Our Container Arrives

We've been here almost two weeks and our container has cleared customs and is ready to be delivered. We just need to get a list of what is in the container, to the BTB and then on to customs, so they can check and see if we're bringing in anything that is not allowed under the QRP. Not a problem, except, we need the official stamp on our QRP paperwork, that then needs to be given to our customs broker. That would mean a trip to Belize City.

So off we went to Belize City, to get all of our paperwork for the QRP and the official list of approved contents. But wait. What do you mean it's not all tax and duty free? My power tools, my cement mixer, my tile saw, their all OK? But we get duties and taxes on the toilet paper and paper towels? The sodas and potato chips? Oh, and shipping is included in those calculations? So, that 36 roll package of TP cost me $25 in duties and taxes? Go figure. But the government needs the money, and our total duties and taxes for everything in the container was $600US. We can live with that. They were going to get something, one way or another.

The container was scheduled to be delivered on Friday, October 22, but things happen and the delivery date was pushed out a day, until Saturday, October 23. Usually, that would not be a problem, but this time it was. Hurricane Richard was scheduled to hit Belize, sometime on Sunday, and that meant, the container had to be unpacked quickly.

Bands of rain were already coming through, when the container arrived. Customs was there and we were ready to start unloading. Except, we couldn't get the container seal off. It was as thick as rebar and twice as strong. Now I had to run around looking for bolt cutters as all the guys are standing around, waiting to unload the container. Finally, we located a bolt cutter, and got down to business. But with the rain, customs wanting to see everything and the driver waiting to take the container back to Belize City, it was going to be a quick unload.

We opened the container and the unpacking began...only not in the organized fashion that we had envisioned. Things were flying out of the container so fast, the customs agent couldn't keep up. We had eight guys unloading the container, and what took me two days to load, took two and a half hours to unload. Boxes were everywhere.









After spending all that time labeling boxes so we knew where they go, everything ended up piled in the guest bedroom, stairway, living room and kitchen. It was a mouse maze by the time they got done unloading. But, at least the container had arrived and we now had the essential things we needed...if we could find them.