Magic Jack is smoke and mirrors

Just in case you are thinking about getting the Magic Jack, don't bother. I bought the Magic Jack from a Radio Shack in Austin, Texas and took it to Belize with me. I set it up and it actually did work for a couple of calls. That's where thinks went wrong. 

I've been online chatting twice now with technical support. To their credit, they tried to be helpful. We actually got it up and running last time. HOWEVER, once again it doesn't work. You dial and it immediately hangs up.  It will do this repeatedly.  Maybe it will work inside of the USA but here in Central America it seems like a bad joke. 

So you spend time with customer service and that time adds up. It's not worth the hassle of "upgrading to Vista" and rebooting it this often. Now that I'm here in Central America for the next few months, I probably won't get a refund when I get back. I'm also sure that they'll have some excuse concocted.

Regards,

Ben

San Ignacio Town, Cayo District, Belize: Martha's Kitchen

I wound up with the Preston family and friends eating at Martha's Kitchen. It's a restaurant in San Ignacio Town, Cayo District, Belize and a pretty good one. It was Maria's birthday today. This one will be short and sweet since I'm short on time right now. 

The food was excellent. I had the Chia Burrito. Chia is the leave of a shrub in Central America and very tasty steamed or mixed with eggs too. Most everyone's plates looked good and the portions and prices were good. Mine was $12.00 BZD ($6.00 USD).  The staff was polite and responsive. The downside was the wait. 

It took about 45 minutes for me to get my food. Our party of twelve waited forever and the time difference from the first to the last dinner served on our table was probably about 45 minutes. Some of the first guests to eat had left far before the last meal was served. They simply don't have the capacity to handle a busy room.

Regards,

Ben

San Ignacio Town, Cayo District, Belize: J and K Bar

If you're having a red meat attack try J&K Grill.  It's not too hard to find. I'll try and get a picture up later. The local boys here think of it as a steak house and their probably right. Gary and I went there to eat last night. Gary tipped me off about this place. Maria's sister also thinks it's the best steak in town.

J&K is pretty basic but clean. They've got a small bar and the rest is seated tables. It looks as if it's all outside dining but covered for rain. A good idea around here since it's all rain forest. I usually inspect the dining area to understand the cleanliness of the kitchen. It's pretty clean and well kept and casual and unassuming.

Gary ordered the porterhouse rare with baked potato (butter and sour cream), salad with ranch dressing and hot tea. I went with the same except no potato and double the salad, steak medium rare and bottled water. We each received at least 24 oz. steaks cooked to order. The service was fast but the place was empty since it was chilly last night.  

The food was excellent although the steak did have some grizzle. A good quality steak here for Belize, cooked right, and with good service. I think that Gary and I got out of there for the same price of $26.50 BZD ($13.25). I tipped $1.50 BZD on top of that. I don't think she expected a tip either. 

J&K is not hard to find and most cab drivers seem to know it's behind the Saddleback Grill. A cab seems to be the standard $5.00 BZD to get anywhere around town. The also have sirloin for $25.00, lobster for $45.00, surf and turf for $45.00 and other less expensive dishes too. This place is a bargain and they serve beer too.

Carrie is our little Belizean Martha Stewart...

Last night I was at casual dinner party at the Roberson's ranch just outside of San Ignacio. I guess someone in their family either runs or owns Running W brand meats. So, the dinner ended up being a picture perfect model of the Atkins diet. Actually, I guess that John (Carrie's father) cooked the ribeyes so he helped. I also chopped up some veggies with her brother Trey and Robert's wife whipped up a salad from scratch.

 I expected and was a little worried that everyone there would be under 21 which would have been a bit uncomfortable. Once again, I was wrong. I was firmly in the middle. Upper age being 75 and youngest being 18 or so. Nice eclectic mix of people too. 

Dinner was served and I got a Caesar Salad (home made dressing), a ribeye, and Carrie mix of meat and veggies wrapped in cabbage. She has an interesting family with some being of Lebanese descent, Belizean, and America. A very nice evening with some excellent conversation. Two thumbs up Carrie!

Regards,

Ben

Online in Belize

One of the most frustrating things about Belize is the speed of the internet here. SLOW. Hell these people didn't get television until 80's. Yes, later than 1980. I think one of the major problems here is the complete monopoly of the telephone system. It's not even a quasi-utility. It's probably to the point where where this monopoly impedes the growth of this wonderful little nation.

There is one phone company with land lines and its Belize Telemedia Limited. While I want to have respect for private enterprise. This is nuts. It's like the old AT&T days in the United States where you simply pay too much for too little. Pathetic.

Get this. My friends, who are hoteliers, are paying about $600.00 BZD ($300.00 USD) for a 1 Mb downstream connection EACH MONTH. It almost never runs at full speed and at times reminds me of a 128 kb connection at times. Sometimes it can stop altogether for hours. BTL also blocks Skype connections here. I'm sure that they'd have al sorts of bullshit to ladle out if they had to reply to these comments. Believe me though, it's crap.

Regards,

Ben

San Ignacio Town, Cayo District, Belize: ATV fun in the jungle

Yesterday we took the maiden voyage for “Wild Ting Adventures”. It’s a new tour business in San Ignacio Town, Cayo District, Belize! I’ve only been on an ATV once before and really enjoyed it. They really aren’t hard to learn how to drive either. We rode and toured “El Pilar” a Mayan archeological site that literally straddles the Belize Guatemalan border enveloped in lush green jungle.

The guide (Dorita) was knowledgeable,  well trained, and took good care of us. The ATVs were relatively new and in good condition and the price of $65.00 USD for a ATV guided trip to El Pilar was a value. We started in San Ignacio  Town at Venus Hotel (inexpensive clean rooms) rode through Bullet Tree Village and took a left straight up a gravel road for eight miles.

Since Cayo District is a series of rolling hills and mountains carpeted in green vegetation, the scenery changed repeatedly. We could end up on a high hill with a panorama of Santa Elena in the distance or surrounded and closed in by dense jungle. El Pilar itself is said to be about a 50 acre site so you could spend all day there. I liked it because it was only partially developed instead of planted grass and reconstructed temples and plazas. Two thumbs up on this one!