In February we went to Belize for a 9 day vacation/ reconnaissance mission. We were scouting potential towns that we might end up moving to. You can learn PLENTY about the Belizean towns that draw tourists and ex-pats by simply searching the web. There are tons of reviews on sites like Trip Advisor and tour operators have tidy little descriptions of different areas on their websites plus you can find at least one ex-pat blog for whichever district you’re interested in.
Phil and I did loads of internet research before our trip. We read about accommodations, restaurants, special celebrations and festivals, tours/ excursions, and other touristy things. Nowhere in our research did we sift out this little known secret about Placencia… are you ready for me to drop a bomb shell on you? Here it goes: you can drink the tap water in Placencia! AND it’s delicious! No kidding you guys, it’s safe to drink the water right from the tap and it’s just as tasty as the water back home here in Jersey (and this is an honor because apparently Atlantic City tap water has been judged the nation’s tastiest tap water- for real! Who knew?). This is a big deal you guys! Good tap water is a huge selling point, at least to me. I know not everyone gets totally jacked up about a nice glass of water; in fact I took a bit of teasing from some British military guys we met in San Pedro (more on them in a later entry) that didn’t share my enthusiasm and excitement over the tap water situation. But hey, what can I say? It’s the little things I guess.
The safety of the tap water was one of the questions I had for our landlord, Curling, when we checked in to one of the two tiny beach cabinas he owns and rents to vacationers. He told us Placencia’s water comes from a natural spring on the mainland and it’s treated so not only is it perfectly safe but its totally crisp and refreshing. He also showed us how to use the electric showerhead water heater (often referred to as a suicide shower) to take a warm shower- not hot, it doesn’t get the water hot but who really wants to take a hot shower in the tropics? Oh wait-my husband does, that’s who. Phil clearly wasn’t paying attention to the tutorial and I caught him later that first night (and again on the second night!) standing in the tiny shower stall with the water running over him reaching a hand up to mess with the electric heater apparatus in an attempt to get the water hotter. I had to scold him for being so stupid the first time… the second time I offered to find him a butter knife that he could use to poke around with. Scheesh, this dude has a death wish!
Anyway, more about Curling’s cabinas: they’re called Tri Tan beach cabinas and they’re barebones but absolutely adequate if all your looking for is a bed, a bathroom, and a hammock.
Really it’s all you need considering the location- right in town, a few steps from “the sidewalk” (I’ll explain in the next post) and roughly 30 yards to the sea.
The cabina was clean and had a small fridge and an itty bitty microwave. Curling’s own cabina is right behind the two little guys he rents out and if you need anything (a bowl for cereal, recommendation for bars or nightlife, a ride somewhere- whatever!) he’s a stone’s throw across the sand “yard.” Really. One day he saw me laboring over some coconuts and brought over a machete. Hell yea bro! Curling is great and so are his cabinas; rent them for the very reasonable price of $66 a night
About Author
