Still the Pleasant Punta
Placencia
[16:39] [Saturday, January 20, 2007]
Departed South Water Caye at 8 AM and dodged coral reefs and shoals through Blue Ground Range. We had a relaxing sail downwind in 65 feet of water. As we approached Placencia we had "Incident #324" ... Since we were sailing downwind we had put on the preventer to prevent unintended jibing. I went down below to use the head after drinkin a gallon of my infamous coffee.
While "concentrating" I felt the wind suddenly pick up and change direction. The boat began to try and jibe, but the preventer held the sail over. I was yelling up toTanya from the pot to adjust our course for the change in wind direction. She tried but the wind blowing into the back of the sail had slowed us to a stop. To regain control over our course she tried to start the engine and broke the key in the switch. We should have seen this coming, since the switch has been exposed the entire trip and corrosion plus a cheap key were bound to get the better of us sometime. Luckily we managed to get the broken key out of the switch and had a spare to get the engine started. All in all not a big deal, but after a full day of smooth sailing, it came unexpectedly. It's amazing how often and quickly the weather keeps changing these past few weeks.
We got the main down and motored the remaining mile into Placencia Harbor. There are 28 boats now anchored and moored in the little harbor, making it a bit crowded. More than half of these boats are chartered catamarans that, in my opinion, far outnumber the demand and just crowd up the anchorage. When I was here aboard Chiriga in Jan 2001, we were 1 of 4 boats.
In 2002 Placencia was devastated by a hurricane, but the village and peninsula have rebuilt, and the foliage is back and just as beautiful as I remember. There is new development happening and Placencia is aiming to be the next hot spot in Belize. Along with this "progress" comes good and bad. The economy gets a boost and life becomes more comfortable and stable for the locals, but I fear what makes Placencia such a wonderful place will be lost to over-catering to tourists.
A parcel of land in 2001 that was selling for $10,000 US is now $100,000, and that is not even beach front. Wealthy foreigners are coming in and buying up property to build condos, and in time, the peninsula could be overcrowded with condos like the anchorage is with catamarans. Luckily there really is no property for sale in the village and a majority of the development is happening north on the peninsula.
The dichotomy of those who come here from the rat race of the city to experience a life so much more natural and relaxed and those who come here to start their mega resorts could in time defeat what would draw anyone here in the first place. But I am just another outsider who admittedly wishes he, too, had land and a personal utopia in which to park his boat.
We went ashore at dusk and as we approached the dock I told Tanya the story of when my father had a night of too many Belikins and attempted to get into the dink from the dock high above the water. Instead of landing gracefully, he accidently used the dink as a trampoline to catapult himself into the water. Sorry, Dad, but that was hilarious!
We wandered the village and up the sidewalk to Tipsy Tuna. It was very special for me to be back at the Tipsy. I had made many friends and had many memorable nights there. In 2001 I made a personal vow to return to this place I loved so much. I met up with Salva, the Tipsy's owner, Jillian, now his wife (congrats!), and their cute son Victor. We talked of those early days of the Tipsy. I was truly honored that they even remembered me after 7 years and even asked about Chiriga. Looking forward to spending more time there when we return from Guatemala.
