I just flew in from a 2 week trip to Belize, and boy are my arms tired! No but really, i spent 4 nights in Placencia and 8 nights in San Pedro Town. I have to say that Placencia was a real let down! It was very depressing walking thru the village the Oct '01 hurricane debris piled all eveywhere! I had read the chat pages about how well they are recovering/cleaning up, but what i saw first hand had a lot to be desired. I thought a little rubbish wouldn't be too bad (recyling where possible) and that I could help the effort with my tourist dollars. But Everything was OVER PRICED and very trashy. On the other hand, San Pedro Town was a ball! I fell in love with it and am looking foreward to vacationing there again soon. I found quaint, inexpensive rooms at the TIDES Hotel on the north end of the town. This is an owner operated hotel with a dive shop and tiki bar. i stayed on the 3rd floor , the room had an A/C, but with the seabreeze it wasnt needed. The people of San Pedro are super friendly and a pleasure to be around. The Hustler Dive shop was excellent with their dive masters and dive spots! I wanted to share my experiences with you , especially if you are thinking of going to Placencia... think twice and be shure to have a blast at Amberguis Caye San Pedro!

thank you so much for the feedback on placenta. someone suggested i go there for a few days but I was skepticle because of the hurricane damage. glad to have confirmation that placenta is not a "must see" so i don't waste my time.

Tgirl, I also was disappointed with the damage in Placencia at first. I caught myself wishing that I could have seen how it was before Iris, but then I realized how selfish of my thoughts were. The people of Placencia went through hell and are trying hard to get their lives and homes back in order. Once I was able to look past the damage and the trash, I realized that I was amongst some of the friendliest people living in a beautiful area that had run across some bad luck. Watching the sun rise over the ocean and then setting over the lagoon was serene. I spent the last part of my trip on Ambergris and had a really great time there as well, but I have absolutely no regrets about my visit to Placencia. I wish them all the best of luck in their efforts and much respect.

My heart goes out to the folks in Placencia. I am heartbroken to hear about the damage. It is one of my favorite places in Belize. Very laidback and mellow, a real fishing village with great folks. It's gotta be hard to do a clean up. Remember they are at the END of a L-O-N-G peninsula, so I would imagine that carting stuff away, and getting new supplies in,(heavy machinery, lumber, building supplies, etc) is pretty difficult and expensive.

[This message has been edited by trina (edited 04-24-2002).]

where did you all stay in Placencia? We are thinking about going there next March, to do diving.
KJ

I stayed at the Inn at Roberts Grove which is actually about 4 miles outside of town, but with very nice rooms, restaraunt, and beach plus a dive shop on the lagoon side. It is a little pricy but I enjoyed my stay there. There are a lot of places in town which looked nice also and are probably alot less expensive.

I also wish the people of placencia the best and yes the have been hit very hard, but for my hard earned tourist dollar i dont want to see desolation and litter heaps everywhere i look. yes roberts grove is a nice resort, but its not located in town with all the tourism and debris. the locals told me that they now have and have had way more than enough $$$ to repair the famous sidewalk ... so why is it still tore up? why didnt i see more people working on the repairs of shops and hotels in the village? why dont they at the very least make a community garbage pile (like the mangroves they are re-claiming for local housing) so they will have a place that tourists want to visit again? i understand they are the ultimate recylers, but when do you draw the line?

KJ: i dont suggest the diving in placencia, we took a 1 hour butt-bumper dive boat out to dive whale sharks with no luck and the reef wasnt even remarakble. now the ambergis caye diving is close in (15 min boat ride) and has lots of BIG CRITTERS! i dove w/ turtles, nurse sharks, sting rays ang huge groupers! just my suggestion

Did you just return? I am interested in the whalesharks. Which outfit did you use? Was snorkel or scuba? Cost?
Thanks

i hired a local that tagged whale sharks for the nature conservatory in belize, after a 1 1/2 hour boat ride he realized he forgot his tank 'screw' so we scuba solo w/o his guidance. it was $$$ and a shot in the dark.