Garifuna Music

Wednesday night, I had the great experience to listen to a Garifuna group play and sing at the hotspot in town called Tipsy Tuna. Tipsy is a nice place. They have one building that is a Sports Bar complete with big screen TV's and an outside seating area and bar with a small stage. This group, consisting of five men and four dancers, played for a solid hour. Throughout the performance they changed songs without missing a beat. Three men shake gourd rattles, with one man beating a bass drum and a second man beating a rhythm drum in perfect syncopation, never missing a beat. There were two women and a young girl, all in brightly colored Garifuna garb, and a boy of about 12 looking like he really didn't want to be there, singing and dancing in place, sometimes pairing up for a song. It's quite high intensity music with a very fast beat.

Before the event began at seven I was waiting for a beautiful woman who agreed to accompany me.  While sitting on the boardwalk, this guy came up to try to sell me a CD of Garifuna music for $20.00 BZ. I refused and so he changed tactics and tried to sell me a gourd shaker. Again I said no thanks, so they he whispered softly (into my bad ear) if I wanted to buy some, I suppose, weed. Again,  I declined. So he returned to the CD and said he would give me a 2 for 1 deal. One CD of just drums and the other a CD of the group itself. I decided to take him up on his 2 for 1 offer. Afterward, I asked him if he was a Garifuna and if he could tell me where the Garifuna came from. Unfortunately, I don't remember  all the influences, but West Indies, Africa (including slaves), and a few other countries in South America totaling eight different geographic locations. (here is a link to wikipedia for more accurate info on the Garifuna people)

Then he told me he was part of the group. Quite a spirited fellow and a hustler! He was actually quite pleasant and gracious. When Heather arrived, I gave the CD's to her as a parting remembrance as she left for the States the following morning.

We went in and I introduced Heather to the 'hustler' (I use that term endearingly, he really was a nice guy.) The place has a several rows of picnic tables and there were a good number of folks there. I attempted to take a few pictures with my new little phone and did not get a good one out of the bunch. I tried to take a video and I needed a memory card, so Heather took out her phone and took at least a ten minute video and said she would email a copy to me. I completely forgot to bring my good camera. I was able to audio record several snippets of the performance.

(Heather, when you read this: thank you for an enjoyable couple of days. You are such a sweet and lovely person, inside and out. I wish you the best as your journey unfolds.)

One month down...eleven to go!

Today was my visit to the Immigration Office in the little town of Independence. I climbed aboard the Hoochie Koochie Water taxi with 29 others and set off on my first adventure outside Placencia since arriving here 4/1. $6 BZ/$3US. It's about a fifteen mile ride that took about 20 minutes. The water taxi left at 7:45 am. I could not get anyone around me, all locals, to engage me in ny chit chat. I was the only white guy there.

It was like riding a roller coaster ride. Everyone had to at least slip a life preserver over their head. We navigated around a couple of dozen small islands. Once away from Placenica coast every island was a mango tree paradise void of any development. After cutting across an open body of water in the bay, we arrived at Mango Creek about 8:05.

Immediately after debarking, I waved down one of the taxi drivers sitting around. We then took off in a old beat up van with ripped seat cushions, broken front window and generally beat up inside and out. My driver was Nelson, with four kids. For $20BZ/$10US round trip, he drove me about the four mile route to the Immigration Office, a small one person operation that opened at 9 am and stayed with me until I finished at the office, which turned about it be about 9:15. I was the first one of about 5 people waiting there. I paid my $50BZ, to the Immigration Officer who stamped my passport and entered some minimal info in a log book I did not have to produce any documentation. I just gave him the address on my place here. I did not have to show I had a way out of the country, or show I had sufficient income to support the stated $60.00/day, the official policy said I had to prove.

I got Nelson's name and phone # and told him I would contact him before I came back next month and wanted to use his services again.

The road from the dock to the hardtop road that led to the Immigration Office was a dirt rutted road that took you past numerous old Belizean housing and a few stores. Nelson said he was not going to get a new car until they paved this dirt road. His van sounded like it was running on half its cylinders.

The trip back was uneventful. The water taxi runs on the hour starting at 10, 11, then noon. I chatted with a nice local man who was the only one who would engage me in conversation. There was a young kid of 18 from Honduras who also was at the Immigration Office. He was clean cut and a really nice young man who spoke perfect English. As we talked waiting for the Hoochie Koochie, he shared he had interviewed for a job in Placencia, but needed a work permit to actually get the job.

After debarking back in Placenica, I gave him my name, phone number and my email and encouraged him to let me know if he got the job at the Dive Shop in town and join me for lunch one day in the future. He said he would. He expressed appreciation for taking an interest in him. I sensed he was here all alone. My guess was that he was wanting to get to a place with jobs so he could begin life anew. He said he has two younger sisters, a mother and grandmother back in an urban center someplace in the center of Honduras.

Finally a phone number that works?

Try this new phone number. I bought a phone locally today so we should not have a problem communicating. From the US dial: 011 501 634-5144!

Descripive Scene of Placencia Village

Descriptive Scene of Placencia Village

(I have decide to try my hand at writing a novel while here. This is my attempt at exercising one piece of this art by doing a detailed description of a setting as one might be asked to do in a creative writing class. If this seems like a laborious description, it's for the purpose of cultivating my ability to turn what I see into written language. I make no apologies for this effort. In otherwords, if you don't like this...take a flying leap off a short pier!) In any event, I trust it will give you a flavor as to what this small village looks like to a novice writer intent on spending a year here.

Placencia Village has a concrete pier at the very end of the southward tip of the pennisula before it bends westward toward the harbour and the Belizean shoreline of its mainland.. From the air, it looks like a backward “L.”

As one comes down Main St, the pier sits about 100 feet or so from the end of Main St. As you approach this centerpiece of downtown Placencia, you walk past many small gift shops, a coffee house called Above Grounds on the left, that is literally a Belizean styled house on stilts. Many such buildings are along this main avenue of narrow streets and speed bumps, such speedbumps are unbiqitous in Belize, designed to keep speeders from running over the many people that walk the roads.

On the right side from about ¼ mile out are makeshift buildings and open areas for parking. These buildings are shack-like and seem to house mainly tour operators. On the left side at this point, moving into town is Walden's Hardware, a larger concrete warehouse containing a wide variety of hardware for the builders in the area. Walden's, owned by an American, also has a two story older rustic building adjacent to the hardware store, that contains a grocery store on the first floor. Going up the steps leads you to the Pharmacy, where a woman named Nina is the licensed Pharmacist. To the front of this Pharmacy and above the grocery store, is an Italian Restaurant that opens at 5:30 daily. Stepping in the restaurant by mistake, as Iws in the mood for Italian for lunch, I noticed it has about dozen nicely appointed tables with actual cloth spreads. It's a classy place with a menu to die for and prices a bit above the average fare for the Village. The Walden complex looks like it is going to collapse as there is very little of its original paint, so it's looks rather shabby, but then again, most places in town look this way.

Behind Walden's and I guess adjascent to it is a divine little restaurant called, “The Secret Garden.”They have their own vine covered archway with their sign above the arch. This is mostly an outdoor eatery with a nice lunch menu of sandwiches at a reasonable price, about $10-$17 BZ. The seating area has perhaps a dozen tables mostly with umbrellas, and a hand washing fountain by the main entrance to the building. Also part of this operation is a massage parlor and a Spa. It was a lovely setting in which to enjoy yet another of the wonderful hand squeezed juices popular in Belize. I enjoyed a sandwich called the Roasted Cuban, a mix of chicken and hot sauces. I will frequent this place as I want to try more of thier lunch menu.

Next to this building still on the left is a combination building with a resturant called “Vino and something” eatery and a commercial business on top. To the right at this point is a soccer field, where kid teams play usually after school after the heat of the day. Toward the end of the soccer field is a fruit and veggie stand, a common place to stop at daily to pick up fresh fruit and veggies. This stand is just a small open front building wit usually three ladies working the place. One usually weighs and gives the price to another, probably a daughter, who calculates your order. The husband is usually hustling a fresh shipment of meons or bananas.

On the left side of the street, across from the veggie stand is a Gelato store on the first floor of a newer styled building that also houses the Belize Bank loan department on the top floor. This modern appearing building is fully air conditioned. The owner of the Gelato stand is a French woman.

Moving further closer to the pier is a new realty building modern in all respects. Next to it are a couple of older style Belizean stilt houses converted into gift shops. These are brightly colored affairs. Across the road is the Sunset Point road I live off of. Next to them, proceeding into town, is the Above Grounds coffee shop. They import organic beans from Guatamala and grind them on the premises and bag it for sale. Thier lot is about twice the size of the others filled with nice shade trees. Across the street from the Above Grounds, to the right side of Main St is a couple more eateries and gift shops, To the right of these buildings, and on the corner of Main and Sunset Point, is a Chinese restaurant. To the other side of the gift shop and directly in front of Above Grounds is a nice creole restaurant called Wendy's. It is a two story building, much more modern that most other structure there and appears to have apartments above it. It stands out as it is a freshly painted white building with a peach trim with an inviting porch on which to eat. It's on my list of places to try breakfast, lunch and dnner.

Past the Above Grounds property is a narrow dirt side street with the Plcencia Office Supply. It too is a two story affair with apartments above. It is another of those buildings that could use a paint job. This is where you recharge your WiFi time and the D'Tab offices of Eric are located. He is the electronics whiz-kid in the Village. A really nice friendly fella, who after three days gave up trying to unlock my phone, even with my usual positive encouragement.

Directly across from this dirt side street is the Nang Nu Chinese run grocery store. The next building back to the right appears to be a closed thrift store. These old and dry looking buildings could go up in flames if the conditions were right. This grocery store is not air conditioned and is a miserable place to spend much time inside. It is a very popular place however and does a booming buisness morning till night.

At this point we are about one block away from the Village pier.

Main St. snakes down toward the pier. Once past the Chinese run grocery store, on the right is a series of small shops, including a barber shop, usually with a line of guys waiting for their cuts. On the left side is another series of connected shops. The first one is a marketing location for one of the larger resorts up the pennisula. As a resident at the resort, you can catch a ride in a corporate van free of charge.

This brings up an important reality in the Village. There are a lot of people who run independent taxi services. With the influx of resorts in the area means, not more work for the independents, but less work, as the resorts buy and hire their own vans and drivers to service their resort clientele. This is having a negative effect on local taxi services. I talked with a woman down by the pier for whom this has an negative effect. She has a loan on her van and some days only can get two fares a day. She cannot get enough business to make her van payments. The market is changing. My observation is that this woman needs to join a resort as an employee or as a contractor to make ends meet. This perception is based on economic reality. As much as she wants to run her own life, if the marketplace is changing, she needs to adapt to the change. She has two children in college, one who is working on a degree, ironically, in resort management. Is this a result of not being aggressive enough in securing fares, a problem in figuring out a way to market her services more efficiently, or an unwillingness to see and understand the market as it is changing and to change to accommodate the market? Major change is definantely coming to this quiet Village.

Back to the description of the Village. Still on the left is a Belize Bank with an ATM (where I withdraw my funds) and an another building, a two story, that workmen are doing some intensive work on the top, which is an open space, I assume will be a restaurant. It faces directly into the harbour. To the right is a vacant gas station that now serves as parking for people coming to the pier.

At this point in our journey, we are now 50 or 60 feet from the water in the harbour with the pier another 100 feet to the left. Right on the edge of the water are two tent/wooden structures. This belongs to Brenda, a sparkling black woman who took to me right away (for business of course!)

I asked about her connection to a retire Colonel nurse who does a lot of giving back to this community. She apparently sponsors all kinds of groups to help the locals deal with the usual dyfunctions of life. Brenda, did not give me a referral to Diane, but did give me a referral to a man, named Stephen, who is known as an AA speaker, and is also an insurance man in the area. Her cohorts tracked down his name and number for me. I also like to connect with this Colonel as her work sounds like it parallels my life work as a social worker. Both of these people may be the ones I need to connect with to fulfill part of my mission while in Belize.

Brenda fixed me up with this delicious mix of fried coconut chunk, absolutely delicious, with some banana slices and orange slices, plus a lime drink ($10BZ) I asked her what else she served from her stand, and she was marinating chicken and pork in a BBQ sauce. I will stop by again to feast on her cooking! She cooks over coals and her helper a funny black guy was grating coconuts for their menu.

Another side story here. Brenda used to have a place further down the pennisula, but was burnedout by a fire. The village gave her the right to this harbour side location temporarily. Unfortunately, as the cruise ship industry is coming to Placencia, she will find her location taken over by a harbour redesign plan that will necessitate her losing her favored spot.

To the right of Brenda's stand is a small clump of trees underwhich serveral locals just hang around and drink and smoke. This is next to a fairly large bar that sits right on the edge of the harbour, with water splashing up on the concrete pilings at the edge of the covered deck. From here, you look out onto a small wooden pier wit a boat anchored on the left side and a small shack, that is a diving excursion office.

I sat on this deck for about ten minutes, observing the harbour. Out in the water I counted 10 sailing ships anchored at different spots in the harbour, some really nice catamaran sailing ships. In the sky were a dozen or so sea gulls some diving into the water to snatch a morsal, others coming in swooping close to the water checking for a morsal to catch their next flight over. Over by the concrete pier was a seagull sitting majestically on the top of a sailboats main mast, looking relaxed and in no apparent hurry to go anywhere. To the left further is the concrete pier. The pier design is very modern, with sweeping curves streching out into the bay. On the pier are four small shacks used to sell tourist trinkets and drinks. For the time I sat there no one was manning those shacks.

Tourists and small kids dive off the pier on its left side to swim, and there is a small beach area for swimmers and sunbathers to congregate. This small beach area is fairly well protected from the winds. Once you go to the far point, the winds coming off the Caribbean are quite strong and the winds blow up kelp and other material that looks like tree mulch. Also, once past the point, bags of litter are being pulled out of the shoreline. Yes, human litter is here in Paradise, but the Village employees do their best to keep up with it.

Back from the beach area, is a small place, an open air cabana called “The Shack.” Here you can purchase cold drinks and meals. It's a very comfortable place to sit and harbour watch. Fans are strategiclly placed to create a nice breeze. What is their most popular menu items can be decerned from the 26 varieties of smoothies. I've started at the top of their list and plan to try each and every one of them! Here as elsewhere the juices are flowing, from lime to watermeon to Papayra and one that tastes like grapefruit. This small shack has perhaps a dozen tables in it. This place sets right to the left of the base of the pier. Along side the Shack is the beginning of a mile and a quarter long, four foot wide boardwalk that separates the coastal frontage properties from the rest of the Village. No bikes allowed, it is for pedestrian foot traffic. It is a concrete formed boardwalk with 3 inch wide slates covering the entire distance of it stretching back north through Placencia Village.

The bordwalk has many more shops, some sell wood carvings and hammocks, another eatery called “The Village” yet another outdoor cabana styled restaurant. On the right, diagnonally acroos the board walk is a two story place called the “Swiss Cafe” with a more Americanized menu with Pizza! I haven't stopped there yet, but they also serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This boardwalk is also lined with palm trees and other more leafy trees giving one a break from the intense heat of the day. A lot of locals who still live in Belizean styled homes offer a laundry service right along the boardwalk from their homes.

A good ways further on is a beach complex called, “Tipsy's Tuna.” Tipsy's is the drinking capital of the Village area, with wide open beach vollyball courts and the ever unbiquitous bars. They have a lot of humorous signs posted, all about drunks. This is obviously the hangout of young tourists, here to drink and have fun.

Further up the boardwalk you come across a small resort called Seaspray motel with rooms facing the beach and side. Right next to this is the DeTatch seafood restaurant, which is probably the best and most expensive eatery on this part of the shoreline. It is also a cabana style eatery. This is where I had a delicious Coconut Curry Snapper dinner. I visited this place as part of an early evening walk I took to take in the early evening life of the Village.

Well, that's enough of the sightseeing tour of Placencia Village. Perhaps you can tell it is a mix of old and new, richly culturally diverse, with ordinary Belizeans living juxtaposed mostly white tourists, but also many from Guatamala as well. As is usual, poor locals living amongst a growing wealtier tourist population with many foreigners buying up property for development and living.

Coming next. My description of the road I live off of, Sunset Point and the canal I talk so much about.

I've got major phone issues here in Belize. Ignore my earlier message about a new phone number. I need to get a new phone here.

New Phone # in Belize

I now have  new phone number in Belize. Those of you in the States dial 011 501 650-4030.
For local Belize calls 650-4030

This is a pay as you go plan on my end. You can call me (on your dime and whatever your rate is) and it will not cost me. If I call you it, it is $.55/min. After 7pm Belize time, its $.26/min

Thanks
The Management

Belize Chocolate Festival! May 2015

Look what you guys are going to miss out on! Hat tip to Gayle and Mike for sending me this. Link included below.
Gayle,Michael and I will be attending this festival this year (and perhaps taking in a snorkeling outng to boot!) Note: some of us will not be partaking of the wine and beer festivities! I will repost this under my Excellent Advrnture page and on my blog!

Chocolate Festival of Belize: A Festival to Attend Before You Die
By Belize Hub on Apr 11, 2015 11:15 am
The ninth annual Chocolate Festival of Belize and Toledo will take place on 22nd, 23rd, and 24th May 2015. The event kicks off with the Gala event, Wine and Chocolate on the Friday night from 7pm to 11:30pm. The event is being held for the second year at Garbutt’s gorgeous marina on Joe Taylor Creek. Surrounded by both the lagoon and the ocean this night brings you nothing but good times, good friends and live music from the Caribbean Roots Band all the way from Corozal, an array of delectable hors d’oeuvres including deep fried lion fish and shrimp and, of course, how could we forget – Chocolate from Belizean chocolatiers!

The Taste of Toledo Street Fair is held on Front Street in Punta Gorda town, from the Uno gas station all the way down to the Punta Gorda library. The pedestrian-only street fair features cultural displays and areas showcasing Toledo’s five main ethnic groups: Kriol, Maya, Garifuna, Mestizo and East Indian. Each area displays art, food and music from their culture. It is like passing from a Maya town to a Garifuna town in just a few steps. Barbecued food, chocolate making, kayak trips, chocolate farm trips, there’s something for everyone. Live local music will play in the fair, on stage as well in the streets. Taste exciting new chocolate flavours, watch local dance groups, buy local food, crafts, and relax with a cold beer while enjoying live music on stage outside the court building. Cacao for Kids will be at the Punta Gorda Methodist School grounds, where there will be tons of fun for the kids.

The Festival Finale on Sunday will take place for the first time on the shaded campus of Julian Cho Technical High School. There will be live performances throughout the day under the school’s covered auditorium. This will feature musical performances from Mayan harp groups to Garifuna drumming as well as dances by the Baaktun 13 group from Maya Centre in Stann Creek. There will be a range of drinks made from cacao combined with corn or pepper and other ingredients and food stalls will offer ethnic Mayan dishes. Local crafts from hammocks and tie tie baskets to slate and calabash carvings will be on sale and visitors will have the chance to try their own hand at craft making and appreciate the skill that goes into their creation. The new location provides plenty of on site car parking and is right on the southern highway making it convenient for visitors travelling up north at the end of the day.

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL OF BELIZE
TOURISM INFORMATION CENTRE
FRONT STREET
PUNTA GORDA
BELIZE
t: (+501) 722-2531
e: info@ChocolateFestivalOfBelize.com
http://www.belizehub.com/…/9…/chocolate-festival-of-belize/…

Evening out to eat at De Tatch...

First evening out to eat. Crossed the canal about 5:30 pm and walked about 20 minutes to De Tatch restaurant on the beach (next to the Seaspray motel) in an open cabana. Enjoyed Coconut Curry Snapper with rice and Watermelon juice (juices are big down here). About $17.50US. Great food and service. Such a gentle breeze blowing this evening with low humidity. Crossed the canal in the dark...no crock waiting for me!

Oh Woody! What do you think you're doing?

Here's the little fella that's been waking me up! He's managed to pick a hole in the house...repair guy coming Monday to patch the hole and repair the dock. Caught him sitting calmly in a tree off my deck.

A Day in the Life in Placencia Village

Tuesday April 7, 2015

Morning trip to the Village. 8:45 – 10:30 (Will post a few pics from the Village)

Longest walk to date. Comfortable walk to, uncomfortable back. Cool in morning, by 10 it's almost too hot for me. Five of my fav spots are within about 8 min from home (once I cross canal.) Above Grounds (coffee and juice), Hang Hu Groceries, Placencia Office Supplies (MiFi recharge), Dawn's (eats), Walden's Hardware/grocery store)

I've learned to always take a small bottle of water with me. Stopped at Above Grounds and got a small

watermeon juice drink and a large coffee (don't need the coffee.) A bunch of old white guys with beards hang out there apparently in the early morning.

Next, I walked a few blocks to the Police Station and asked about an AA meeting (nobody had a clue as to what I ws talking about.) I asked about a local church and a guy in fatigues said a church was further down on the right. I started walking that way and realized I was entering Indian territory. I felt unease and turned around. I'll try another avenue for finding/starting a meeting. There is no listing for AA at all in the local directory.

Stopped at the gas station by a pier where the water taxi is located. Found out its $12BZ/$6US round trip. And roughly its schedule to Indepedence where the Immigration Office is located to renew my Tourist Card.

Came back down to the Walden'ss Hardware and picked up a second steel cable and lock for $7US for the boat. They sell bikes there ($285BZ/$142.50US) I'll look into it in May as I need to walk his month for my endurance/stamina! I'm so out of shape it's pathetic!

My last stop was the Office Supply store and recharged my MiFi account. Rather than 5g for $70US I went ahead and got 10G for $90. The guy said it would take about half an hour for the system to reactivate, so I left and came back home. It is now an hour later and still no service! UGH!!!

I must admit this...there are virtually no bugs, creepy things flying or crawling round! I sat on the porch from about 2:30 am for a couple of hours. It was so pleasant. At around 4 am the obligatory rain comes for just a few minutes.

Once back home this morning, I was soaking wet from prespiring. I took a quick shower...that was Nirvana!! I am beginning to feel my skin starting to get sun. Just chilling in the shade on my deck seems to help tan up slowly.

Went back to the Village...my MiFi wasn't on...fixed. Ate at a lovely outdoor place called, “The Secret Garden.” Had a lunch sandwich special called a something Cuban ($10US) Introduced myself to the owner, a woman from Reno. She's been here four years. Don't know much more than that. Bought a loaf of home made bread at the veggie stand I stop at daily now.

The waitress got me a copy of the local rag. There is a big brew haha over a deal to bring the Norweigen Cruise ships into an off shore island called Harvest Caye for an overnight stop. The firm has been developing a port and it apparently is destroying more of the coral reef there. As usual, some want the business, others say it's destroying the place. Many locals want the jobs it will bring and the additional business. Looking at the # ships to come in here, starting in November, it looks like over 12,000 passengers from 5 cruise ships in December alone will mob the island with fair number making their way to Placencia a little village of 3,000. The first ship in November will have about 2,700 people on board.

Happy Easter Sunday from Paradise!

Happy Easter to all of you...

These two pics I took from my deck about 6 am this morning. The sun can be seen in one image, just breaking through the branches of a tree. Breezy morning, mild temps and humidity.

Saturday, 4/4/2015 “The Walk”

Time has come to settle into something of a routine. Daily entries will become weekly entries unless something extraordinary occurs. I will not do the Day 4, Day 5 routine anymore.

As I go to the Village to eat or shop, I will highlight “Bill's Favs” on a new tab. Today I took my first trip to the Village since I arrived on Wednesday. I have been settling in and getting comfortable once again with my own company and allowing myself to adjust to the new pace. I do take one day at a time. I went to the Above Grounds Coffee Shop and rather than have coffee, I opted for a large lime juice ($7 BZ/$4.50 US) which I needed!

I left my place around 10 am, crossed the canal aainst a strong head wind, tied my boat up on the other side. I made a mistake and wore a pair of slide on sandals that I could not keep on my feet! It took me probably twic as long to get to the main street as it should have! I'll give that pair to a thrift store in the Village next trip in. I wanted to get a second steel cable to use on one side of the canal or the other to lock the boat up.

I was exhausted just getting to the main pier in town. The temps were heating up. Fortunately, Above Grounds is almost right at the intersection of my road to the main drag, hence my choice of a Lime juice! Yum...

I took a walk around down by the main pier in town, found only one market open (Chinese run) and picked up a couple of items. The nearest hardware store was closed. Most small shops (hell, they are all small private shops! Entrepenurial spirit is alive and well here!) seem to be open and a fair number of beach goers were mulling about.

There is a famous 4 foot wide boardwalk (no bike allowed) that stretches for I think a mile starting at the pier and heading north, providing easy access to many resorts along the shore line. I took it for a stretch, but quite honestly, I was tired, tired of screwing around with my sandals! I took a short cut back through a neighborhood and stopped at the market to get my items, including a coconut water, which I sorely needed. So my excursion was about an hour and quite honestly I was glad to return home.

The heat of the day is not my best time. I will probably adjust my walks to go try the many eateries earlier in the day for breakfast, or late in the afternoon for dinner. One I will get to again was Dawn's Walk N' Go, small outside place run by a charming black woman. Mike and Gayle met her on their trip down last year and recommended the place to me. We ate there on Weds but I was feeling the heat and the trip down and let Gayle and Mike have my chicken meal. Well, actually, I was to take Gayle's half of hers and my own with me, but I left it and my two new pairs of shorts in their car!

There are a reasonable spectrum of places to eat, including Mexican, creole, Chinese, Italian, and I read about a Austrian restaurant. The major resorts also have top end eats as well.

So far, I seem to sleep fine and awake about 5:30 or so, grab another shower (finish the day with a shower as well), and make coffee. I read my morning devotionals and meditate on the porch. I have a good selection of novels here, so I am working my way through the collection and read a few pages. Read an old classic by Steinbeck, “Of Mice and Men” and I started on T.S. Eliot's play entitled, “Murder in the Catherdral.”

Still spend way to much time on the internet, but that pattern is also beginning to morph into self limiting behavior.

The bedroom has a door and there is a small AC unit that I tried out the second night. It seems under powered or inefficient as there is really no way to truly close windows here! The windows are a typical Belizean style with slats that close, but not tightly (no glass windows, just screens)...just one of the many small differences between here and the comforts we take for granted in the states. I woke up sweating about 4 am and just opened the windows again and caught the breeze. Looks like the average electric bill for this house is about $15-$25/ month. Well, you just adjust...no sense complaining! A nice breeze blows almost constantly, and a rain shower hits usually in the middle of the night for a few minutes and maybe mid afternoon. To hear the sound of rain falling on a tin roof is a comfortable sensation.

Besides the Iguana, nothing has appeared to attck me in the night.

Happy Easter Sunday from Paradise everyone!

Iquana for dinner anyone?

Update: My landlady says that Iguana is one of many "girlfriends" of a big orange male Iguana, nicknamed "Gerald."The girls are very friendly and like fruit, plants and flowers!

Well now...I was just sitting on my deck here in Belize about 10 am wondering if I'd ever see a Crock in the wild. Well, I've seen them in the Belizean Zoo eating a whole chicken at night in one gulp. I looked up and saw this rather large creature down by my boat dock heading from left to right. It looked to be about 5 feet in length. So I ran for my camera and took two pics. I've post both so you can get perspective. It looks like....an Iguana! This ain't Kansas! Wonder what else is lurking in the shadows....humm.

Day 4 and 5, March 31 and April 1

Day 4 - Tuesday, March 31, 2015

We all took a day to run errands...M&G did their own thing (not my place to say) but they did take me to this really great restaurant in San Ingacio, called Hode's Place. We also traveled to Spanish Lookout, which looks more American than anyplace else I've seen so far, with rolling hills, lots of pastures and cattle. This is the center of the Minnonite community here in Belize. Some 5-6,000 out of about 8,000 in the whole of Belize. Very industrious people judging from the contruction and level of energy. Yes, many still ride in horse pulled wagons, and wear their traditional garb. We stopped and ate ice cream in the middle of a rain storm at a Minnonite run store. We also shopped at a general merchandise store with a full grocery store in a well designed and clean warehouse. I picked up a new beach chair and some kitchen cleaners along with a second set of sheets. The tab was only $200! (That's Belizean dollars...it was $100 US.)

I tell ya...it's a trip driving on the roads here; people pass any ole place they feel like it and sometimes you are almost three abreast! Spanish Lookout is only about 15 miles from G&M's place, so it made for a nice drive. We also stopped at a corner store in San Ignacio and I picked up a couple pair of shorts (which I managed to leave in their car!). I only brought a few items of clothing with me and decided it was going to be cheaper to buy a few things before I get to the beach.

I also called the caretaker of my Placencia home and we have made arrangements to meet tomorrow mid morning and catch my ride across the canal and get the key. I am still somewhat confused about whether I need to go and get the electric turned on, but it will all get straightened out tomorrow. Just living the Belizean lifestyle! It's starting to rain at M&G's place, and I'm writing this on their front porch listening to Steely Dan. Winds picking up...more later before I get drenched!

Day 5 – Weds, April 1, 2015

G&M drove me down to Placencia today (April 1). On the way we stopped at “The Orange Gallery, which is not far from their place. Exquisite handcrated goods and art work. Everything from custom knifes to some amazing wood working and Mayan clothing, etc. Pottery and earings as well. Mike is making arrangements to sell some his craftware here.

Much of the country is more like an african savanna, with palms, stubbly trees with larger trees interspered. They have teak and mahogany farms so you pass groves of well manicured groves of trees. Palms also are farmed. The prettiest are fan palms.

As we got closer to the coast and toward the south we drove through beautiful mountain ranges where the Jaguar reserve is located. These mountains are really a series of very steep mountains, something like you might find in Vietnam or elsewhere in SE Asia. Absolutely beautiful. We stopped at a small roadside ice cream shop, a nice modern structure, that has been built by Christian missionaries. They are wating to get certified by the country to provide vocational training for teenagers, but until they do they are set up to only serve adults.

Once out of the mountains (I took several videos that I will post when I get a broader bandwidth) and the accompanying orange, banana and pineapple groves. Very desolate area though with some of the poorest of the poor. Reminded me of the backcountry hollers of West Virginia.

Bus routes are everywhere...you realize that as you drive across the country, as everyplace there is a congregation of homes there is a damned speed bump! The bump allows people to cross the road to wait for a bus. Although it is understandable why do do it this way, they will destroy a cars suspension and tires in no time if you are not constantly aware of the signs (either look like two boobs or people crossing signs) Sometimes the sign is not there and there are very few that have paint stripes on them and you slam on your breaks and slide over the bump! It's wild.

Road pavement is hit and miss. The road surfaces in general are pretty coarse, many, especially close in to towns have a lot of deteriorating edges. People pass whenever they want, most roads have no lines. The irony is that they have stop signs but everybody does California stops for fear of being rear ended! They have a helment requirement for the thousands of Chinese branded motorbikes, but no one wears a helment! We did come across a National Defense road stop and they had four guys in fatigues carrying M16 rifles. They just waved us through and gave us the now familiar broad smile and greeting.

The roads improved dramatically once were were close to the pennisula. Heading down to Placecnia we drive through two smaller old villages, Mayan Beach and Siene Bight. The homes look like those I have seen elsewhere...object poverty. These are typical Belizean homes, like mine, but picture them with bare wood, some leaning almost to the point of collapsing, gaping spaces between boards. I am constantly amazed how people begin to build some fairly nice reinforced concrete homes and commercial property and have apparently remain only partially finished. Now, interspesered on this Pennisula are now mega resorts and I assume multi million dollar homes. Slowly but surely the developments will take over what is left of the local villages.

Once we arrived in Placencia, we met up with the caretaker with his small pontoon boat, load us and my stuff, and crossed over. He and I put my boat in the water and found the oar. He showed us around and said he and his wife would be by Saturday to do a weekly cleaning and raking. Relly nice guy who has lived here five years (p.s. He has never seen any Crocks!) and lives at the end of the canal.

We ate lunch, bought a few staples, got my MiFi up and running and Mike dropped me off at the dock. I spent the rest of the day enjoying the breeze and unpacking.

Paradise...at last!

I've also finally got few pictures posted under the “Photo Journal” tab. Click the Flickr link.