A riff on complexity/complication, something interesting about violent crime in the US of A compared to other places, and just in case you ever wondered what the homicide rate was like in America's Paradise the USVI.
So, some cruising/budget advice from the current SSCA Bulletin on Belize...
"Lots of people say Belize is expensive, but we didn't find that to be true. Some things are more expensive than other places, such as the Rio Dulce, but many things are less expensive than other places."Pretty much describes EVERYWHERE in the WHOLE FRELLING WORLD doesn't it?
More importantly it really does not give any useful information...
So here are a few helpful hints for folks giving us the lowdown on cruising areas and suchlike.
- Don't assume your reader shares your definition of expensive and not expensive or, for that matter, even has a clue what you think is expensive/not expensive unless you tell them. For instance, just the other day, I heard two people talking about bikes, One saying that you could find an OK inexpensive bike for around $2500 and the other one saying that he'd really like to get a certain "expensive" bike for $900.
- If you're going to give an example (the Rio Dulce and Belize spring to mind) what is cheaper in the Rio Dulce than in Belize and what is cheaper in Belize?
- One of the best ways to save money cruising is knowing before you get somewhere what stuff costs, what's available/not available, and what they need to stock up on. Cruisers thrive on input and the more input on what stuff costs is very often the difference between a good cruising experience and a bad one.
Speaking of painful/expensive discoveries that happen all too often is where you arrive somewhere all stocked up on something as mundane as oil filters only to find that the local island ferreteria has them for half the price you just paid having them shipped from the states where stuff is supposed to be cheap...
Input folks, input!
Listening to Bird Dog
So it goes...
