Documenting the dream western caribbean 01/21-28/2012; the money monkey goes cruising

[radrayjax]

Coming to the Gated exit to The Village...

 

Fran looking for dresses. Prices here were running a little higher than Cozumel. 11:48AM:

 

Moho Chocolate. Didn’t go in there. 11:52AM:

 

After nearly a half hour we had about found our way to the Village exit to the town. This is where “the men get separated from the boys” in most reviews. Yeah, right. It’s just people trying to sell tours.

 

Gated exit to Belize City. 11:57AM:

I approached the guard, 2nd from right above, and told him I wanted to go to the Bank of Belize (I had map in hand) to get new currency. He directed me to the left and said to cross the bridge and make an immediate left, I can’t miss it. I knew I didn’t have to cross the bridge to get to the Bank of Belize, it felt wrong, but we went off in that direction.

 

What I neglected to say was that I was looking for the CENTRAL Bank of Belize. It makes a difference.

[radrayjax]

The Expedition into Belize City...

 

Heading West on Fort Street, just outside the gate. 12:00PM:

I turns out we had picked up an unofficial “walking companion/tour guide” for want of a better word. I didn’t need a walking companion; we were doing just fine. He stayed with us for a number of blocks, not taking the hint.

 

The “companion” and Fran. 12:00PM:

Within a short distance we turn left from Fort to Front Street.

 

Front street, heading south. 12:04PM:

 

Below is the Belize City Street map with our actual path. The red arrows show the initial route from the tourism village to the first bank we were directed to.

 

Google Earth Satellite/Map of Belize City, and my Money Expedition pedestrian route from and to the Fort Street Tourism Village (Note the scale is 500 ft):

Our companion hung in with us for a while. Soon we came upon another man who wanted to sell us a tour of the city. He was proud of his county, which was quite natural, but he didn’t know that I had a money monkey on my back. Not literally, figuratively. THE Money Monkey was still on the ship doing his thing with last night’s towel animal. But still, I had places to be.

 

The tour guide was interrupted in his spiel by a telephone call and Fran and I moved on. At this point I told the companion, that I wasn’t going to pay him for walking with me and I was only going a few blocks. He must have been taken aback because he slipped back to where Fran was walking and asked her if I meant it. She said yes, my husband’s cheap and he might as well go back to the gate if he was expecting to make any money.

 

He left. And we continued on.

 

Front Street dovetailed into Dixon Street (that’s the blue arrow on the map above) and we made a sharp left.

 

The post office on Dixon, just before the bridge. 12:04PM:

 

We quickly found ourselves on the yellow and green bridge I had been photographing as we had approached Belize City (not thinking I would be on it since I had intended to go in another direction).

 

The Dixon Street bridge. 12:06PM:

[radrayjax]

The Dixon Street Bridge and Belize Bank...

 

View to the southeast down the channel from the Dixon Street bridge. 12:06PM:

When we get to the far end of the bridge we made an immediate left and the other bank is in sight, maybe 100 feet away. It is Belize Bank, a commercial bank. In the photo below you can see part of the building to the left.

 

Just off the Dixon Street bridge, left turn, Belize Bank is to the left. 12:07PM:

 

The view opposite of Belize Bank, just as we got off the Dixon Street bridge. 12:07PM:

 

The view of the south end of the Dixon Street bridge, where we just came from. 12:07PM:

 

After my experience in Cozumel, I knew this wasn’t going to work, but we were here, so we might as well go in. It was as expected; all currency was well used even though they were well within a mile of the source of the nation’s currency. The teller was very nice and I asked him the way to walk to the Central Bank of Belize. He said, just go straight back up Dixon Street until it dead ends, make a left and it is less than a block away!

 

That is the BLUE path on the map above.

 

The view northwest up the channel from Dixon Street bridge. 12:18PM:

 

Telephoto view up the channel. 12:18PM:

 

[radrayjax]

On the Road to The CENTRAL Bank of Belize...

 

Detail of infrastructure on Dixon Street, on the way to the Central BofB. 12:20PM:

 

View going northeast on Dixon Street, on the way to the Central BofB. 12:20PM:

 

Dixon Street dead ends on Gaboure Lake Road, and immediately to the left is the compound with the Belize Museum and Central Bank of Belize! We only had to walk a very short distance to the entrance to the compound.

 

Intersection of Dixon Street, left and Gaboure Lake Road. The wall and fence of the Museum, CBofB compound is on the right. This was taken after we left the Central Bank:

[radrayjax]

WE. HAVE. ARRIVED.

 

12:27: we are at the front of the compound to the Museum of Belize and Central Bank of Belize. It all seems like such a long time but it is not quite an hour since we got off the boat!

 

In the map above the Museum of Belize appears to be separated by a roadway from the Central Bank. It is in fact only a driveway in front of the bank. They share space in the same large compound.

 

Front of the Museum of Belize. 12:27PM:

 

 

We walk around the side and to the back of the Museum, which is a fairly wide building, and there it is! Like a modern trapezoidal pyramid to money, stands the imposing Bank of Belize.

 

Front of the Central Bank of Belize. 12:28PM:

 

 

The closest analogy I can make to the U.S. is a combination of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Treasury Department buildings in Washington D.C. Just stroll on up and ask: “Can I have a couple of 20’s?” This is the highest authority in the nation.

 

We walk to the front entrance above and I turn and snap a couple of photos of the back of the museum.

 

Back of the Museum of Belize, taken in front of the Central Bank of Belize. 12:29PM:

 

 

IN WE GO, past the security and scanners. Inside is a large lobby, but it is comparable to a large commercial bank building in the US, not intimidating at all. To the right is a security desk and I tell the person what I’m looking for. She tells us to have a seat at the far left corner of the lobby, in front of a couple of doors. She said that someone will be down in a few minutes to see me. Okay.

 

On the way to the seats I snap a couple of photos. One is of wall-mounted case of specimen examples of all the nation’s currency. I take a photo but it is too foggy to present. Below that is a floor display case of numismatic examples of some of the coins. These are specially struck for collectors; not what I’ve come for because they would be available over the internet.

 

There are two chairs by these doors. One door is to the left over my shoulder. It is open and I’m VERY close to the door but I didn’t turn around to see what that office is for. The other door is on a facing wall and I can see into it. It looks like a clerks office, such as you’d see at a local court house. That may or may not be an accurate analogy; I don’t know.

 

I take a couple of shots of things from my chair (most were too foggy) until the security guard tells me “No photography allowed.”

 

I don’t have the heart to delete this foggy-as-hell shot of the specimen case of Belizean Currency! I think the denominations go from $2.00 - $500.00. 12:32PM:

 

 

A shot of the lobby from my chair. The specimen cases are to the right. The desk you see is NOT the security desk; that is out of frame to the right. I also took telephoto shots of the two paintings above, both were too out-of-focus. 12:36PM:

 

 

After a few more minutes a lady came down the elevators and I told her what I was looking for. She acted as though this was a very unusual request but said she’d see what she could do. I wrote out the denominations I wanted (this helped me organize my thoughts).

 

Belizean currency is worth 50cents to the US dollar and I came up with a want list of $240BZ/$120USD:

 

What I wanted (all CRISP NEW bills):

10 - $2.00BZ ($10.00US)

10 - $5.00BZ ($25.00US)

7 - $10.00BZ ($35.00US)

5 - $20.00BZ ($50.00US)

Total: $240.00BZ/$120.00US

 

I handed the lady $120.00 and she went upstairs with my money. Fran and I are looking at each other as though this could be a replay of the runaround from Cozumel – but it COULDN’T, not here!

 

It was getting close to 1:00PM (our time) when she came back down and said she would go into the office (over my shoulder) and see if something could be worked out.

 

After a few more minutes my curiosity was way up and I stood up to look into that office and was very surprised to read the plate on the door: NUMISMATIC SALES!

 

WHY, for crying out loud, couldn’t they have sent me into that office and I could have avoided 20 minute of rigamarole? I went in to find out that the deal was done.

 

Here is what I got:

 

10 - $2.00BZ ($10.00US) CRISP!

4 - $5.00BZ ($10.00US) RATTY!

5 - $10.00BZ ($25.00US) CRISP!

5 - $20.00BZ ($50.00US) CRISP!

1 - $50.00BZ ($25.00US) So-so. I could work with it.

Total: $240.00BZ/$120.00US

 

I asked if there was any way to sub out the fives, but it was too late. You see, it was 12:00PM their time and the clerk behind the window was now breaking for lunch!

 

I thanked the lady and sat down to sort out and book the currency. In this case, I had a hard cover book in my back pack and I put the various bills in between pages to keep them flat.

[radrayjax]

The book I used to keep the currency flat. Photo taken that evening.

 

Photos taken that evening of some of the currency in between pages of the book:

 

 

SUCCESS!

 

Without further ado, here are scans of examples of the $2.00, $10.00, and $20.00 notes:

 

 

Belize Two, Ten, and Twenty Dollar Notes: Front:

 

Belize Two, Ten, and Twenty Dollar Notes: Back:

 

They have anti-counterfeiting devices including micro-printing and water marks.

 

The fives we so used that I decided to spend them.

[radrayjax]

Heading Back to the Tourism Village...

 

At about 1:15PM we left the building and started to head back to the tourism village. We turned left when leaving the compound and headed more or less southwest down Gaboure Lake Road (that’s the green path on the map above).

 

The view past the edge of the compound wall/fence, on Gaboure Lake Road. 1:18PM:

 

Within a few minutes we come up to a small building on the left that is the national school book depository.

Further along Gaboure Lake Road, the book depository is on the left. 1:21PM:

 

Belize Government Book Supplies Store, Ministry of Education. 1:21PM:

 

A block after the depository, the road curves more to the south.

 

Just going around the curve on Gaboure Lake Road, looking back. 1:22PM:

 

Looking forward from the above shot. Just behind the fence on the left is a schoolyard. 1:22PM:

At the schoolyard above, Gaboure Lake Road intersects Fort street and we see the security gate to the tourism village just a block or so away. It really is a short walk, if we had just reversed this direction in the first place.

[radrayjax]

Back at the Tourism Village: Successful Shopping...

 

To get back into the tourism village, we go through a small security hut/kiosk and show our sail and sign cards. No biggy. The trip “beyond the vale” was just about an hour. When we got back inside the court yard we headed to the left to some booths that we had passed by on our way out.

 

On my way there, one of the guys who had seem me leave just an hour earlier caught sight of me and called out “That wasn’t very long!” “No, it wasn’t,” I replied.

 

The booths had local artisan goods and I spied leather change purses. Just thing for me. They were $5.00US each, so I bought two, one with two of Belize $5.00 ($10.00BZ = $5.00US) and the other using $5.00US. Fran wanted the other two $5.00BZ so I traded them to her for $5.00US.

 

The Belize leather change purses (Photo taken this evening):

We headed back into the main section of the village. Fran still wants a couple of dresses, and she would like to buy SOMETHING for the Belizean health aide to her mother.

 

P1030353 This guy was playing at the tourism village. 1:49PM

 

She finally found a couple of dresses she liked. They wanted $20.00 each, she wangled down to $15.00 each.

 

The dresses, photos taken two nights later:

 

 

 

[radrayjax]

And also, TOWELS!

 

We found a couple of beautiful beach towels of the map of Belize, which we got for $10.00US each. We gave one to the health aide and she LOVED it!

 

Photos of the Belize Map Towel, taken a couple of nights later:

 

 

Now that I see the international airport on the map above…I don’t recall or seeing any airplanes while we were there.

 

Well, that's it for tonight. Tomorrow I’ll get us back on the boat and finish the 24th. I wasn’t ready to get to The Promenade Deck tomorrow anyway.

 

TOMORROW: CONCLUSION OF JANUARY 24TH!

[BC Gal Ann]

Thank you so much for sharing the pictures of Belize City. It is nothing like I thought it would be. It looks very clean and very normal. Maybe its just the people at the cruise ship gate trying to get people to take tours, that scares most people.

 

Going through the gate and having an unofficial “walking companion/tour guide” that thought he would get money for doing this is unreal. I think it is not that uncommon as this exact situation happened to my son and his girlfriend in Roatan.

The dresses look great on your wife.

 

If you would like crisp Canadian bills, let me know and I will get them for you. :)

[radrayjax]

Thank you so much for sharing the pictures of Belize City. It is nothing like I thought it would be. It looks very clean and very normal. Maybe its just the people at the cruise ship gate trying to get people to take tours, that scares most people.

 

Going through the gate and having an unofficial “walking companion/tour guide” that thought he would get money for doing this is unreal. I think it is not that uncommon as this exact situation happened to my son and his girlfriend in Roatan.

The dresses look great on your wife.

 

If you would like crisp Canadian bills, let me know and I will get them for you. :)

 

THANKS! I knew going in that the point was to debunk (bad) misconceptions about this city. I used the camera to make the point. I didn't want to put too fine a point to it in the body of my write-up, but I'll call it racial profiling of the natives at the gate by white tourists. I've seen many reviews saying "I was too nervous to go out there..."

I stayed at a motel in Queens, NYC last year in a neighborhood that got the same kind of "dicey" reviews in travel booking sites as Belize City in CC. Other than passing by a smelly fish market, reviews of the place and people were out-of-line with the reality. I walked to and from the subway station, almost half a mile away, at night, with no issues.

As to Canadian Bills, youbetcha! We'll have to work something out. I have some going back to the 1930's (GeoV).

[radrayjax]

CONCLUSION OF JANUARY 24TH!

 

 

We spent about 40 minutes going back through The Village. My feet were ready to go.

 

View south, going back through the tourism Village. 1:59PM

 

By 2:25PM we had worked our way back to the tender dock. The Dream was still out in the distance, in the lazy afternoon sun.

 

Telephoto shot of the Dream, still hazy in the distance. 2:26PM

We arrived at the tender dock. This time we had a single-decker. It was crowded and Fran and I could not sit together. It also had plastic screens and the visibility was not good for taking photos.

 

Our return tender, the Alena. 2:26PM

There was nothing wrong with the boat, but, you know me, I want to SHOOT!

 

I ended up sitting all the way up front. BUT, the seats at the very front all faced the rear. As you can see from the photo below, any telephoto shots out the back from the very front were going to be problematic at best from a boat on the water.

 

Aft view in the Alena, from my rear-facing seat. 2:29PM

Telephoto aft view, Belize City is receding. 2:32PM

 

Telephoto aft view of Belize City. One of the few acceptable shots I got. 2:33PM

[radrayjax]

In just a few minutes we’re closing in on the Dream.

 

Forward view of the Dream, through the water-splashed plastic screen. 2:44PM

 

Closer yet to the Dream, through the water-splashed plastic screen. 2:44PM

 

Now the Dream fills our field of vision. 2:44PM

We’re heading towards the forward docking hatch. 2:44PM

Very close now, I get a clear view through a partially opened plastic screen. 2:45PM

 

Starboard view of the aft of the Dream. 2:46PM

[radrayjax]

Arrival back at the Dream...

 

We’re maneuvering around to the forward docking hatch. 2:46PM

 

Arrival at the forward docking hatch. 2:47PM

 

Tie-off at the forward docking hatch. 2:48PM

 

Passengers getting off the Alena. This takes a few minutes 2:49PM

 

View past the bow of the Dream, at the coast of Belize, just as I’m about to get off the Alena. 2:56PM

 

Climbing up the stairs. 2:56PM

[radrayjax]

Back on board the Dream.

 

It’s been almost exactly 4 hours. Good timing because my thermos is about empty.

 

Going through the outer door, back to Deck 0. 2:57PM

 

Around the bend to the security station. 2:58PM

 

Very foggy photo, the security station is just ahead. 2:58PM

 

Forward view, heading to the forward elevators on Deck 0. 3:01PM

 

Refreshments for sale by the forward elevators on Deck 0. 3:01PM

[radrayjax]

LATE LUNCH IN THE GATHERING:

 

Very quickly, Fran and I get back to the cabin to unload. Then head aft and down to the Gathering for a late lunch. She heads to the Grill for a hamburger and I go inside to scout around for what is available at this hour.

 

I luck out with the Mongolian Wok. Nothing is crowded at this time because many people are still out on excursions.

 

I’ve eaten Mongolian BBQ since the mid-1980’s. What can make or break it is the sauces. You want sauces that are not too thick so they don’t congeal while cooking.

 

I was a little leery of Carnival’s take on this, since some of the places I’ve been to have a buffet line with sauces of all kinds on six feet of table space. Carnival only had a choice of three sauces: Black Bean, Thai Barbeque, and Schezchwan, which were on the order of very mild, semi-mild and medium-hot.

 

Mongolian Wok Sauce Choices

I like to use egg noodles or white rice as a base and they only had rice noodles. So, instead of any noodles, I used extra bean sprouts as a base and it worked for me. YOU pick the ingredients, you are the sous chef.

 

My bowl of veggies waiting for the meat to be added. 3:23PM

I asked for the Schezchwan sauce and had some chicken added. I use meat sparingly as a garnish. That’s just a personal thing in Mongolian. There were two stations with three burners each.

 

My bowl, cooking in the Mongolian Wok. 3:24PM

 

Completed Mongolian BBQ, veggies with chicken in Schezchwan sauce. 3:32PM

 

The Mongolian was great! It cleared my sinuses without going over the top. The cook had a fast and light hand, not letting things get overdone or congeal.

 

Fran found me. I put together my usual plate of salad, slaw, and fruit to accompany the main course.

 

My usual mélange-a-trois of salad, slaw, and fruit. Fran’s burger in the background. 3:33PM

 

OF COURSE I had to have… 3:52PM

[radrayjax]

Watching the boats; and taking in final views...

 

Fran was going to go to the Spa and I was going to watch some of the last of the tendering boat return tired tourists for just a few minutes. We would meet for dinner in the MDR.

 

On the way forward and down, passing by the central Waves pool, not too crowed. 4:03PM

 

The Ashanti, bringing home some of the last of the sacrificial offerings. 4:03PM

We still had an hour to go until the last of the tenders disgorged their passengers.

 

View to port of the coast of Belize, north of the city. 4:05PM

View to port and aft, one of my last views of Belize City, shimmering in the distance. 4:05PM

 

Our companions for the day, the little island and commercial vessel. 4:06PM

[radrayjax]

A siesta in the cabin...

 

After a few minutes of watching the boats I went back to the room to take a siesta. I also checked out the info channel. Among the things you can do is check on your Sail-and-Sign account.

 

Checking on my Sail-and-Sign account. 4:33PM

 

On the info channel you can also look at all the menus and the shows.

 

One of the many screens with menu items. 4:35PM

 

One of the screens discussing the big shows. 4:45PM

While I was in the room, I took photos of some of the souvenirs, some of which I posted earlier.

 

Close up of the Dream Pin. 5:04PM

I still had about an hour to go before dinner. There was no real “sail-away” this time and nothing to watch. I decided that since I hadn’t been to decks 1 (Main) or 2 (Riviera) at all yet, I was going to walk through them until it was time for dinner. I share those photos when I DOCUMENT decks 1 and 2. I walked around until 5:50 then I went upstairs to deck 3 to the Crimson Restaurant.

 

[radrayjax]

DINNER IN THE CRIMSON RESTAURANT:

 

I started off with cream of mushroom soup and Fran had chicken noodle soup.

 

Cream of mushroom soup. 6:28PM

 

Fran’s chicken noodle soup. 6:28PM

 

Both of the soups were great! None of the meat dishes blew me away so I went vegetarian with a vegetable and cinnamon “pot pie” (sorry, I forgot the actual title of the dish. I liked it but thought it would have really popped with a little more cinnamon. The crust was superb.

 

My main course. 6:49PM

This was the only night that there were mis-steps with Fran’s main courses. She first ordered a two-beef combo with filet mignon and a brisket (I think). They were both chewy. At first she was going to live with it but I told her to exchange it. The wait staff was very apologetic and immediately offered a substitution so she tried the fried chicken, which she found to be dry and not particularly tender.

 

Fran’s first main course: two-beef combo. 6:50PM

Fran’s second main course: fried chicken. 7:02PM

 

For dessert I had a raspberry Black Forest Cake with a raspberry sorbet. I like the sorbet more than the cake, a touch too tart. That’s just my taste, no biggie.

 

My dessert: Raspberry Black Forest Cake. 7:11PM

 

 

[radrayjax]

After dinner it’s conga line time and Fran gets in on that.

 

The conga line commences. 7:20PM

 

The conga line: Rosano, one of our servers, is in front of Fran. 7:21PM

 

The conga line: I don’t know what Fran is holding. 7:21PM

 

Fran heading around the bend. 7:21PM

 

Hector leading the way. 7:24PM

 

[radrayjax]

After Dinner, The Big Show, and a Scorpion in the Cabin...

 

After dinner I went back down to deck 1 to finish documenting it. At about 8:00:PM I went back up to the room for a position fix. We were now more than 20 miles southeast of Belize City, still winding our way through the outer kays, on the way to Roatan. Speed was over 14knots.

 

Our position shortly after 8:00PM. 8:05PM

 

We were going to make the 8:30 big show in the Encore Lounge. Tonight’s show featured country music, which we both liked. We made our way down to the Promenade Deck. I checked out the lobby entertainment before heading forward to the lounge.

 

Singer and musician on the bandstand overhanging the lobby. 8:10PM

 

We got seats on the Lobby Deck (3). Just before the curtain goes up. 8:33PM

I was good, again, and didn’t photograph the actual show. The music ranged across decades and sub-genres, from honky-tonk, to bluegrass, to modern cross-over country-pop hits and we both enjoyed it thoroughly.

 

After the show Fran retired to the room and I spent next half hour, until about 10:00PM re-exploring the Promenade Deck (5). At about 10:00PM I headed back to the room.

 

The Money Monkey, at first glance had a potentially serious towel companion…

 

The scorpion towel animal. 10:00PM

 

However, take a closer look at the mug on that guy. That wasn’t going to put our furry friend off his feed…

 

The scorpion can’t resist the Money Monkey. 10:00PM

 

A final position fix for the evening puts us well out to sea. Roatan is clear in the right corner of the screen. Why it would take another 12 hours to arrive at Mahogany Bay, I don’t know. The wind is a little stiff at 67.5 Km/hr.

 

Our position just after 10:00PM . 10:02PM

 

I then spent a while uploading, reviewing and backing up 729 photos (minus a few that were too out-of-focus) and turned in by 11:00PM. I had a 7:20 sunrise, followed by a 10:00AM arrival. Whether I’d have a repeat of my luck today, that was the question, but that will wait for another day.

 

BELIZE CITY SUMMATION:

 

We had a great time, and look back on the NUMISMATIC SALES door story and laugh! The city and people here deserve a better reputation then they are getting. I think my photos proved the point about the city. It is safe and clean, even if somewhat poor.

 

Prices were a little higher but somehow a little haggling worked.

 

The Belize City stop MADE the trip for me.

 

Amazing that exactly a month to the day has passed…

 

TOMORROW: DOCKUMENTING THE SHIP CHAPTER 11: PROMENADE DECK (5)

 

It’s going to be a biggie!

[Pennyscandy]

Another great review. Loved the food porn!

[sewell08080]

I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune concerning getting kidney stones during a science fiction convention, but I must say I am a bit disappointed that you didn't post a picture of them after they passed!

[bob500]

I must say I am a bit disappointed that you didn't post a picture of them after they passed!

 

LOL...oops sorry, am not supposed to use LOL on this thread.

 

Great review, radrayjax. I am highly enjoying each installment.

[radrayjax]

I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune concerning getting kidney stones during a science fiction convention, but I must say I am a bit disappointed that you didn't post a picture of them after they passed!

 

Those were the days of film cameras (for me anyway). I would have been too cheap, and they were too tiny, to film...