MY VISITOR'S VISA EXPIRED!
As I mentioned in my previous blog, we planned to go to Immigration on Friday since Wednesday was Christmas and Thursday was Boxing Day, which is a holiday here - a holdover from being under British rule. We parked at the Wings Plaza on Friday, walked into the building where Immigration is, and found...
...CLEARLY closed, no signage at all! Nothing on their website about holiday closures. And my tourist visa expires on Sunday! Mid-level panic set in - will I be deported? Fined? Arrested? A quick Facebook group search turned up folks that overstayed by up to two weeks that went in very contrite and polite, and were given only a hand slap and threats of a fine "next time". Apparently you can also get a warning sticker in your passport for missing your renewal. A Customs official happened to pass by while we were staring at the locked door and said Immigration would re-open on Monday - I said my visa expired Sunday, and he said, "You'll be fine". So that made me feel marginally better. I took a photo to prove we were there in case I needed it! (My visa expires before Nathan's only because I had to fly to AZ for a funeral, it reset my visa.)
We did some random driving around and had lunch at The Hut - a parked barge on the lagoon side. It was muggy as hell, so we didn't feel like working in the yard, it was pretty much a wasted day. We did come upon a "free banana tree" - it had sprouted in a brush pile in Mara Laguna, so we took a shovel down to relocate him to our yard. :)
Baby banana tree!
Our black cat, Shadow, is feeling much better BUT - he has lost his voice! He sounds hoarse, with quiet-to-silent meows. The most common cause is overuse of their vocal chords, and he certainly screamed the entire ride both ways to the vet the previous week. We're keeping an eye on him and Nathan is enjoying the peace.
Saturday we saw MUCH better weather - it was still very humid, but the sun was out! We loaded up and wanted to see how the roads were by Secret Beach/our land. It is so strange that we are never there - a combination of weather and access. Sunset Palace is still closed for remodeling, and they put in a legitimate blockade on the illegal road to the AirBnB two lots north of our land - and now, the AirBnB is for sale. Yet still taking bookings. I guess they are boating guests in and out...? But they are literally trapped at the AirBnB. Allegedly Sunset Palace will re-open this weekend, then we can park there and walk in the water to our land.
At any rate, we decided to see how far south we could drive on the "back road" in West Caye - it seems there is a full-fledged quarry down there now, and we were able to navigate all the way down to Aruna Resort - I'm not sure how well they are selling based on how difficult it is to get there, and how difficult it is just to find pricing - you have to submit a request to get any type of details on plans, pricing, availability - an instant turn-off. We didn't see a soul there, which is pretty crazy seeing as town is jam-packed right now! The community is beautiful and their landscaping is lush - the location must make it a tough sell though. A boat shuttle does cross the lagoon, but it would take a solid hour in good weather to drive to town via a cart.
Aruna Resort - very cute villas on a man-made canal.
I had tied one of my orchids I bought a few weeks ago to a palm tree in our yard, and then Nathan reminded me that we're going to keep the palms trimmed, so I should move him somewhere permanent. We found a wiley piece of driftwood that would make a perfect home for him, and strapped the wood to our cart.
Always a good idea to have a bungee cord with you, you never know when you'll need one!
Sunday was also a good weather day - we packed up our backpack cooler and floaties (they are on sale on Amazon right now, 2 for under $40! #ad) and drove north until we found a vacant dock, popped a few Belikins, and floated...with no one around, it was like having our own private dock, and the ocean breeze made all the difference! It was stuffy at our villa but way nicer over the water.
This morning we were up and dressed and out the door by 8 to head to Immigration...as were many, many other people. It seems I'm not the only one that missed their renewal date with Immigration's "extended holidays".
When our turn was up, we were super-polite and didn't mention that I was one day overdue. No one said anything, so we paid and got our stickers like normal. WHEW!!! I do NOT suggest letting your Visa expire - you can be fined, deported, and/or jailed! Individual results may vary, just like with most things here. It can depend on your attitude, the officer's mood, or how expired your visa is!