Hello loyal readers,

It's been a while... there have been a lot of changes around here since I last checked in. It all started when I decided to take a sabbatical of sorts a little while back. We were just chilling in a small town in rural Canada while I worked on my new commercial finance business. I even did a bit of moonlighting, taking advantage of the plethora of first world opportunities that surrounded me before we set sail again in search of our next reef.

As my amazing luck would have it, that plan was tossed out the window in the blink of an eye when I was involved in a pretty serious car accident. Now, six months later my injuries continue to prevent me from returning to my regular activities, both in my professional and personal life.

So, we're grounded for the time being. Until I make a full recovery we'll continue to chill out here in the middle of nowhere. Aside from the frustrations that come along with physical rehabilitation and dealing with insurance companies, doctors and the like, it's not so bad. We're surrounded by nature and some wonderful learning opportunities. I've been figuring since we can't resume our active worldschooling lifestyle any time soon I'll have to get creative if I'm to keep these energetic young Reef-Rats engaged.  I mean, their education since 2010 has been extremely kinesthetic; one long string of field trips is how some friends describe our life. Whether it's traveling with me or visiting local attractions with friends and family while I moonlight, they have become accustomed to a very active lifestyle.

While the aftermath of my accident consumes us most days, there have still been many other changes we've seen recently. If there's one thing that I can consistently say in my life it's that I don't ever worry about stagnation. Things are always in a state of motion around here, even if it seems that our moves are often lateral it's all good in my book. The worst fate that could befall me is for life to become stale and monotonous.

On that note, I want to share my thoughts on this blog. What it started out as, what it has been and what I'd like to see it become. In it's early stages it served as a research tool for the kids as they hit Google pretty hard trying to get a glimpse of their future life as expats. Most of the info they gathered was not posted, but filed away for future comparison against the real thing. As we made the trek from Canada to Belize my head was spinning as I took each new experience in and I completely forgot to journal most of it. This is the ultimate goal I suppose in today's high tech world of information sharing; to become lost in each moment rather than only half experience it because we are too busy photographing, recording or otherwise capturing our way through everything.

As we found our way around San Pedro, this platform eventually served as a way to provide what I felt was valuable information to others considering a similar move. I discussed things that I hadn't been able to find any info on before we made our move and I did so with a dose of harsh reality. With that being said, it has now been three years since I got on that one-way flight out of DTW and as sure as I'm sitting here now, some of the information included in this blog has surely become outdated. Since my objective was to assist others by providing helpful details of our experience as a family moving to Belize, I'm not sure that there is anywhere left for it to go. You can see where this is headed...

As you know if you have been following us, we are also unschoolers/life-learners/world learners... whatever you'd like to call it. We believe that living life is far more interesting/magical/educational than reading textbooks and subjecting ourselves to indoctrination by government run schools. You might also know that we have a sister site called A Croc Ate My Homework which gives you a glimpse into that aspect of our lives. In addition I write two other, unrelated blogs which, quite honestly have also become rather static as of late.

I don't have a well defined vision just yet but what I do know is that I find journaling to be therapeutic and lord knows I need something to keep me sane while this latest drama plays out. I can also say that all of my current blogs are lacking in many ways as I'm not really giving 100% to any of them. Ideally I'd like to streamline and merge everything into one place. So, is this farewell? I sincerely hope not. I hope when the new changes take effect you will enjoy the broader scope of my content and continue to follow our crazy adventures in travel, alternative education and life in general.

Until then...

XO
Reef-Rats

I receive a good number of emails from folks all over the world looking for useful information on relocating to Belize. I thought I'd start sharing them occasionally in case you might have similar questions. Your welcome ;)

Todd writes...

"I am a college graduate in the United States and would like to move to Belize for a change in lifestyle and better employment prospects (potentially to start my own business.).

We've developed a bit of a routine in our day, walking and doing in and around our South end neighborhood. Here's a little tour... enjoy!

This is our adorable street, Marina Dr. is what it says on our BEL bill but I've never actually seen a posted sign anywhere. At the far end sits the Sausage Factory and Caye Coffee and this end leads to the beach, right at Xanadu.


On to the hustle & bustle of our main street. We typically pick up a quick bite at the bakery, Super Buy (South) or the little restaurant on the corner (help me out if you can think of the name) and then head over to Marina's store for some fresh bait ...and rum on the weekends.

Most of the local fellas who live on our street gather down on the beach to bbq and share a few laughs on Sunday afternoons. We were quickly made to feel very welcome and it has replaced our old family tradition of Sunday dinner at mom's. It gives the kids a real sense of belonging here and they absolutely love picking up fishing tips from the best!

If we happen to have errands to run or the kids want to go visit the dogs at Saga, we head a little farther into town. We usually walk along the beach as it is cooler and more enjoyable than talking the hot, dusty backroads.

Shady, breezy and cooler...


Hot and dusty...

Then it's off to fish, swim and explore for the remainder of the day.

We start out at the end of our lane, near Xanadu Resort. There is a small pier and some rocks where we sit, climb, contemplate life, fish, observe and chat with friends. (This is also where our Sunday knees-up happens.)

Xanadu

Xanadu

Banyan Bay

Banyan Bay

Banyan Bay

Banyan Bay

Banyan Bay

 Fabulous view along the way...


 Sometimes we stop to make new friends.


 Our walkabout is never complete without a little fishing at Mata Rocks. This seems to be the best place to see Permit. (You can see the "big pier" in the background here. We have no clue if it has a real name but it's always on our list of places to stop.)



Below is the view from the "big pier". You can see why we make it a daily stop. You can see for miles and it's a good place to see stingrays and big fish from afar. It's quite a height but the local youth don't mind; they can be seen gathering here on sunny days, running and jumping into the waist deep water below, often with their dogs following.

Ours will have none of it; the nanny once pushed him off the pier and he had to swim back to shore through some deeper water... he is big-chested & front heavy and had a really hard time. Needless to say, I wasn't very please to hear about it but like so many other things, you have to keep in mind the cultural differences here.








A little more night fishing to catch some bait for the morning...


A quick stop at Marina's to pick up some dinner and eggs for the morning and then back home. We feel very safe in our neighborhood walking at night, more so on the streets than along the beach because there is a lot more action up on the streets at night with food vendors, bar patrons etc.





Almost home... our blood has fed an army of mosquitoes by this time.






























So this is a typical day in our Belize life and hopefully paints a good picture of South AC for anyone considering a long term stay in this area.

Perhaps it's the season but I've been asked a lot lately about what the perfect Belize vacation would look like. This is always a difficult question to answer since Belize offers such diversity. From white sand and cool marine life to lush jungles full of exotic birds and creatures there is something for everyone.

There are a ton of tours to choose from on both Ambergris Caye & Caye Caulker

Here's my take on the perfect trip to Belize:

Here is the update we've all been waiting for... after 5 months of coordinating, our "Marcos Bwai" is finally with us. He made it just in time for our holiday visit back home with friends and family.

Our boy is finally home!

The Process

Once it became apparent that I would not be returning to Belize on schedule I began to investigate ways to have our newly adopted pet shipped to our home base in Canada. I was put in touch with a shipping company who advised that they could have the dog shipped to us no problem. I promptly sent a payment of approx. $400 USD that was requested. After 3 months of emailing this shipper I became frustrated when nothing was happening. He then advised that due to some new international flight policy, a customs broker would be required to book the flight and that I needed to send an addition $350 USD to cover the brokerage fee. Again, I promptly sent the funds that they requested and again, weeks passed and nothing happened. When I pressed the shipper for some action, he then advised that he was unable to find a customs broker. This just seemed just a bit odd.

When we first arrived in San Pedro, we were spending an average of $3,000 each month just on basic food and shelter, no internet or cable, travel or entertainment. I've since discovered many of the in's and out's of shopping and saving, living simply and being happy. We have been able to reduce our costs to about one third of what we were originally paying and our budget now includes things like cell phone usage, medical expenses and internet. I know right, so crazy... so how'd we do it?

Lobster season is upon here in Belize and there's no missing it! Traps, posters, news articles, stuffed toy lobsters... you name it, I've seen it around town the past few weeks as San Pedro gears up for a week long Lobster Festival.

I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the creepy looking "cockroach of the sea" but I do love a good party! I'm especially looking forward to Cowboy Doug's after party! Who doesn't love a guy 'n girl swimsuit competition? I think after a few rum and sodas I'll be ready for the pool floaty contest. Prizes will be given out for the strangest, silliest and biggest pool floaty toys... whoo! Look out San Pedro, you just might see my crazy side on Sunday, June 24th. (I will NOT be posting pictures.)

Belize, a tropical paradise like no other? Sure but is it everyone's first choice? Not necessarily, as I recently learned.

A few weeks ago, I was graced with a visit from my employer who wanted to see just what it was that drew me here and what kept me from returning to Canada. Part of his plan to visit San Pedro included checking out a few business/investment opportunities that might give him cause to get out of the Canadian office more often. So I arranged and prepaid his hotel and cart rental for the two weeks that he intended to be here not expecting him to hate Belize so much that he shaved the last 8 days off his visit!