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South & Central America Travel

    South & Central America Travel

    A Taste of Expat Life in Placencia, Belize

    Location: Placencia Belize

    It’s a refreshing change being in a place with people our own age.  It’s unusual.  We always find ourselves with younger people.  But here in Placencia, Belize we fit right in; fabulous fifties, retired, North Americans, English speakers.

    A taste of expat life

    Placencia pier

    Placencia is both a true expat village and a North American snow bird village, where Canadian and American retirees are in abundance.

    I’m really enjoying this colorful little Caribbean village.  My favorite town in Belize.  It has a very local vibe

    A taste of expat life

    Colorful

    despite the expat community.  There are significantly more expats than short-term visitors, but still there are many options for lodging for short-term.  Our Airbnb “Ally’s Guesthouse” is great.

    It’s a perfect chance for us to get the feel for what it would be

    A taste of expat life

    The lagoon view at our Airbnb

    like to settle somewhere for six months of the year or longer – something we see as possible in the future.  I could spend half a year here.  Not much to not like about this place.

    Placencia has the best beaches we have seen in Belize; warm water, white sand and clean – despite the sargasso grass that seasonally washes on shore.

    A taste of expat life

    Says it all about Placencia

    As usual we cook in our Airbnb, but Placencia has a nice variety of restaurants.  Our favorites so far include Mr. Que for BBQ where we had a full meal for $5 USD,  Barefoot for toes in the sand beers and De Tatch for seafood.  Hands down the best meal has been  Rumfish, where I unexpectedly had the most delicious beef short ribs. We also love the coffee at Above Grounds and Brewed Awakening, the ice cream at Tuttie Fruitie, and the cinnamon

    A taste of expat life

    Barefoot Restaurant

    rolls at John the Bakerman.

    Our Airbnb is about a mile from the farthest end of town, but the walk is easy and along the way are several excellent grocery stores, many other shops and all the restaurants mentioned above. Placencia is flat as a pancake, so it’s a great place for cycling, walking and a daily run.  But on the other

    Boardwalk

    hand, not a great place during hurricane season.

    There is a concrete boardwalk that runs the full length of town, set about 100 yards from the beach.  The boardwalk runs through a colorful collection of beach cabanas, shops and restaurants.  It’s my favorite place in Placencia.

    A taste of expat life

    Flat & easy for a run or ride

    Though we have spent most of our time doing nothing more than

    reading and swimming, Placencia has great options for sailing, snorkeling, diving, kayaking and more.  We don’t have a car, and you

    A taste of expat life

    De Tatch Restaurant

    don’t need one unless you want to get out-of-town to the Mayan ruins, waterfalls, hiking or other beaches.  For us, our time here in Placencia is just to relax.

    A taste of expat life

    Yummy coffee and shakes

    The locals are a mix of Garifuna, Maya,and Spanish descent.  Placencia population is about 3600. Everyone is friendly and helpful.  It’s a very laid back and casual culture.  Not a day goes by that I have not been offered to buy marijuana.  ‘Hey Mon – one love for da road, dis day? Sista like da weed?”

    No thanks.  I get high everyday just being on this Fab Fifties Life journey. Thanks for following.

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    South & Central America Travel

    The World’s Greatest Shortcut – Crossing the Panama Canal

    Location: Panama Canal

    What a fascinating experience it was to cross through the Panama Canal on board the Norwegian Sun.  I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I was going to.  Absolutely a fascinating experience, in a life full of fascinating experiences.  My Fab Fifties Life.  

    Panama Canal

    Approaching Gatun Locks

    Incredibly we had a glorious sunny and hot day (the next day was cloudy, wet and stormy), so we felt lucky as we stumbled out of our stateroom a little after 6:00am, for what would be about an eleven hour excursion through the 80km  canal – an engineering wonder of the world.

    Panama Canal

    Inside Gatun Locks

    The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, cut through one of the narrowest saddles of the isthmus that joins North and South America.  The Canal uses a system of locks with entrance and exit gates that function to raise the ships from sea level to the level of Gatun Lake (a man-made lake) 26 meters above sea level.  

    We began on the Atlantic side passing first through the Gatun Locks (named for the town located here) at 7:00am.  It took about two hours to pass through this first set of three locks (see video). 

    Our ship, the Norwegian Sun, is a relatively small cruise ship, just under 900 feet long.  The locks we passed through are the original locks – the longest ship that can pass through these locks is 1000 feet (304.8 meters).  Curiously the Panama Transit Authority uses feet and inches rather than meters in all transit communication.

    Panama Canal

    Panama Sunrise

    A new set of locks (opened in 2016) now can accommodate larger vessels,  up to 1200 feet long and 158 feet wide known as Neopanamax ships.  Norwegian’s newest ship, Bliss, which is 1100 feet uses the new canal.

    Panama Canal

    Our stateroom view when the water was lowered

    The water used to raise and lower the ships in the locks comes from Gatun Lake by gravity; it comes into the locks through a system of main culverts that extend under the lock chambers from the sidewalls and center wall.  The narrowest portion of the canal is the Culebra Cut, which extends from the north end of Pedro Migues Locks to the south edge of Gatun Lake.  It is approximately 8.5 miles carved through the rock and shale of the Continental Divide. 

    Panama Canal

    Jockeying for a good view

    The Panama Canal is a saga of human ingenuity and courage that dates back to the early 16th century when the Spaniards arrived to the Isthmus.  Since then, the idea of building a route that would link the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans was discussed.

    The French began the first effort in 1880, but abandoned the effort when financial problems as well as tropical diseases made it impossible to continue. 

    At the urging of the United States, Panama broke from Colombia and declared its independence in 1903, resulting in the partnership with the USA to begin construction once again on the passage.  The canal was completed in August 1914 and as per the original agreement the USA administered the canal until December 31, 1999 when Panama assumed full operation.

    The world’s greatest shortcut provided a boost to world trade and transit, by cutting transit time from the Atlantic to the Pacific (and vice versa) by approximately three weeks.

    A private yacht may pay $2000 or less and a large commercial ship up to $150,000. The cost is still less than sailing around South America. Interesting fact: Panama Canal authorities used to charge swimmers 36 cents to pass through.

    Panama Canal

    Culebra Cut

    Toll for crossing through the canal for a ship the size of the Norwegian Sun is approximately $250,000 (1500 passengers).  A giant cruise ship such as the Bliss, will pay $890,000 (4000 passengers).  The tolls are calculated with numerous factors including size, revenue earnings and number of passengers.  A universal measurement system is used, taxing every 100 cubic feet of passenger space (cabins, dining, entertainment areas) but not bridge or crew areas.  Usually $5 per cubic foot.

    Panama Canal

    The Norwegian Sun

    Cruise operators will often include in the cost of the cruise approximately $140 per person as a surcharge.

    Panama is now one of the fastest expanding countries in world trade.  The canal generates 2 billion dollars for Panama annually.  The canal is vital to the world’s prosperity and is clearly an enormous feat of humanity, linking the world.  

    As we exited the final locks on the Pacific side (Pedro Miguel) at 5:30pm we completed more than ten hours of transiting through one of the wonders of the world – the world’s greatest shortcut.  As the world moves through the challenges of nationalism versus globalization, as well as the impending and potentially disastrous effects of climate change, new and expanded canals are being considered.  The wildly successful Panama Canal has sparked interest in Nicaragua for possible construction of a new canal there.  China is poised to capitalize as a world power in potential new canals around the world,  with the construction knowhow and trade-savvy chops to lead in the building of such a canal.  

    Cruising through the Panama Canal was certainly the highlight of our 15 days onboard the Norwegian Sun.  Fabulous !

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