Earlier in the week, I headed to Placencia for the very first time. I was so bored that I cut my trip short, got sick, and headed home yesterday.
August 22
Life in the jungle: I was in bed by 7:30 PM last night with every intent to get up at 4 AM. For the last month or two, I have been starting my sleep time in the hammock and then transitioning to my bed at some point in the middle of the night. I couldn’t fall asleep in my hammock, so I ended up in my bed. Then at some point, I woke up very stuffed up. I moved to the hammock and proceeded to have a bad night’s sleep. I turned my alarms off. Maybe moving dirt yesterday while I was still sick was not a good idea.
I did end up waking up at 6 AM. After feeding the chickens, I went up to the village for some Canada Dry ginger ale. Upon returning home and after a shower, I landed back in my hammock.
Even when I got up and about, I procrastinated. I needed to eat, but I can’t eat eggs when I am sick, and I had two packs of those cheap noodle soups last night. I kept putting off eating, though I knew I needed to eat something. I finally settled on spaghetti as I knew the noodles would slide down my throat better than anything else. I only ended up eating half my plate; the other half went to the dogs.
Andy’s in Belmopan and Spanish Lookout today for his passport stamp. He messaged me, they are screwing him around because they denied him his work permit and made you wait three hours for his passport stamp. If you ever decide to move to Belize, be warned, Belize Immigration does not like you.
Literally, while typing out that last sentence, Belize Immigration called, telling me I was just granted residency! Almost four years ago, when I arrived on November 23, 2021, Belize immigration was a huge source of anxiety. Every day getting up early, every day working hard, every day not knowing about my future. On December 13, 2023, I finally handed my residency application in, after over 20 months of waiting, and every day was uncertain of the outcome. Upon hearing this news, I went into my bedroom, sat on my bed, and thanked God.
I have been waiting a long time for this message
After lunch, I wrote Belize blog Parts 179 and 180. I then decided to go back up to the village to get a Security Bond download printed off for my final Belize Residency step. Belize Immigration requires a Belizean to guarantee my plane ticket out of here if I go broke. As if anyone would spend their very last $1,000 and become destitute here, versus their native country.
It’s been a long time since I have been sick for longer than 24 hours. My allergies were horrendous today. Tonight, I went to bed on an empty stomach.
August 23
Life in the jungle: I slept better last night. My allergies were better, but I was in a weakened state from eating very little these past few days. I also sensed that whatever I was dealing with was now settling into my stomach area.
The only thing accomplished this morning was feeding the chickens. Later in the morning, I forced a little soup down. Other than that, I was either in bed or in my hammock.
Later in the afternoon, even with my stomach feeling the way it did, I biked to Bermudian Landing to track down my JP (Justice of the Peace) to sign off on my security bond for my final Belize residency task. I’m always amused that the Government of Belize thinks foreigners would rather be homeless and broke in Belize with zero social programs for the poor and homeless than in our own home countries. If I’m down to my very last $1,000 in the world. I’m not staying here.
I made it home without issue. I forced myself to eat a small supper and was in bed shortly after 8 PM.
A young Morelets crocodile that has been hanging in one of my ponds went on walkabout.
August 24
Life in the jungle: Last night resulted in multiple trips to the bathroom. I took it fairly easy and slow this morning. Mostly, my stomach feels off. I decided on two fried eggs (instead of my usual four) for breakfast and to start getting on regular food.
In the afternoon, I posted Belize blog Parts 171, 172, 173, and 174.
Saul also brought me a small load of lumber right before dark.
I was hoping to head to Belmopan tomorrow to complete my residency, but with my stomach and frequent visits to the bathroom, I can’t risk it.
August 25
Life in the jungle: It was definitely a good idea not to head to Belmopan today. I don’t know what is going on with my stomach and why I have been sick for so many days. There were a few random rain showers this morning.
I haven’t been setting my alarm for 4 AM since getting home from Placencia because of being sick. My mornings have been very slow going, so as not to upset my stomach too much. First thing I put together an email for a surveyor researcher to help me deal with my land titles. This took the whole morning to make sure everything was clear and straightforward. The researcher was recommended by my original surveyor a week ago. [The researcher would reply a few days later, explaining to me that it’s the surveyor who does the jobs I need done. Do you see how utterly backwards this country is?]
After lunch, I was motivated to work on a new Belize jungle lifestyle blog post. I was able to write it and post it to my website by the evening. The post is called What It’s Really Like to Live in the Jungles of Belize.
This is life in the jungle
August 26
Life in the jungle: My stomach is still upset. Last night I woke up, what felt like a dozen times, to foot cramps related to low electrolytes. It seems out of place as I have hardly been exerting myself lately. My morning dragged as I was low on energy.
When I was up for moving around, I posted my Do’s and Don’ts for Living in the Jungle blog post to 23 various (mostly Belize Facebook Groups). I took my time to update my notes and organize all my potential jungle lifestyle (mostly Belize) Facebook groups that I’m a member of. I also joined a few off-grid groups. Moving forward, I plan to post a jungle lifestyle blog post once a week, 52 weeks a year, to grow my website exposure. Historically, my Facebook group blog posting routine has more to do with rainy weather than a weekly routine.
I also posted a Blacktail Cribo snake photo to 14 reptile Facebook groups with a website link in the description and in the comments. The plan here is to also post a different reptile/amphibian photo to these groups every week.
By the middle of the afternoon, I was antsy to get outside to work. Sick or not, I’m done waiting to get better. It’s time to get back to routine and productivity. I spent the remainder of the afternoon until dark doing outside yard work.
Groove-billed Ani bird
Glossary of Terms
Glossary of words or people that may or may not be part of this particular blog post. This glossary will be at the bottom of every blog post for Belize.
Wayne – He is the son of the original owners of the farm (both owners are deceased). The original farm was two – 30-acre parcels minus two – ¾ acre parcels for my house. In 2017, Wayne sold me 40 acres of land from the original 60 acres (one 30-acre parcel plus 10 acres from the second parcel). Wayne lives in his parents’ house and has a few cows on his remaining 18 acres of land.
The ponds – I have two large (300ft long x 50ft wide x 10ft deep) ponds on my 30-acre parcel of land, which is basically a jungle. I have about 60 coconut trees (mostly mature) around the ponds. In my first two years of living in Belize, I also planted about 250 assorted fruit tree seedlings (Lime, jackfruit, custard apple, pomegranate, and avocado).
The coconut field – I have about 400 coconut trees planted (various growth states) on about 3 acres of cleared land of my 10-acre parcel. I have planted about 350 assorted fruit trees (lemon, starfruit, mango, soursop, cashew, lime, orange), all raised from seed since my arrival in Belize in 2021.
The river lot – my house sits on a ¾ acre lot. I have a second joining ¾ acre lot that allows me river frontage on the Belize River. I call that my river lot.
The dry – Belize has two main seasons. The rainy season and the dry season (no rain). The wet is obviously the rainy season.
Chopping – using my machete to clear brush, vines, weeds, and unwanted trees. Generally, when I chop, I am removing unwanted vegetation around my baby fruit trees.
Andy – A fellow Canadian who rode his dirt bike from Canada to Belize at the end of 2023. When I offered Andy the use of an apartment that I recently built and the use of my greenhouse, Andy decided to stay in Belize permanently and start a hot sauce company here.
