Hi Steve,

There was a fairly large community hanging out in Placencia, but I think most of them just squatted there for much of the season, mainly just to get out of the Rio Dulce for awhile... elsewhere, I was either alone, or meeting the same few boats I had already seen over again...

Just curious, how were they enforcing or collecting the $10/day/person fee? Was it simply tallied up when it came time to clear out of the country? When I was there, there were rumors that they were beginning to enforce a fee for anchoring within certain designated areas, and I tended to avoid those spots - but even when I did not, I never had anyone come around asking for any payment...

Really is a shame, Belize is a wonderful cruising ground, and I found the locals to be great people, and the overall costs to be quite reasonable... But, with such fees levied on cruisers, and the outrageous fines that the government has levied upon boats that have accidentally damaged reefs or coral, seems like the government is doing their best to keep cruisers away... Don't blame folks for hanging instead over in West End Bay in Roatan, instead, I enjoyed that place immensely... Although, that's no place to be when a norther is threatening to come through...

Look forward to seeing some pics, when you can...

best regards,

Jon