Where is Belize? Since my travel memoir is about our adventures, experiences, and life changes in Belize, I thought you might like to see a map. It’s a country the size of Massachusetts with a population of 301,000, known for its 500 species of bird and 700 species of butterflies. Surrounded by Mexico in the north, Guatemala in the west, Honduras in the south and the turquoise Caribbean in the east.
The first two months, we rented the hut on stilts you see in the photo above in Consejo Shores, a community of mostly retired expats. Seven miles of migrating pot-holes, always shifting due to tropical rainstorms, made for Indiana Jones driving to Corozal a town very close to the Mexican border, for all our grocery shopping and drinking water.
It took me three weeks to find a decent butcher in town. I finally discovered Frank’s after discussing grocery shopping with a Canadian expat in Corozal. Frank and his wife greeted me with a friendly, “Good Morning,” and his two young daughters giggled and blushed when they saw Steve, sixteen and his younger brothers walk in behind me. All stores kept their front doors open, inviting flies and street dust inside. Entering Frank’s felt somewhat different, a little more like the Louis Vuitton of butchers. Unlike other butchers in town, Frank had a refrigerated display case where his meat was neatly arranged. Although three flies feasted on the ground beef, this no longer bothered me. Frank’s meat smelled fresh compared to the giant freezers in local supermarkets. With electric power turning on and off several times a week, chicken juice oozed and reeked from the continuous defrosting and refreezing of chicken pieces.
Frank and his family offered the best in Belizean customer service. If you asked Frank for steaks, he’d sharpen the thick blade on his butcher’s knife, then holding the slab of refrigerated beef in the air, he moved the knife until you signaled the thickness you wanted. What a change from the skinny quarter inch frozen steaks in the supermarkets. Frank did the same with his slab of bacon. Alec, my 14-year-old middle son, couldn’t wait to get back to our hut for some thick fried bacon. The eggs were a different story though, especially when an almost developed chick fell into the frying pan. The kids were slowly learning to appreciate the simple things we’d taken for granted back in the U.S. and to become less picky eaters.
Do you have any questions, comments or experiences of your own you’d like to share from where you live? I’d love to get a discussion going and shall post your questions/comments with links back to you and my answers on Wednesday. Hope to hear from all of you.
I do find your life in Belize fascinating, thank you for sharing these stories.
Fascinating!
Love the idea of migrating pot holes!
Please tell me more about driving to fetch fresh water! Was there none in the village? No pump or anything? Or did you mean drinking water?
How big was the house on stilts?
I’ve been enjoying hearing more about your life! Thanks for sharing!
I love reading about your daily life there, and I enjoyed this story very much! It reminded me of the butcher in France, where the butcher makes your hamburgers ,grounding the beef and moulding it while you’re waiting. Or if you want lamb stew, he takes a shoulder of lamb and removes the bones. I love to watch him do it!
LadyFi,
Thanks for the question. Will answer on Wednesday.
Jientje,
Yes, I almost mentioned how the butcher reminded me of a French butcher, but you beat me to it. Thanks for your comment.
HI Sonia. Loved your life in Belize.I travel there each year down to the Toledo District looking for caves, found plenty of unexplored 1’s, im over in 3 weeks working for the Toledo tourist board and the inland guides.
Toby
It is always interesting to read about how people live in other parts of the world. You write about your experience well. Enjoy your posts.
What cool tales you have!
What made you choose Belize as opposed to any other place?
I’ve been loving reading more about your life..!
I’d love to visit Belize…
Thanks for sharing 🙂
You write beautifully.
I find your experiences fascinating. I have such a dull life in comparison!
Ah, butcher stories! I remember living the village life in Kenya and watching the cow get slaughtered and then later going to the little duka to buy the meat, (after the inspector had come to check out the liver). I’d walk home with the wrapped meat, still warm in my hands! Hey, it was fresh!
I would also love to know what made you choose Beliz. And are you still there?
Do put me on a list to tell me when you’ve sold your book!
P.S. I grew up in Holland, married an American in Kenya and have been doing the expat thing ever since. It’s a wonderful world! If you’re interested you can read my stories here:
http://www.lifeintheexpatlane.blogspot.com
I can’t imagine just taking the family and moving to a whole new country. It is interesting reading about your experiences and daily life while living there.
How did you do your laundry, because with five of you, there surely was dirty laundry? Did you go to the river and pound it clean on the rocks? LOL
Can’t wait until the next installment of your adventures.
This is so fun to read about! My husband lived in Honduras for two years. He was there during Hurricane Katrina and has all sorts of stories.
Did you get sick when you first moved there? I know that’s normal and just wondered if it took you awhile to get used to the water and different germs floating around. 🙂
tobydryden,
Sounds very interesting. I wanted to read your blog but it’s private. What a pity. Do you discuss your cave research? I’d love to hear more about it.
Danie,
Thanks for your question. Will answer in the next post on Wednesday.
Kit,
Perhaps you’ll leave the U.K. if you ever have teenagers in trouble. I know your dogs don’t get in the same kind of trouble as teenagers.
Miss Footloose,
Thanks so much for coming by. I’ve visitied Kenya and loved it. I shall visit you ASAP. Where do you live now?
GrammaAnn,
I shall let you know about laundry on Wednesday. Thanks for the question.
thanks for sharing the stories, what agreat cultural experience. it really puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
Oh my gosh — a partially developed chicken fetus? Yikes. That would probably put me off scrambled eggs for awhile, but then again, perhaps not. Thanks so much for posting your great vignettes. Your neighbor Pam.
Ur whole world there reminds me of the ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ movie! I always wanted to live like that!
“Louis Vuitton of butchers” made me smile. Life in Belize definitely seems interesting.
It is so hard to find just the right places to shop when we are expats, thats why talking to other people and sharing experiences is so important. How wonderful for your boys to experience all of that.
It’s fascinating to read about your experiences there compared to living in the OC. Bravo to you and your family for making the decision to make the hard changes! I have three teens, and know the angst of trying to be a good parent in today’s climate.
Much luck with your book. I hope to read it soon. Write on!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time in Belize. How long did you stay there?
I am so excited to read about your life in Belize!
However, I am curious to find out about the Belize diet if the meat from the grocery stores isn’t the the most fresh. Are they mostly vegetarians?
I remember once cracking open an egg and there was blood and stuff in there….I didn’t touch eggs for a while, and I still get flashbacks once in a while.
how long did it take to settle down? (i mean time after the honeymoon period=3 months)
what do you miss from you ‘previous life’?
could you live there rest of your life? why? (yes or no) 🙂
I’m living expat life in Cairo, Egypt…one year behing, one ahead…
worst here is the traffic! and that spoils a lot in daily life…
my main blog http://BLOGitse.blogspot.com
Can’t wait for your Wed posting!
You must have had that “we’re not in Kansas anymore” experience a lot in the first months of living there. What an adventure. It’s interesting to read about. Very interesting. Very different from moving to Germany in some ways, yet similar in the emotions of getting used to a new life, new culture, new way of doing things. Can’t wait to read more!
Belize, the beauty of the scenery.
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