Though I really hate to have this be my first post on this forum, I confess my girlfriend and I are having a difficult time stomaching Winston1984's continued spewing of uninformed drivel.

First, he has no grasp of economics nor history. He utterly fails to comprehend that the Belizean government (in its infancy, compared to the US or the UK) has granted certain monopolies to protect Belizean jobs. Every country has resorted to that tactic from time to time, though maybe Winston1984 is from Mars, where everything is apparently to his own personal liking. I first thought perhaps he was from unGreat Britain because he used the word "sod", but ultimately he sounds more like an ugly American due to his complete lack of logical thinking. His choice of Wal Mart as an example of the better way of doing things further reinforces his personal, selfish prejudices. Wal Mart may be great for its shareholders and perhaps even for its customers, but is lethal to neighboring established businesses and even its own employees, who have won multi-million dollar unfair labor practice lawsuits against the company in the US.

But this isn't about Wal Mart or history or economics. It's about an unhappy vacationer who chose poorly, and has decided to whine about his experiences publicly, and to place the blame everywhere but in his own lap. However, lack of planning or education on his part does not by default make this a problem on our part!

We made our first vacation trip to Ambergris Caye in April of 2008, and I daresay we've never had a better time or been to a place that made us more happy in our lives. We made the decision only after months of exhaustive research. We were well aware that most everything, and especially airfare, was going to cost somewhat more than for nearly any other (third-world) vacation destination. What we discovered was that in reality, the cost of food and lodging was honestly no more than most locations here in the US. That is not a bad thing. We hope and believe it means that someone in Belize is benefiting from our vacation money, which is good for the local economy. We don't expect to come to Belize to screw anyone out of our hard earned money, just because those conditions may exist in other (especially third-world) vacation destinations.

Aside from all the typical things there are to enjoy on Ambergris Caye and Belize in general, our passion is sailing a Hobie catamaran inside the barrier reef, and I can tell you we had more fun than ought to even be legal in that regard. But more importunely, we have never, anywhere, encountered more friendly people -- people who sincerely greeted us cheerfully before we even had a chance to see them coming. And we mean people from every single walk of life; not just merchants expecting us to drop dollars on their counters. It was humbling, and heart-warming beyond belief! And knowing what ordinary wages are for natives on Ambergris Caye, we made a point of tipping lavishly (by US standards).

Winston1984 is actually doing most of us a favor, by scaring away people who think like he does. Why would anyone want more visitors like him around spoiling it for the locals and visitors who actually want to be there? Continued dialog in this thread seems pretty pointless to me. Anyone with half a brain can pretty quickly decide which side of this fence to sit on. We're vacationing on Ambergris Caye again this April, and cannot wait to get there. Thankfully, Winston1984 will not be there to spoil our enjoyment!

Colin & Rhonda