Frank & Kristin

Although most of our guests are in Belize on vacation, we occasionally have guests who are here for some other reason, and choose Moonracer Farm not because of our beautiful location, but because they just want to learn more about Belize. Kristin and Frank from Oregon were this type of guest. They are spending a month in Belize to see if it is a place where they would like to retire in a couple of years or so. They rented an apartment in Belize City for the month, and have been taking trips all around the country to see what areas they like, and to talk to people, like us, who have made a similar move.

They took the bus from Belize City to Georgeville, where Tom met them. Unfortunately, they didn’t get off the bus at the bus stop where Tom was waiting, but at the intersection of the Western Highway and the Georgeville Road. Tom didn’t see them get off, and he sat at the bus stop for over an hour while they sat at the corner about 25 yards away for over an hour, all waiting for each other. Finally Tom decided to wander down the road, and found them. They came back to the farm, took a walk around the property, and we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening talking. We had dinner with Marjie and Chuck because Kristin and Frank are also considering a move to Equador, which was Marjie and Chuck’s second choice after Belize.

The next day they walked into San Antonio, which was a very long and hot walk. They enjoyed San Antonio, and said it reminded them of some of the small villages they visited in Equador, where they spent three months a couple of years ago.

On Saturday morning, they hung out here for a while, and then around lunchtime I took them into San Ignacio to poke around before catching a bus back to Belize City. We stopped at Angelika’s (our egg lady) because she and her husband are German, and Frank is a German who has lived in the US for about 25 years. I was shocked how much German I still understood as they talked, although I don’t think I’m comfortable enough to say anything in German anymore, even after years and years of German in high school and college. I think I’m actually more comfortable trying to speak Spanish at this point, which isn’t actually saying much.

Kristin and Frank and Tom and I talked a lot about why we love Belize, and about how Kristin and Frank thinks it compares to Equador. Right now, they’re not certain which place they like best, although since Kristin works as a consultant about how to handle garbage, we would love it if she would move to Belize since that is a huge problem here. She told us some things like how the biodegradable packing material really isn’t such a good idea in the closed US landfills since it just turns to methane, but here in Belize, with the open dumps, it could solve a huge garbage problem. They were glad to see that it’s possible to live a sustainable life here in Belize, and that Tom and I manage our lodge with a whole lot of reuse and “recycling” (although not the put it in the blue box and send it to the recycling center recycling), and without creating much waste that needs to be disposed of in a landfill. While we don’t tend to pat ourselves on the back and push how we work and live in other people’s faces, we were delighted that somebody actually noticed things like the yogurt stored in a reused jelly jar with “Yogurt” written on the lid in Sharpie, and that they thought the cooler full of Tupperware on the front porch was a good environmental statement, not an eyesore. While most people who stay with us seem to be environmentally aware, it was quite nice to have somebody actually looking at and commenting on the details – so thanks, Kristin and Frank, and we hope you at least consider Belize when you decide to make your move!