The Many Faces of Belize - Part 3
The Story of Julio Ruano
Guest Blog by Ron Delvalle
The moment you meet Julio, you will be greeted with a warm smile and an attentive ear. His concern for you as a customer is instantly apparent as I discovered when I first met him at “The Boat Yard”. Yes, that’s the name of the business.
Growing up in Guatemala
Life in Guatemala
Born in Sanbenito Peten Guatemala in 1978, Julio Ruano grew up on a farm in a valley at the base of the mountains of Guatemala. As Julio describes it, life on the farm and in the community was wonderful. Although he was taught to work hard and raised in a family with strong Christian values, he had friends to play with and countless ways to enjoy life growing up. Family consisted of mom, dad and his younger brother, Marlon. Julio fondly remembers his father as being a hard working man able to fix anything and solve any problem. A man he admired greatly. At age 8, Julio’s mother and father separated and he remained with his father and brother. Dad remarried and continued to raise the boys with his new wife until Julio was 14.
Off To Belize
At age 13, Julio traveled to Belize City in neighboring Belize to visit his biological mother. Missing her for all those years, he later decided to join her and relocated to be with her permanently at age 14. Life in Belize City was a stark contrast to the peaceful farm he grew up on. Julio suddenly found himself in what he describes as a ghetto community where drugs and crime were prevalent. Getting ahead was accomplished by selling drugs and bypassing traditional hard work and education. Modeling his peers, Julio drifted into their world letting go of the values he had been taught from a young age.
Recognizing the need for change, Julio’s mother saw an opportunity for Julio to break away from the path he was on. A close friend of hers visiting from San Pedro generously offered to have Julio visit her on the island of Ambergris Caye. During the 3 week visit, Julio was introduced to island life and the joys of the water surrounding it. Befriended by a Dive Master working at Ramon’s Village, Julio was taught to snorkel and got to know a little about working around the dive business. His upbringing at a young age taught him to jump in and help wherever he could. The Dive Master supervising him was so impressed with Julio’s initiative that he offered him a full time job if he wanted to relocate to the island. Drawn to the peaceful community, beauty of the island and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, Julio accepted. The opportunity to work on the water and make better wages through tips from the tourism industry appealed to Julio’s hunger to succeed. For her part, his mom was comforted knowing her son was in a better environment being looked after by a trusted friend.
Julio, a Dive Master at Ramon’s
Working In San Pedro
At age 19, somewhere around 1998, Julio began working at Ramon’s Village as a Dive Master’s assistant. At that time on the tiny island, dive certification was not required to work in the industry but that changed within 6 months of his arriving. Julio was soon certified as an open water diver and continued his training all the way to Rescue Diver. During his time there he would learn to captain a boat and all the other duties common in the industry. The schedule was grueling, working seven days a week and diving 3 dives a day. After 3 years of continuous repetitive work, Julio began to burnout.
A close friend approached Julio with an offer to work for Island Ferry as a boat captain. At the time, they were the only ferry service on the island. Eager for a change, Julio accepted. That lasted another 3 years until another offer arose.
The Portofino resort was looking for a boat captain to ferry passengers to and from the resort. Most of the staff remained on site at the time so it was difficult for them to get the provisions they needed. Julio soon garnered the support and admiration of his peers by offering to shop for groceries and supplies while he was in town. Julio was the first boat captain willing to help his coworkers and was greatly appreciated. One of his biggest supporters was the head chef who rewarded Julio with wonderful meals from the resort restaurant. As he spent his off hours in and around the restaurant, Julio befriended the staff dishwasher who was also serving as the chef’s assistant. Knowing that his friend aspired to become a chef himself, Julio offered to help with the dishwashing duties allowing his friend more time in the kitchen. As luck would have it, the head chef took some time off and the dishwasher suddenly found himself in the kitchen as the lead chef. He never forgot Julio’s friendship and generosity and continues to tell the story to this day.
After working long hours with little time to himself, Julio yearned for more freedom. He began his entrepreneurial adventure when saw an opportunity to buy a Toyota minivan in Houston. He returned to the island to start his own taxi service which he operated for a year until he noticed another opportunity, renting and servicing golf carts. Discovering a group of 6 golf carts for sale in Caye Chapel, Julio sold the van and bought the carts, renting them to tourists on the island and maintaining the fleet.
Julio the Boat Mechanic
Genesis Cart Rentals was formed as a registered company and Julio found himself the owner of a small business. He set up shop in the DFC area, 20 minutes south of town. Realizing that his initial location wasn’t convenient for his clients, he searched for a location closer to town. In 2014, Julio had a chance encounter with a long time acquaintance of 14 years, Tom Vedrine. Tom owned “The Boat Yard” which had fallen into a state of disrepair as Tom lived in Thailand most of the year. Tom offered Julio some space to keep his carts and run his business free of charge. Julio, being the self starter he always was, soon managed to tidy up the place and make it his own. He organized not only his business but the boats and associated inventory that was on the property. When Tom returned on his next visit, he was so impressed with what he saw that he offered Julio a 50/50 arrangement on any boat business he could secure as a reward for his initiative.
Julio at the Boat Yard
Life At The Boat Yard
Having learned a great deal about boats during his time as a boat captain, Julio knew his way around a boat and initially did what work he could on his own. He soon realized though that he was not an expert in the field of boat repairs and maintenance and needed qualified help. He set out to hire a full time mechanic and someone to repair hulls and fiberglass. In addition to servicing and renting golf carts, The Boat Yard was now servicing and storing boats. Guided by his Christian upbringing and commitment to provide a superior customer experience, Julio has endeavored to train his staff to apply those guiding principles in their daily duties. While still a work in progress, Julio continues to listen to his clients, learn from his experience and stay true to his core beliefs. As a result, The Boat Yard now offers a quality experience for the client backed by Julio’s personal commitment to make things right no matter what it takes.
San Pedro is now home for Julio. The feeling of safety stems from the local people and their culture of respect and non violence. Julio sees unlimited opportunity ahead and embraces the natural beauty he is surrounded by in this tropical paradise. When asked what he would share with others who want to follow in his footsteps, he offers the following advice: Treat others as you would want to be treated. Encourage others to live up to their potential, be the best that you can be and follow your dreams and instincts. Don’t lose your drive and motivation but continue to push yourself to improve and share that with others as Julio does with his 3 children, Jason 22, Christian 21 and Estrella 13.
A note from the author: Having met and worked personally with Julio, I was instantly impressed by his honesty and commitment to satisfy my needs, not to mention his fabulous story which I learned over time. In this tiny island community, needed parts and supplies can be hard to come by and finding qualified reliable labor is another challenge making the experience difficult for both the business owner and the client. With Julio’s commitment, I never worry about getting to the conclusion. He’s just that determined, honest and fair. I have received no special compensation for writing this article.
Ron and Julio