I was in Placencia last week. I stayed at Robert's Grove (in one of their delicious two-bedroom condo suites, which are fantastic). It's as good as ever, or better.

Frankly, though, it's depressing to go into Placencia village. Everybody is working hard to rebuild, and I know they need business from tourists, but it is sad to see so many trees gone and debris still not removed, and in general so much of the village changed. It's just taking longer than anyone thought to get things back to normal. Most of the wood homes on the sea side of Seine Bight are gone, too, with still only a few having been rebuilt.

North on the peninsula, however, it's pretty much as it was. There's a lot of building going on, especially at The Plantation -- some big new houses under construction, and new roads.

--Lan Sluder www.belizefirst.com

Lan Sluder/Belize First
http://www.belizefirst.com