Tres Cocos, Ambergris Caye: Beautiful Residential Neighborhood…or Is It?

Tres Cocos is lovely neighborhood just north of the bridge.  And I am in no way questioning that it is beautiful.  It is.

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I am not sure where it technically starts…but here’s my estimation.  You drive over the Barry Bowen Bridge — over the cut that divides “the south” (and town) from “the north”.

View as you look to the sea.

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You pass the movie theatre and the whole Reef Village compound (now Barrief Reef Village) and then…you are in Tres Cocos sub-division or neighborhood.

In front of Reef Village…

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It’s an area that is changing quickly with the addition of THE ROAD.  The road that used to be a bumpy, dirt and/or MUD adventure, is now is paved from the bridge to about Mile 4 and being readied up to Mile 10 (see current progress.)

I have received a few messages from readers who are…unhappy…with the changes and the addition of new businesses to this area.  And claim that it is the “end of the residential neighborhood”.

I’ve got an opinion on that but first?  Some pictures.

Here is a walk that I took yesterday in Tres Cocos.   First along the beach.  I cut towards it at The Cloisters.tc3 (2)

Gorgeous day.  And it’s a beautiful strip to walk…big houses on the beach.

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And lovely properties on the water.

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tc2 (7)A new bar called Dive Bar.

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And a new small hotel called Twisted Palm Villas.

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The view from a nearby dock.

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I made a turn up just past the old Palapa Bar location…

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And back down the “old road”.  This WAS main road north…but the paved road has moved behind this row of lots and left this neighborhood with its old quaint feel and sandy bumpy road.

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Pretty little flower bells…

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House of the Cowboys.  Oregon State University?   But their team is called the Beavers.  Casa De Los Casteros.TC1 (3)TC1 (2)TC1 (1)

And the junction as you head north…the old road to the right, the new road to the left.

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There are new developments going up on the new road.  Like this one…

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And then this one…from the back…on the old road…

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…to the front of the new.  Have I confused you enough?

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Just north of here are the two new restaurants, The Truck Stop (which was PACKED last night) and Stella’s Smile – for wine and food.  Both, I think, are huge assets to the area…

But let’s just head south, instead, on the road back towards town.

And a home that always makes me hungry for a greasy slider.

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Passing “The Hotel” – now closed since 2012.  I visited in March of that year and was seriously impressed.  And then they closed before even one hotel room opened – but you can see the pictures in the link.

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The bar had a very brief re-opening in 2014 when a couple leased it.  Now completely closed and falling into disrepair.TC (2)

What IS cool is the front lawn.  Anyone know why the grass grows this way?

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The road has certainly changed the Tres Cocos area, making access easier and increasing traffic exponentially – particularly to those that were situated on the quiet lagoon side.  For those people, this paved road now runs right past your house.  And I can see why the noise would be irritating…or maybe infuriating is the word?

But to say that small restaurants or bars, especially those that close at respectful times like 8pm, make an area non-residential doesn’t make sense to me.

Many neighborhoods have a small corner store or a local bar or a family restaurant – and in most cases it enhances the area.  Tres Cocos, to me, is still a beautiful desirable residential neighborhood…but one that is going to be growing quickly.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…this road is the biggest change that I’ve seen in San Pedro in my 9 years on the island.

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