“Goodbye” in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize.

At long last the BIG day eventually arrived, we moved in to our build in Ambergris Caye, Belize.

Fifty weeks after breaking ground Rose and I have eventually moved in to our new home. OK, so we have had to move in to the Ground Floor self-contained apartment and not in to our ‘living’ areas on the First and Second Floors (still waiting for the toilets for our bathrooms to be installed, cabinetry in the First Floor bedroom (Rose’s handicraft room) to be finished, snagging (levelling light switches and power sockets, painting over scuff marks, cleaning up our lot, etc) to be done. But we are IN.

We know that there is still stuff to be completed in the apartment we are living in too – for example the toilet for the en-suite for the smaller of the two bedrooms has to be installed- but it doesn’t matter too much because. Well, just because.

Yesterday I was up around 04.30 hours and, although I knew we had quite a lot to do I just had to spend some time on the veranda. The veranda that I have grown so attached to over the last seventeen months. So it was me, my iPad and a mug of black coffee.

I spent some time reading The Sunday Times on-line (and particularly the Sports section to read about Arsenal’s latest victory) and then focused (it might not have appeared that way when you read it but I did focus) on creating yesterday’s edition.

Even though there was so much to do I took time out to savour the views that I have enjoyed on so many mornings.

Looking south.

Looking east. The view may not have been much but the sound of the wind rustling the fronds was, at times, mesmerising.

I could have sat there for hours but I couldn’t. Too much to do. So, indoors to finish off the packing and ‘say’ goodbye to the condo that has been our home since we arrived on Ambergris Caye on 31 May 2012.

Kitchen/living area.

Some of the remaining stuff (where did it all come from?) to go on the golf cart.

The last look (the centre of the first floor) at the condo we have called home.

Driving very slowly and carefully so as not to lose any of the bags and boxes loaded on the golf cart we arrived at our house. It sounds so good I am going to ‘say’ that again, “we arrived at our house”, just before 10.00 hours to find the security guard and one guy working all on his own on the landfill for our adjacent lot.

Moving the boards for the next section.

Rose and I then spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon finding places for the stuff we will need until we move upstairs and then we showered (the first use of them in the apartment) and got dressed and went out for a well deserved Belikin (or four) and a Bar-B-Q lunch.

When we got home (I am really enjoying writing ‘home’) we weren’t up for too long before the events of the day caught up with us so we went to bed early.

The problem with going to bed early though is that I then wake up really early and that was the case this morning. Up and outside by 02.50 hours. No iPad. No The Times on-line. Just the mug of black coffee. But it was great. Sitting (OK on a packing crate and not a chair) at the top of the ramp.

Rose joined me at around 05.15 hours and we decided to go up to the Second Floor to see what our views look like at that time of day.

Looking west.

Looking south-west.

Looking north-west.

Looking east.

And then the sun started to rise.

Some view!

Got to bring today’s edition to a close now because I have lots to do.

The headline for today’s edition is based on the single released in 2009 by Kristina DeBarge which reached number fifteen in the US Billboard Hot 100.