Secret Beach, Cool Beans, Visa Extensions...

Saturday we ventured out to Secret Beach to drop off a metal rake and cash for the guys clearing back our lot. They also informed us that the guy who is not afraid of snakes or crocs but DEATHLY afraid of spiders and had a tarantula crawl up his leg! He swiped it away and immediately a large iguana was on it and ate it. Our previous clearing crew relocated an 8' boa out of the way a few years ago, they put her safely up a tree. Our land is "Wild Kingdom". 

Since we were already in the neighborhood, we enjoyed a relaxing day at Sunset Palace. They have the Belikin Beer (the local beer of Belize) 43rd Independence Day labels - as I have mentioned, Belize celebrates with all its heart!

We also took a look at our dock placement, confirmed the length that we want, and met a family visiting for the first time and gave them some pointers (they asked - we aren't randomly lecturing folks!).

Sunday the cats were due for their first Heartworm pill from me - before we left, our vet gave them their first dose. The tablet is large and dense; I had to use a super-sharp knife to chop them in half. Roxy ate half of her pill in wet food, but then she was onto us. We used a rolling pin to crush the remaining 5 of 6 halves, and Selene took hers mixed with Churu. Shadow, my garbage-monster, wasn't having it - much like when we were dosing him for travel. I had to dissolve his in water and shoot it into his mouth with a liquid medicine syringe.

We spent the day in town, starting with Brunch at Cool Beans Cafe on their over-water dock. They have 2-for-1 margaritas on the weekends - that's 2 margaritas for $9 U.S.! They have 12-14 flavors to choose from. We went with "Side Chick" margaritas - strawberry-lemonade flavored. Delicious.

Aside from stellar views, we were also entertained by the wildlife in the water - stay tuned on my Facebook page tomorrow, they will be in my "Wildlife Wednesday" post!

We spent the afternoon on the dock at Hurricane's Ceviche Bar - they have a spacious dock and great service. A bucket of 6 Belikins is $12.50 U.S. on Sundays. 

That night, I cooked my first legitimate meal in our villa. Yes, I've whipped up some BLTs, egg salad, Mediterranean pizzas (pesto on a pita with toppings)...basic stuff. This time, I sauteed chicken breasts, made yellow rice, and sauteed mushrooms, onion and zucchini. I have limited seasonings here as we have a large box of Costco/Smart & Final seasonings in our shipment from home, so I used powdered chicken flavoring (cheap and abundant here - and it's a flavor booster for sure!), salt, pepper, and butter. It was pretty legit!

On Monday Nick returned with the parts he needed to fix up our electrical system on the villa. He's a great guy and very knowledgeable as well as reasonable in price, we have found a great asset!

Since it was Labor Day, Nathan was off from his remote job. Our visitor's visas expire on the 4th, so since he was free, we went to Immigration to get our first visa extensions! Immigration on Ambergris Caye is in the Wings Plaza, across the street from Tropic Air and slightly south. You fill out a form they have outside of the office, then enter with your form and passport. The form asks for how long you intend to stay, so I put down "12 months" - at that point, we can apply for Permanent Residency. FB Groups have varied results, but most say after you go a few times for stamps, you can ask for 2-3 month stamps so you need not return as frequently. 

We sat with a gracious and welcoming Immigration Officer who asked why we want to stay in Belize; we informed him we had moved and did not intend to leave. He offered to give us 2-month Visas, so we are set through the beginning of November! He gave us each a small slip of paper to take to the Treasury Office - this is above the RE/MAX just a few doors north. They take cash, Belizean bills only. It is $200BZ per person per month for stamps. 

The cashier gave us a receipt that she stamped (I am learning that Belizeans love nothing more than a stamp pad and rubber stamps!) to take back to Immigration, to prove we have paid up.

Top: receipt of payment; bottom is the slip to take to the Treasury.

The Immigration Officer put a sticker (fully expecting a stamp! But no, it's a large sticker) that allows us to stay until November 4th. I did ask if we had to come in before the 4th, or if on the 4th was okay, as again, details are varied online...he said on the 4th is sufficient. It's a Monday, they are closed on weekends. We renewed 2 days early, but I was grateful that the clock runs from Visa to Visa, not in 30-day cycles from the previous stamp date.

We went to Carribean Depot to order landscaping rock for the front yard and found the office lady...abrasive. We'll see how she and Nathan get along..!

We also stopped at Caye Mart to get some cleaning supplies as it's about that time in the villa for scrubbing, then piddled around in the yard a bit. 

All said it was a mostly relaxing, somewhat productive long weekend!