Perhaps this feature on San Pedro will be the most ambitious ‘Voices of the Village’ that the Belize Times will undertake, because San Pedro is officially recognised as a town. Yet the essence of San Pedro is somewhat village like, due to its long-standing history as a small settlement, and therefore it still warrants attention in ‘Voices of the Village’. Many of the issues affecting San Pedro are the same as other villages are experiencing, only on a larger and faster scale due to its demographic dominance. Perhaps the lessons learnt from San Pedro could help other villages avoid the same issues altogether.

San Pedro is the success story of the tourism industry of Belize: in a matter of decades, it has gone from an unknown fishing village to an international attraction on the global tourist map. Yet even before its time as a fishing village, San Pedro had a history. The north of San Pedro (or more precisely, the northern mass of Ambergris Caye) was of exceptional importance to the ancient Maya, who used its strategic position at the mouth of Chetumal Bay to develop their trading routes. As whalers began to frequent the area in the seventeenth century, San Pedro became a favourite ambushing spot for pirates too, who used the island’s coastal coves as hideouts as they waited for wealthy fleets to pass.

Later, as local communities started to settle on the island, and relied on its natural abundance of fish and vegetation to survive, the settlement was given the name San Pedro, after the patron saint of fishermen. And even when imperial colonialists tried to transform the area into coconut plantations in the 1800s, somehow the essence of the place as a fishing village remained, and in the 1960s, the government forced the ‘owners’ to release the land for distribution among the islanders. And from this private ownership of parcels of land on the island, grew a real estate industry which exceeded all hopes and expectations for San Pedranos. A book entitled ‘Living Abroad in Belize’ published in 2005, and designed for US ex-pats, claims that San Pedro has such charm and charisma that ‘rents for a pier and a shack can run US $5000 or more a month’ – which is, according to the author, well worth it!

There are a few San Pedranos who feel as though their opportunities for owning land or businesses in the town have been decimated due to predominantly North American interest, which has raised prices and standards beyond the reach of the average islander. However, San Pedro has become a mecca for Belizeans seeking greater employment opportunities and better salaries, without having to follow the trend of emigrating north to the United States. Few of the resort workers and tour guides on San Pedro are, in fact, native islanders; many are from mainland Belize, particularly the Orange Walk and Cayo districts.

A few issues being raised today are about the social implications of such proportions of migrants on the island, who now exceed the native population by several thousand. And as San Pedro continues to develop (albeit at a slower pace since the global economic downturn), construction workers are being shipped in by the dozens (and occasionally hundreds) to work on new projects. There are subsequently scores of accommodation facilities for menial workers on the island, and pocket communities of Salvadorans, Hondurans and Guatemalans are emerging across the island. A relatively significant proportion of San Pedranos wonder about the implications of this: people separated from their families, with little or no entertainment geared towards them, and often without the funds to participate in activities charging ‘tourist prices’, may be more easily tempted to find dubious ways and means to entertain themselves and afford island rates. And there is no surprise that Orange Walk style bars (to be discreet about the issue!) are popping up in secluded parts of San Pedro to serve these working-class communities on the island.

The other major concern is that the obvious affluence of certain resorts, residents and visitors encourages certain less-wealthy people to commit crimes against them. In fact, last month the US Embassy in Belmopan alerted American citizens of various ‘confidence scams’ occurring in San Pedro, from petty theft and armed robbery, to physical assault and illegitimate money laundering schemes. A few cases have involved groups of youths befriending tourists and accompanying them to their holiday accommodation, and later the youths returning unaccompanied to steal from them. However, the San Pedro police are confident that the majority of perpetrators are caught, and occasionally red-handed, such as one chap recently who was confronted by police officers as he carried a stolen laptop out of a hotel room! The Police also recognise the value and assistance offered by the South Ambergris Caye Neighbourhood Watch group, who now communally pay the wages of six special constables who rotate shifts around the clock to better protect the south end of town and beyond.

However, there is a growing consensus among residents that more must be done to control the spiralling drugs problem in San Pedro. One person asked how the police cannot catch drug deals in action, when everybody else knows exactly when and where such illegal happenings occur; as if to prove the point, as I walked down Back Street, a chap appeared from nowhere and called out to me, “whatever your thing, I can get it for you – weed, rocks, coke”. Not that people can be held entirely responsible for such business ventures if they are simply catering to the demand of wayward tourists. However, the permanent ‘camping out’ of several contingents who ostensibly scour the shores every day until they find wet-drop drugs to sell could surely be controlled and better discouraged? The irony is that while the illegal drugs trade earns the most money in San Pedro, the cash is rarely spent in the town itself, and is much more likely to be frittered away on the mainland.

It appears that many of the social problems on San Pedro are a result of financial restrictions felt by Belizeans living on the island. There are schemes being conducted by local groups to address this problem, which are full of potential for changing the direction this crisis is taking. To name just one such initiative, NGO Green Reef aims to develop the Bacalar Chico National Park Marine Reserve (BCNPMR) into a sustainable tourism model ‘where conservation management, tourism needs and community benefits are balanced’; Green Reef has already trained dozens of tour guides and fishing guides to specialise in tourism within BCNPMR. Similarly, the Lion’s Club of San Pedro is exerting a greater positive influence over the town since the new Presidency of Melanie Paz began in June. Already, the Lion’s Club has participated in La Noche San Pedrana and Los Tres Pescados International Fishing Tournament this summer, both of which were successful fundraisers which will undoubtedly benefit portions of the San Pedrano community.

So there are hopes that the positives will outweigh the negatives in San Pedro, despite recent growing concerns to the contrary. And with a little more cohesion between the officials on the island and the residents, it seems that social development can once again be top of the agenda, to ensure that San Pedro reclaims its Madonna-inspired status as ‘La Isla Bonita’.

The San Pablo/San Marcos Neighborhood Watch took another positive step in getting organized as a group and protecting its community this past weekend. Members of the neighborhoods met up at the Catholic Church, located in San Pablo, to clean up the yard.

Now abandoned for quite some time now, the church grounds was covered with high bush and shrubs, was littered with garbage and vagrants used to sleep outside. Being such an eye sore and possible hiding place for delinquents, the neighborhood watch decided to start cleaning up the area and rehabilitate the church, making it a possible community center in the near future.

With rakes, machetes and garbage bags on hand, the church yard looks a lot better. Much was accomplished in a couple of hours, but much work is yet to be completed. The San Pablo/San Marcos Neighborhood Watch wants the island community to know that the areas’ neighbors have come together to work as an active group against crime and to let the criminals know that a watchful eye has been cast on the entire neighborhood. Everybody is now watching!

Thanks for all those who came out to show support of the new San Pablo/San Marcos Neighborhood Watch!

The Saga Humane Society has received several complaints in the last several weeks about crocodile feedings down by the water plant area again. These feedings have resulted in the lost of two small dogs on the island.

One of these dogs was a family pet now being mourned by a very distraught and traumatized child. Not only is this behavior illegal and dangerous, it is clearly being conducted by morons. The Saga Humane Society along with the South Ambergris Caye Neighborhood Watch(SACNW) will increase patrols in the area and will prosecute to the full extent of the law anyone conducting or participating in any of these activities.

The Wildlife Division has been notified of these incidents and will also carry out an investigation and remove any crocodiles now conditioned to human feedings. Anyone passing by that area and seeing any of this illegal activity is asked to notify the patrol at the SACNW station. That number is 610-4911. Please help us protect our wildlife by stopping this illegal and very dangerous activity.

Tourists from around the world pay hundreds of dollars to visit Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret – Belize! And our number one tourist destination is without a doubt our beautiful Isla Bonita – San Pedro Ambergris Caye home of the world famous Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley.

Have you ever taken the time to visit this wondrous place? Famous TV personalities, actors and many tourists just love to enjoy a snorkeling or diving trip to Hol Chan and Shark Ray. Hey if Andrew Zimmern came to swim with the sharks and Mr. Robert Silva made the longest salt water dive at Hol Chan, why can’t you lovely San Pedranos and Belizeans make a trip and enjoy the beautiful underwater world at Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley.

I am not much of a swimmer or “water person”. I prefer land adventures such as venturing into the beautiful rainforests of Belize or exploring sacred Maya temples, but this past weekend I made an exception and went out to Hol Chan and Shark Ray with friends and family.

Once in the water you are in another world, schools of horse-eye jacks are beneath your boat swimming about. As you swim by you easily get distracted by the vast underwater life. You can easily spot groupers, snappers, angel fish and parrot fish in their natural habitat. And when you least expect it green turtles are grazing on the grass beds swim up for air right in front of you! Can you say WOW!

If it were up to me I would name this place one of the Natural Wonders of the World, and if that weren’t enough we headed off to Shark – Ray Alley. For several years, local fishermen often cleaned their catch in this area, located just inside the reef, to the south of Ambergris Caye. When fishermen noticed that their activity had attracted Nurse Sharks and several Southern Sting Rays, they reported this information to the dive operations in San Pedro, who then dispatched some divers to investigate. What they found was a bonanza, "Shark-Ray Alley" quickly became a very popular dive site.

Shark Ray Alley has a maximum depth of 30 feet and excellent visibility. You can almost always see all species of fish including jacks, groupers, snappers, parrot fish, angel fish, and nurse sharks. Divers are occasionally cautioned regarding the currents. As soon as we arrived in the area, we noticed a number of dark shadows in the shallow (eight foot deep) waters. As soon as the sharks and rays heard the boat approach, they came in search of a few scraps of fish.

For those adventurers and brave at heart swimming with nurse sharks and sting rays is very fun. I just stayed on the boat enjoying the scene from up above. One interesting thing that did capture my attention was a local San Pedrano Mr. Lopez and his son who happened to be cleaning their conch nearby. As we approached them to our surprise there were huge Sting Rays everywhere and a huge loggerhead turtle. I was amazed by seeing this lovely creature.

Mr. Lopez he explained to us that the turtle is very docile and has gotten used to them as they feed it with the conch scraps. Although one is not allowed to touch any animal (flora or fauna) in Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley Mr. Lopez (every now and again) gets in the water to clean the turtles shell and is more than pleased to entertain tourists who snorkel in the area by feed the turtle so they can have a closer look. Tour guides are asked to tie their boats in the marking buoys placed around the area and tourists are constantly reminded not to touch the turtles.

So instead of taking a stroll along the beach, going for a ride around town, why don’t you plan a picnic and head out to Hol Chan and Shark-Ray Alley. I’m sure you won’t regret it. Swimming with turtles, nurse sharks and sting rays is one of a kind experience. Don’t miss out and have a great time in your own backyard; explore the wonders of San Pedro!

15-year old Laura Baez from the Dominican Republic became the winner of the 2nd edition of the Miss Teenager pageant held at the Sheraton Presidente Hotel in San Salvador, El Salvador, on October 15th. The 21 teenage beauties competed for the coveted title in several categories including interviews, national costumes, swimsuits and gowns.

Former Miss El Salvador (and finalist in Miss Universe 1996) Milena Mayorga and Henry Licett, Mister Turismo de las Americas 2008, were in charge of hosting the event, televised through Channel 12 El Salvador.

Among the panel of judges were Irma Dimas (Miss El Salvador 2005), Ed Dominguez (Co-director, GlobalBeauties.com), Jhonny Jabhour (Mister Turismo de las Americas 2009, from Venezuela) and local personalities and dignataries.

Results: Yinela Yero (Panama, 3rd runner-up), Yohana Gonzalez (Isla Margarita, 1st runner-up), Laura Baez (Dominican Republic, Winner), Alejandra Castano (Colombia, 2nd runner-up) and Ruth Mora (Venezuela, 4th runner-up).

Top 12 Semi Finalists:
Aruba (Leonella De Palm)
Costa Rica (Angie Alfaro)
Ecuador (Karla Salgado)
Guatemala (Jimena Villeda)
Mexico (Mara Saucedo)
Puerto Rico (Silmarie Cordero)
USA (Krizia Sanfeliz)

Special Awards:
Best Figure: Dominican Republic
Miss Photogenic: Belize
Most Beautiful Face: Dominican Republic
Miss Elegance: Ecuador
Miss Friendship: El Salvador
Miss Internet: Isla Margarita
Best National Costume: Aruba
Best Catwalk: Colombia
Most Beautiful Hair: Costa Rica