Last night you saw the first part of our interview with Andrew Caliz. He's the southern tour operator who's got the Cruise blues after his hopes of doing business with Norwegian Cruise Line evaporated. Caliz is the owner of Big Falls Extreme Adventure on the Rio Grande River in Big Falls Village. He had connected with cruise tourism mega-operator H2O Tierra to rent out his riverside property. But, for many reasons, the deal fell through, and Tom and Ivette Wilson, the owners of H20 Tierra ended up going up the river from Caliz, to the Big Falls lodge to set up their zip lining and river tubing tour. Caliz is wounded by this since he was the first one to set up that kind of tour in that area. and things came to a head last Friday when he found his tubes punctured. For Caliz, that single event crystallized everything that is wrong with Cruise Tourism in the south, and yesterday he told us why he feels angered and betrayed:...
Andrew Caliz, Big Falls Extreme Adventure
"When I found out that the tubes were flat, I made it my business to go and ask the henchman down there and he said he is a Jamaican Man and cruise ship is here and he says 'he is here to stay, there is very little he could do, I am sorry for you Andrew, If I were you I would be pissed off, but there is nothing you can do my brother.' So basically that's where I am at."
Jules Vasquez, 7News
"However, he ended up making a complaint about you. You all had an exchange of words. Did you threaten him?"
Andrew Caliz, Big Falls Extreme Adventure
"No, I didn't threaten him. I must say that I was upset."
Jules Vasquez, 7News
"Why were you upset?"
Andrew Caliz, Big Falls Extreme Adventure
"After being the only operator on that river, I didn't have to worry about my tubes up there. As a matter of fact this was Friday. I thought the cruise would have been through on Thursday, but the Friday when I went there my tubes were punctured. Now wouldn't that make you upset? I won't roll over and play dead. I have invested and I will try my best to continue the business, especially after having a gentleman agreement with them, that they wouldn't tamper with me and knowing that I been there from the get-go. I mean you have to understand this my brother, I am a son of that soil and I don't need the whole of Toledo to back me up. I supposed to be able to continue to do tours just the way it was, He is the one who needs to make the adjustments. He is not from here, he is not from PG, and he is not from Big Falls. Why would BTB allow a man like him to come there and run over me? Could you count the amount of rivers between the Rio Grande and Mango Creek? There are many that are not doing anything. Why couldn't he leave me alone? Why would BTB allow him to come and stifle me to death? Why?"
"I am here to bring my concern about how BTB allow those guys to come and not work with me and yes, you don't have to work with me, but leave me to do my thing that I use to do, because yes, you do have a choice. You don't have to work with me. You don't. But leave me to do what I've been doing."
Jules Vasquez, 7News
"So what happens next?"
Andrew Caliz, Big Falls Extreme Adventure
"I am in a position between the rock and the wall and when you have this kind of investment setup to see an outsider come in, you kind of leave with a like who have your back here? The government is not taking care of you. I mean BTB has gone down there and say you all need to start up this and has encourage small businesses. But when they turn their back after you have done these kinds of investments - you start to wonder."
We did speak to Tom Wilson via text message. He told us that they did their "utmost" to work out a deal with Caliz and were "more than willing" to do so. But after a year and a half of negotiations, just as they were about to sign the contract, Wilson says Caliz disclosed that the property was in his mother's name, and had been willed to him and her other children. Wilson says that made it impossible to move forward since they could not set up on a property he did not own. Caliz says he provided Wilson with signed authorizations from his siblings to proceed with the project. As for the punctured tubes, Wilson says his company doesn't do things like that and, added, quote, "if any tubes were punctured, he did it himself" end quote. Wilson confirmed that his manager made a police report over "very serious threats" that Caliz issued.
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