First day back at “work” and doing business in Belize

We were up bright and early, and spent what turned into better than an hour chatting with the other campers. Then Tom dropped the waste tank, I got my yogurt started, and we headed into San Ignacio. We dropped off the laundry and made our first stop at the internet café, where we found that the network was too slow on their computers to do blog updates. We had parked right across the street from one of the real estate agents recommended by the campground owner, so we dropped in to talk to him. He really listened to what we said, and showed us a number of listings that look interesting; we are going out with him tomorrow morning to start to get some frame of reference for what is available and how much it will cost. Our basic requirements right now are that the property must already have some structure that can be lived in even if it needs work, it must be somewhat accessible, and there must be room and the right kind of room for horses.

We then went to the hardware store to get the parts needed to fix the waste tank. The hardware store didn’t have two of the bolts Tom needed, but they sent him to a local metal working shop where they allowed Tom to use their vice to straighten the old bolts. As he walked out, Tom’s comment was that we have to remember this place, since they have all the tools and are very willing to just let anybody in to use them for whatever the feel like paying.

Then we were back to the produce stands, which I can’t seem to resist, then back to the internet café with my laptop, which is right next to the BTL (Belize Telephone) office. I started on blog posting, and Tom went to BTL, where they told him that right now there aren’t any SIM chips in Belize. He asked if there were any other options to get our cell phone working, and they very calmly said no, come back later. Tom asked if he should come back tomorrow, and they said no, maybe next week. Tom asked if maybe Monday, and they said no, maybe Wednesday. So, for now, we don’t have any phone access other than Skype, and we haven’t yet found a network fast enough to support that. But, if anyone wants to leave us a voice message, use the Skype number and we’ll try to get it. Otherwise, just drop us an email. Our first taste of doing business in Belize!