Our Neighbors in the Mayan Seaside

During the 6+ weeks I was in Belize, I was able to meet some of the neighbors in the adjoining community of Mayan Seaside and Wagner's Landing. The Friday night place to meet is at Smuggler's Den, in Wagner's Landing, where the owners, Ray and Rosa have a small bar, restaurant and resort overlooking the bay. People from both the Shores and Mayan Seaside gather for a few drinks, dinner and to shoot the breeze.

Over at the Mayan Seaside (http://www.mayanseaside.com/), it continues to grow, with new homes going up every few months. A nice planned community run by Art Higgins that will have a large community park and dock when all the work is completed.

Overlooking the park and bay, Brian and Laura have built a beautiful home that is open to the breezes from the sea, with high ceilings and lots of windows. The custom doors, that are the gateway to their home, were made by a local carpenter with the Belizean birds that inhabit the area as a template.

Brian has designed unique features into the design of the house and is using a windmill to generate alternative power options to run appliances and other equipment. His cinema room will be like no other in Belize, with a large screen TV, Bose 10.1 surround sound, motion seating and even a popcorn maker.

Brian and Laura share their home with their three ferrets. The ferrets have their own separate room, complete with a waterfall. I only saw them while they were sleeping, but I"m sure that they are a hand full when they are awake.

Another couple of recent additions to the Mayan Seaside community were built by my contractor, John Harris. Just down the street from Brian and Laura, one of these homes is owned by Barry and Libby and was just recently completed in April. Some minor work still needs to be done and the garage is just now being added on, but Barry and Libby are extremely happy with their new home. It sits overlooking the bay and future community park.

Another home built by John is a small one bedroom house, that the owner, Nick, wants to add on to, as his visits to Belize become more frequent. I'm sure he's going to need to add more rooms once his friends find out he has a place in Belize.

Nick, on the right, and his friend Tony, came down for a week of relaxing, fishing and drinking beer. Or at least that is what Tony thought. But Nick had some other things he wanted to accomplish while he was there, so Tony not only got to fish, drink and relax, he also got to paint and clean up the not so minor paint spills. But, Nick did supply the beer. I probably would have painted for the free beer. I never did see their fishing prowess, with them only catching a few catfish, but they could only go as far as the pier. I can see that the next item that Nick will get is a boat.

Another cute house in the Mayan Seaside is owned by a wonderful couple, Jim and Elle. They have a Mennonite built home, brought to the site and put up on stilts. This is their home until they are ready to build their dream home on the lot next door. The call their place the Monkey House and the downstairs is home to Jim's Baboon Bar. I've already had the pleasure of throwing back a couple of cold Belikins at the Baboon Bar.

Another example of a Mennonite home is this home that was For Sale, also in the Mayan Seaside community. As you can see, some people fill in the underneath of the home, like Jim and Elle, and some just leave it open, like below. The things to consider when buying a Mennonite home is termites and wood upkeep. But the price can be right and for a reasonable amount of money, you can own land and a home, near or on the water.