Real Life Recess - A blog for & about Aspiring Ex-pats, Vacation Addicts, and Beach Bums

Cockscomb Hike with the Ladies of Placencia

Jul 25 2017

The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is a huge park about an hour drive from Placencia that has a bunch of hiking trails and waterfalls and even river tubing. If you come to the village on vacation but want to see the jungle and spot some cool wildlife, Cockscomb is probably the closest trip you can choose. I had the pleasure of tagging along with some other moms from the village on a kids-free morning hike. The entrance fee is $2.50 for Belizean nationals and residents and $10 for…

Pool Fun Maya Beach Hotel Real Life Recess

Jul 24 2017

Placencia has a fair amount of families with young children; I’d guess percentage-wise, probably more so than Ambergris Caye. Or at least it’s my impression that Placencia is more family friendly and San Pedro is more party people and empty nesters that prefer a more refined adult-only vibe. It’s one of the reasons we chose Placencia over the Cayes- we have a wonderful, active, welcoming community of moms and dads here. I joined various “mom’s groups” on Facebook ahead of our move and instantly started low-key cyber stalking…

Jul 18 2017

So on June 28th we actually moved into our new house, Bamboo Gardens. It was exactly 4 weeks to the day from when we first saw the house. Pretty quick for sure. On that morning the utilities were switched into our names. This was done much differently than in the states. Phil and the seller Bob just walked 5 minutes north to the Electric and Water Companies. The companies share the same building and employees. Phil just showed his passport to open an account and then transferred each…

Signing Papers Bamboo Gardens Real Life Recess

Jul 12 2017

So the papers have been signed and its official. After vowing to never own a home again, we are now home owners. Packing Up After living in five homes in the past two years, it’s comforting to know that just about all of our possessions can now be transported in a single trip with a Ford Escape. No big moving trucks or even a large SUV is needed for us. And hopefully we just made our last move for awhile. Lofty Expectations House Hunters International. Beachfront Bargain Hunt….

Lunges on the sea wall in Placencia- Real Life Recess

Jul 02 2017

So one of the handful of things that we miss right off the bat about our lives in the States… a proper gym! You know what I mean- a clean modern facility decked out with cardio machines, all manner of weights, AIR CONDITIONING, and (this is probably asking way too much now) a childcare room?!?! There are two gyms here in the village and neither of them are cheap to join. One is Evolution Gym, an open-air type of place in the front yard of a local’s house……

Jun 28 2017

There are a few Lobsterfests around Belize. Placencia’s Lobsterfest Weekend was June 23rd-25th and some people have said it’s the best one. The tents went up, the tables and chairs were delivered and our excitement was palpable- our first festival in Belize! There was so much to see, do, and eat this weekend! Most of the restaurants had special dinners and others had booths set up on the beach offering various lobster dishes as well as other local fare. Below is just a sampling of what was offered….

Jun 25 2017

Included in the MANY events and festivities for Lobsterfest Weekend in Placencia is the Edlin Leslie Sr. Battle Cancer 5 mile run/walk. The event benefits the BlissfulSage Foundation whose mission is to provide quality, dignified care for terminally ill patients in Southern Belize. The event unofficially kicks off the weekend of partying and indulging (although really the runners/walkers didn’t seem to be the crazy partier types). And for a personal confession- I for one feel entitled to indulge in copious amounts of lobster and rum now that I’ve…

Jun 23 2017

Guess who’s back, back again… lobster’s back, tell a friend. Ahhhhh June 15th is an exciting day here in Placencia and probably every other coastal village in Belize. It’s opening day of lobster season! Flyers are being posted around town promoting Lobster Festival Weekend And restaurants are all promising lobster dish specials for dinner – often before the first boats have even pulled in at the pier. You can get lobster every way imaginable- grilled, fried, in curry, on pizza, on nachos, on eggs benedict, in burritos, and…

Jun 19 2017

Free food! That’s what I see when I’m walking around the village, scoping out coconut trees and ogling the abundance of mangos scattered everywhere. There are plenty of fruit trees I can’t identify. And others that I’m not brave enough to try like the cashew. Apparently the cashews have an oil that gives you something along the lines of poison ivy when handled. The nuts need to be carefully boiled and baked before they’re edible but the caustic fumes from the process can damage your lungs. Yikes!…

Jun 13 2017

Our rental house here in Placencia is perfectly situated in the middle of the village (north to south) and back on the lagoon. It’s at the end of a quiet residential “block” (really a dirt, gravel road), but directly across from Dawns’ restaurant on the main road. It’s an up/ down duplex and we have the bottom floor. The yard has a big laundry line which comes in handy because we do a LOT of laundry here! Like I don’t even understand how we make so much laundry…