Our vacation down to Hopkins and Placencia for lobsterfest has come to an end. We have had a great time seeing our good friends, Darren, Lalani, Marguerite, Carol, Rob, and Rob’s son Andy from Cholla down here in Belize, but now it is time for us to get back down to business. The first thing we need to do is to get all the wood ordered for the house. They should have the septic and all the cement post done and be ready to start on the framing this week. And of course, our quest for internet will continue until we figure out our best options.

At this point we will not be posting very much until we can get the internet all figured out, so please bear with us. Have fun wherever your travels take you this summer and remember, Life is a journey, enjoy the ride!

After an exciting night of bowling and a good nights sleep we were ready for lobster. As we got close to the festivities you could hear the drums and the music playing. There were the Garifuna playing their traditional drums as well as a big band playing the steel drums.

There were lots of booths set up selling everything from jewelry to new boats. We did meet our neighbor there who was selling her line of Caribbean spices as well as our salesman for our new truck, but we weren’t there for any of that stuff we were there for the lobster.

Every vendor had a different way to serve lobster, the only problem was how much could we really eat? There was lobster grilled whole, curry, empanadas, tacos, sausage, kabobs, ceviche and just about anything else you could think of. We tried to eat as much as we could, but you combine that with all the beer and the hot sun and you fill up pretty quickly.

After we had our fill of lobster, it was getting very hot there with all the people and all those grills going, so we decided to head down the street to find a place to get a cold beer and some shade. We ended up at the Tipsy Tuna Bar and Grill right on the water. It was a brightly painted building with lots of people and good Caribbean music playing.

We thought we were done with lobster for the day until we saw the one item on the menu that we were all attracted to. The lobster grilled cheese sandwich. We definitely did not need any more lobster, but what the hell, it is called lobsterfest. Now picture this, what looked like four Hawaiian type rolls together as the bread and a  whole lobster tail diced up with a bunch of cheddar cheese inside and then buttered heavily and grilled. In the words of Darren OMG!

We all agreed that this could possibly be the best thing we have ever eaten or ever will. Darren has already requested this for his last breakfast before he leaves, and why not, at breakfast they top it with an egg.

Being the practical people we are we thought we should leave the bar before we couldn’t move anymore. As we were walking we pass a guy with a few coconuts in a wheelbarrow and I asked him if they were for sale. Within a couple of minutes, we were all sipping on fresh coco water.

Now that we have walked at least 100 yards down the beach and rehydrated, up pops another beach bar. After a few more drinks we thought it was time we should leave before we saw another lobster special on the menu that we just couldn’t pass up.

All day we had been looking for a painting for the new house. There was one that we liked so before we left we went back and made an offer. It was accepted and now we have a beautiful painting of a toucan. We were actually looking for a painting of an iguana, but we did see some that the same artist had painted before so it looks like we might commission him to paint one. And besides that, he actually lives right up by us.

Overall Lobsterfest was good, but not like the big one they have over in San Pedro with the big parades and competitions, but then again we did not stay up until 4:00 am when it ended. Next year I think we will have to make the trip out to the island to get the full experience of lobsterfest.

After a long day like that what better way to cool off and relax than to sit in a pool overlooking the Caribbean.

Oh, and I almost forgot about our nightcap. Darren had sampled a bunch of locally made rums and had bought a bottle to take home. It is very good rum, but sometimes I think it’s the name that sells it.

The first day when we arrived in Placencia we went in search of the great celebration and culinary experience called Lobsterfest. It turns out that they were pretty much just getting set up when we were there. I guess the big party is the next day where they will be going till 4:00 am. I know we will all be in bed way before that. Even though they were not all set up, we did manage to get to try some lobster fritters that were quite tasty.

After deciding that it would be best to wait till the next day for Lobsterfest when it all kicks in big time, it was time to find other things to do. So off to do a little sightseeing. Besides all the beautiful beachfront homes and resorts there are also some amazing lagoon side homes.

After picking out the perfect home we wish we could afford it was off to find the perfect beach bar with atmosphere and maybe some good lobster or conch dishes.  Now, this might sound easy in a place where the bars have names such as the Pickled Parrot, Tipsy Tuna, Flying Pig or the Bonefish Grill, but not so. We tried quite a few different ones for a single beer just to see if they were worthy of our quest. Some had atmosphere but not near the beach, others were perfect right on the beach but way too fancy for us, one was having bingo night and let’s just say we were the youngest ones in there.

We finally gave up our quest and decided to go for one that we were all comfortable with, a bowling alley and pizza joint. I know this is not what you think of when you are on the shores of the Caribbean, but Placencia has the only bowling alley in the entire country of Belize and so far also the best pizza.

We had no intention of bowling when we went in there but after a few beers, it was time to give this four-lane landmark a go. And in case anyone is wondering, yes it is a real alley with pin set ball return and even shoe rental, the only thing it didn’t have was automatic scoring. Darren, Kelley and I decided that maybe we should do this again before we leave, and as for who won, I think we all did because no one injured themselves. On the other hand, maybe we should not push our luck and just go with that one good experience.

Tomorrow we will hit Lobsterfest and hopefully get our fill of lobster delights.

Sorry for the delay but we are still working on very minimal internet connections. Anyway, let me back up to how our first week went.

It turns out that the red Mahindra we ordered will not be there for a couple more weeks, but they did have a silver one we could take now if we wanted. In the meantime, if we hold out for the red one they will give us a loaner at no charge. You can’t beat that deal….or can you? I guess the next shipment in a couple of weeks will be the 2019 models instead of the 2018 we ordered. All we could think was, oh great what is the price difference on the new model? Turns out that there is no difference in price. So if we wait for two weeks we get a free loaner and a year model upgrade all at no extra cost. Sounds like we will be holding out for the red one.

Once we had the truck it was time to head towards San Ignacio to get a bed so that we would not have to spend our first night sleeping on the floor of the new casita. After that was all taken care of it was off to meet our friends Rob & Carol from Cholla, who have been on a multi-month road trip through Mexico. After a lot of catching up and a few beers, it was off to the property to wait for our new bed to arrive. Rob & Carol followed us out to check it out and see just how crazy we really are. It was great hanging with them and catching up and sharing all the adventures we have all had in the last few months. I think they will be hanging around for awhile to see what Belize is all about, plus it is lobsterfest starting next week, and who wouldn’t want to go to that?

The new king bed arrived and got all set up so we were good for our first nights sleep in our new place. First of all, it is very dark out here at night, I mean very dark. It rained all night which made for an excellent nights sleep with all the windows open.

Other things needed to make this work for the next three months was a fridge-freezer, bbq plus a clothes washer. At this point the only practical place for the washer was on the porch, after all that’s how most of the houses around here have them. As for the dryer it is one of those fancy solar powered ones, which is just rope between two trees. Whatever works for now.

After a big run around we finally got a fridge with water and ice on the door, which is very uncommon down here. Our water here is very good so once we hook it up to the fridge we will have great ice and cold water. Of course the fridge would not fit through the door so off come the handles and then the front door to the house.  This will all happen again once the other house is done and it gets moved over there. In the meantime it is stocked with all the essentials. Oh and did I mention that the stairs were also too narrow, so it had to come over the rail.

Rob and Carol headed over to San Pedro for Lobsterfest, we will catch up with them next week in Placencia for their lobsterfest.

Darren arrived the other day to check out his property and to head to Lobsterfest this weekend with us. After a coupe of days of dragging Darren around getting stuff and arranging for stuff to happen we thought it was time for some fun.  So off to Rio On Pools where we could sit in the cool water and chill out for a bit.

They have started on the big house, and jumped in at full speed. We arranged for the backhoe to dig our septic and spread out some more gravel around the house. Lots of block has been delivered for the septic along with two dump trucks of gravel, a bunch of rebar and a ton of cement. All the footers for the house are dug and come next week we will be ordering all the lumber. Overall it has been a very busy first week here.

After all that work we decided that we should head towards Placencia a day early and spend the night in Hopkins. Of course we would have to stop at Bertha’s Tamales  on the way for the best tamales in Belize. After that we need to stop at the Marie Sharp’s factory in Hopkins for some tasting and to stock up on sauces. Of course we had to gather up a bunch just to fill up the new fridge.

After checking into Jungle Jeanie’s it was time for a few cold beers and a dip in the warm Caribbean ocean, then we needed to find something to eat.

Since lobster season had just started… we had lobster on our minds. We found a little spot that offered grilled and stuffed lobster, so we had to give them both a try. The grilled lobster was great as well as the shrimp stuffed lobster. We are all very full right now ,but we are all still looking forward to tomorrow when Lobsterfest starts in Placencia.

 

 

Still working on getting internet so won’t be posting much until later. Looks like we need to put up a tower for an antenna  on the property, so off tomorrow to get that started.   Everything is going great settling into our new surroundings. Been out buying all the necessary things to make us comfortable till the big house is done, which they are starting on tomorrow. Lots of things to post about, but no time at this point. Hopefully soon we’ll be sitting on our own porch writing this.

Happy Father’s Day to all you great fathers.

The container was delivered just about ten days ago to the kids house in Arizona. After walking in and out of it many times and analyzing how we could possibly fit everything in there it was time to get to work. First thing to get done was to weld in some new tie down points. Randy jumped right on that and welded in about 20′ of rebar on each side about halfway up to give us more options for securing the load.

We had about 50 good matching bins that stacked perfectly along the outside walls, which left just enough room for the two quads to fit right up the middle. Of course the quads had to be drained of fuel and the batteries disconnected so that they could be shipped, but that was no big deal. Ratcheting tie down straps was the best way to go to get everything tight and secure. We had a bunch of straps to start with and even bought some more just in case, but we still ended up making a couple more trips to the store for more straps. We might just end up being the bin and strap people of Belize.

Anyway, the container looked so professionally packed with all the matching bins and two matching quads, then came all the rest of the oddball stuff that wouldn’t fit anywhere else.  By the time it was fully packed it looked more like the Beverly Hillbilly’s were moving to Belize.  In the end we did manage to get everything in there plus some stuff for a few other people. At this point the container is all sealed and waiting for a crane and a truck in the morning.

The truck and the crane showed up on time (actually a little early) so everything was a go. After moving all the personal vehicles out of the driveway it was time for the big boys to move in. The crane backed up in position and then the semi backed in right next to him. All the rigging went on (with the help of Randy) then it was time to make this container fly.

Under the watchful eye of our grandson Luke and the two neighbor girls, the crane lifted all of our belongings up and over the house. Once it got past the house, the container came to a nice soft landing on the bed of the truck where it was strapped down tight. Finished up some paperwork, wished the driver safe travels and said goodbye to all our stuff.

The truck is now on it’s way to a port in Houston where it will be loaded onto a freighter and shipped to the port in Belize. Once in Belize it will have to be opened, inspected and charged the appropriate duty for all the items. We have a very detailed list of items and their value, so hopefully they will just charge duty based on the list. If they do have to unpack the container, all I can say is… good luck getting it all back in there! Once it clears customs it will be on it’s way to our property, where it will become our temporary garage untill we get the real one built.

All in all it should be to our place in about three weeks. We will be heading down in about ten day to really get this adventure started.

 

Last Saturday, our son Randy and his beautiful wife Stacy hosted a going away party for us at their home in Gilbert, AZ. It was a great  chance to see friends and family that we haven’t seen in quite awhile. Randy had smoked up a bunch of pork for sliders, there was green chili bacon mac & cheese, lots of sides and snacks and enough beer to keep everyone happy, plus there was even a three bin margarita machine making good frozen slushy drinks. A great time was had seeing everyone and telling our story about our adventures in Belize. We can’t wait to finish up the next house so we can start having friends come down to see this wonderful place that we will be calling home. Thank you again Randy and Stacy and everyone else who stopped by to wish us well on our next journey. I’m sure we will see a lot of you down in Belize at some point.

Yesterday our shipping container arrived, a twenty footer that we now own. In order for us to be able to ship this by boat from Houston to Belize it had to be ocean certified. From what I understand, none of the containers in AZ are certified so we had to get one from Long Beach, CA. So now it is time to get down to some serious packing and get this thing on a truck next week and headed towards Houston and ready for it’s Caribbean cruise to Belize. I’m sure the kids will be happy to get their garage space back and actually be able to walk through it again. So that will be our Memorial Day plans, packing up all our stuff and getting it ready to ship.

We checked the trail cameras again and found not quite as many animals as before, but I think that might be because there were people there every day during the construction of the house. There were still some pictures of coatimundis, jaguarundis, lizards and one big black bird on the camera that we had never seen before. After a little research, we decided that the bird was a Great Curassow that grows up to 10lbs. and reaches a length of 39″. The male has black feathers with a yellow beak and is common throughout Central America. The species is threatened due to loss of habitat and overhunting, so this is great to see one roaming around on our property.

We also saw a gray-necked wood-rail walking along the road at the property. Of course we didn’t know what it was until we got out our handy bird guide. We just thought it was an interesting bird that we have never seen before, turns out it is very common in Belize. I assume we will be seeing more of these at some point.

Sometimes we see lots of iguanas, geckos or other small lizards, but this time it was all about the Jesus Christ lizard. They were everywhere, from the place we stayed in town to all over the property. In case you are not familiar with this lizard, it is the one that stands up on its hind legs and runs when frightened. It can even run on water, hence the name.

One last thing before I close this out, I’ve got to show another picture of a plant. We don’t know what it is, but it is big, green and right at the entrance to the driveway. The rainy season is just getting ready to start so I’m sure I will be posting lots more pictures of interesting plants.

There should only be a few days left before the first casita is done, unfortunately we have to leave before that happens. The handrail on the front porch, shower stall and a few other things need to get done. But, our next trip here in a few weeks we should be ready to move in. So far this trip we have spent the whole time running around getting last minute supplies and materials, most of them being correct and others… not so much. Doors and fans not on the delivery truck when it arrives, selling us the wrong wire size and a few other things, but nothing we couldn’t handle. The house is looking great and the quality of the workmanship is beyond what we expected, so Antonio will definitely be the builder for the main house.

The septic is dug and the blocks are going in, but not without the removal of a couple big rocks. The workers are wonderful, very personable, always smiling, great craftsmen and willing to talk, what more could you ask for from a construction crew?

Ruben cleared another spot where we will be putting a garage/shop where we can store vehicles tools and other stuff. We were all ready to have them start while we were gone, but the builder said that it could take up to three months to finish it. After thinking about it overnight we decided that the main house was more important since we will not have a kitchen or a place to do laundry for a while. So when we get back down here the main house will get started and should take about three months. After that, we can concentrate on the garage, and besides we will have a container here with stuff that mostly just needs to go in the house anyway.

We did spend one day test driving the Mahindra PikUp. We must have tested it about an hour or so, a lot of off-road testing the high and low range and how it handled. Then it was off down the highway to see how the turbo diesel matched with a 6 speed would do. Even pulling uphill in 6th gear it still did great. We couldn’t really find anything we didn’t like about it, except that there are no drink holders up front. Also that the blinker handle is on the right and the wipers are on the left of the column. I only washed the windshield twice when making a turn, but we’ll get used to that. Back at the dealer we put down our deposit and placed an order for a red one. It should be these in a couple of weeks once we return.

Last trip down we talked to Ruben about getting some coffee plants started for us. He jumped on that and got them going and now we have about 50 plants going and another 50 or so that are just sprouting. Once they are big enough we will find a place under the canopy where they will thrive and produce some of the best shade-grown coffee you’ve ever tasted, hopefully.

 

Well here we are back in Belize for one last time before the big move next month. Our main goals this trip are to check on the house, get a garage started, run power to the house and to pay our workers. We got in on Saturday but decided to wait until Sunday to head out to see the progress on the house. I think this turned out to be one of the best Mother’s Day gifts Kelley could ever want. The house is beautiful, what it lacks in size it definenty makes up for in beauty, especially against the green jungle setting.

Antonio (the builder) says there is still about a weeks worth of work left before it will be done. Mostly it is installing the bathroom fixtures, finishing the drywall, finishing the floor,  baseboards and other small detail stuff.

This week we will be buying things like ceiling fans, lights, outlets and a new front door. The hardware store sent over a front door that opens the wrong way and it got installed. No problem, we will just get the right one and save this one to be used on the other house.

Ruben has started digging the ditch that the power will be run in from the pole to a distribution panel that will the go to the houses, garage, etc. Tomorrow it is off to purchase all the wire, panels, breakers, pvc and anything else the electrician thinks he will need to get this accomplished.

We will also get Ruben started on the next clearing where the garage will go. Unlike the houses, the garage will be built out of cinder blocks and have a cement floor. There should be plenty of room in the garage to park the vehicle, quads and even have a good size shop.

It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago it was just a raw jungle lot and a dream. Now there is a good road into the property along with power, fresh water and now a nice little casita for us to stay in. Once we are here next month we will get started on the main house and this casita will be for family and friends.

Now it is off to get Kelley some Mother’s Day lunch and some ice cold Belikins. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful mothers out there!

The day has finally come when we turn over the keys to our Mexican home  (Bedrock) that we have had for 24 years to the day. We bought this house on Cinco de Mayo, 1994 and now we are out of there on Cinco de Mayo, 2018. We have  met so many wonderful people and had so many good times here with friends and family and done so many unbelievable things that it would boggle your mind. Thank you everyone who has made this part of our lives so very special and unbelievable. Hopefully we will see you all on the next leg of our life’s adventure.

A lot of people ask us how we can leave a place that we have called home for so long. Well we have reached the point in our lives where we want more out of life before it is too late. Mexico was a wonderful chapter in our lives and we will never forget all the friends and adventures we had there, but now it is time for the next chapter.

The jungle home is moving along quite nicely and should be ready for us by the time we make the move there in about a month. We will be  down there next Saturday for a few days for one last visit to tie up loose ends before our big adventure really starts.

It has only been one month since the build started and WOW is it coming along fast. This week the siding, ceiling and drywall went up. The vaulted ceiling is looking awesome and we can not wait to see it up close next weekend.

Now that the first casita is in place we can start planting some trees. The hard part will be trying to decide what kind to plant. Riverwalk Nursery has been posting some of their trees and plants that they have in stock.  Besides all the common tropical plants and flowers, they have some others that caught our interest. Macadamia trees, Pistachio trees, grafted citrus  trees that produce orange, grapefruit and limes, peach trees, grafted avocado that are ready to produce, plus grapes, raspberries, figs and more. We might have to clear a little more land just to plant all the fruits and veggies that we will be growing.

The Haliconia is also known as the Lobster Claw because of the way the flowers look. I wish they tasted like lobster, can you imagine growing lobster in your garden?

 

 

This is the village where we are building our home. It should be a fun day where we will be able to taste some more of the local foods, learn more about the culture, and get to know some of our new neighbors. We are looking forward to being there.

 

Approximately 9 miles away from San Ignacio is San Antonio Village. On your way, rolling hills and countryside dotted with farms, homes and friendly dogs and chickens will greet you. There is even a coconut water stand right outside of Cristo Rey Village.
Nestled beautifully in a valley, the village greets you below as you enter the village with colourful homes, clothes strung to sun dry, farm produce and friendly smiles and waves. According to Local Historian Mr. Alfonso Tzul, the village is said to have been established more than 100 years ago and is populated primarily by Yucatec Mayas. The village is known throughout the country and globally for its artists and healers.

The Garcia Sisters, Cayo’s famous slate carvers are established there and their Tanah Mayan Art Museum is worth the visit. San Antonio is also the home of the late Don Elijio Panti; Shaman Guide, Spiritual and Herbal Healer and renown globally. Infact, there is National Park established in his honor which is located where the village ends and also borders neighbouring Cristo Rey and El Progresso Villages. The recently established San Antonio Women’s Group draws visitors to the village as they showcase local tradition and customs. Additionally, Pacbitun Maya Archeological site sits on the outskirts of the village and becomes alive in the summer as study abroad groups conduct research and excavation.

With the steady growth of tourism in the area over the past few decades and with growing threats to biodiversity and culture, there is the obvious need for mitigation and local intervention to help protect and raise awareness among locals and visitors. It is then the Vision of The San Antonio Sustainability Committee to help achieve this through education, sports and local inclusion. We invite you to follow and help us as we engage in our first ever event with the aim of reviving culture, instil appreciation to nature and our surroundings and to engage local families to become involved in our quest to bring San Antonio back to life in a sustainable and safe manner.
Thank you!

Building is moving right along on the first casita. The framing is all up, the floor is laid and the roof is going on. Next week the siding goes on and then all the interior work will begin. Ruben says that everything is going great, is on schedule and we will be very happy when we see it.

Speaking of seeing it, we will get our first actual look at it in two weeks when we head back down. This short trip is mostly to check on the progress of the house and to buy things such as ceiling fans, lights and anything else we need to make it comfortable. We will also be getting all the materials needed to run the power from the pole to the house (which is about 200′ away).

With the help of our son Randy, we did manage to round up another identical quad.  Same year, same size, same low hours, even the same color. So with two Polaris 800 4×4’s we should have no problem going anywhere and have fun while doing it.

The trailer is packed with everything we think we will need and it will leave Cholla Bay, Mexico this Sunday headed to Arizona. Randy and Stacy will be here this weekend to tow it up and store it at their house for a couple weeks until we get the container arranged and ready to ship. We will be in Cholla for one more week before we say goodbye and start this new chapter in our lives. And seriously, we are both sooooo excited to start this new adventure!

 

With only a little over three weeks left before we need to turn the keys over for Bedrock, we are in fast forward. The boathouse is just about all packed up and next week we will concentrate on the house. We sold the house semi-furnished, but there is still a lot of personal items that we will be taking with us.

Last week we made a quick trip up to AZ to look for a couple of quads that we plan to take with us. We did find one really nice one that will soon be cruising around the jungles of Belize. It is a Polaris Sportsman 800 4×4 with winch and all, along with very low hours. We are still looking for another one, hopefully the same model, so if anyone has any leads please let us know.

Last week Randy and Stacy hauled their big trailer down to Mexico so we could load it up with all the stuff we think we need to take with us. Packing is going good and at this point, all still looks good for our May 5th departure from Mexico. When we leave we will head up to Gilbert to the kid’s house for a week, then down to Belize to check on the progress of the house. We will only be in Belize for a week then we will head back to Gilbert to line up a shipping container and get everything ready to ship.

Our plan is to not be back in Gilbert for more than a few weeks before we make the permanent move to Belize, but that all depends on how the first little casita is going. Ruben sent some pictures the other day and said that everything is on schedule for us to be in by early June. Ruben said that by the end of this week they should have all the framing up and he will send more pictures. I’ll keep everyone posted.

This will be the first small casita where we will live while they are building our main house. Once we move into the main house then this will become a guest house.

 

 

Easter is quite festive in Belize due to it’s large Christian population. One local tradition is the sawdust carpets that are made on the roadways for Good Friday. The carpets are made by faithful parishioners near their own church’s for the other parishioners to see on their way to the services. These are beautiful carpets made from colored sawdust, flower pedals, ash and even sea shells. Each carpet takes weeks to come up with a design and to color all the materials. These carpets are true master pieces that bring the community together for this long standing religious tradition.

Hopefully next year we will be able to see these amazing sawdust carpets in person.

 

Ruben has been cutting a border pathway around the property that is next to ours. Since there was never a trail there before and there is now, we thought we should explore it. Ruben led the way with machete in hand chopping as we go. Once we got to the inside corner of the property, there was a good size pond with a couple of long-legged white birds standing on the edge. It was all nice and quiet until a huge iguana jumped from the tree and into the water, that sorta startled us. Ruben said that it is a spring fed pond and is always full and attracts lots of animals.

After checking out the pond Ruben started cutting a trail to the mound (Yes there is a Mayan Ruin on that property). We hiked up the 50′ tall mound to the top where it was flat. Keep in mind that this is an undisturbed site that is covered in growth. Ruben was telling us that he could clear off the top and it would be a great place to bring some chairs and sit. We’re not sure how we feel about sitting on top of a Mayan ruin, so we said it should just be left the way it is for now.

On the way back we decided to cut down the trail that goes between the lots. Halfway down the trail, there was a good size tree that had recently fallen. A couple days later we went down that trail again and Ruben had already removed the tree from the trail. Ruben is always on top of things.

One of the evenings our neighbors up the road invited us to a bbq. Dan and Brandy just had their house built last year and are the first ones to take advantage of the new power poles. It was a great time as they invited other people in the area which gave us a chance to meet and get to know them. Dan cooked up some great chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs, plus with all the other stuff people brought there was no shortage of food. And of course, you know there were some ice cold beers flowing. Thank you Dan and Brandy for a great time, we can’t wait to start hosting at our place once we get settled in.

One day after we were done with our running around we headed down to Da Malfunction Junction for a cold beer where we met a nice couple, Ryan and Theresa . They have a piece of property about 2 miles from us towards the village where they will eventually build some day. Sounds like they are on the same page as we are, planting all kinds of fruit trees and other edible plants. Eventually I can see a few of us neighbors heading down to the Junction at the end of the day for a cold one and listen to some of Brian’s fine jokes from his new book.

Just a couple other tidbits I’d like to share from the last trip. On our last day of the trip, we decided to do laundry at Gary and Julie’s place where we were staying. Out of the washer, all the clothes are nice and clean and wet. Wouldn’t you know that is the same time the dryer decides to quit working. Not a problem, Gary rigs up a clothesline and everything is good, they should be dry by morning so we can pack and catch a plane. About 2:00 am that morning we were awakened by the sound of rain. So get dressed, go out and gather everything up before it gets too wet.  As we were gathering up the clothes we noticed that Gary had put a sign that read shirts 50% off. Clothes did end up drying by morning, and none were sold, so all was good.

Oh and speaking of shirts, we always stop at a little restaurant called “Cheers, with a Tropical Twist” about 30 miles from the airport for a meal, or to stay overnight when there is not enough daylight to make it all the way to San Ignacio.

Anyway, at the restaurant they have t-shirts hanging from the rafters from all over the world.  Before our last trip down with Darren, I suggested for him to bring a shirt because I was going to bring a Big Wave Dave shirt to hang. So now if you ever happen to stop by Cheers keep your eye out for a Big Wave Dave shirt and a Dodd Diesel shirt.

One more little thing, it always intrigues me is how they do construction in other countries. This is a fine example of using trees to hold up the forms for a cement roof. I guess you just have to use what is available, and there are a lot of trees in Belize.

Well, now it’s time to get serious about packing up our house in Mexico which we have had for 24 years and get ready to start this new chapter in our lives in Belize.

I’ve mentioned before that Belize offers a wide variety of culinary options, mostly because of the variety of different cultures and the recipes that they brought with them. Just about any food you can imagine you will find in Belize. Then again there are always the seasonal local favorites that will seem a little strange to some. We being adventurous eaters, always have to try something we’ve never had before. Below are a couple pictures of some local favorites that we just had to try. Any guess what they are?

It is not iguana, we have not tried iguana yet, but I’m sure one day we will. Speaking of iguanas, the place we stay in San Ignacio always has a lot of iguanas hanging around.

This time we were lucky enough to be up close and personal for a territorial fight between two big iguanas. This went on for quite awhile until there was one that claimed victory. After seeing these iguanas fight, you do not want to be around them, especially when they start whipping their tails. I’ve talked to a few people whose dogs have gotten a little too close and ended up with a nice cut from an iguana tail whip.

On the road heading into our property one of the lot owners is letting some of the locals farm it until they are ready to be there and build. In the past we have seen corn and peanuts being grown there. This time when we drove by there were a few farmers out there with a tarp and a pile of dried plants on it that they were beating with sticks. Of course curiosity got the best of us, so we had to stop and introduce ourselves and inquire about what they were doing. Turns out that is how they release beans from their pods.  This method seemed to be working well as there was a big pile of red beans on the tarp. I’m sure this is how they have done this for generations.

Now that we are getting ready to build, it is time to start thinking about some plants. Ruben said that he can get us some banana and plantain plants from some of the ones he has growing around his place. So along the entrance to the property we will put some on each side of the driveway as you enter. I guess bananas grow fast and will keep reproducing new plants as they grow, so we should have a good supply once they get going.

A while back Ruben had planted some coffee and some cocoa plants on his farm and he said that they are doing well. So we have commissioned him to start growing some for us in bags. Once they are about a foot tall we will plant them somewhere on our property. I have asked him to grow me 100 of each, so hopefully coffee and chocolate are in our future.

We are always amazed at all the plants we find on and around the property. This time we found some bird of paradise growing near the road by the property. This is not the Mexican or Spanish bird of paradise that you find growing in the desert, but rather the tall big leaf tropical looking one with orange and blue flowers. They just happen to be seeding so we picked about 150 seeds and planted them around some pathways that we have cut in. They should be growing everywhere soon.

I almost forgot, are you still wondering what those delicious looking dishes are? Okay… we were driving down the Western Highway and we saw a sign for Shena’s Bistro with a board out front advertising the daily specials.  Since we love stopping in little places like this we thought we’d give it a try.

The first plate of food is ox tail and the second one is armadillo. If the locals like it, then it is definitely worth trying.

Every time we head down to Belize we always try to have some type of new adventure, whether it’s cave tubing, fishing, hiking to waterfalls or just trying new foods. Well… this time we did not do any of your typical tourist stuff, but this was still one of our biggest adventures yet. We were up every morning at 6 and hit the ground running only to slow down for lunch and then again at happy hour to reflect on what we had done.

Our big adventure this time was to figure out and purchase all the materials needed to build our first guest casita. After a lot of research and quotes over the last year we were ready to start building, of course we might have been pushed just a little since our house in Mexico had sold.

First things first, off to the bank again to see about getting our account open (which we have been working on for two years now). This time finally everything was in order and we had been accepted and should receive everything this week.

Then off to the power company to get our meter installed and get our account activated so that the contractor can get started. All went well there and it actually ended up costing less than we thought because we already had an account open from when we bought the poles.

In Belize there are small hardware stores that carry a little of everything in every little town and village, but the biggest and cheapest ones are in Spanish Lookout, a Mennonite community. There you will find specialty glass shops, electrical shops, lumber yards, metal shops, plus big general hardware stores.

After a couple of days seeing what they had to offer and meeting with our contractor we were ready to set up accounts and start purchasing the materials. At the glass shop we ordered custom  windows that will be louvered tinted glass, with bars built in and of course screens. Then it was off to the sheet metal company to ordered the red zinc roofing. After that it was time to place the big order, all the lumber for the house. We went with Nargusta which is a hardwood that is common in Central America and will not be bothered by termites. It is a lighter colored wood with some red veins in it. It should be very nice.

Next, the hardware store, to gather up all the other stuff. From hurricane ties and toilets to door knobs and showers. We think we got all the basics to get this casita livable for now. There will be other stuff such as ceiling fans and light fixtures, but we can take care of that once we are there.

In case you are wondering, this first casita will be 16′ x 18′ with a 6′ x 16′ porch. It will be like a studio with a bed in the main area and a full enclosed bathroom. We will live in this while they build our main house. Once in the main house this small one will be a casita for family, friends and possibly rentals. In the end we hope to have at least two small casitas plus the main house.

This is going to be a wild, exciting and adventurous ride, but we are both more than ready for it!

We finally got some time to sit down and reflect on what we have accomplished this trip, I’ll explain all that later. For now I’m sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee overlooking the river watching parrots fly by and seeing some really big tarpon jumping in the river below.

When we booked this trip we had no idea the situation we would be in, but the main reason we chose this time of year for a trip to Belize is to see the La Ruta Maya river race. We are staying at Gary & Julie’s Wish Willie’s River Cabanas, which just happen to be a short distance from the starting line for the big race.

The La Ruta Maya is an annual 4 day canoe race down the river from San Ignacio to the Caribbean Sea. The La Ruta Maya is the biggest annual sporting event in Belize, drawing thousands of spectators. The race covers over 180 mile of river racing and is considered 40th out of the toughest 100 races in the world. Each evening the racers stop at village checkpoints to rest, refuel their bodies and to mingle with their fans. Each checkpoint is like a family reunion with Belikin beer tents, all kinds of fires cooking up delicious food, music and families just having fun.

Gary and Julie hosted an early morning party on their patio to cheer on all the racers for their 7:00am start.  The morning was a little foggy so the pictures didn’t come out all that great. Being it was the beginning of the 4 day race all the participants were giving it their all, some so much that they flipped their canoe right in front of us.

We would love to follow the race all 4 days down the river to the finish line, but this trip we have a lot of loose ends to tie up. We are lucky enough to be here for the start of the race this time and maybe next year we will be able to follow the whole race and partake in all the fun it has to offer, except for the actual racing of course. Or who knows, maybe once we are here we will get into canoe racing. Come to think about it, I think we’d be better spectators.

Got up at 4am in Arizona to catch our flight to Belize. Southwest has changed their flights so we had to go to San Diego first before we head to Houston. That makes a lot of sense, fly an hour west before turning around and going east, but at this point that was our only option. We didn’t have to change planes in San Diego, but we were allowed to get off and walk around the airport. Once in Houston we only had 45 minutes to catch the next flight. At least the flight to Belize had 45 vacant seats so we had room to stretch out. We finally get into Belize, we got the rental car and we are now at Cheers where we are staying for the night.

….And finally we are enjoying some long awaited cold beers.

We are heading back to Belize early Monday morning for 10 days. Lots and lots of business and loose ends to tie up. Wednesday we are meeting with the home builder to get started on the first small casita. He is from the local village and comes highly recommended by quite a few people we talked to. He will be able to build on site and hopefully have it done in a few months. The good thing is that Ruben will be able to check on it every day and maybe even help. This is good because we have talked to Ruben about what we expect plus he can give us updates as it happens. We will also be meeting with the window shop, lumber mills, hardware store, electric company, water company, internet company  and of course the bank.

The good thing is that most businesses close at 5 and that just happen to be when happy hour starts. So we will work hard all day, but come 5 o’clock I guarantee we will be sitting in front of a cold bucket of Belikin beer somewhere.

Like I mentioned, there is a lot of loose ends to tie up and not just in Belize but in the states and Mexico. Reason being is that there is an offer on our house in Cholla that we have accepted. Just going through the procedure now, but if all goes well, we will be on our way very soon.

Listening to Kelly McGuire (he sings a lot of songs about Belize) and this is one verse that struck me. “Reality’s fine, but I ain’t got the time”. Sounds good to us!

After spending some time in Belize we’ve gotten to know quite a few of the people. After mentioning  them in quite a few different postings in the blog, I thought we should put a picture with their names.  So here are just a few of the great people of Belize, enjoy.

Edwin, best river guide in Belize.

The happiest people in the world are not the ones with lots of money or all the possessions, but rather the ones that really appreciate the things they do have. Many of the people we have met have very little, but they always have a big smile and are very grateful for the things they do have. Such as the peace of mind they enjoy, their love of life, family, friends and all the ordinary things that most of us often take for granted. So when in Belize smile and be happy, everyone else is.

This fun filled trip is about to come to an end, but we won’t let it come to an end without one more stop. We pack up our stuff, say goodbye to our hosts and head towards the airport. Our one last stop was the Belize Zoo. It is great little zoo that is settled on 29 acres of natural jungle habitat. The zoo keeps only animals that are native to Belize and were either orphaned, injured, need to be rehabilitated or born at the zoo. The environment is as natural as possible,  and each animal lives in its own shady caged-in or moated jungle area.

We have been to the zoo a few times in the past and it’s always worth stopping there on your way back to the airport. It’s a great chance to get very up close to the animals of Belize.

The weather this time was a little on the cool side, which meant all the animals were active and moving around. The monkeys were swinging through the trees, the cats were roaming around and the Coati’s we all very active. They did have a new jaguar there that was in for killing cattle. I guess he will be there until he can be relocated to the deep jungle. You could tell he was not happy to be there, all you had to do was look at him and he would give you a big snarl.  On the other hand there was a big Tapir that really enjoyed having his head scratched. Probably not suppose to do that, but he was hard to resist.

After we left the zoo we just had to stop for a picture at the entrance to a plant nursery where they were using an old car for a planter. We assume that someone probably just ran out of gas and when they got back the plants had taken over. Plants do grow fast in Belize.

On the road we also came upon an old VW van doing about 45mph. As we pulled up to pass we noticed a ton of stickers in his rear window from different places and his license plate was from Argentina. As we passed we honked and waved and they did the same.  I thought we’ve been on a pretty good adventure, but driving a VW van from South America and still heading north, now that’s an adventure!

That’s about it for this trip, hope everyone is enjoying following us on our Belizean adventures.

 

WISHING EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS

This is one element of the season in Belize that you can enjoy anywhere in the world. Here’s how to make Rum Popo (Belizean eggnog)

Ingredients:

8 Eggs
4 Nutmegs
1 Ounce of Cinnamon Sticks
1 Pint White Rum
4 Tins Evaporated Milk
4 Tins Condensed Milk
Half-pound Raisins

Directions:

1. Soak the cinnamon sticks and raisins in rum for 48 to 72 hours.
2. Beat eggs well until all lumps are removed from the texture.
3. Add evaporated milk and beat again.
4. Add half of the condensed milk, check for sweetness, then continue to add to taste.
5. Add grated nutmeg.
6. Remove the cinnamon sticks and raisins from the rum that was used for soaking, then add the rum to the mix.
7. Blend well and store in bottles.
8. Enjoy!

We made a batch of this the other the other day and it turned out great! Then only thing we changed was that we only added 3 cans of the condensed milk. At that point we thought it was already sweet enough. We also did the rum soak for 3 days.

Up early and hit the road for a day of adventure, exploring the Mayan underworld. Actually we were just heading over to Jaguar Paw for a day of cave tubing.

Once we arrived we picked up a guide, got all the necessary equipment and started our 45 minute hike through the tropical jungle which included wading across the river a few times. Along the way Edwin (our guide) cracked open cohune nuts for us to taste, grabbed leaves from an allspice tree for us to smell and told us all about the Mayan’s and the underworld.

The vapor and clouds at the entrance to the caves suggested to the Mayans that this is the place where the wind and clouds are born. Here dwelled the gods of nature and the caves were the portal between the human world and the invisible world of the gods. This place was called Xibalba a place where the most sacred rituals were performed.

Once we got to our spot it was time to get in the water, it was a little chilly at first but much better after the initial shock. As Darren makes his graceful entrance into the tube we all hear a loud sheeeeeee sound from his tube. Could we be loosing Darren before we even get started? Turns out that the plug on the pillow part of his tube was not connected and had popped out, so Edwin shoves some small twigs into it to slow it down while he looked for the plug. The plug is back in and all is good until I get in and my foot knocks the plug out again. Now I’m sitting behind Darren with my finger on the hole trying not to laugh and trying not to let Darren sink. Plug is recovered, all is good and we are on our way.

We had planned this trip on one of the days when we knew there wasn’t a cruise ship in port, so we were pretty much the only ones on the river. The float immediately starts off into a dark cave where eventually you can not see each other without the help of your headlamp.

The sights inside the cave were spectacular, something that you couldn’t even imagine. These are living caves loaded with stalagmites and stalactites all still dripping and forming right before your eyes. Many of these formations resemble different things such as turtles, sharks, lions and even a woman holding a baby.

Part way into one of the caves our guide suggested that we beach ourselves and climb up to an ancient Mayan site, where we saw broken pottery that was more than 2000 years old. Climbing up in total darkness with sandals and only your headlamp was not the easiest, but it was definitely worth the hike.

Once out of the caves we floated lazily along the river through the jungle, spotting all kinds of birds and iguanas along the way.  The river was deep but in places where it did get shallow our guide Edwin would holler “Butts up! Nuts up!”. If you didn’t get a little higher on your tube guess what parts of you would be hitting the rocks on the bottom of the river.

Edwin took us on a little longer trip down the river past where we had gotten in. I guess this way he could show us the the new zip line they recently put in that goes right over the river. All in all it was about a 7 mile float down one of the most amazing rivers in Belize. This is a must do if you are ever in Belize.

On the way back to our place we stopped for a little lunch at a small roadside restaurant. Kelley and I ordered the cow foot soup while Darren and Bonnie ordered meatballs and chicken over rice. Everyone who serves a cow foot soup in Belize makes it a little different from the next. Some are definitely better than others, and this was one of the better ones. It was so good that Darren even gave it a try, and we think he liked it.

After a great day of learning all about the Mayan’s and their gods of the underworld we thought it was time to head down to Burns Ave for happy hour and sacrifice a few beers ourselves.

 

Woke up early to the sound of all the parrots squawking outside (parrots are very loud especially when there is a bunch of them). Being Saturday we thought we would head on over to the San Ignacio market for some fresh fruit and maybe a bite to eat. Although the market is open every day, Saturday is the busiest day when everyone comes out to sell their wares and to shop.

You can find just about anything at the market including homemade bread, cheese, honey, natural lotions, spices, meats, all kind of fruits and vegetables and even some local homemade wines. We picked out some bananas, pineapples and star fruit that would be our breakfast for the next couple of days. One of the tables was sampling some local fruit juices that this guy and a friend from England were making. It was so good that we ended up buying two different bottles to enjoy later that evening. Okay…Okay…the bottles might have said wine, but isn’t wine really just fruit juice? So our day starts off with wine tasting, nothing wrong with that!

After a quick bite it was off to Spanish Lookout to visit the hardware store and to stop in an Internet provider to see what can be done to get service out to our property. Of course just for the fun of it we had to take the ferry back across the river. This time there was no one on the ferry selling anything, and I was really looking forward to some more watermelon slices or some hot corn in a bag.

The day was still early, so back out to the property to meet with Ruben to see how he’s doing and to get the quote for the first casita. Last trip down Ruben was telling us that his son Justin is starting high school and will be needing a laptop computer. He said that the computers there are very expensive and the used, refurbished ones just don’t last. We said that we will take a look around in the states and if we find a good deal we will bring one down next trip. We managed to find a killer deal on a brand new Dell laptop with everything he should ever need. We worked out a deal where he just keeps our place all trimmed and looking good until we get back and no money will have to exchange hands. Later that day Justin emailed us sincerely thanking us for the computer. Hopefully this will help to advance his education. Come to think of it, Ruben does have a pen full of young chickens, maybe this could have been part of the deal.

After that we thought we should take Darren and Bonnie to our nearest watering hole, Da Malfunction Junction. It’s only about a mile or two from our place and has ice cold beer and the best joke teller around. Brian, the young kid running the place, always seems to have a few good jokes to keep us entertained. Something happened to his big book of jokes so he’s a little short on new material. We’ll keep an eye out for a replacement book to take down to him next time. Anyone got an old joke book laying around you don’t need?

By now it was time to head back toward San Ignacio to CK’s Sports Bar for a bite to eat. It just so happens that the Belikin Beer models were doing a calendar signing later that evening. You really think I didn’t know that, I’d been on top of this for a couple weeks now, after all I have got a few calendars in the past. This year they seem to have a little tighter grip on the calendars, but we did still manage to get one signed for Darren, Randy and of course myself. Miss January and Miss October were very polite, friendly and of course very beautiful.

We did make one more stop at Remo’s for a night cap since it is real close to where we were staying. Just another day in Belize.

We just visited this amazing site a few months ago, but it never seems to get old. From the ferry ride across the river to the first glimpse of El Castillo.  Plus every time we visit we get a different guide who explains and points out new and interesting things that we didn’t know from past visits.

Xunantunich is a must see site for anyone visiting Belize, so of course we had to take Darren and Bonnie there. I believe they were in amazement seeing something this grand in person, that up to this point they had only seen on TV or heard about.

After touring the grounds and learning more history about the Mayan culture, Darren and Bonnie wasted no time climbing up El Castillo. We have been up to the top before so we chose to only go about half way up. Actually we both said that our knees were not up to it that day, yes I know we are getting old.

While there we did see a bunch of Howler Monkeys swinging around in the trees. As we were taking pictures of the monkeys one of them pooped on a young guy. He was totally grossed out as his girlfriend wiped it off his back. Our guide said that it was good luck to have that happen to him, I think it was lucky that it didn’t happen one of us.

After a great morning at the ruins we thought we would stop at Clarissa Falls for one of there famous milkshakes. Darren and Bonnie went for the banana shake while we tried the soursop shake. Soursop is a very popular fruit that grows all over Belize. This was the first time we had tried anything with soursop, interesting flavor and very good.

On the way back Darren started breaking out in hives all over his body.  I think he would have been okay if the monkey pooped on him causing him good luck. Anyway, usually we have Benadryl with us just in case something like this happens, but not this time. Just so happens we were passing by a clinic, so we pulled in to get him checked out. As we were waiting for him to come out,there were three pamphlets on their bulletin board. Not knowing which one of these symptoms he had, we waited patiently for him to come out.

Turns out he had none of these symptoms just a reaction to something that a couple of shots and some pills would take care of.

After a little rest Darren was all better and it was time to hit Burns Avenue in San Ignacio for happy hour. We met some friends there for a couple buckets of Belikin and some bloody marys before walking over to grab a bite to eat. In the town square where we had dinner, they were doing a live TV Christmas show. We hung around and watched all kinds of kids and adults singing different Christmas songs with a Caribbean beat to them.

Bonnie had opted to stay back at the house that night, and when we got there she was watching a Christmas special on TV, that’s right it was the one we were just at in town. Always an interesting day in Belize.

Time to head back to the mainland. A quick turn in of the golf cart, jump on our Tropic Air flight to Belize City and pick up our rental car to get the next adventure started. First stop was Cheers, a small restaurant with great food. Kelley and I opted for pig tail and split pea over rice, while Darren and Bonnie chose something they were a little more familiar with. We’ve stopped at Cheers many times in the past, and one thing they do is hang T-shirts from the rafters that people donate and sign. This time I remembered to bring a Big Wave Dave shirt and Darren also brought one of his, so if you happen to stop in there keep an eye out for them.

Our rental house

After a good meal it was off to our AirBnB, the same place we stayed a couple months ago. Maria was there to greet us and get us all checked in. After that it was a quick trip out to the property to see how it was doing.

Everyone keeps asking us how the progress is going on the property. When you are not always there it seems to go slowly, but in fact the stuff we have accomplished since we first acquired it is pretty amazing. As for the power, all 16 poles are in as well as the cross members. We have been trying to contact the guy at the electric company who is in charge of running the wires, and it seems he has been out of the office for awhile. It turns out that he has been in the Caribbean helping to restore power to people that were affected by the hurricanes earlier this year. Obviously they are in need of power more than we are, especially since we are not even quite ready for it yet.

We are having cement retaining walls built around the culvert we put in last year that. The grass is starting to grow good on the road we put in and Ruben is keeping it trimmed down really nice, starting to look manicured. All the pathways into and around the property are staying well trimmed.  Some plants, (oregano, basil, black pepper, cocoa, pineapples, philodendrons, etc.) that we planted last time are doing great. Another tree that we just realized were on the property is the Bri Bri tree, also know as the ice cream tree. It gets big long pods that when cracked open contain seeds that are surrounded by a white flesh. The white flesh supposedly taste just like vanilla ice cream. Our ice cream trees are not ready yet, but as soon as they are you know we will be trying them. Ruben is getting ready to do a final clearing on a spot where the first little casita will be going. We met with another home builder who is currently building a clinic in San Antonio and his pricing was good, so hopefully we will start on the first one sometime in February. Water and power lines as well as a septic will also have to be in place for the first build. We also met with an Internet company. We do not have service to our area but they said there is a possibility that they can do something with their antenna and then I will have to put up a tall antenna somewhere on our property. I need to check into that a little more, because we will need an Internet connection. We also met a guy who owns a transport company that will ship a 20′ container for us. And the good thing is he will handle it door to door, from AZ to Belize.

Not much to report on the game cameras this time. One camera had a battery go bad and the other one had a bad SD card. All is fixed now and there is also a new one installed, so that makes three. Hopefully next time we will have more good animal pictures to share. That’s about all there is happening at the property now, but hopefully next year will be big.

One of our favorite things to do on the island is to call up our friend and fishing guide Jerry for a day out on the water. Jerry just happened to have an opening, so Darren, Bonnie, Kelley and I were all set up for another memorable day. Jerry has a panga, which is a nice boat and usually runs great, but on this day, his boat was out of the water for repairs. Not a problem, Jerry shows up with his brother on his brothers brand new boat. A Belizean made center console panga with twin 140 hp outboards. This was only the third trip out for this beautiful boat, I sure hope this did not spoil us for next time.

Anyway, after we were all set up in the boat it was time for a beautiful ride up the coast to a spot to catch some bait. The bait was plentiful this time so just about everytime Jerry would throw the cast net out it came back full of minnows. In the past we have had trouble finding bait but not this time, it was starting out to be a great day.

In no time at all we were off to the fishing grounds. Today we were doing some inshore reef fishing about a mile or so from the beach where the water is no more than ten feet deep. We stopped right where the waves were breaking  on the reef just before it dropped off to hundreds of feet deep. As we were setting up the fishing rods Jerry’s brother grabbed his snorkel gear and spear and jumped into clear Caribbean waters and took off. We fished for a couple hours catching Jacks, Snappers, Barracudas and a bunch of other colorful fish.

After we had enough fun catching fish it was off to find Jerry’s brother who had been in the water for a couple hours now (the guy is a real fish). It didn’t take too long to spot him, and when we got over to him he had quite the haul. He had got eight lobsters, a stone crab and a couple conch.

We now had all the making for an epic beach meal. So it was off to the beach to set up a fire and get this party started. Jerry and his brother worked hard cleaning and preparing the days catch while we all cooled off with some cold  beers in the refreshing waters of the Caribbean. In no time at all Jerry had an appetizer of conch ceviche with tomatoes, peppers and cilantro all ready for us to enjoy.

The  ceviche was absolutely delicious, but we knew it would be because Jerry had made it before for us.  A little while later out came the grilled lobsters and fish. The lobsters were cooked to perfection along with the different types of fish and sliced potatoes all served up under swaying palms on a beautiful beach. What more could one want? It sure beats the hell out of packing up some cold sandwiches to take out fishing for the day.

After eating more than we should have we enjoyed a few more beers and another dip in the water. Since Jerry and his brother and all of us were drinking the beers, you guessed it, we ran out. But in Belize that is never a problem, just a short walk down the beach and out of nowhere there appeared a bar. So we gathered up a few more Belikins and headed back towards the boat for another dip in the water.

As we get back towards the boat Jerry has his bluetooth speaker playing  some good ole music. Turns out Jerry really likes old country music such as Waylon, Johnny and Merle.  So of course Kelley and I could not resist a little dancing on the dock to one of our favorite Waylon songs.

It was a great day that I’m sure we will always remember. Even the Iguanas were enjoying themselves.

After a long day of flights we finally landed on the island of Ambergris, and Darren, Bonnie, Kelley and I were ready to go. We grabbed a golf cart, took all our stuff to the condo and headed out for some food and drink.

On the way to find food there was a stop in the road where they were collecting funds for the Special Olympics. They had the lit Olympic torch there and they asked us if we wanted to hold it and take a picture with it. We really should have, but we had just arrived and were in need of some food and drink.

So our first stop was the Palapa Bar where we enjoyed fresh conch, shrimp, tacos, and of course Belikin and rum drinks, it was good to finally relax. The Palapa Bar sits over the water where they have lights that point into the water which attracts spotted stingrays and a whole lot of other fish. After we had all the fun we could have there we headed back towards the condo, but guess what, there was another bar. So a quick stop at Carlo and Ernies at the airport runway for a few more drinks, then we were on our way back to the room, after all it was 9:30.

Since we had arrived last night when it was dark we really didn’t get a chance to see the property where we were staying. It’s a nice condo just across from the beach on a small lake.

Okay enough of that, time to get this day started. A quick cruise on the golf cart down to a little beach front restaurant for some breakfast to get the day started. After a good breakfast it was shopping time, we hit most of the gift shops and found just about everything we needed at this point. As we were looking through one of the shops we heard sirens, which is very unusual for a town where golf carts are the majority. Everyone came out to see what was happening, it was the parade for the  Special Olympics, complete with kids and marching bands.

After a good breakfast and some serious shopping it was off to a drive north on the island to check it out and see what was new.  A few miles down the road there was a guy who was looking for a ride, so of course we said “hop on in.” Turns out he was headed to “Secret Beach”, where we had never been. It was a long dirt road ride into the lagoon side of the island, but boy was it worth it.

As we approached Secret Beach there was a beautiful beach with coconut trees, a bar/restaurant, and  great atmosphere. Kevin the guy we gave a ride to, knew a guy on the beach there who was serving up fresh cut coconuts with rum, of course we had to have some, after all coconut water is good for you. After soaking up all this atmosphere and a couple drinks we all thought it was time we should probably put a little more food in us. Kelley and I opted for Lion fish tacos while Darren and Bonnie had shrimp and grilled lobster. Great food in an incredible setting.

It was a long drive back from Secret Beach and of course by this time we were getting thirsty again. So a quick stop at Paco’s Tacos on the beach for a couple more thirst quenching beverages. There was a Panama license plate that I tried to score for Randy, but the bartender was pretty attached to it since she got it on her trip to Panama.

Now we are headed back to the condo, but guess what? You got it, there was another awesome beach bar that we thought we needed to stop at. That’s the problem in San Pedro, there is a beach bar every few feet. This was a great little beach bar right on the beach with chairs in the water, hence the name “Sandy Toes”.

Now we are headed back to the condo. As we were driving past the airport there were 4 young kids (maybe 8-10 years old) who had just gotten out of school and asked us of we could give them a ride. How can you say no to a group of very polite school kids looking for a ride home. These kids did not just sit there, they were very inquisitive and asked many questions about what we were doing and where we were from as well as talking about school and how much they loved it. It was a great experience to interact with these young children who have such a great outlook on life. Try picking up 4 young children in uniforms in the states, that would not turn out well.

Okay now we finally made it back to the condo for some much needed water and coco water to try to rehydrate a little. After a little rest it was time to hit it again. Off to Carlo and Ernie’s near the airport to have a beer and watch the last couple planes come in for the night.

After the last one landed we were off to Robin’s Kitchen for some of the best chicken and beans & rice on the island. Robin’s is a small little roadside place that we had been to before, but tonight there was a special treat. There was a local guy there with an acoustic guitar who kept us entertained all night, he even played “Sweet Caroline” which we all sang to, and there was only 6 of us there. Another great time!

But wait that’s not all! The Crazy Canuck bar was having hermit crab races tonight. We get there just in time to get us a couple crabs before the race starts. You have to name your crab so we all have semi-normal names, but when he starts calling out the names of the crabs, wow. Let’s just say pick out 3 obnoxious dirty names and put them together and that is the name of their crab. After was all said and done Darren and Kelley both won some certificates for another bar. Probably just what we needed. Yeah, right! Anyway it was a great fun filled day and this was only the first 24 hours, with many more to come.

Tomorrow we are set up to go fishing. Since I’m writing this a few days late, I know what happened, but you’ll have to wait until I find some more time.

Sorry, it takes too long to upload pictures with the internet here so it will be awhile before the next post.

Thanksgiving in Belize? Yes, turkey dinners will be served at many of the resorts and restaurants around the country. This is probably due to the influence of Americans and American TV over the years.  And besides, who doesn’t need an excuse to eat a delicious meal and to give thanks. Too much food, drink and of course football is what many people will be doing in Belize on Thanksgiving day. Besides the traditional turkey meal, Belizean chefs will be putting their own tropical twist on it. Some of the delicious items I’ve seen on some of the menus are lobster cornbread stuffing, rum & mango glazed ham, cranberry stuffed pork loin with a lobster side, grilled duck breast, all kinds of vegetables and of course pumpkin desserts of all kinds. No matter what your taste is for Thanksgiving day you should be able to find something that will satisfy you.  After more than 50 turkey Thanksgivings maybe it’s time we start making it a tropical lobster Thanksgiving.

After all the food and football you can handle there is no sitting around a fireplace or shoveling snow. You can kick off you flip flops, throw on your swimsuit and head down to the beach for a little snorkeling, fishing, diving or just enjoying  happy hour at your favorite beach hangout. Of course if you’re not near the beach there are always Mayan ruins to check out, bird watching, exploring and of course there is always a local watering hole to hang with friends. It sure beats the hell out of a cold snowy Thanksgiving holiday.

We will be heading back down to Belize in about ten days to continue getting stuff done on the property, but before we get down to business we will spend a few days on the island for a little fishing and lobster eat’n. This will put us there in the Christmas season which is always a fun time in Belize.

A while back I posted a picture of some type of fruit or something that we saw at the open air market. After a little research I found out it is called a “sorrel” a member of the hibiscus family. Supposedly this is a super food that has healing properties, rich in vitamins and antioxidants. Then I find out that once a year Belikin makes a special holiday brew called Sorrel Stout. Now you can’t tell me this beer can’t be good for you. So our next trip down maybe we will go on a health kick and drink Sorrel Stout.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

One of the many myths and legends that are told in Belize is the story of “La Llorona”

Though several variations exist, the most basic story tells of a beautiful woman by the name of María who drowns her children in a river as a means of revenge because her husband left her for a younger woman. She then drowns herself in the river when she realizes her children are dead.

After she is challenged at the gates of heaven over the whereabouts of her children, she is not permitted to enter the afterlife until she has found them. María is forced to wander the Earth for all eternity, searching in vain for her drowned offspring. She constantly weeps, hence her name “La Llorona.” She is caught between the living world and the spirit world.

Parents often use this story to prevent their children from wandering out at night. In some versions of this tale, La Llorona will kidnap wandering children who resemble her missing children. She asks them for forgiveness, then drowns the children to take the place of her own. People who claim to have seen her say she appears at night or in the late evening by rivers or lakes. Some believe those who hear the wails of La Llorona are marked for death but those who escape in time are not so marked. She is said to cry, ¡Ay, mis hijos!, which means Oh, my children!

And here we thought all the animals roaming around at night were scary enough. Now we have to watch out for some crazy screaming ghost woman. This just keeps getting better and better.

This story is also shared throughout Mexico and Central America.

On the last evening of our stay, our host Maria and Louis said that they wanted to make dinner for us, so we graciously accepted. They cooked up a wonderful meal of stew chicken with rice and beans.

Our contribution was a bunch of diced up fruit that we had gotten earlier in the week at the market in San Ignacio. Of course there were plenty of ice cold Belikin beers and rum drinks to go around, a very typical Belizean meal. The only thing missing was some steel drums and dancing.

If you are ever traveling through this area and are looking for a relaxing place to stay then this is the place to checkout. It is in a very quiet tropical setting, well groomed with lots of fruit trees on 5 acres right along the river. They have two 1 bedroom and one 2 bedroom cabins available at very reasonable rates. You can swim, tube, kayak and even fish right from their property. You are more than welcome to help yourself to any of the fruit on the trees.  In the morning we did see parrots flying, plus a bunch of other birds and Louis said that toucans regularly come to the fruit trees.

Maria and Louis are great hosts and will help set you up with tours or any other info you might need about the area such as where to shop or eat. Their place is a little out of town but still a very nice find. We found them on Airbnb at this address https://www.airbnb.com/users/23499058/listings/  We will be staying here again in early December when we go back, and this time we might even take some fishing rods.

Next morning before we headed to the airport we had to swing by the property one more time to meet with a contractor and give him some plans for one of the small casitas. We waited around for a half hour or so and he didn’t show up so we gave the plans to Ruben to give to him and said that we didn’t need the quote until we get back later this year.

We will leave this trip with a few random pictures of things that we came across.

I know that some of you might think that we are in Belize when I write these blogs, but the truth is that now it is much easier to put them together once we get back and have a chance to go through the notes and pictures. Trying to transfer the pictures from a camera card to the tablet is very time consuming, and that usually cuts into the fun we are having down there. I try to get some together while we are there if they need to be posted, other than that I try to get all the info out in the two weeks following the trip.  Our next trip down is in about seven weeks and this time we will be flying to the island for a few day before heading up to the property. Hope everyone is enjoying this little blog.

I’m not sure what day this was, but I do remember going there.

Spanish Lookout is a big Mennonite community not too far from us. The whole area looks like what I picture the midwest looking like, rolling green hills and farm fields. The Mennonites supply most of the country with dairy, poultry and some crops. Most of them have taken on the modern ways with trucks and machinery, but there is still a good percentage that stick to the old ways using horse and buggy.

Our first stop in Spanish lookout was Western Dairy. We stopped in for some ice cream that we had heard so much about. It was early, but who says you can’t have ice cream for breakfast? They had all your basic flavors plus some from local fruits such as Soursop, Craboo, Passion fruit and sweet corn.  I’m pretty sure we all opted for a flavor we knew, but next time we’re there I’m sure we’ll go for something a little different. Another item on their menu that intrigued us was deep fried cottage cheese cookies.  I think the general consensus was that they were good and could possibly use some type of dipping sauce, but nothing I think any of us would rush right back for.

After our breakfast we took a drive by one of the home builders that we had been to a few times before. From there it was off to the hardware store so that Jim could check it out.  Spanish Lookout has big hardware stores with just about anything you would need for any type of construction. The problem was that we got there right at noon, and most of them close their doors at noon for an hour so all the employees can have lunch.

There are a couple ways to get in and out of Spanish Lookout and most involve a river crossing. The most fun and interesting one I think is to take the hand crank ferry across the river. After all we drive across bridges all the time, how often do you get the chance to take your car on a ferry across the river? We pull up to the crossing and wait our turn then load the Jeep onto the ferry. Kelley and Mary Ann were required to get out of the back seat of the vehicle.  I guess that way if we just happened to roll off the edge someone would still be around to tell what had happened to us.

Now there were a couple of people on this ferry that are selling stuff to this very captive audience, after all we are on a very slow ride across the river. I think they just ride the ferry back and forth all day selling their stuff to anyone who isn’t a local. So Mary Ann ended up buying 3 ears of hot corn in a baggie and Kelley bought a slice of watermelon, what better souvenirs could you ask for.

Along the way we did stop at a wood carver that we had been meaning to stop at for some time now. There was a big carved toucan out front that caught our eye. It was over six feet tall and carved out of a single piece of mahogany. We were thinking this would be a great addition to our property once we got everything else in place. So then the big question, how much was it? The lady told us that they wanted $1,200 BZ ($600 US) for it, we didn’t think it was that bad considering it was one solid piece of mahogany. Maybe once we are all set up we will consider having him do a big carving for us.

After a day of of driving around it was time to head back towards San Ignacio then back into Bullet Tree where we were staying. Just across the low bridge going into San Ignacio is the open air market. A few months back when we were here they had just completed the new murals on the walls. This time they had put up a big new colorful sign welcoming you to San Ignacio.

Once we got to Bullet Tree we thought we should make a stop at Remo’s Roadhouse for a couple cold beers before heading back to our base camp for the evening. Remo’s always has the coldest beer around and serves it up in a zippered bottle coozie. I recommend stopping there if you are ever out that way.

Earlier in the week we stopped by a nursery and wandered around looking at all the beautiful flowers and edible plants that we would someday like to have around the property. It turns out that a lot of the plants need shade to grow or are vines that need shade and a host tree to thrive, just so happens we have both. Currently the nursery did not have any vanilla bean vines or cinnamon trees, but they did have some black pepper vines. The pepper vines were about 6′ long and we were told that they should start producing very soon, so we grabbed a couple plants since we go through a lot of black pepper. These plants when mature should provide us and everyone we know with more than enough fresh black peppercorns.

It turns out that the caretaker where we were staying is really into plants, we told him what we were doing, so he loaded us up with more plants and clippings from his own garden. He gave us Oregano, a Cocoa tree plus a few others that we usually call house plants such as Coleus, Caladium and others. Ruben was very excited about the Cocoa tree and wasted no time finding the perfectly protected shady spot for it. We also put in another pineapple top and a bunch of ginger root. We will be back down there in two months to check and see how everything is growing.

We figure if we start getting some plants in now, then by  the time we actually get there they will be thriving. Most of them will require very little care if any, and if they do Ruben will be there to take care of them. Every trip down we will be hitting up the nurseries to see what special plants they might have. Our goal is to have all different kinds of plants and spices that you can just walk out and pick when needed.

Besides all the plants we are putting in there is a variety of wild edible plants just growing all around the property. There are wild papaya, wild plum, mushrooms, dragon fruit, passion fruit, cohune nuts, allspice and a bunch of others that we have yet to find. And besides that the property next to us has a banana plantation and the guy across the way is planning on planting a bunch of mango trees. Once we are there we might not even need to go to the market for produce.

Finally we had a chance to look at the pictures we pulled off of the trail cam. Looks like most of the same animals as last time were still wandering by the camera. There were Margays, Anteaters, Coatis, Pacas, Armadillos, Agoutis and even a Manatee. Kidding about the Manatee, just wanted to keep you on your toes.

This time there was also a fox that we hadn’t seen before and a big squirrel that must have come down the tree every single day just to have his picture taken. It’s great to see that some of these seem to be resident animals, hopefully they will still stay around once we are there.

We put another trail camera up in a different area of the property this time in hopes of capturing some other types of animals that might be roaming around. The camera used to be strapped to the tree with a  Velcro strap, making it fairly easy to find. The strap has been replaced by a metal lock box screwed to a tree. It’s a good thing our regular camera gives you a GPS of where each picture was taken. We took a picture of the trail cam box so next time it should be very easy to find.

An early morning start of fresh fruit and cookies to get us going and we were on the road. Our destination was Placencia which is about a three hour drive. We made our way towards Belomopan where we topped off the fuel tank (regular gas was about $5 US a gallon) before we started the drive down the Hummingbird Highway towards the coast.  The Hummingbird Highway is one of the most scenic drives in Belize, passing through jungles, citrus orchards, small villages and crossing rivers.

I said in a previous post that next time we were driving that way we would never “not stop” at Bertha’s tamales if they were open, and they were open this time. Bertha’s tamales are unlike any Mexican or US tamale, they are wrapped in a banana leave till you order and have smooth creamy masa,  some kind of good sauce and a piece of chicken inside. Just delicious!

After a quick stop we were back on the road and headed towards the coast. As we approached Placencia Jim made a phone call to the caretaker of a boat that he wanted to look at. It was a beautiful 43′ Powercat, docked on the lagoon side of Placencia. After a tour and inspection of the boat we were out for a test drive. We didn’t count on going for a boat ride that day, but it was a nice surprise.

Around the docks there were iguanas everywhere. The care taker said that he has to wash the boat down every day because the iguanas would climb on and shit everywhere. Not a problem most of us are use to, seagulls and pelicans maybe, but not iguanas.

After checking out the boat it was off to the Pickled Parrot for a cold drink and a bite to eat. The owner started up a conversation with us. Turns out he was a truck driver and his wife was a school teacher up in the states. One day they saw an ad for a palapa bar for sale in Belize,  came down and bought it. That was five years ago and they are still living the dream.

Headed back towards San Ignacio where we stopped for some dinner at Tandoor’s and of course a bucket or two of Belkin. Tandoor’s is an Indian food restaurant that has good curry, along with a vast variety of other stuff. Between us we had shrimp pasta, lamb, and of course some curry. Always good food and a fun place to sit and people watch.

Now that the tires are good, we’ve been to the property and contacted the power company it was time to do some sight-seeing.

First stop was Xunantunich, a big beautiful very well maintained Mayan site not far from us. In order to get there you must cross the Mopan River on the Succotz Ferry, a small hand cranked ferry that takes two cars at a time.

Before we got on the ferry we hired a guide. Our guide this time was Edward, and he went above and beyond explaining the history of the Mayans, from their beliefs to how society was made up. He was very knowledgeable and seemed to be very passionate about his job. As we toured the grounds he explained everything, the ball courts, where once the game was over one of the men would be put to death, and not necessarily the loser. We toured the smaller structures where the lower class lived as well as the biggest ones where the elite lived and ruled their people.

There is constant excavating going on at the sight and we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of a 1400 year old hieroglyphic stone tablet that was unearthed last year by some archaeological students from NAU in Arizona.  The tomb that was discovered is the largest Mayan  tomb ever discovered in Belize, and is the most significate discovery in more than a century at the site. We just happened to be there when one of the workers moved a protective piece of plywood away from the stone  tablet and that allowed us to get a couple pictures. Sorta sends chills down you.

From what I’ve gathered, Xunantunich or Stone Lady as it is sometime called was active from 400 BC to AD 1000.  They have estimated that between 7,000-10,000 Mayan people lived and thrived here at any given time.  El Castillo the largest structure is the second tallest structure (135′) in Belize. The tallest being Canaa at Caracol, which is 136′. Couldn’t they have added just two more layers of stone?

As we were getting ready to leave Xunantunich we noticed everyone looking up into the trees and taking pictures. It turns out there was a family of Howler monkeys climbing around the tree tops. It was a nice way to end the tour, especially since none of the monkeys relieved themselves on us, all was good.

After touring Xunantunich it was time to cross into Guatemala for some quick shopping and a little lunch. Actually all of us  just really wanted to get our passports stamped, since our books had all recently been renewed. The Guatemala border is only about ten miles from Xunantunich so we had plenty of time to get there , do our thing and be back before dark.

We didn’t have the proper paperwork for the car to enter Guatemala, so we parked and walked across. As you enter the border there are people there that will exchange your Belizean or US dollars for Guatemalan quetzals. We think we got hosed big time with the exchange, but next time we should know a little better. Anyway, passports stamped, fees paid, a pocket full of quetzals and we were off in the first taxi  that approached us.  A quick tour around town and then a stop at an auto repair shop. No there was nothing wrong with the car, I was just looking for some Guatemala license plates for Randy (he collects them from all over the world).

A successful plate stop and now we were off to find some  lunch. Taxi man recommended a nice open air restaurant for us to get some authentic Guatemalan food.  Food was good and the beer was cold but it seemed to take about two hours to get our food, and we were the only ones there plus we believe that we were way over charged.  Anyway, that was our Guatemalan border town experience, no need to rush back anytime soon, but I’m sure in time we will be back with a better understanding of how things work and to see some of the great sights that we’ve read about.

 

 

We drove up from Puerto Peñasco, Mexico and met up with our friends Jim & Mary Ann who drove up from San Carlos, Mexico for an early morning flight out of Phoenix. Smooth flights all the way down. Once there we grabbed our luggage, hit the duty free store, got our rental car and we were on our way. We did get a call in Houston from Ruben saying that it had been raining and we should have a 4×4 to get to the property. A quick call to the rental company for an upgrade and we were all set. It is about a 2 hour drive up to the place we were staying this time.

About half way there the dash lights on the Jeep say that one of the tires is low. We pull into a gas station (which are few and far between) with a tire shop next door, just as the doors go down at the tire shop. So we ask the guy at the gas station if there is a place we can get some air. He points at what seemed to be across the street. I’m looking, but all I see is a store that sells chickens.

So I say “At the chicken store?” He says no, no, no, over there. And on the small wall at the end of the station is an air hose sticking out. I guess I was just hungry and had chicken on my brain. Anyway we put some air in the tire and we were on our way.

We arrived at our destination to find beautiful accommodations on a 5 acre piece of river front property. 2 bedroom, 2 bath, cold ac in a beautiful tropical setting, what else did we need. It was late so we unpacked the car and headed to town for a quick bite and a cold bucket of beer. We decided to call it an early night since we had all been up since 3:00 am.

After a good nights rest we headed out to our property.  It is nearing the end of the rainy season, and everything was very, very green.  Once we arrived we got our first glimpse of our new power poles, but that’s all it was, just poles no wires.  After a few phone calls and a visit to BEL we found out that the install truck got stuck once and they were waiting for it to dry out a little.  So at this point it is scheduled for next week, but that depends on the weather.

We gave Jim & Mary Ann a tour of the property and told them what our plans are. I don’t know if they thought we were crazy or not, but then again sometimes we think we might be.  We checked on some plants that we put in on a prior trip and replaced the camera card in the trail cam.  Also talked to Ruben for awhile and gave him his new shirts that we had done for his block company.

As we were leaving the property the Jeep said that a different tire was now going low. We pulled into the village of San Antonio (about a mile from the property) to see if we could find some air.  After asking around we found what we think is the only air compressor in the village.  The mechanic was not there but his wife said that we could use the air. Great, except that I could not find the piece that would allow us to fill up the tire. His wife helped me look around his shop for ten minutes or so with no luck. She finally called her husband and he told her where it was. We filled up the tire and asked what we owed them and of course the answer was nothing. Of course I gave her something, but that’s just the way people are in Belize, very friendly and giving.

After that we went back to the house where Jim & Mary Ann stayed to relax for a little, while Kelley and I went out to do some errands and get the tire fixed.

After all of that it was down to Burns street for some happy hour beers, people watching and to plan tomorrows adventures.

I guess you could say it was a tire-ing  day.

 

In just about three weeks we will be making our way back to Belize. It will be a short trip this time, just to check on things and get a few more things in the works. Jim and Mary Ann (our good friends from San Carlos) will be joining us this time for some more of our fun adventures.

We just got word the other day that all sixteen of our power poles have been put in place and they are ready to start running the wire this week. By the time we get there we should have service to the edge of our property line. Our next step will be to get a line run back to where the first house will be. Hopefully we can set that up and have it done by time we are back in December. It might seem that it’s taking some time to get things done, but you gotta consider that we started with raw jungle and a dream. We are very pleased with the progress so far and sooner than we think it will become a reality.

I mentioned in an earlier post that our friend Ruben is starting up a block company.  He said that he would like to have a logo and some T-shirts, well guess who took care of that?  Nothing fancy, but that’s just what he wanted. This trip we will be packing down a bunch of the new Omega Block  T-shirts for him and his crew. This was our first job in Belize and we are not even there yet.

Earlier this year we got our business license in Belize. After receiving and reading all the paperwork, it turns out that we will be able to open up just about any type of business we choose. We will keep doing graphics, but this will allow us to venture out and start something new and exciting.  We have lots of ideas, we’ll just have to see what pans out for us. The name on the business license is “Wicked Toucan”.  We did manage to find someone to create a logo for us, although we did think their prices were a little high, ha ha.  Here is what the logo looks like.  We also had to print a few shirts, just because we could.

That’s about all for now, but by the end of the month there should be a bunch more postings from our next adventure in Belize.

Here is just a few leftover bits and pieces from our last trip to Belize.

The San Ignacio outdoor market has so many bright colors with all the tropical fruit stalls, clothing and other things, now they have added more color by adding some beautiful murals on the walls around the market. It’s a great addition that depicts some of the history of the local people who lived along the river.

The market is in San Ignacio and to get to it from Santa Elena you must cross the Macal River using one of the two bridges. They are both one lane, one way bridges, one into town and the other out. The one into town is a low narrow wooden bridge while the one out is the Hawksworth  suspension Bridge.  The Hawksworth Bridge was imported from Middlesbrough, England in 1949 and is the only suspension bridge in all of Belize.

We met our new neighbor a few lots up from us. A real nice guy from Canada, his wife had to leave before we got there so we will have to wait until next time to meet her.  They had been waiting for their house to be delivered to the property and set up, hopefully it was going to happen while we were there so we could see how this whole operation worked. It did finally arrive and got all set up in place , but it was the day after we had to leave. They said that they plan on spending 6 months there starting in the fall, so we will definitely catch up with them in our next trips down.

Our new neighbor helped set Ruben up with a cinder block making machine. They had just started making blocks when we were there, and there have already been a lot of people stopping by already and inquiring about them. Ruben said that his brother is going to  help him and they can make up to 1200 blocks a day. Sounds like a good little business and hopefully it works out for them.  It will be great to have blocks available that close to us.

We have met a lot of interesting people as we travel around Belize and this was one of them. We were sitting at an outside restaurant having a bucket of beer and watching all the people go by. This young guy walks by with a basket with some cinnamon bread, so we commented that would be a good breakfast the next morning. He heard our comment and asked if we would like to buy one. We bought his last two and he thanked us. He was a very nice guy so we invited him to have a seat for a few minutes and chat with us. He proceeds to tell us that his goal in life is to become the next Prime Minister of Belize. He tells us how he is raising money now and once he is elected all the differences for the better he could make in Belize. He seemed to be a great guy with big ambitions. Hopefully he fulfills his dream and some day we can say we bought cinnamon bread from the Prime Minister of Belize.

A lot of people have been asking us what type of food there is in Belize. With Belize having such a great mixture of cultural influences the food choices are unlimited. There are of course the local cuisines such as fish, conch and lobster out on the islands and stewed chicken and cow foot soup more prominent inland. There is literally something there for everyone, no matter what your taste is.

Here is just a small sample of some of the delicious food we had last time we were in Belize. Curry lamb, pizza, cow foot soup, chicken and waffles, tamales, stewed chicken with rice and beans, fried conch, t-bone steak, pig tail in split pea soup, fried chicken, smoked pork tacos, chicken wings, pibil tacos, club sandwich, fish and the best lamb burger we have ever tasted. You can always find something good to eat as you travel around the country.

And then there was this bus on the side of the road. As you can see they cut half the cab off and added a dump bed. All makes good since to me, because now you can carry a whole crew and material out to a job sight in just one trip. Or if for some reason it is still a school bus, then I really understand the true meaning of dumping your kids off at school.

That’s about all for now, but we do have more trips planned this year, one in September and another one in December, so we will continue with the updates.

 

After going through all the trail camera pictures and studying them more closely, we finally got some of the animals identified and cropped better in the photos. Besides these there were a lot of other small animals and birds that we couldn’t identify. There was actually over 500 pictures taken on one camera, but I know some were wind and even fallen branches.

The most common animal we saw was the Agouti, which is a rodent that is related to the Guinea Pig. They look similar except the Agouti has longer legs and will weigh up to 13lbs and reach a length of 30″. They seemed to be roaming around both day and night.

The Tamandua Collared Anteater we captured a few different times on the camera, and all of those were at night. This anteater can weigh up to 12 lbs and reach a length of 51″. They are mostly nocturnal and will spend up to 40% of their time up in the trees.

White Nosed Coati  or Coatimundi really seemed to like the area in front of the camera. They were there quite a bit and there were always at least six or maybe more. The Coati is related to the raccoon and like a raccoon will rummage through your trash if left out. The bigger males can weigh up to 25lbs and reach a length of 43″ half of that being it’s tail which they use for balance when climbing around in the trees.

There were a few different shots of the Jaguarundi. In the earlier picture the cat looks heavy and bulky. In a later picture, the cat is a lot thinner and we did notice there were two kittens following.

We don’t know if this was the same cat or maybe the first picture is the male. Anyway the Jaguarundi is usually active during the day when they hunt for small animals on the ground, but they are also very comfortable up in the trees. It is a medium sized cat that will only get up to about 20 lbs and 30″ long.

We also had a lot of pictures of Pacas, Gibnuts or Royal Rats, whatever you want to call them. Ruben says there are a lot of Pacas on the property by all the holes he sees, which I guess can be up to 10′ deep. From what I was reading, they have a resonating chamber in their cheeks and make a growling noise that is surprisingly loud for their size. We can’t wait to hear that one night when we’re sitting on the porch with a cold beer. I know our response will be “What the hell was that?” They will get up to 30lbs, 30″ long and can jump 3′ straight up when startled.

There was also one picture of a Nine Banded Armadillo and one of a Possum. Ruben says there is a lot of Armadillos around the property. They can weigh up to 13lbs and get up to 42″ in length, and besides that they can jump 3-4′ straight up.

We also got a few pictures of a Margay, but it could be an Ocelot. I’ve sent pictures to the Belize Zoo to see if they could help identify the cat. If it is a Margay, it is very similar to the Ocelot except a lot smaller, only 9 lbs and 31″ long. The Margay is a much more skillful climber than the Ocelot and is sometimes called the tree Ocelot. Judging by the trees in the background of the the photos and the other animals we believe it is a Margay.

As we walk around the property we are usually watching where we step and looking out in the trees. I guess we really should be looking up into the trees to see what might be watching us. I’m sure it will take us awhile to figure out and get used to all the new sounds out there. From the jumping Pacas and Armadillos to the Howler Monkeys and everything in between, I know there will be a lot of “What The F#@k Was That?” I picture us sitting on the porch in the evening with a glass of wine just relaxing and all of a sudden a big tree branch falls in the distance, and you know exactly what we will be saying. Seriously though, we are really looking forward to this and can’t wait to be there and start experiencing this new adventure in our lives. We have yet to be out at the property after dark, maybe next time we will bring some chairs and a few more flashlights and just go for it.

When we are in Belize it is hard to keep track of what day it is and when we did certain things. So we will just say that this was on one of those days that ended in a “Y”.

We headed past our property and up into the Pine Mountain Reserve towards Big Rock Falls. It had been about 5 years since we were last up there, but it is well worth visiting over and over again. It’s a nice 10 mile drive on a good dirt road from our place up through the jungle and then into Pine Mountain. Yes the Pine Mountain Reserve is full of pine trees and wild flowers, sort of reminds me of northern Arizona. Anyway we found the cutoff for the falls even though there was no sign, good thing our memory is still somewhat intact. We parked in the small lot and started our hike towards the drop where it is a vertical hike straight down to the falls, there are a few makeshift stairs that did help a lot. As we got close you could hear the roar of the falls and then all of a sudden there it was, all 150′ of Big Rock Falls.

We were the only ones there to enjoy this magnificent waterfall, but that didn’t surprise us. A lot of the times when we stop to visit a place such as 1000′ falls, St. Herman’s Blue Hole, Guanacaste National Park, etc. we are the only ones there and that’s what is nice about Belize.

We were there at the end of the dry season so I imagine in the next couple of months when the rains come it will be even more spectacular. After checking it out for awhile and taking more pictures it was time for the big hike back up to the top, and quite a hike it was. This time the hike up was a little more strenuous than last time we hiked it, but I’m just going to blame it on the fact that we have been living at sea level for too long. Yeah, that’s what it is.

We were just down the way from Gaia lodge, formerly Five Sisters, where we had stayed a few years earlier with some friends. So we stopped in and saw our friend Nigel who manages the place and he gave us a tour of the new lodge. It was a nice place when we stayed there, but now it is a first class resort on the river in the middle of nowhere. It is just past the Blancaneaux lodge that Francis Ford Coppola owns. There is a runway in front of Coppola’s Lodge and we did see a Tropic Air flight there so I guess that is another option for getting there.

After a couple cold ice teas at Gaia Lodge it was off to Pinol Sands, another local swimming  hole on a small creek. Once again we were the only ones there. We stopped here last year with Randy, Stacy and Luke and had a great day relaxing and playing in the cool water.

On our way back from Pine Ridge we stopped by D’ Malfunction Junction for a cold beer and a couple jokes from Brian. Brian is the young kid running the place this time and he has a joke book that someone gave him. Some of the jokes are funny and some not so much. His delivery of the jokes could use a little work, but it is always entertaining and great practice for his reading skills.

Most every day we would drive out to the property and explore what we could and discuss ideas of what we would eventually like it to be. There was always interesting insects, lizards, birds and an occasional bigger noise from something running around in the distance. At one point we had wondered if there might be any ancient Mayan ruins on the property, but figured at this point we wouldn’t know one if we saw one.

On our way down to Da Malfunction Junction (2 miles from us) for a cold beer there is a sign half way on a small trail that reads “Pacbitun”. We had always just assumed that it was someone’s name for their property, after all the one down the road from us is called the “Funny Farm”. After we got back we looked it up and it turns out that it is a Mayan archaeology site only about a mile from us. I guess it was extensively excavated at some point and is fairly overgrown now, but there is still a lot of structure there from what I’ve read. Definitely something we need to check out some day.

Once we are living there I know our nights will be filled with lots of strange noises we have never heard before, maybe this might be some of them.

The Mayans contributed to the belief of four-fingered “little people” of the jungle, the Tata Duende.  Any person meeting one must give a four-fingered salute, hiding the thumb or he will take it. The Duende can cause disease, but placing gourds of food for them in a doorway will prevent an epidemic. They can capture people and drive them mad. But they can also grant wishes and make a person suddenly able to play a musical instrument.

So if you come down to visit us and we are acting mad and playing music like we’ve never played before, then you know that we had been visited by the Duende.

 

Woke up early to a beautiful morning at Jungle Jeannie’s in Hopkins. Instead of heading back to our home base in San Ignacio we decided that we should check out Placencia, 40 miles to the south of Hopkins. Placencia is a 17 mile long very narrow peninsula on the southern coast of Belize. Half way down the peninsula there is a small Garifuna village, but to the north and south of the village there are big resorts and million dollar homes.

We drove the entire peninsula until the land ended. At the end we found a nice little open air restaurant called “The Shack” right on the beach, where we grabbed a light breakfast before we started heading back.

There was a strange looking boat at the dock there that must have had a clear bottom or windows below the water line called the “Reef Looker”. Because of the way it looked I assumed it was a slow moving  boat, but when it took off they were up on plane in no time at all. Maybe next time we are there we will check it out.

There were also a couple of other interesting boats that we saw. One that sank, that looks like it could have been on the cover of a Jimmy Buffet album and another that was either put in front of a resort or was blown there by a hurricane.

As we neared the Placencia airport there was a plane taking off. The highway crosses the runway just before the it would go into the water.  On the two lane highway there is a crossing arm that comes down to stop traffic at the end of the runway when a plane takes off. After he is airborne the crossing arm goes up and traffic resumes until the next flight comes in. All just a little odd, but that system must work.

While leaving Placencia we did spot a coati crossing the road and what seemed to be a feral pig. I also assume there are turtles around, because there was a sign telling me to watch out for them.  I really find it hard to believe that the turtles down there wear little hats and walk upright, but then again we have seen a lot of new and strange things in our travels around Belize.

Then there was the fence of lost soles and a “Merry Isthmus” sign. We thought both of those were pretty good.

As we leave Placencia and start working our way back towards San Ignacio we pass through many citrus orchards before heading up into the jungle. Also came across this small Mayan structure that looks like it was just finished being built. Not sure what it was as there was no sign or marker and it looked to be maybe 20-25′ tall.

A couple years ago when we last traveled the Hummingbird Highway we had heard about Bertha’s Tamales. It is a little roadside shack that is known country wide to have the best tamales in Belize. Last time we passed them they were closed and then I had heard that they burned down. This time when we passed they were open for business, so of course we had to stop. We got a half dozen tamales to go and figured we would eat them on the road. Wow were we wrong, these are soft, saucy, gooey, chicken tamales wrapped in a banana leaf that you have to use a fork to eat. Of course we still had a good drive in front of us before we could get to a fork. We eat lot of tamales in Mexico, but never anything like these. We vowed to never pass by Bertha’s again if they are open and chances are we will drive 2 hours out of our way just for their tamales.

After we got back and ate probably the best tamales ever, we were unloading our duffel bag and found this little bright green hitchhiker. Not sure what it was, but maybe some type of caterpillar? We put the small alien creature on a plant, sat back with a cold beer and thought about what tomorrow might hold.

 

 

After we got most the business taken care of and some new projects going on the property, we decided we should take a road trip over to the beach at Hopkins for a couple of days. Hopkins is about a 2 hour drive from our place down the Hummingbird Highway. It’s a beautiful drive through the northern edge of the Maya Mountain Range  that will drop you off at the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. Along the way there are lots of very green mountains, small villages, rivers, streams, orchards and a few old single lane bridges (which are very interesting when a big truck is coming at you at 50 mph and has no intention of slowing down).

Once we started getting close to Hopkins we spotted the Marie Sharp’s hot sauce factory, and of course we had to stop. Marie Sharp’s is “The Hot Sauce of Belize” and is on every table at every restaurant, and they are very proud of it. When we were there they were not doing any tours, but we did get to visit the tasting room where we got to sample all of their products. After that it was onto the gift shop to stock up on some of their harder to find sauces.

After all that hot sauce we figured that we should get some real food in us. Not too far down the road we pulled into Hopkins to our favorite little beach food shack, the Luba La Ruga for some cold Belikin and fried conch.

We found this place last time by accident when we had a flat tire as we pulled into town and the guy there offered to change it for us. And because of his friendly gesture we will always stop in for some cold beer and great food. In case anyone is wondering, as you are coming into Hopkins it is where the road meets the sea, can’t miss it.

After a couple cold beers and a belly full of conch we thought we should find a place to stay for the night. We looked around at our options but ended up back at Jungle Jeanie’s where we had stayed on an earlier trip. Jungle Jeanie’s is located towards the end of town, has a very secluded feel and probably the best beach around. We were the only guest there at the time so we pretty much had the place to ourselves, which meant a quiet walk on the beach and no one else in the water.

After relaxing on the beach awhile we thought we should go see if we could find Shelly. Shelly (who we met last time) is Dave & Ellen’s daughter from Cholla Bay who is a school teacher in the area. After talking to some people they told us where she might be hanging out later in the evening, after all it was a Friday night and it is a small town. Since it was getting late we thought we should get a bite to eat before we met up with Shelly later.

We found Driftwood’s Pizza on the beach. What more could one want, cold beer, pizza and a beach. We ordered their Hawaiian special, you almost have to when ordering pizza on a beach. Anyway the pizza came with ham, pepperoni, pineapple, toasted coconut and the outside crust was smeared with honey. Top that with a little Marie Sharps and it was a delicious combination of everything.

After dinner we headed over to the Windchief, a local beach bar where a lot of expats hangout. Being a Friday night it was pretty packed, but we did manage to spot Shelly. We caught up with her for awhile and filled her in on all the haps in Cholla Bay. After that it was time for us to retire back to our little beach casita for the night.

 

Our first couple of days in Belize this time mostly consisted of getting business done and out of the way. Off to the hardware store to order water pipes and all the fittings so that water could get run into the property to where the house will be. Ruben got started as soon as the pipes showed up and we now have a 2″ water line run into the property.

Next it was off to the bank to try again to open a Belizean bank account. Of course we needed more copies of our documents and such, so off to the copy store. We have been trying get an account open the last three times we have been down there and every time we seemed to be missing one document. This time we think we finally had everything in order because they accepted our papers and will hopefully let us know in a couple of months. A few years ago it was easy for non-residents to open a bank account in Belize, but since then US banks have made it more difficult because of possible money laundering. Hopefully we will hear back soon that we are accepted.

Other things to get out of the way was paying our water bill. Last year we had about 1700′ of 2 ” water pipe run out to the property where they deliver good potable water. Our water bill comes out to $5 usd per month for unlimited water, not too shabby.

We met Ruben out at the property where he was working on a burn pile from the second clearing that he had cleared last time we were there. While he was working on that we scouted another spot for a small cabin. We found a great spot about 100′ behind where the main house will be and no big trees would have to be removed. We explained to Ruben our idea for the clearing and he went to work with his trusty machete.

The next day when we came back Ruben had a beautiful groomed trail all cut in and a clearing that is better than we could have imagined. The clearing is about 30′ x 30′ set in the middle of a circle of palm trees and big rocks that go deep into the ground. I think this spot was calling us, it seems to be very special.

The property is really starting to take shape, with three spots cleared for small structures. All that and Ruben has made a nice walking trail around the perimeter of the whole ten acres all while keeping it as natural as possible. And still no snake sightings.

Other big news that we got while we were there was that our attorney in Belize City called. After 6 months of waiting we finally got our business license. We don’t know exactly what we are going to do yet, but we have some ideas. According to the paperwork we can do just about anything you can imagine. So “Wicked Toucan” is now officially on the books in Belize. Now we just need to find someone who can design a logo for us.

4:30 am and headed to the Phoenix airport, only to find out that our flight to Houston has been canceled. We had to be in Houston by 2:00 for the once a day flight down to Belize. The crew at Southwest checked and checked only to find out that there was nothing available for the next three days that would get us there in time, not even on other airlines. At this point I suggested that we just cancel the trip and reschedule later in the year. After about 45 minutes of a lot of button pushing and talking to other employees they had a solution for us, but it was going to be tight. We were to run to the gate to catch a flight to Dallas where we were to be first on the plane so we could be the first ones off. Once in Dallas we were the first ones off and running. After a total of 7 minutes rushing through the Dallas airport we were on a plane to Houston where we were once again first on so we could be the first ones off. After landing in Houston we rushed off to catch the plane headed for Belize. What a relief it was to sit down on that flight knowing that we made it. The employees at Southwest Airlines went out of their way to make sure we could catch all our flights. Upon arriving in Belize,  we got our rental car, drove up to where we were staying and then off to one of our favorite places for a bucket of cold Belikin. At that point we think we deserved it.

Sorry everyone there has been no new updates, but we have been very busy working out all the details down here. Don’t get me wrong, we have also been having a lot of fun. As soon as we get back to Mexico we will go through all the pictures and get some new post going.

We finally checked the pictures on the trail cameras that we left here 6 months ago. The first camera had no pictures at all, don’t know what went wrong. The second camera had over 300 images and we could not wait to see what they were. After sitting down and going through them all we discovered a lot of different types of animals. Of course there were birds and squirrels, but then there were the ones we were really hoping to see. We had captured images of anteaters, opossum, armadillos, ring tail coatimundis, pacas, and two possibly three different cats. We think the cats were an ocelot and a jaguarundi. Most of these animals were captured a few different times on the camera. In a couple pictures you can see at least five coatimundis.

Here are a few of the pictures, they are a little rough right now, but in a couple weeks I’ll be able to edit them and you should be able to see them better and hopefully have a positive ID on the animals. Later today when we head back out to the property we will take some fruit to set in front of the camera’s and see if we can get a few more pictures before we head back home next week.

I just have to share this…I’m sitting on the patio this morning with my cup of coffee overlooking the river watching the fish jump. Flocks of parrots are flying over and there is a six foot orange iguana sitting in the tree in front of us. Yesterday morning a beautiful toucan landed in the tree in front of us above the river, we haven’t seen him today yet, but I can hear him in the distance. The animals in Belize are amazing and hopefully every time we see one it will be like the first time we saw it.

One more week till we head back down. The power company has been paid and should start running 16 poles towards our property soon. Our business license is in the works and will hopefully be done by time we get there. Last time we were down there we left two game trail cameras hidden somewhere on the property. Luckily we took a GPS reading on where we put the cameras. We can’t wait to see what wildlife they might have captured. More updates within the next few weeks.