Stir-crazy

Living at the Belize Jungle Dome is a wonderful experience, but sometimes we all go a bit stir- crazy here. Especially at this time of the year, the slow season. There aren't enough guests around to keep us on our toes and sometimes it feels like the jungle is caving in on you. Everything is just so bloody quiet and predictable this time of year. And our nearest "town", the capital Belmopan is so incredibly sleepy and small (9000 inhabitants) that going there isn't much of a relieve from the boredom. There is no gym, no nice restaurants or cafes, no theatre, no interesting shops, no cinema (you can see 2 movies a month: one at the British High Commission and one at the Cultural Centre) & there is little that resembles a "social scene" in Belmopan. It is a pretty boring place. Safe though, which is a plus, but still quite boring.

The highlight of our day is the daily shopping trip. I guess we could buy food for a few days in advance, but then what would we do? At least this way we get out of the house for a little and have a short change of scenery.

Karen is feeling it too. She just went to San Pedro for a few days and was offered a job there. Now she's confused about what to do. San Pedro is definitely more exciting for a single girl like her. It's on an island and is Belize's main tourist destination. I mean, they even have 3 gyms there! What a luxury. Still, I honestly don't think that this job would be right for her. She'd be selling timeshare. And Karen is way too nice of a person for that. Because, let's face it, timeshare usually isn't that great of a deal for the buyers (you just have to convince them that it is)

If Karen were to leave us, we'd have a bit of a problem on our hands too. She is such a great person to have around and such a brilliant worker. She does all our paperwork, answers emails, runs the bar, plans the work schedules, etc. Plus, she helps with the pick-ups and drop-offs from the airport & takes turns in doing the food shopping.

If we have to do the coming high-season without her, there would only be Andy & me to do all these things. We would have to run the bar, drive up & down to Belize City to pick people up, do all the food shopping, answer emails, do all the paperwork & look after Lucas at the same time. Plus, I would be heavily pregnant at that point.

So, obviously, we hope that Karen will not decide to just leave us like that. I mean, I know things always work out anyway. But still....it would be so much better if Karen just decided to stay here. Plus, I would really miss having her around on a personal level. It's so nice to have some more female energy around this place. It makes living here much easier for me.

But then, what if she decides that she wants more excitement? How on earth can we give that to her? At this time of the year, it isn't exciting here. I totally agree with her. I'm going stir-crazy myself, so what can I say to her?