AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Trip Reports Trip Report May 11 18, 2007

Mildred, your comment about the locals started me thinking. In all of the islands I have been to in the past 20 years, I find it impossible to think of a place with the clean blue water, untouched nature, and only locals owning/running the tourist industry. No doubt there are some, but they do not have any flights into them. You would have to locate, and then take a private boat to reach them. Just an opinion.

They are plenty of Paradise Island, but that is for me to know and for others to find out.

Good call Mildred. Keep your Paradise to yourself, and it won't get too crowded. Once the word gets out, the tourists come in, along with developers. Too bad most locals don't have the cash to do their own development.

There are a lot of places you have to pay a exit tax. Sounds like you need to stay in Main with the Kennedy's.

Why in the world would you want to visit some place that is just like home? I have never lived any place but America (yet) but the first thing I do when I get home is take my shoes off. But then I have never lived any place I didn't need shoes most of the year.

If your rules were in place then everybody in America would have to go "home". They would have never been allowed to immigrate there.

BTW I don't think there is a "Mildred". I think it's one of our Master Baiters.

I am pretty sure that a lot of you are NOT locals.

I am a local and here are my two cents.

First, this is a Caye NOT an Island and yet it is BONITA for us the locals as native from San Pedro.

It's very sad to see soooo many changes that the foreigners bring via construction and how the water gets a lot of construction trash. I have never seen a developer clean the beach front water and invest money onto the up-keeping�.unless is in front of a $$ resort such a Casa Victoria and Captain Morgan.

Marine life and the reefs are suffering with so many excursions, tourists and boats. In addition, we had an increased in foreigners buying our land and businesses. The fact is that a lot of my family members have migrated to Belize City or Mexico. The main reason is that we can't get jobs here that are NOT as a construction worker, taxi driver, cleaning help, gardener or security staff for the foreigners. The foreigners will never create jobs for the locals as the Manager of one of their Properties or offer to sell us one of their condos at a discount price or something that we could afford.

I am glad that those visiting tourists like "Mildred" are noticing this trend. I do hope that more of them agree not buy a timeshare here, don't move their families here and/or build their own lucrative business here. While we the locals can't own or develop in our own land�but we are good enough to keep around as helpers.

"Bonita" is in the eyes of the beholder, so I can tell why others visiting can see what WE option not to admit.

Mildred -I just do not believe you

1. At Belize International there are no food vendors

2. I do not believe Kenisha-her family probably sold the land to foreigners-if she is a real person(doubtful)

Both people appear to have grudges

Pedro,
She did not imply that there was food vendors at Belize International airport.. just on the drive from there.

But I do believe that Kenisha has an axe to grind..

Mildred,
I am not sure where you are from, but it doesn't sound like you really did much investigating about the Country or SP before you went.....

I think you should stick to the Bahama's.........

Whats wrong with going barefoot? These people are happy and live in a paradise! Most of us would give our eye teeth to live there... the food on the corner's could have been some of the best meal's of your life if you gave it a try. Did you see the smiles on the childrens faces? For as little as they have they are the happiest children i have seen in a LONG time, not like a lot of the spoilt little children back here in the US that have so much they are bored wit something new in 15 minutes....

I just don't think you 'get it'. Still shaking my head in disbelief.

Thanks for the input Mildred. We can expect that you will be one less person on the Island that many of us love so much.

I was there a few days at the same time as you were, and for the life of me, I remember, NO rain each night. Be that as it may, the people I met and spent time with there did not give me impression that they were downtrodden,unhappy,or destitude enough to not be able to have shoes unlike the perception you tried to put over. I walked around without shoes, many a day while there. So if I gave you the impression that ( if you saw me) I was too poor to have shoes thats your prejudicial perception and not the case in reality.

I am truely sorry that you money was stolen from you. I would like to ask you what kind of precautions you put in place to avoid this, but I'm not at all sure you would respond. Having your money lifted from you is not a San Pedro problem. It's your problem. you were not accosted by anyone, you were not injured by anyone in the removal of you wallet from your backpack. So you must have been careless in safeguarding your valuables. You would have encountered the same problem in 99% of any city you were in. So, please don't judge an entire city by the unfortunate incident that you, in the main, could have prevented by a little common sense.

San pedro is going though a transformation, largely in part to the large buildup that is going on ( both North and South ) of the town. With this build up comes the usual problems of a expanding metropolis. Electricity, water, sewage, roads, ad infinitum.This has been brought on by the tourist industry that the GOB has come to depend upon for it's very exsistance. Is it wrong? you better belive it is! Is it inevitable? sure thing! As you travel about the world you will find ( even in your "I know a place, you dont")it will eventually happen. Sad as it may seem to you and "We" who love Belize it's a fact of life and economics.

However, at the moment, the lifestyle, the atmosphere, the friendship, the "Isle of Bonita" that is so loved by countless of people, both residents and Tourists, persists.

Your chosing to not return can be looked upon as a good thing. I for one will return however and enjoy what is available away from the " Maddening Crowd" of the congested cities , the UP-Scale, over priced, resorts and enjoy the lovely San perdranos and thier paradise.

BTW: I'm not sure where you are from.. But you paid an Exit fee when you left for Belize. If it's the U. S. it is around $9. It may be higher by now. But Thats what it was a few years ago.

Interesting..."Kenisha" is in Austin, Texas.