's Gift
Shop and is heading north toward Miss Lydia's.
(See the
Placencia Sidewalk Fund
Website for more information.)
Medfly.
Medfly has been found again on the Peninsula. The Peninsula has been
quarantined and a government check point has been set-up at the northern end
of the Peninsula near the Plantation Development. Fruits and
vegetables should not be taken off the Peninsula.
Friday, July 26, 2002
 Sidewalk.
It's official!!!! Work on the
Sidewalk is well underway. The Placencia Sidewalk Fund still doesn't
have enough money to completely rebuild the Sidewalk, but there's "concrete"
progress. (Couldn't pass that one up.)
The
next fundraiser is Saturday, 10 August, 2002 at The Galley Restaurant in
Placencia Village -- with music by The Rejects!!! Promises to be a
great time, so plan to attend if you'll be in the area. Donors can
also contribute by check, mail or credit card. (See the
Donations page of
The Placencia Sidewalk Website.)
More pictures.
Friday, July 19, 2002
Hugh Parkey.
Hugh Parkey, owner of Hugh Parkey's Dive
Connection, died of a massive heart attack on July 13, 2002. Hugh was
scheduled to open a new dive shop in Placencia at Turtle Inn later this
year.
LobsterFest.
The Placencia Village Council reports that it
netted over $9,000 BZD from LobsterFest 2002. (This amount does not
include the net proceeds of the Placencia Chapter of the Belize Tourism
Industry Association, the co-sponsor of the Placencia LobsterFest.)
Most of the Council's proceeds will go to the
Placencia
Sidewalk Fund to help rebuild the Sidewalk.
Sidewalk.
Rebuilding of the Sidewalk has started in the
area of Westwind Hotel, LuJen's Gift Shop and BTL. The
Placencia
Sidewalk Fund has raised about one-third of the total amount needed to
complete reconstruction.
Phone Service.
Still none for most people. Plus, service
was out for three days this week for those lucky enough to have phones --
and service is still out for some. Tin cans might be more reliable.
(Definitely cheaper and readily available.)
Air Service.
Maya Island Air reports that it is adding a
flight to Placencia from Belize International at 5:50 p.m., plus a flight
from Placencia to Belize City at 5:45 p.m.
Boat Thefts.
Over ten boats on the Peninsula have been
stolen in the last three months. The problem is country-wide and
difficult to solve given Belize's meager resources for police protection of
its coastline.
Marine Reserve.
The Gladden Spit Marine Reserve (which includes
Laughing Bird Caye) now has two wardens and one biologist stationed on
Little Water Caye and two wardens stationed on Laughing Bird Caye. The
Belize Coastal Zone Management organization donated funds to Friends of
Nature, the management organization for the Reserve, to purchase a new 28
foot boot with two 4-stroke Yamaha 100-hp engines. (Hope the boat
thieves don't know about this.)
Tuesday, July 9, 2002
Kay
Westby. Kay is in a hospital in Minneapolis recovering from hip and pelvis
surgery stemming from injuries she received in a car accident in Placencia. Kay
reports that the doctors say recovery will be a long haul, but that she feels pretty good
. . . considering. Kay's email address in the States is harbaks@outtech.com and we know she'd appreciate
hearing from friends. Here's hoping Kay's recovery is much faster than the docs expect.
Saturday, July 6,
2002
Manatee. The Coastal Zone Authority has asked tour guides and tourists NOT
to disturb a wounded manatee found on Sunday, June 30 in the Placencia Lagoon. The
manatee (a female) was hit by a boat running at full speed in the Lagoon on Thursday or
Friday. The driver of the boat failed to stop when he hit the manatee and did not
report the incident. The wounded manatee has been confined near Mango Creek and is
undergoing medical treatment.
LobsterFest 2002.
Great fun! Good attendance despite having
to be postponed for one week (see below for more info). Good food, too. Brice
Dial won First Place for the best rum punch and Vance Cabral won First Prize in the raffle
(a round-trip ticket on Continental to anywhere in the continental US). Charles
Cabral captained the winning fishing tournament boat. PICTURES
Sunday, June 23, 2002
LobsterFest. LobsterFest 2002 has been postponed from this weekend until June 29
and 30, 2002 due to very heavy rains that closed portions of the Hummingbird and Western
Highways on Friday and Saturday.
Ice Cream!
Tutti Frutti opened a couple of weeks ago across from Olga's Grocery Store.
The ice cream is amazingly good (sort of a cross between ice cream and a gelato), with
most of the flavorings from locally available fresh fruits (lime, papaya, mango,
cantaloupe, watermelon . . . ). Cost is $2.50 BZD per scoop. Slushes and
sundaes are also made on the premises.
Road. No road work started as yet . . .
Phones. BTL is still dragging its feet in providing phone service.
Looks like it may be the end of 2002 until we have a phone again. (Hmmm, BTL's
monopoly ends Dec. 31 . . . . )
Weather. Quite a bit of rain for the last week, although apparently nothing
like the rains north and south of us.
Sidewalk. The Placencia
Sidewalk Fund plans to begin Sidewalk reconstruction by July 1 (weather permitting).
The Fund's Board delayed start of reconstruction while the Board and the Placencia
Village Council tried persuade BTL and BEL to install their lines under the Sidewalk to
eliminate ugly overhead utility lines. Alas and alack, no luck with either company.
(Well, it was worth a shot, anyway.) The Fund
has also run into a snag with credit card approvals - Belize banks have now decided not to
to approve a merchant's account for the Fund. (Their reasons don't hold water, but
arguing with a Belize bank is even more futile than arguing with BTL or BEL.) Credit
card donors are now being contacted for permission to run the credit card donations
through Kitty's Place, with confirmation of receipt of the donation in writing from the
Board of the Placencia Sidewalk Fund. Donations to the Fund made through the
Placencia Tourist Center were stolen last week when the Tourist Center was burglarized.
The thieves took the Sidewalk Fund donation box along with the donation can for the
Placencia Humane Society.
Education.
Twenty-three students graduated from the Placencia grade school on Friday night.
The Iris Foundation for
Education donated $100 BZD to each of 11 students to pay one-half of the student's
tuition at the local Independence High School. Thanks to the hard work of the Rev.
Jerry Jones, pastor of the St. John's Anglican Church in Placencia, a charitable arm of
the U.S. Episcopal Church has donated funds for a desperately needed addition to the
Placencia grade school.
Water.
The Placencia Water Board will NOT be taking over administration of the Seine Bight
water company as originally planned. Politically incorrect or something.
Food and
Lodging. The summer hours for the Purple Space Monkey Internet Cafe are 8
a.m. - 2 p.m. every day except Wednesday when the Cafe is closed.
Pickled Parrot Bar & Grill now opens at 2 p.m. every day except Sunday when it's
closed. Marcello Williams sold the Angelfish Inn property in Seine Bight
Village. Luba Hati Resort is currently closed. Sea Spray Hotel in Placencia
Village has added two new beachfront rooms. Each room has two double beds, a small
kitchen, full tiled bath (shower only) and private verandah. A second floor suite
will be ready by November, 2002. Coconut Cottages on the beach in Placencia Village
are up and running again. The Cozy Corners Hotel in Placencia Village will be ready
by November 31, if not before.
Health and
Welfare. Graham Cabral is perambulating around the Village under his own power now
(although the perambulation is rather slow at times). Candy Power will return to the
States on July 1 for medical care and Kay Westby is undergoing medical treatment in
Belize City for injuries sustained in an automobile accident earlier this week.
Renovation of the Placencia Health Center is complete.
Saturday, May 25,
2002
Placencia team practicing before big game
at the Graham Cabral Field Day Fundraiser |
Graham
Cabral. Really fun (and successful) fundraiser last night at Serenity Resort to
help Grammie pay his medical bills after his serious car accident. Another fundraiser
today at the ballfield, and tomorrow night Rum Point is donating the proceeds of its
annual Fiddler on the Reef. Grammie
now has his laptop up and running, so |
| we're
taking it over to the Internet Cafe to collect email for Grammie -- he can be reached at
graham@btl.net. (And, in case you're wondering why Grammie can't collect his own email at
home -- BTL still has not provided phone service to most of the Village - company slogan -
"We're BTL, and we just don't care -- because we don't have to.") |
|
| Road.
Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you -- that's actually road work shown at right --
installation of culverts as a prerequisite to a real road -- or so they say. Belize
Electricty Limited and BTL are also installing service underground along the road -- we're
trying to get them to do the same thing along the Sidewalk since it has to be rebuilt
anyway. |
|
|
|
Whale Shark Watchers |
Whale
Sharks. The joint's really jumpin' with Placencia Village and many of the area
resorts at near capacity with guests interested in getting up close and personal with
whale sharks - the world's largest fish. Guides in Placencia are specially trained in
ecologically sensitive whale shark interaction. |
| Plus,
Placencia is the focus of whale shark research funded by the University of York in Great
Britain. For more information, visit our whale shark page. |
Monday, May 13,
2002
Road.
Cisco Contractors, a large construction company, is supposed to start work today on
surfacing the road from the Placencia dock to the airstrip. Cisco has erected a
temporary construction building at the airstrip, so maybe it's true.
Airstrip.
The new Maya Island Air terminal is going up very rapidly -- and it's huge -- well,
huge for Placencia, that is. Wonder what all they're going to put in there.
Resorts.
Turtle Inn is also going up very rapidly -- the dive shop, which will be operated
by Hugh Parkey of Belize Diving, looks almost done, and we hear it will open in October.
Turtle Inn itself is supposed to be completed and ready for guests in December, and
it looks like they'll make the target date. Luba Hati is closed for a few weeks.
Graham Cabral.
Grammie is doing pretty well after the serious auto accident he was in last month.
He's up and moving around at home, and tonight Grammie will attend his first
Sidewalk Fund Board meeting since the accident. Grammie has also managed to acquire
a laptop, so he can receive email at graham@btl.net --
and he'd really appreciate hearing from everyone.
Sidewalk Fund.
The Sidewalk Fund has reached the $18,000 BZD mark - so keep those donations
coming! More info at http://www.placenciasidewalk.com.
The Iris
Foundation for Education. The Iris Foundation has reached the $21,000 BZD
mark and is working on plans for a learning center at the Placencia Village school.
Donation information is available at http://www.theirisfoundation.com.
LobsterFest
2002. This year's LobsterFest on June 22 and 23rd promies to be the best
ever. The Placencia Village Council has voted to donate 60% of its net bar proceeds
to the Placencia Sidewalk Fund, so plan on attending and having at least a few Belikens.
Weather.
Windy, windy, windy (and hot) for the past 7 days. Sailors and local
fishermen say the wind will calm down by Thursday (and they usually know).
Phone.
Still crappy service - - where there's service at all, that is. As expected,
the changeover to the new phone numbering system was, and remains, painful. The new
numbers sometimes don't work, the old numbers sometimes don't work, sometimes neither work
-- make that often that neither work. But who cares, we don't have any
phone service down here to speak of anyway. General land line rule for Placencia -
replace the 06-X numbers with 523 and keep the last 4 numbers from the old phone number.
For example, our phone number (if we had a line that is) was 06-24018, so it would
now be 523-4018.
Water.
The Placencia Water Board is installing a generator at the water tower so that when
the electricity goes off, the water doesn't have to! Thanks!!!!!!!!!
Monday, April 29, 2002
Bereavement:
The funeral for Damien Longsworth, Jr. age 4, was held on Saturday in Independence.
Damien, Jr. was killed in a car accident in Independence last Saturday, April 20,
2002. Damien, Jr. was the son of Damien Longsworth, the Placencia linesman for BTL.
The funeral for Charles Westby is today, April 29, 2002, at St. John's Memorial
Church in Placencia. Mr. Westby died Friday morning, April 26, 2002, apparently of a
heart attack.
Accidents:
Graham Cabral and Damien Longsworth were severely injured in the same car accident
that resulted in the death of Damien's son (see above). Both Graham and Damien were
airlifted by British Armed Forces helicopter to Belize City for treatment. Damien
will not be able to return to work for approximately 7 months, and Graham's recovery is
expected to be 4 months. Cards and letters can be addressed to Graham Cabral,
General Delivery, Placencia, Belize, or Damien Longsworth, General Delivery, Independence,
Belize. We'll be happy to pass to pass along emails to either Damien or Graham -
send them to info@destinationsbelize.com.
Sidewalk.
Work is expected to begin on the Placencia Sidewalk on June 15, 2002. First
will be the stretch of the Sidewalk between Westwind Hotel and Serenade Hotel. For
more information see http://www.placenciasidewalk.com.
Friday, April 12, 2002
Road.
Talk again surfacing . . . about, well, surfacing. Prerequisite is
construction culverts on the Lagoon side of the road. Also, possibly a committe to
maintain the road and maybe a fee for use of the road by heavy trucks. Maybe
resurfacing will start in 3 weeks. This was a topic at the Village Council meeting
on April 10, but details were very unclear.
Marina and
Split of Peninsula. Serious rumors that this will be reality by the end of
the year.
Police
Protection. The Placencia Village Council has obtained a commitment from the
national government for the donation of land behind Carol's Cabanas for the construction
of a police station. Some funding has been obtained for construction of the station.
The Village is being asked by the national government to assume responsibility for
lodging, meals and transportation for local police. (Rather difficult when the
Village has no tax base.)
Health Center.
The Department of Health will soon begin renovation of the Placencia Village Health
Center, including a new roof, two new cisterns, painting, concrete repairs, etc.
Placencia
Village Finances. The Village Council has approximately $12,000 BZD cash on
hand. The Village has become eligible for income from fees paid for liquor licenses
in the Village.
School.
St. John's parents and teachers met with the Anglican Diocesan staff, including
Carol Babb, the Director of Anglican schools in Belize. The Diocese pledged to
acquire additional portable buildings to relieve serious overcrowding. The Iris Foundation continues
to donate materials to the schools at Monkey River and Placencia, and fundraising has
surpassed the $10,000 BZD mark. The Foundation is continuing its fundraising efforts
so that it can build a library and resource center for the Placencia school.
Water.
The Placencia Water Board has been asked by the Seine Bight Water Board to take
over administration of the Seine Bight Water district.
Sidewalk Fund.
The Placencia Sidewalk
Fund has also reached the $10,000 BZD mark in its fundaising efforts. Tom Knox
from Albert Loewen's construction company estimates that $60,000 BZD will be needed to
reconstruct the Sidewalk. (For more information, check the April 11 minutes of the
Sidewalk Fund.)
Agriculture and
Animals. On April 11, 2002, the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA)
held its grand opening of its new office located next to the Placencia Village water
tower. The next vet clinic sponsored by the Placencia Humane Society will be April
27 and 28, surgeries on April 27, general clinic on April 28.
Easter.
Easter was very quiet for a Placencia Easter celebration. The main parties
were at Cozy, Tipsy and J-Byrd's, but even those were fairly mild compared to the
celebrations of the last 3 years.
Restaurants.
The Pickled Parrot Restaurant and property (two cabanas, plus an apartment over the
building housing the kitchen) is for sale for $325,000 USD. Miss Lily has resumed
lunch service at her daughter's house.
Tour Operators.
As of April 15, 2002, Toadal Adventures will be concentrating on kayak and canoeing
trips, and will no longer offer land trips to Cockscomb or Mayan ruins. Doyle
Gardiner, former Toadal employee, will be offering Cockscomb tours through his parent's
business, Nite Wind Guide Services.
Sunday, March 17, 2002
Theatre (yes, we have
theatre, don't you know darlin'). On Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23, The Placencia Pre-School
Players will present at the Placencia Community Center, the Off-Broadway hit of the
season, "Chicken Licken." Proceeds benefit the Placencia Preschool.
Adults, $5 BZD, Children $1 BZD.
Restaurants, Bars,
Hotels, Resorts, Shops . . . Daisy's Restaurant in Placencia Village reopened Saturday, March 16 - hurray! Julia Leslie (of Julia & Lawrence's fame) has opened a new restaurant in the old
location of Julia & Lawrence's
Guesthouse. The Sandbar at Kitty's Place has re-opened (and hosted the Placencia Sidewalk
Fund kick-off party). Turtle Inn is planning a Christmas re-opening and has almost
completed moving the road back from the beach toward the newly filled property to the west
of the old Turtle Inn. Sun and
Sea Cabanas are back in operation.
Olga's Grocery in Placencia Village was recently given a major
interior facelift (we had no idea it was so big).
Tours. A group of residents at the Mopan Mayan
settlement at Maya Centre Village at the entrance to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife
Sanctuary off the Southern Highway are now offering a variety of new programs involving
Mopan Maya Culture. (See our Mayan Journeys pages for more
information. The new dive shop at Turtle Inn looks near completion. Word is
that the dive shop will be operated by Hugh
Parkey and his Belize Dive Connection.
Weather. March came in like a lion - weather has been
moderate and breezy for the last couple of weeks, but with not as much rain.
Road Conditions.
Same.
Maya Island Air. Surveyors are busily marking property lines
at the Placencia airstrip in preparation for the beginning of construction of the new Maya
Island Air terminal.
Placencia Sidewalk
Fund. The local kick-off for the
Placencia Sidewalk Fund at
the newly refurbished Sand Bar at Kitty's Place netted the Sidewalk Fund over $1,800 BZD
to help rebuild the Placencia Sidewalk. Thanks to Kitty Fox, Ranny Villanueva and
the staff at Kitty's for making this a lucrative (and really fun) event. The next
fundraiser will be hosted by Tipsy Tuna on Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 25.
Check the Placencia Sidewalk
Fund Website for donation information or contact the Fund's Treasurer, Annette Vernon,
for more information (bebazaar@btl.net or
011-501-6-23113).
Iris Foundation for
Education. The Iris Foundation for Education
has reached the $9,000 BZD mark in fundraising efforts for local schools in Seine Bight,
Placencia Village and Monkey River Village. However, cash and in-kind donations
(such as notebook paper, pens, pencils, story books, etc.) are still desperately needed.
Check The Iris
Foundation for Education Website or contact the Foundation's Executive Director,
Marilyn Beckstead, for more information (nskry@btl.net
or 011-501-1-95508).
Ruta Maya 2002.
The "Old Farts" team of James and Aldrick Westby and Glen Eiley took
second place in the Masters category of The Ruta Maya 2002 canoe race with a total race
time of 22 hours, 15 minutes and 41 seconds. (The first place winners time in the
Masters Category was 21 hours, 54 minutes and 26 seconds.)
Thursday, February 28, 2002
Openings.
Omar's, the Placencia sidewalk landmark, re-opened for
dinner last night (February 27). It's GREAT to have Omar's back!
Phones, Planes
and Automobiles (plus marinas, police, garbage, schools, loans, etc.). Area
Representative Henry Canton (also Minister of Public Works,
among other things), met today at 10 a.m. with Placencia businesses and residents to
discuss a number of area issues. Among the tidbits of information received:
Approval for airstrip runway lights
continues to be difficult because of drug-running concerns by the Civil Aviation
Department
Paving the road is not a top
priority, although keeping it graded and possibly rolled might happen
BTL promised a phone system second
to none (and they kept their word -- extremely expensive, inconsistent and undependable
cell phone service IS second to NO phone service)
Mr. Canton will support dedicating
land located behind Carole's Cabanas for a new police station, although the area may have
to come up with the money to build the station (like, we have an income stream to do
that?)
No cut through the Peninsula has
been approved. However, there is no legal guarantee that it couldn't be approved in
the future
Cutting down mangroves without a
permit is illegal, but fines are too low to really serve as a deterrent
One of the illegally imported
vehicles seized from Johnny Zabaneh's Maya King ranch has been allocated to the Peninsula
The government will send down a
truck to pick up post-Iris debris one more time in March
The national government has no
money (and neither do we)
Residential loans from commercial
banks are supposed to be at 12% interest
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
Placencia Sidewalk
Fund. It's official - the Board of the Placencia
Sidewalk Fund held its first meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, February 25 at Jake's Purple
Space Monkey Internet Cafe. The purpose of the Fund is to restore, renovate and
develop the Placencia Sidewalk.
$500 BZD a
Yard! One yard of the sidewalk may be "purchased" by donations of $500
BZD ($250 USD). Purchaser's names will be inscribed in the Sidewalk, and more than
one yard may be purchased by donors.
(Donors of less than $500 BZD will be
honored by a number of other means, depending on the amount of the donation (donations may
be earmarked for the purchase of benches, landscaping materials and other Sidewalk
improvements - more information forthcoming).
Donations may be made by check or
credit card (MasterCard or Visa). Checks should be mailed to Annette Vernon,
Treasurer, Placencia Sidewalk Fund, Point Placencia, Belize (please include your email
address with your check).
Credit card donors should print,
fill-out and sign a Credit Card Authorization
Form and fax it to our US fax number of 603-452-4797. Faxes to this
number are automatically forwarded to us in Placencia, which greatly reduces the cost and
frustration of trying to fax to Placencia. (The phone system here is still iffy.)
The Fund is a registered
non-governmental organization in Belize, with strict financial accountability
requirements. All donations will go directly to the Fund and will be used only for
Sidewalk purposes. Donations will be acknowledged in writing.
For more information, contact Graham
Cabral at graham@btl.net, Annette or Sonny Vernon at bebazaar@btl.net, Kitty Fox at kfox@btl.net or Mary Toy at mtoy@btl.net.
Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monkey River.
The Monkey River Tour Guide
Association is happy to announce that the trails up the Monkey River that are used on the
Monkey River trips have been successfully cleared of all fallen trees and debris that
resulted from Hurricane Iris. Trips are being conducted as normal and we hope that
travellers to the Placencia area will visit Monkey River and its unique environment.
Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Placencia
Sidewalk Fund. An NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) has been formed to
raise funds to rebuild the Placencia sidewalk. (Municipalities in Belize have no tax
base or legal authority to raise funds, which means all funding must come from the
national government. It's February, 5 months after Iris, with no funding forthcoming
from the Government of Belize, so we figured it was time . . .)
The Fund has been organized under the
newly enacted NGO Act of Belize, which requires an annual audit and public disclosure of
the financial and programmatic records of the organization. Legal work to set up the
Fund was donated by Wilfred Elrington, a Belize City attorney.
Board members include:
- Graham Cabral, Placencia Village Council
- Kitty Fox, Kitty's Place, Placencia Chapter, Belize
Tourism Industrry Association
|
- Harald Wallen, Placencia Village Council
- Tara Westby, Placencia Water Board
- Sonny and Annette Vernon, Beach Bazaar Gift Shop,
Placencia Chapter, Belize Tourism Industry Association
|
More on amount to be
raised and how to make donations as details become available.
Tuesday, February 12, 2002
Weather/Roads. An unusual two days of sustained all-day rain. Skies are now
starting to clear, so Wednesday should be a good day for some last-minute lobster diving.
(The season closes on February 15, 2002.) The road is pretty bad up near Maya
Beach because of all the rain.
Hotels/Resorts/Restaurants.
Rumor has it that Turtle Inn will have 50 cabanas when
it re-opens in November, 2002. Construction is fast and furious, especially where
the Lagoon is being filled and the road moved to the west. Karen Boudreaux has left Rum Point and will soon be the new General Manager of Hamanasi Resort further north. Bella
Beach had its grand re-opening party last week - some amazing food! Maralyn
Gill is re-opening Rasta Pasta on the Lagoon at Robert's Grove. The new building looks almost finished, so it
shouldn't be long now. The new Calypso Cafe has opened
in Maya Beach - owners are Bud and Tressa Olsen. Reconstruction of part of the
original building at Sea Spray, along with a new expansion of
that building is nearing completion. Tradewinds now has
all 6 cabanas in operation. Jake's Purple Space Monkey
Internet Cafe is now featuring seafood specials for dinner.
Post-Hurricane.
A general meeting featuring Area Representative Henry Canton (also the Minister of
Public Works) will be Thursday, at 10 a.m. at Cozy Corners Restaurant in Placencia
Village. Removal of remaining debris and the still-continuing absymal telephone
service by btl will likely be hot topics of conversation.
Sidewalk.
A new organization is in the works to raise money for reconstruction of the
sidewalk. The organization will be an independent non-governmental organization,
with financial accountability as prescribed by law. Graham Cabral, manager of Wallen's Hardware, is now working to get construction estimates for
the reconstruction. Once the legal work is done, the hope is that Atlantic Bank will
act quickly to open a checking and credit card merchant's account so that donations can
start being taken. Fun facts -- the sidewalk is 4,071 feet long, 4 feet wide (in
most places) and 1 foot thick (in most places). About 1,335 feet of sidewalk is
still in good shape post-Iris (most of it from the Placencia
Fisherman's Cooperative to Westwind Hotel. Cozy Corners has offered to host a beach bashment with the proceeds
going to the sidewalk fund.
Visitors.
February is shaping up to be a great month with quite a few visitors around.
We're very happy to welcome them!
Hurricane Iris
Information
Saturday,
January 19, 2002
 Clean and Green
Saturday. Much of Placencia
Village was spruced up on Saturday when locals, tourists, young and old turned out to
clear away Iris debris from the road and surrounding areas.
Hard work, but a beautiful day.
Almost 200 trees planted, and piles of garbage bags filled. See our Iris Pictures Page for more cleanup pictures.
Weather. For the most part days have been breezy,
bright and sunny. Starting to warm up, with temperatures in the mid-80s. Not
much rain.
Laughing Bird Caye/Friends of
Laughing Bird Caye. Friends of
Laughing Bird Caye is now Friends of Nature, with an expanded vision of protection for
Laughing Bird Caye, Gladden Spit and the Placencia Lagoon.
 Laughing Bird Caye is
not in the best of shape post-Iris. The Caye (shown at left) lost most of its
vegetation, including palm trees. Coral around the Caye also suffered significant
damage. However, new blight-resistant palms have been planted and more tropical fish
than ever seem to be in the area.
Phone Service. Still no help from btl-hell. We
understand a new telephone company has already been licensed to enter the market on
January 1, 2003 when btl's monopoly ends. Can't be too soon!
Sunday, January 12, 2002
Holidays. J-Byrd's provided the Christmas and New Year's Eve galas, Sugar
Reef took on Boxing Day and New Year's Day -- along with Cozy Corners grand re-opening on
New Year's Day. Most everyone came out, at least for a little while. Lots of
dancing and spirits seemed high. Still, the festivities were quiet compared to the
Christmas bashes of the last few years.
Utilities. BEL has hooked up most homes and businesses now to electric
service. Most homes and businesses now also have water connections, although
pressure is abysmal, forcing almost all businesses and many residences to install pressure
pumps and tanks. Thankfully, Kuylen's Hardware in Dangriga is giving a 15% discount
on building supplies to Placencia residents.
btlhell (the company no longer deserves capital
letters) continues to incur the wrath of everyone on the Peninsula for its lack of
responsiveness to area conditions. We NEED reliable phone service, if anyone at
btlhell is listening!
Road. Same potholes, nothing new.
Businesses. Cozy Corners Restaurant has re-opened and
looks great. Work is proceeding apace on new hotel rooms (which will be in a
concrete structure this time). Verly and Mike have opened the Blue Lagoon Apartments
on the Placencia Lagoon in Placencia Village. See our Businesses Update page for more
information.
Post-Iris Clean-up. Placencia Village will be holding a Village
Clean-up Day on Saturday, January 19, 2002. In addition to clean-up, new trees will
be planted.
Schools. Placencia and Seine Bight schools remain
seriously overcrowded, understaffed, underfunded and have few necessary school supplies.
The Italian government has made a donation to UNESCO for emergency education help
in southern Belize. However, if Placencia's experience with other Iris donations is
any indicator, Placencia schools are not likely to receive many, if any, of these funds.
Housing. New homes are sprouting up everywhere in
Placencia Village. Yet, many people in Placencia and Seine Bight Villages remain
homeless due to a lack of rental housing -- and funds. The Belize Development
Finance Corporation (DFC) took many loan applications for housing loans, and approved many
loan applications. However, few people have actually received any disbursements --
DFC pleads lack of funding. What many Placencians can't understand are Million
Dollar plus loans made by DFC to local politicians in Northern Belize in November, 2001 --
AFTER Hurricane Iris. Also, many are questioning the whereabouts of over $30,000,000
USD in emergency housing funding made available to the government of Belize for post-Iris
housing reconstruction. Anyone have any ideas?
Land Activities. Toadal Adventures has resumed guided day
trips to Nim Li Punit Mayan ruins and Blue Creek Cave.
Water Activities. Sea Horse Dive Shop, Advanced Diving, Rum
Point Divers, Naudi One Dive Shop (at Nautical Inn) and Robert's Grove Dive Shop are
offering full dive services. Fishing, particularly for permit, tarpon, King
Mackerel, grouper and barracuda has been very good. The best snorkeling is out at
the Silk Cayes area. Whale sharks should begin their annual migration in March, and
be in full force by April. Best times for whale shark interaction trips are around
the full moons in April and May. (See our Whale Shark page
for more information -- sign up for a whale shark trip by emailing us with your date preferences.)
Flora and Fauna. Tropical vegetation must be extraordinarily
resilient because the re-growth since Iris is amazing. Hibiscus and bougainvillea
are returning in full force, as are many lime and mango trees. Plus, volunteer
tomato, squash and melon plants are popping up seemingly everywhere in Placencia Village.
The local iguana population is doing great, and the Howler Monkey population is
rebuilding quickly at Monkey River. Seeing a lot more Frigate Birds.
Dogs and Cats. The Placencia Humane Society spent over
$2,000 BZD in emergency treatments for local dogs and cats following Hurricane Iris.
Regular veterinary service will resume in February, 2002. |
