LIVING IN BELIZE – “Guest Tip, Bowen Factory & Beating the Heat”– 4/5/12

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Yesterday our one-month guests at the Kumquat Cottage checked out. Nige was stunned when he went to the home and they’d not only left the house keeper and the gardener tips, but us as well!  It was accompanied by a nice note letting us know how much they enjoyed their stay, and how grateful they were for all of the recommendations, advice, and attention we gave to them. 

Knowing that I was a tea lover, she also left me some of her spare tea, since she didn’t want to carry it back to the States with her. Guests like that are such a pleasure to have. When guests are only staying with you a few nights or a week, sometimes you don’t have enough time to get to know them real well. But when they’re with you for a month, they feel like old friends by the end, and it’s a bit sad to see them go. That’s how I feel about these folks.

After a morning of mostly office work, Nige brought home lunch for us, which we enjoyed on the patio.  While eating, we spotted three little toucans in a nearby tree. This is our first toucan sighting on our property, so that was quite exciting (sorry, they were too tiny and too far away to get decent pics). I wonder where their mama is? 

The Bowen & Bowen Office

After lunch, we headed out to see our new tenant at the San Ignacio rental.  Just needed to make sure he was getting settled ok, and we had some paperwork for him.  After a short visit, we dropped him in town and headed over to the Bowen & Bowen factory.  

In case you aren’t familiar with them, they are the manufacturers of not only Belikin beer, but also Lighthouse Beer, Guinness Beer (via a licensing agreement), and they are the only distributors of Coca-Cola here in Belize. They also distribute Crystal Water.

I’d been to the factory on the island of Ambergris Caye before when I lived there, but this was my first visit to the Santa Elena location, since Nige usually handles returning bottles, etc.  It was quite a busy and hopping place. First time I’d seen a forklift in a while. 

In any case, in anticipation of the four-day holiday weekend celebrating Good Friday and Easter, the stores will be going dry for the majority of that time, so we decided to stock up on our beer and wine.  A case of beer at the factory cost $49.95 bze ($24.98 usd), however, you must pay another $5 bze if you don’t have the crate to carry it in, and another $6 bze for the bottles (all of which you can return later).  Still, that same case at the local markets cost about $70 bze, so it’s cheaper to go to the factory.

While we were there, we also got two five-gallon jugs of water ($3.50 bze versus $4.50 bze at the stores).  Errands done, we headed home and tried to beat the heat.  The heat wave right now has been relentless. We’re on about a week straight of high 80/low 90 days, and the humidity is just about the same. 

A Belikin delivery truck

It was so bad last night, we actually slept with two fans on us instead of one.  I wish I could take a dip in the river to cool off, but my leg is still not quite 100% to get down there with, so hopefully in a day or two I can do that, since I am feeling a lot better.

How do you beat the heat?

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  • http://takingbelize.blogspot.com/ Debra

    Yeah we had to actually turn on the AC last night.  It was so hot and I am adjusting back to heat after being in the AC in the states for the last 30 days.

  • Dr Al

    Deb has the right idea. Its quite simple really. I lived in the Canadian subarctic for several years. To keep warm you used a woodstove. If you didn’t you died of hypothermia.I lived in Belize for several years to keep cool you turned on the a/c. If you did not you could die of heat stroke  which causes delirium and cardiac arrythymia. Or you could at best be covered in fungal cooties after a few days. Not rocket science here.:) Arctic=woodstove
               Tropics=A/C      You taking notes Sharon?                                         Pic enclosed to help out.

  • Sharonhiebing

    Yeah, it’s brutal right now everywhere in Belize. I think we skipped over most of Spring and went right to Summer, lol!

  • Sharonhiebing

    Yes, Dr. Al, I hear you (for the 20th time), lol!

  • Sandy A.

    you’re going to hate me for this one: I turn on the a/c.
    I can tolerate a lot of heat though! But 90 degrees requires some artificially cooled air.

  • Dr Al

    @ Sandy A. Excellent point. Add the humidity to the pic and the ambient temperature goes beyond the ability of the human body to expel the heat so any exertion like breathing can be hazardous. Seen several gringos with heat prostration back in the day. And they were not from Minnesota. You know how its treated? Stick ‘em in front of an a/c. Fans won’t work because the sweat can’t evaporate. So you get itchy heat rashes and wait for it….fungus infections. Sometimes in very personal places. Nope Sharon is wrong on this one. No way around it. So don’t worry about her hating you for being sensible. She’ll come around eventually. Because for some reason May is the hottest month in Belize.

  • Sharonhiebing

    No, I don’t hate you. In fact, in our new rental home we now have a/c in the kitchen/living room, which we turn on “sometimes” in the evening. But it doesn’t flow to the bedroom, which is why we must use fans in there. And even if it did, I seriously get headaches and have breathing issues from a/c, so that’s why I tend to stay away from it when sleeping. 

  • Dr Al

    Couple of routine questions. Do you have a/c in the tracker?
    Next: you were stocking up on beer and wine. What kind of wine?
    Also should read high 90/ low 80 days. I think it would be good idea like Laurie does to provide windspeed/direction and include a humidex read out on the Wealthships page.

  • Sharonhiebing

    Yes, a/c in the Tracker. Stocking up on beer, rum, and wine – wine same kind I always buy here, which I’ve told you about before.  Taco Girl does her thing, I do mine. Don’t want to appear to be copying anyone else’s blog. You can click on extended forecast and see humidity, btw

  • desertmanfred

    Is Nige doing okay with just fans in the bdrm?

    At 90F, 90 %, my take on Patrick Henry’s 1775 speech to the Virginia Convention: “Give Me A/C or Give Me…

    In 1955 when I was in the 10th grade our high school district tried to impose their will on us by banning blue jeans.  We protested in big numbers across Montgomery County, MD.  Our placards read, “Give Me LEVIS or Give Me DEATH!”  True story.  Some got arrested in their shorts after they were forced to remove their Levis or leave the school campus.

  • desertmanfred

    Sometimes they are put into a bathtub full of ice cubes.  My high school daughter would ride the stationary bike in front of our upright freezer with the door wide open.  We didn’t even know it until I came home early one day from work.  Very resourceful!

  • desertmanfred

    Meant to post this photo.

  • desertmanfred

    You can click on the Yahoo weather link to get Wind Speed-Wind Direction and the “Feels Like” temperature.  There’s no humidity index on the site, but if you know how, you can calculate the heat-humidity discomfort by using the temperature and humidity formula.  It is very complicated.  Use this link to the Wikipedia site and scroll down to the Heat Index formula:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_index#Formula.

    Or the Site  Humidex formula: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humidex.

  • Sharonhiebing

    Oh, yeah, Fred, Nige is fine with fans. He’s never known any different, since most Belizeans do not have a/c (due to the high power bills that follow).  Funny Levi story, thanks for sharing.