FALCONVIEW BACKPACKERS ADVENTURE HOSTEL CHRISTENS NEW FUNKY THIRD FLOOR APARTMENT IN THE ANNEX

NEWS FROM WESTERN BELIZE JAN. 5TH, 2009

Honey has gone up about a 100% in price, from around $8 bz a quart to over $15 Bz a quart. Some people are also complaining that there is price fixing in the Macal River market vegetable stalls. Grumbles heard from housewives, say that the stall holders seem to be agreeing on what prices to charge.

TWIN TOWNS TOWN BOARD has a notice up, that TRADE LICENSES not paid for this week, ( by the 10th ) will be fined an extra late paying fee of $150. Most trade licenses only cost about that anyway, for small businesses, or around $175 in our case.

Got to pay property taxes as well and currently we usually keep ourselves one year pre-paid in good standing.

HILLVIEW hasn't had any garbage pickup for starting six weeks now, from the TOWN BOARD of the TWIN TOWNS. The side road has been graded up just past Eden High School for the second time in the past three months. The grader does not come into our streets up in HILLVIEW though.

HANNAHS RESTAURANT a favorite of TOURISTS in the banking sector of downtown San Ignacio is reporting record setting tourist numbers since Christmas. PACZ TOURS say they are doing good also. We have been getting email reservations, but people have not shown up for the most part. An annual problem we attribute to the bus drivers not letting backpacker tourists for us off at the EDEN HIGH SCHOOL side road, at the entrance for Santa Elena Town. We have a sign on the highway, but when the bus drivers and conducters take our people across the river into San Ignacio, we lose them to the hustlers working for the hotels there. Plus we have difficulty for our business, because we cannot get internet service in HILLVIEW our suburb of Santa Elena Town. Lack of internet is hurting us a lot financially. Caye Caulker is reporting they are swamped with tourists. The Western Belize Recreational Area, Tourist season seems good for January. Though on Sunday we didn't see much tourists at Xununtanich Mayan ruins, other than busloads of CRUISE SHIP tourist groups. Not our local overnighters like usual. Magana Pottery Works in San Jose Succotz was complaining on low sales of pottery items at the tourist stalls by the Xununtanich ferry and said he has not been able to sell any, to CRUISE SHIP concessionaires.
Our new third floor apartment, a funky pine wood siding furnished apartment was ready and got christened by a new couple for a couple of nights, to test it out. Looks cute with all that varnished wood inside. Real homey with their own verandah, kitchen, etc. and couple of hammocks and benches looking over the two valleys we have here for scenery. Weather has been good and dry this January.