Every travel adventure is unique and successful travel is usually based on minimal expectations.  Just go with the flow. As such, my 1st adventure (and, not my last) to Belize and San Pedro island exceeded all expectations.  How?  I realized that when traveling the more difficult aspects are language, culture, currency exchange and staying connected.  Belize, unbeknownst to me has mastered those hurdles in spades and has created the easy way to travel internationally. Belize it or not!

Unfamiliar with the country’s heritage, I asked a local how the same photo of a pretty hawt Queen Elizabeth is still on every printed Belizian dollar bill regardless of the denomination. He said because it used to be a British Territory and then blamed the rest on politics.

In 1847, Mayans in neighboring Mexico rebelled against Spanish rule and refugees (Mayans, Mestizos and dissident Spaniards) made their way into Belize, a migration which set up new tensions. In an attempt to resolve the situation, the settlement, at its own request, became a British colony (supervised by the Governor of Jamaica) in 1862 and the country took the name British Honduras. It became a Crown colony in 1870. In 1884, it was detached from Jamaica and given its own governor.

Belize has a system of local government comprising four types of local authorities: city councils, town councils, village councils and community councils. The two city councils (Belize City and Belmopan) and seven town councils cover the urban population of the country, while village and community councils cover the rural population.

The Belize Defence Force (BDF), established in January 1973, consists of a light infantry force of regulars and reservists along with small air and maritime wings. The BDF, currently under the command of Brigadier General David Jones, assumed total defence responsibility from British Forces Belize (BFB) in 1994. The United Kingdom continues to maintain the British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) to assist in the administration of the Belize Jungle School. The BDF receives military assistance from the United States and the United Kingdom.

With that history lesson behind us, the net effect was that for a visitor to San Pedro island, the locals were consistently friendly and interactive.  Not just placating the almighty tourist dollar.  The majority of everyone speaks American English as a primary, then a version of Creole and maybe Spanish.  I tried to throw around my Spanish showing respect but  everyone would answer in English.  And, when people speak the native creole, it is not out of disrespect, it is really just convenience.  I have never experienced such easy flow of currency from US dollars to the local currency.  In Mexico, I always feel like I miscalculated on the fly and I got ripped off.  In Belize, everything is 2:1.  You can pay in US and get US and some Belizean curreny as change.  It is simple and everyone operates on the same exchange rate.  Lastly, EVERYWHERE I went that had WIFI, had GREAT WIFI!

Good Morning San Pedro!

I normally awake around 6am at home and even though I am out Mountain Standard Time (equiv), I opened my doors around 5:30am local time and was pleasantly surprised with my room view. A gorgeous sunrise beckoned my 1st efforts to make my own coffee and figure out the plan of attack for the day. I would soon realize that all resorts in this region make a commitment to keep the beaches looking tidy.

All Belize beach-front properties are faced with this daily challenge of removing the Sargassum or seagrass. The seagrass is an important part of the eco-system but not visually attractive.  So, at our resort, I would see the guys every morning at 5:30am loading up wheelbarrows of the seagrass and then then raking the beach for that best first morning impression.  One of the resident co-owners would also casually remove the grass in the afternoons as well.  I cannot say enough nice things about the X’Tan Ha Resort where I stayed.  I just happened to be staying there during a low occupancy period but they were due to be sold out through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

I ate several times at the resort cafe and outdoor bar but due to the low occupancy rate at the time, the vibe was not really happening.  The food was good but I would venture out to eat other places if I had not grabbed a PB&J in my room.  These rooms are setup to be full stocked with your own food and utensils and no one would give you stink eye about being self-supporting.  I met one retired couple that brought out their entire extended family for the Thanksgiving holidays and I noticed they would have their own plush meals on their patio deck every morning and evening.

The Golf Cart Lifestyle

Tuesday morning I ventured down to the Resort lobby and inquired about taking a water taxi into San Pedro town.  My primary goal was to rent a golf-cart for the week.  My van driver the night before had given me the scoop that $200US for the week was a good rate for a decent golf cart.  $175 is the low bottom price but you then get a crappy machine. It turns out the first taxi would pick up at the resort at 7am which was great.  Manuel was the skipper and a super fun and funny guy.  It turns out this particular time-frame, we were also the school bus for many children going into San Pedro.  The water was smooth that morning and approximately 45 minutes we tied up to the dock and I was ready to get the local vibe.

Turns out more times than not, even with my experienced pre-trip packing procedures, I always forget CORDS.  I mean, I have handfuls of them in my studio but I had not brought ANY USB-C cords to charge my LG G8X and I was out of power.  Trying to find a cord in town was quite the challenge but also afforded me the opportunity to walk around town, meet some people and grab some shots of the gut of San Pedro.  I finally found the “video” store where a very attractive Chinese woman that owned the store, sort of scoffed at none of the other stores not carrying this standard cord.  She was very friendly and we talked about her family moving here to San Pedro and managing a business here.  BTW, my price for the cord was not a tourist price like everything in San Pedro.  You never felt like you were getting jacked as tourist and that  really makes international travel memorable and pleasant. I do not remember the name of the store, and it might be called The Video Store but it was just next to Manelly’s Homemade Ice Cream store.

Across the street from the cute-chinese-lady-video-store I saw some cooler looking golf carts for rent so I struck up a deal for $200 for the week.  Turns out the kid was Arab working for Arab guys and he did not speak english, spanish, creole – only Arabic.   After we inked that deal, I drove over to meet Calvin the Shaman who lives behind the police station. I learned of Calvin from my van driver and he told me about his iguana sanctuary and that he also sells cannabis (I guess is legal – not sure of all the ramifications since I do not use or smoke) and manufactures his own herbal medicines as well.

As I stepped through the crude mangrove limbs bridge, there were some local guys hanging around and I introduced myself as a photographer.  I met Calvin and he was quite gracious and explained that he was a single parent getting his two sons ready for school.  He allowed me to follow him upstairs and we chatted as he ironed his boys clothes for school.  Hey, I iron my own clothes and I told Calvin I was pretty impressed with his pretty pimpin’ iron!  We chatted for an hour or so and then I needed to head out and go pick up my golf cart.  I returned a few days later in the afternoon and his magnificent iguanas were basking in the sun and showing off their colors to a potential mate.  Please visit and support Calvin on your trip to San Pedro. Right behind the gas station!

After doing my initial tour of downtown San Pedro and successfully starting to charge my phone, I picked up my golf cart and headed north towards the resort I was staying at. I enjoy being independent in unfamiliar territory and sensing I will figure it out somehow.  On an small island, it is pretty difficult to get lost and I easily found my way to “the bridge” that gets me the rest of the way.  I was stopped for a $5Belize toll charge and I suspected this was a tourist grab but it turns out everyone has to pay.  BUT, because this is the island of cool people, as I was almost driving into town everyday and giving hitchhikers rides, the sentries seem to recognize me and on occasion they would give me an undated receipt that allowed me a free pass next time.  Very chill.

Well, my 1st summit crossing of the bridge went well but as I completed the downslope, my golf cart quit on me.  I had a slight panic not knowing what to really do and some local guy pulled over on this motorcycle – super friendly and helped me push it out of the way of traffic.  Fortunately, with AT&T I had enough signal to call the various numbers on the contract and finally connected with someone. Even though this particular area looked ghetto, it felt safe and I enjoyed the “texture” around me.  I walked over to the local market and got a cold Coke Zero and waited by the golf cart.  The local wino came over to solicit some funds…but, he was like so respectful about it.  He probably had not showered in weeks and his eyes were bloodshot.  I don’t give money but I asked him about his family, if he had any Mayan in him, etc and we stuck up a friendly convo for 10 minutes.  Once he realized I was not going to cave on the lifestyle donation, he moved on to talk to the local talking dog.

Finally, my replacement cart arrived and the non-english speaking Arab boy conveyed that the owner of the company was lending me his personal golf cart and it was noticeably nicer.  Better for the photo op!

I was instructed to return the following day to swap out my original golf cart that I had filled up with gas.  But, I had a full day to cruise the island with this PIMP MY RIDE golf cart.

I fell in love with the golf cart lifestyle.  No real top speed since you are always dodging potholes.  No seat belts, no speedometer and no blaring THUMP THUMP of auto car stereo flexing their bass to the music.   And, from a humanity standpoint, it removed the status element….you could be a gillionaire or a day laborer…..basically all golf carts were the same.  Also, the golf carts took me back to a friendlier day as a kid when I used to hitchhike and pick up hitchhikers.  I met some cool local dudes that I picked up especially if I was heading into town.

Part of my success as lifestyle travel photographer is the ability to blend in quickly.  I think one trick of the trade is the two-finger wave from one hand on the steering wheel.  Whether a rental car, a truck or a golf cart.  I would acknowledge all oncoming traffic.  After a couple of days riding around, then people would recognize me and then even do a 3/4 arm wave.  Whoa….I am LOCAL NOW! LOL