Hurricane
Iris Updates
Saturday,
January 19, 2002: Hurricane Iris Updates will
now be included as part of our regular News Page, so please check
there for future updates.
Sunday, January 12,
2002: All hotels and resorts that are open for
business now have full water and electric service. (See Businesses
Update for more information on hotels, resorts, restaurants, bars and gift
shops.) Most residences have water service, but water pressure is nil at
times. Almost all resorts and hotels have installed pressure pumps and tanks to
provide guests with showers despite low water pressure.
A Placencia Village clean-up day will
be held on January 19 to remove debris and dead trees, plus plant new trees donated by the
Belize government.
Phone service is still awful,
although Jake's Purple Space Monkey Internet Cafe in Placencia Village does have full
Internet services available by special arrangement with BTL -- Internet service is also
available at the BTL offices in Placencia Village.
Television cable service has been
reinstalled north of the Placencia airstrip.
Approximately 225 area kids attended
a Christmas party at Jake's Purple Space Monkey on Saturday, December 22, 2001.
Highlights included the breaking of 4 pinatas, gifts and a visit from Santa Claus
(courtesy of Chelo Sierra, more commonly known as Omar) and refreshments provided by BJ's
Restaurant and the St. John's Memorial School PTA. The party was co-sponsored by The Iris Foundation for Education,
the Placencia Humane Society and the St. John's PTA.
Monday, December 23,
2001: All hotels in Placencia Village (except
Serenade Hotel) have full water and electric service. (See Businesses
Update for more information on hotels and resorts.) Availabilty of water
service to homes is hit and miss and many people are hooking up on their own, without
waiting for a meter. Looks like regular phone service will be a long time in coming
due to notice by the government to BTL that its phone and Internet monopoly will not be
renewed. Clearing and rebuilding is coming along fairly well, although disbursement
of loan proceeds from the Belize Development Finance Corporation has been very, very
slow.
Thursday, November
22, 2001: BJs, The Galley, the Internet Cafe,
Pickled Parrot, Merlene's and restaurants at Luba Hati, Kitty's and Robert's Grove are now
serving meals (dinner only at Luba Hati). Most resorts will be open for guests by
December 1, and several Placencia Village properties will open as soon as water service to
the Village is restored (anticipated Dec. 10). See our Businesses
Update for information on specific businesses. See our News
Page for a report on last Thursday's Village meeting.
Tuesday, November 13,
2001: BJ's is now serving dinner and the Purple
Space Monkey plans to re-open on Monday, probably Tipsy Tuna as well. Housing and
water remain in short supply in Placencia Village.
Saturday, November 3,
2001: Many houses and business along the road
between the Placencia Village dock and the airstrip now have electricity. BTL plans
to start re-connecting phone service late next week, beginning at the dock and moving
north along the road. Underground water pipes are being laid in Placencia Village,
but pipes for line beneath the Placencia Lagoon have still not arrived from the States.
Hurricane Michelle had everyone very
worried and increased stress levels a bit.
Wallen's Grocery has resumed regular
grocery runs to Belize City and Cayo.
Bars have not yet re-opened, but
liquor can now be purchased in the grocery stores.
Thursday,
November 1, 2001: Post-Iris clean-up is well under way, and Peninsula residents and
businesses are rapidly assessing damages and have started rebuilding in earnest.
The most serious damage occurred in
Placencia Village, and most Village lodging facilities aren't expected to be up and
running until the Christmas season.
Most resorts north of Placencia
Village and south of Seine Bight Village will be fully operational by Thanksgiving, with
full services (electricity, daily fresh drinking water deliveries and cell phones).
See our Iris Businesses Update for more information.
Most Maya Beach lodging facilities should be in operation by Thanksgiving.
Fishing should be very good post-Iris
and preliminary reports are that not much coral damage occurred, meaning snorkeling and
diving will still be first-class. Although the improvements on many area cayes were
damaged, the cayes themselves are in fairly good shape, so area kayaking trips will
continue. Ranguana Caye lost only only cabana and should be back in full swing by
Thanksgiving.
Monkey River suffered serious damage,
so Monkey River jungle trips have been temporarily suspended, as have Nim Li Punit and
Lubaantuun ruins trips, pending completion of relief efforts in the Toledo District.
Besides fishing, snorkeling, diving
and kayaking, available local day trips include Cave's Branch, Mayflower Archeological
Reserve and Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Reserve, all of which were virtually untouched by
Hurricane Iris.
Please
contact us for more information.
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