Have you heard the buzz?

Most you have already heard the  buzz by now but in case you haven’t…. Ambergris Caye was named Top Island in the Travelers Choice Awards 2013. It’s no surprise why Ambergris Caye rose to the top on the world’s 10 best Islands list on Trip Advisor. By far the most developed of the Cayes, Ambergris is still pretty laid-back with it’s friendly people, cobblestone streets, golf carts and beach-side bars. The island may have  started as a small fishing village, but it grew into Belize’s prime tourist destination.

Of course the news is gaining international coverage, someone missed fact checking at Reuters when they put this comment in 🙂 – “Ambergris Caye boasts spectacular caves, winding waterfalls, tropical rainforest and hundreds of limestone caves,” Trip Advisor spokeswoman Emma Shaw said in a statement. Funny how that came out right after the miss spelled Trip Advisor sign was put up in town [and quickly taken down] for Easter. Next comes some great buzz and some not so great buzz. Good news first, after spending 2h Saturday morning with San Pedro vice chair Anthony and our 3 office coordinators, Jan, Shirlee and Philip our branch is growing strong and very sturdy. The process has been started to make a master contact list in case of emergency. Lately questions have been coming up like where to get blood pressure checked on a Sunday and who is the best  Eye person on the island. Both questions came from longtime Expats on the island and I took them as a sign that we need to expand our emergency contact list. We will be including pharmacies and considering what kinds of emergencies we deal  with on  the island as we go along. The not so good news on my way home I stopped to share my excitement with Tamara from San Pedro Sun and learned that an expat had just died of a heart attack on Royal Palms Dock. There was someone on hand to administer first aid and they got the defibrillator from Victoria House but it was just not enough time get his heart going strong enough for transport. The new board and a few others helping us keep sayng we need automatic AED’s here and I sure hope we make the right contacts to make this happen asap. We have also been talking a lot about the first aid program and we all recognize the need to include more water related safety since we are on an island and grief counseling. That is twice now that I know of where the person passed who was getting First Aid. I was not there this time but Jan and Anthony were able to reach out on behalf of Red Cross. The first time for that experience was Cindy and I know how hard it was on her going through that process, Paul  and I helped her through it. Is anyone on the island or coming here trained in water safety and or Lifeguard? Any qualified people out there for teaching swimming lessons? First Aid Program upcoming courses April 29th First Aid course hosted by Black Orchid Restaurant and Lounge is filling up. Phoenix, Victoria House, Elvi’s, Banana Beach and SACNW are all sending staff. El Divino Restaurant is sponsoring Maggie Chi a second time, tacogirl.com is sponsoring her 17 year old son and the Blue Tang Inn is sponsoring 2 community workers from DFC area. May – Hosted by Las Terrazas Resort at Seascape Villas, date to be announced. June – Hosted by Exotic Caye Beach Resort, date to be announced.