Yesterday morning, we returned the golf cart to Captain Jak’s Resort in Placencia Village. At a cost of $1200 a month after doling out $5000 US for the next two months to live in the fabulous Laru Beya Resort, there is no way we’d consider paying $1200 a month for a golf cart rental. Cars are much more.
We choked to pay the $350 for the week we had it. However, in essence, we never would’ve found this place without it. It proved to serve us well.
The golf cart rentals at our resort are $35 US for 12 hours and of course, $70 for 24 hours (no deal here). This morning I asked if they’d give us a special rate for four hours once a week enabling us to go to the grocery store and out to eat. The lack of enthusiasm indicated it was an unlikely option.
Compared to our past experiences traveling to Mexico, it appears that “negotiating” is less likely in Belize. As we continue our travels we’ll surely discover that each country has its own demeanor as to dealing with “tourists” in their continued efforts to “make a deal.”
Dropping off the golf cart left us five miles south of our resort. We could walk around the little town for two hours to catch the next bus at 2:30 for $1 US each or grab a cab for a total of $10 US (for both of us).
Finding our way to the famed long sidewalk along the beach, we walked its entire length. See quote below:
“Aside from the beach, the main attraction in Placencia is the world-renowned main-street sidewalk, cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the world’s most narrow street.” It’s 24 inches wide in spots and runs north–south through the sand for over a mile. Homes, hotels, Guatemalan goods shops, craft makers, and tour guide offices line both sides.”
An hour later, after the long enjoyable walk along the sidewalk in almost 90 degrees and a massive amount of humidity, we decided it made sense to grab a cab back to Laru Beya, rather than ride the bus. It was time to build a relationship with a cab driver. We lucked out (so we think thus far) when Estevan responded to our taxi hail.
Along the ride, it took no time for me to chime in and ask him how much he’d charge for a once-a-week trip to the grocery store in Seine Bight, which would include: picking us up at the resort, driving to the store, waiting for us while we shopped (we promised not more than 20-30 minutes), then driving us back to the resort.
Estevan hesitated to give us a price. He asked us to suggest what we’d pay. No problem. We offered him $10 US for the round trip, including the wait. He agreed without hesitation. Beginning this Wednesday at 9:00 am, continuing every Wednesday for the next two months, Estevan will arrive to take us grocery shopping, out to breakfast or lunch, or any other outings we may desire during his daytime shift! We’re relieved.
There are four restaurants within walking distance. We’ll alternate these from time to time preferring to cook our own meals in our upcoming (as of Sunday) well-appointed granite kitchen, dining at our own table, and chairs on our outdoor veranda about 20-30 feet from the ocean.
We can’t wait to cook our own meals The restaurants, all loaded with ambiance, offering well-prepared local flavors, serve tiny portions. Neither Tom nor I snack between meals and enjoy hearty portions when we do dine. Each night after dinner, we find ourselves still hungry, wishing we had access to something we can eat. It’s not easy here in Belize with limited foodstuffs in the minuscule grocery stores, most of which are more like a 7-11 than an actual grocery store.
Today, we spent the entire afternoon by the pool. The sky was clear, the humidity down and the temperature was a paltry 82. Perfect! We met a lively Canadian couple by the pool, yakked up a storm, and are meeting up with them to go to Robert’s Grove buffet tonight.
On the cruise ships, we enjoyed meeting couple after couple. With our past tumultuous week, we hardly felt like socializing. Now, as we get ready to move to our villa tomorrow morning, we’re feeling all the more relaxed and at ease.
We officially booked the two cruises for October and November 2014. The details on the first of the two is on yesterday’s post.
Here are the details on the second cruise:
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| 7 nights departing November 9, 2014 on Norwegian’s Norwegian Epic |
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| The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees. | |||||||||||||
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| ITINERARY |
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| Sun | Nov | 9 | Miami, FL | 4:00pm | |||||||||
| Mon | Nov | 10 | At Sea | ||||||||||
| Tue | Nov | 11 | At Sea | ||||||||||
| Wed | Nov | 12 | Ocho Rios, Jamaica | 8:00am | 5:00pm | ||||||||
| Thu | Nov | 13 | Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands | 8:00am | 4:00pm | ||||||||
| Fri | Nov | 14 | Cozumel, Mexico | 10:00am | 6:00pm | ||||||||
| Sat | Nov | 15 | At Sea | ||||||||||
| Sun | Nov | 16 | Miami, FL | 8:00am | |||||||||
We upgraded to the Mini-Suite for both of these cruises, giving us a sofa, a desk in about 20 more square feet. In a cabin, 20 square feet makes a substantial difference. The additional cost to upgrade was $75 per person per cruise, well worth it for the total 21 days at sea. We’ll stay on the same ship, in the same cabin enjoying extra amenities which we will share with you as they occur.
(We love cruising. The little cabins don’t bother us at all, easily maneuvering around each other. I’m not afraid t of rolling seas and noises anymore. Tom never was. We love the food, meeting new people every night, the entertainment, the classes, the movie theatres, and the pools. I love the health clubs and health orientated classes. We love it that neither of us had a moment of seasickness, even in rough waters. We love cruising together.)
It’s possible that the prices on these two cruises along with our remaining six cruises could drop over the next 21 months. If that occurs up to 90 days before we sail, we’ll receive the reduced prices.
However, it’s our responsibility to check to see if the prices have gone down informing our cruise guy, Joaquin, who will immediately give us a credit emailing us a new “cruise confirmation” indicating the new pricing. We’ve saved $1400 so far by watching the prices!
Time to get ready for our “double date” tonight. This couple is one floor above our new (as of tomorrow morning) villa. We’ll be neighbors for the remaining five days of their trip. They’ve rented a fishing boat for a day and invited us to join them. Our luck, we’ll catch a sailfish and have no wall on which to hang it.
Ah, the joys of being homeless.