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.

For everyone asking us exactly where we are, here it is. We just added a new menu “Google Maps”. Just click on it and it will take you right there. If you click on the pins it will pull up pictures from that location.
Enjoy

As most of you know we love plants and gardening. One of many things that attracted us to Belize was the year round growing season and the ability to grow all kinds of tropical plants and fruits. Our plan is to have a big vegetable garden with all kinds of fruit trees around the property. Besides that we will also have the ability to grow other things such as allspice, cinnamon, black pepper corns, coffee beans, vanilla and cocoa (chocolate) just to name a few. As you can see in the picture below the soil on the property is a deep rich black soil where any plant would love to plant it’s roots. No need for any chemically enriched fertilizers here.

This last time while we were there exploring the property we noticed that there were a lot of different types of mushrooms growing on old logs.

I know that there a lot of different types of wild mushrooms that are excellent to eat and I also know that there are other ones that are not considered food. If you know what I mean.

Since Kelley and I both love mushrooms, we were thinking how great would it be if we could hunt wild mushrooms right in our own back yard. So the next time we saw Ruben we asked him about the mushrooms and he told us that indede there are a few different types that are very good to eat. He said that every so often he will come out and gather some for his meals. I actually think his wife says “I need mushrooms for tonights meal, go find some”. Just kidding, she’s not like that at all. He did tell us that his wife does make a delicious stroganoff with certain ones and others she will deep fry and they are very good. Once we are there we will have to get the mushroom course from Ruben to make sure we are gathering up the good ones.

There is this beautiful plant that gets this small bright red fruit on the top leaves. From what we have seen, the plant only gets 4-5′ tall and bears only one or two fruits per plant. We are still not sure what kind of plant it is and Ruben didn’t have a name for it. He did tell us that the kids like to eat the fruits when they turn bright red. The way I figured was that if the young children can eat it without any problems then so can I. What happen next was pretty unexpected…it was actually good. Not saying that I would seek them out as a regular part of my diet, but if I’m hiking around the property and see some, then sure I’d have one every so often.

Another thing we found while wondering around was an abandoned bird nest. We made the assumption that it was not a parrot or a toucan nest. The first clue was that there were no brightly colored red, yellow or green feathers in the nest. The second clue was that it was only a little over an inch tall. Yes we are geniuses. Anyway we are guessing that maybe it was a hummingbirds nest, but with close to 600 species of birds in Belize who knows for sure. I’m positive that over time we will learn to recognize certain birds and what types of nest they build.

We have seen many different types of spiders and insects around the property and most of them are very colorful and amazing to look at. Many times we have called out to each other to come over here and check this out. A lot of the time it’s because of the colors or the size of the insect, but mostly it’s because it’s something we’ve never seen before. From what Ruben has told us there are very few insects there that are dangerous to humans. A lot of people have been asking us how we will deal with all the big scarry bugs. I tell them that no matter where you live you have big scarry bugs, you are just used to them because you know what they are and what to do with them. In time we will learn what bugs to stay away from and what ones to not worry too much about, just like we did with black widows, centipedes and scorpions in the desert.

Kelley and I are very lucky to be able to explore and learn more about the country of Belize with it’s rich history and wonderful people. Hopefully very soon we will be able to call this special place our home.

The Belikin Beer sign at it’s new temporary home in Cholla Bay, Mexico. It will eventually be returned to it’s homeland of Belize, but for now it is here for us to enjoy.

This posting will be nothing more than a bunch of random things we saw or did on our last visit to Belize. Since this is the beginning of a new year, what better way to start than with a score of a couple of Belikin Beer calendars. OK I guess a better way would be to have two beautiful Belikin models autograph your calendar and then take a picture with you.

This is not the first time I’ve managed to score Belikin calender’s, but it is the first time I’ve got to meet some of the models. These are usually pretty big calendars and getting them back home safely could have been a problem, but a few years ago I figured out that two Pringle potato chip cans taped together make a great transport tube. I’ve found out that the bbq and the jalapeño chip cans make the best tubes, well not really, it’s just that’s the flavors we like.

The next couple pictures are of the rivers that are in our area. The picture where Kelley is standing is where the Mopan and the Macal rivers come together to form the Belize river. We were told by an expat who moved to Belize 30 years ago, that 100 plus pound tarpon would come up the river. He said that the locals would stretch a tennis net across the river to catch the tarpon. When the big fish would get to the net they would try to jump over and a guy on the shore would shoot them with a shotgun. Then they would retrieve the fish and use the meat to make empanadas and the fish scales they would sell as guitar picks to the tourists.

There is a rope swing along the river that is tied onto a big tree that the kids like to use. I’m sure most of us have tried a rope swing at sometime in our lives remembering how much fun it was and without a care in the world. Our only worries being, what if I don’t let go, what if I let go too soon or even worse what if I lose my swimsuit? I’m sure these are also some of the same worries the kids in Belize have, oh and one more thing, the chance of crocodiles. Seriously, crocodiles that would add a whole new thrill to the old rope swing down at the swimming hole.

You don’t usually see a lot of quads or atv’s in Belize so when I saw this one I had to get a picture. I assumed it was a Chinese made quad and they could not come up with an original name so they just picked two existing brands and combined the names. Yes that is a Kazuki.

Before the hurricane last summer there was a swing bridge that went across the river to a small community, but the bridge washed away when the river flooded. For now they have tied a rope across the river and pull a small boat back and forth taking people to the village as needed. The day we were there a motorcycle pulled up with a small child on the back wearing a big helmet and a backpack. The little kid jumps off the motorcycle, waved goodbye to his driver and then got into the boat, still wearing his helmet and backpack, he was shuttled across the river. All just part of life in Belize.

There was also a sign where the bridge use to be advertising a restaurant across the river. We thought it would be fun to take the boat across the river and have a beer, but the day we were there they were closed, so maybe next time.

As we were leaving a small restaurant one day we noticed that there was a nice metal Belikin beer sign on an old wooden post in the corner of the parking lot. So we went back in and asked the owner if she would be willing to sell it. She said no, but we could just have it if we wanted. We thanked her and I got out my Leatherman and started removing the nails. Of course the post was some type of hardwood and the nails would not come out. The lady saw I was having trouble and came back out with a claw hammer and that seemed to do the trick. She then asked us if we wanted a Belikin beer bucket, we said no thank you but she insisted and now we have a beer bucket.

Then there was a bus stuck in the mud on the road about a mile from our place. We don’t know how he got out, but a half hour later there was no sign of him anywhere.

That’s all for now, just a few pictures and stories that didn’t really fit in anywhere else.

Saturday at the market in San Ignacio is always the busiest day of the week and it’s best to get there early for the best selections. Fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, meats, honey and natural remedies are abundant everywhere. Plus all the numerous food stands where you can get everything from pupusas and tamales to pizza and hot dogs.  Not to forget all the fresh juices made with any fruit or veggie you can imagine. Of course there is also the option of having a vendor cut the top off of a fresh coconut with his machete and inserting a straw in it for you to enjoy, (my personal favorite).

Most fruits and vegetables at the market we can recognize, but there is always a few that we just can’t figure out. Even after asking what it is, usually it’s something that we have never even heard of. I know in due time we will have them all figured out and decide where it will fit best into our cooking.

In the village of San Antonio right by our place is this little palm thatched building that looked like they might serve food. One day we stopped in and asked the owners (a Mayan couple) if they served food, and they said yes. When we walked in, there were a bunch of young school children in there eating and watching Dora the Explorer cartoon on the TV. There was no name on the place or even a menu for that matter, but the owner told us he had empanadas, salbutes, burritos and rice & beans. I ordered the empanadas and Kelley ordered the salbutes. When our food came out we each had an order of empanadas, no salbutes, but it didn’t matter because the empanadas looked great. Each plate had 6 chicken stuffed deep fried empanadas topped with grated cabbage and served with a hot sauce that looked homemade. The food was outstanding, the sodas were ice cold, plus the enjoyment of watching the kids singing and guessing the answers on the TV were priceless. Well not exactly priceless, the whole thing cost us a total of $3, I really did feel guilty when it came time to pay the bill.

On another day we were driving around exploring and came across a little place called Food House Bamboo, we were feeling a little hungry and thirsty so we decided to stop. The owners were sitting on the patio drinking coffee and tea just taking it easy. We asked what they might have and they said hamburgers and fries, so that’s what we ordered. After talking to them for awhile we found out that he was a baker in Belgium before moving to Belize. Every day he makes his breads, for their sandwiches, burgers and pizzas, to serve up at the restaurant and to deliver to area bars when they call in a food order. It was a great little find that served up good food and ice cold beer at a very reasonable price.

Other foods we enjoyed this time in Belize were stewed chicken, rice & beans, lamb ribs and chops, rabbit curry, grilled plantains, octopus, bbq ribs, burritos, stewed pork, beef liver, poutine, fried chicken, lamb stew, pizza, Chinese food and of course the best hot dogs ever. With such a diverse group of people living in Belize there’s always a lot of good food to be found.

Christmas in Belize isn’t about expensive gifts and toys, it’s about spending time with family and friends. All the government offices, banks and most non-tourist oriented business shut down for the week surrounding Christmas Day.

One important Christmas tradition is to spiff up the interior of your home. This is a Belizan way of inviting the Christmas spirit into your home. You can not judge a locals home by the exterior this time of year, as everyone brings out their gold, red and green curtains, tablecloths, etc. In preparation for all the family and friends visiting, Belizeans don’t just decorate the inside of their homes this time of year, they give them a facelift too. They repaint the walls, hang new drapes and even replace the flooring. This is the Belizean version of spring cleaning, and the entire family pitches in. As we drove through the towns and villages we could see many people out cleaning up their yards and putting a fresh coat of paint on their homes.

Many Belizeans put up Christmas trees, but typically they are the synthetic version. Those who can afford it decorate with lights and other decorations. We did notice that a lot of houses put up a decorated tree either on their porch or up on their roof top. I assume there is either not room in their home or more than likely they just want to put it outside to share the holiday spirit with their friends and neighbors.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts will usually include traditional local foods  such as rice and beans, potato salad, white relent (soup with pork stuffed chicken and raisins), pebre (roast pork) or ham with pickled onions and jalapeños, tamales and of course rum cake. These dishes are usually modified for the holidays to include unusual meats and fowl. As we were sitting at a restaurant enjoying a bucket of Belikin, a local came in and was gathering up all the empty liquor bottles. He explained that he was going home to make Rumpopo, a Belizan version of eggnog for the holidays. We can’t wait to someday try Rumpopo……. Rumpopo, Rumpopo, such a fun word to say it has to be good. We did buy a small chocolate rum fruitcake from someone who said that when we eat it we will feel 16 again. It was a very good cake and I suppose if we would have ate the whole thing we might have felt 16, but who really wants to be 16 again.

Since Belize is a melting pot of many different cultures, there are many different types of celebrations happening around the holidays. Some of the different traditions are…Christmas Bram, Mayan Deer Dance, La Posada and Garifuna Jankudu Dance. With a large portion of the country belonging to the Christian faith, midnight mass is a very important tradition. It doesn’t matter how Christmas is celebrated in Belize there is always lots of food, dance, music and celebration happening.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Off to BEL, the power company to see if we could get an estimate on how much it would cost to run power approximately 2500 feet. They were very friendy, opened us a temporary account and told us that a technician would give us a call in a couple days to meet us out at the property. That went smooth, so off to the bank to see about opening an account. We did some research and thought we had all the papers required, but it turns out we still needed one more. Oh well that will have to wait till next time.

Now it was back to the home builders to get some more ideas. They had about 5 or 6 houses that they were working on in all phases of construction. There was one there that was ready to be delivered that was the exact size and layout that we will use for our small casitas. If it wasn’t already sold, Kelley was ready to write a check right then and now.

There was also a larger house that they were working on that is about the same size that we will be using for our main house. All the houses that the Menonite’s at Linda Vista build are made from dried hardwoods. What we are thinking about is hardwood floors, vaulted wood ceiling, drywall on the walls (that way we can add some color) a big porch on three sides and natural wood on the outside. Of course this all changes every time we go out there or see another idea on pinterest . I’m sure it will be just right when the time comes to place our order.

After spending a lot of time at the property we decided that the original clearing where a small casita was going was actually a better location for the big house. Just across the driveway we found another spot that will be perfect for a small casita once it is cleared. Ruben liked the new spot as there is a small creek that sometimes runs behind it that he said will be great to listen to while sitting on the porch. It took Ruben about a day to cut all the underbrush and take out some of the trees, and he did it all with just his machete. He is truly amazing!

After a few days we still had not heard from BEL, someone suggested that we need to keep on them. So back to the office to see if they had a better idea of when they might be out to survey the property. It turned out that the first person we talked to went on vacation and never gave the papers to the technician. This time we talked to the head guy in charge and everything went great. He pulled up google maps, measured our road, set a pole every 150′ and gave us and estimate. At this point the papers have to go to Belize City to the head office to be approved and could take a few weeks, but with the holidays I expect it will be a lot longer. He also stated that there is a good chance that BEL might kick in a percentage of the instalation cost since there are other possible customers on that line. We were very excited with the quote he had given us, plus if BEL kicks in some and if we can get some of the other lot owners to chip in this could turn out to be very inexpensive.

We stopped in the village of San Antoino that is a couple miles from our place to check out the Post Office. It’s basically a one room little store that receives mail once a week. No address or PO Box needed just our name, the town or village and a stamp and they say we should get it. It’s a good thing that almost everything is done on line these days.

Thought we would take a break from everything and just have some fun. We started the day off with a good breakfast at a small little place in town. Kelley ordered the banana waffle which came with fresh and caramelized  bananas all topped with ice cream. I went with the chicken and waffles, plus we each had a glass of fresh squeezed OJ all for about $8 and worth every penny.

Now that we had a good base in us we headed to Cahal  Pech, which means “Place of Ticks” it’s a small Mayan Ruin that is pretty much in the middle of the town of San Ignacio. We had been to a couple of the other bigger ruins before but never this one, I guess because we thought it was smaller and in town. As it turned out this small little ruin was just as interesting as some of the larger ones. Cahal Pech was occupied from about 1500BC to around 600AD where as many as 20,000 people lived and thrived as a community along with a king as their leader. Our mayan guide (Marcos) who showed us around was actually one on the archeologists who worked on a lot of the ruins in the area including this one.

Marcos was a wealth of information explaining and showing us the ball courts, market places and all the kings special protective passages that took him to different areas of his empire. All the kings passages had big peaked ceilings so that his headdress would fit through when he went out to address his people. Even though all the kings passages we extra tall for his headrest I still had to duck when going through them.

Our guide tells us that the entire ruins were once all covered in a plaster and were beautifully painted. One of the kings bedroom still contained some plaster and some red paint on the walls. Marcos told us that usually every summer they do some more excavating with university students. We asked him if the public ever helps and he told us that if we applied that there is a good chance we could help for a couple weeks. We now have something else to look forward to once we move to Belize.

After hiking around the ruins all morning I thought I would give fishing a try. We found a nice secluded spot where the Mopan and the Macal rivers come together. I have not fished in fresh water in a long time, I’m used to the salt water either on a boat or a nice empty shoreline. One thing that I’m not use to when fishing is trees, lots of trees. It was on my first cast that I hook a big one, it was probably 70′ tall and firmly rooted to the bank. Hanging out of it’s big branch was my $8 lure, you could see that he had been hooked before, as there was already another lure hanging from it’s big branches. Obviously some other saltwater angler thought he could also master the art of river fishing. I guess this will just take some time for me to remaster my fishing techniques. No fish were actually caught during this fishing adventure.

Sunday is Ruben’s day to spend time with family, so we thought we would head out to the property and do some more exploring. This time we brought out a couple of chairs and an ice chest so we could just sit and listen to all the different sounds. We also brought along some hot dogs, so we built a small fire, wittled  down some sticks with a machete  and roasted the best hot dogs we have ever had. Okay, they weren’t the best but they were our first meal on the property.

After the best meal ever (haha) we wandered around the property checking out all the plants and flowers. We have learned to identify some of the plants and flowers, but others we still have no idea what they are. It seems that just about every tropical house plant you see in the states grows wild on the property. We did also find a wild papaya, wild plum, passion fruit and a couple other fruits that I don’t know what they are but, they tasted pretty good.

When Ruben was cutting down one of the trees for us he found a huge orchid, the kind that attaches it self to the tree and just grows. There is a good size tree where the house is going that needs to be taken out, so Ruben is going to cut it about six feet from the ground and plant the orchid on top of the stump for us to enjoy.

There seems to be only one tree there that is poisonous, that is the poison wood tree, and I think there is only a couple of those and they are tucked far into the bush. If the sap from the tree gets on your skin it will burn, but the great thing about nature is usually next to the poison wood tree a gumbo limbo tree will grow, which is the antidote for the burn.

Lots of parrots flying around, they are noisy when they fly so you can hear them coming a mile away. Saw lots of frogs of all sizes and some small lizards and one wicked big spider, (which Ruben said is harmless) but it still looked scary.

As we were walking around we saw a toucan land in the trees. Sorry the pictures of the toucan are not that great but there was a little rain that day.

On the drive out to the property we did see a couple of monkeys in the trees, a gibnut, lots of iguanas and of course all your basic farm animals.

That evening was a little rainy so we decided to stay in instead of going out for dinner. Kelley made up some vegetable chicken soup from ingredients we got at the big open air market, and some sourdough bread with some or the best mozzarella cheese that we bought from some menonite women at the market. It was great way to spend a Sunday.

Made it to Belize with no problems, checked into where we are staying and then headed out to the property. Two years ago when we bought the property, the 12 mile road from San Ignacio to where we are was a slow rough dirt road. Six months ago when we were there, they were working on getting it all graded and smooth dirt, which was a major improvement. This time we headed down the road and it is all paved with guard rails and all. Not sure if this is good or bad but it will definitely be better on the vehicles in the long run.

By time we got to the property Ruben had all the plants in the road cut back down and ready for us to drive on. We spent the day reevaluating where the house would be and cutting in another spot where a small casita will go. We also had Ruben clean up some of the palms and other plants around the property. Kelley found some Philodendrums on the property that she planted around the palms in hopes that they will grow around them. Ruben also had brought out a couple of coconut trees from his farm for us.

Now that we have water run to the property who knows what else might show up. We also had a pineapple for breakfast one morning that we had got at the market, so I took the top out there and stuck it in the ground. Ruben says that without a doubt, we will have a thriving pineapple plant next time we are here.

After a day at the property it was time for a cold beer and something to eat, so into San Ignacio we go. As we got to the town square there seemed to be a Christmas celebration going on along with a small carnival and some games. I tried one game where you had to toss a coin onto a plate that was floating in a tub of water. If you won you got a six pack of beer or a live rabbit, since I already had beer guess which one I was going for? Of course I didn’t win, so I think the game was rigged, haha.

This will be another short one as the connection is still not that great. In this case, where we are staying it was easier to go with a whole new internet provider than to find a new modem, (which I guess they should have done with a long time ago). Anyway we are making great progress on the property and the infrastructure, at this point we are waiting for the electric company to contact us so they can give an estimate of running poles out to us. It’s not all work, we are having a lot of fun and seeing a lot of neat and interesting stuff we have never seen or done before. At this point it looks like we won’t be posting any pictures or stories from our adventure until we get back home to Cholla, but I guarantee there will be a lot of pictures and interesting adventures.

The internet where we are staying has been down, so haven’t had a chance to send any updates. Right now we are sitting at a small restaurant enjoying a bucket of Belikin. Spending lots of time at the property getting things done. Will send more info when we get a better connection.

Well, here we are in Mexico locking everything down and getting ready to head to the states so we can catch a flight back down to Belize early Wednesday morning. It’s been cold here in Cholla, as well as everywhere else in the states, but hell it’s December and what else would we expect. I hate to say, but come Wednesday we will be enjoying the warm tropical weather that Belize has to offer. We will send warm wishes and thoughts to everyone along with our blog updates. Hope you will enjoy.

Trees, flowers, vegetables and all kinds of fruit, but the biggest growth happened yesterday. Our property doubled in size. It turns out that the piece of property right next to ours became available and the realtor gave us first choice on it. We thought about it over the weekend and decided that it was a great opportunity to expand our new homestead. So we now have 10 acres of land in the beautiful Belizean jungle.

Two months from now we will be back down there doing more leg work in preparation for the big move. This will give us a chance to check out the new addition and maybe reevaluate where the house and garden might go. Also with this much property our options are unlimited. Maybe build a couple rental cabins, or maybe raise some animals, or my favorite; grow coconuts, almonds and cocoa and make unlimited Almond Joy bars to be enjoyed in a hammock with a cold beer while watching the parrots and monkeys. In the words of Jerry Jeff Walker “Sounds like a pretty good god damn life to me.”

Everyone has been asking us how’s it going in Belize and when are you going back. Well, our next trip is booked and we will be heading down in about 10 weeks. This trip will be all about getting things done that you can’t do unless you are there. For example, setting up a bank account, meeting with the electric company to find out which arm or leg I will have to give up, find out about internet service, talk to the home builders again and so on. What we really hope to accomplish is; get a bank account open so we can pay Ruben when he does work for us, get the foundation done for the first casita, clear a spot for the 3rd casita and get a water line run from the property line up to where the house will be. Oh, and drink Belikin Beer because you can’t get that done unless you are there either.

Like anywhere if you are not continually there, it is a slow process. On the other hand, every trip since we purchased the property we have made significant progress on our little piece of jungle that we will soon call home. When is soon, we don’t have a set date, but we do know that we want it to be more sooner than later.

It won’t all be work, of course I’m sure there will still be lots of time for some fun and adventures and as that happens we will share it all right here.

That’s about all we know for now. Below is a picture of our friend and caretaker Ruben getting us a couple fresh coconuts from the tree using a piece of bamboo. the second picture is the same coconut trees and the giant bamboo plant where his stick came from.

It was just about a week ago that Hurricane Earl hit Belize, with high winds, heavy rains and flooding. It is amazing how all the people of Belize came together so quickly to try to get everything back to normal. People were working 24/7 removing debris and rebuilding what they had lost. At this point most of the water has receded in the rivers and electricity has been restored to 99% of the country. Most resorts and businesses on the island are open and back in business. Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of damage that will take a lot of time to repair. 90% of all docks and piers on the island were lost or severely damaged, as were some businesses that were a total lost. The people of Belize are such resilient, giving, helpful and friendly people that they will have this paradise back to itself in no time at all.

The pictures below were taken 2 days ago, AMAZING!!!

San Ignacio, which had 3-5′ of water a few days ago

Beaches in San Pedro all cleaned up after the hurricane

Resorts back open and ready for business

Our property is up in the Cayo district of Belize, about 12 miles from San Ignacio.  San Ignacio sits on the banks of the Macal River. As hurricane Earl passed it dumped a lot of water in the mountains causing the river to rise very rapidly. The town of San Ignacio is completely flooded and waiting for the waters to recede. Our property is high enough off the river that it should be fine except for maybe a few trees down. Hopefully the crocodiles will swim back to the river once it recedes and not take up residency on our place.

Last night category 1 Hurricane Earl hit Belize. Lots of damage out on the islands and the coastal mainland. Extensive flooding from rain and storm surges. Hard to believe we were just there a few months ago.
By the time the storm got up to where our property is, the winds had died down and they were expected to get a few inches of rain. When we were considering Belize as our new home, hurricanes were one of our major concerns. This is one of the reasons we chose to be up in the mountainous jungle.
Hopefully everyone is okay and it is mostly just property damage, which can all be rebuilt.

We just posted a new batch of signs that we found on our last trip down. Hope you enjoy.

Just a quick look at how the road into the property took shape. The first picture is where we started with a vision. The last picture is a clearing where the house will be.

Yesterday morning we headed out to the property to meet with Tony, the guy with the scraper that could remove all the stumps from our newly made road. He is also the guy that will bring in at least 10 loads of gravel to lay down after the stumps are removed. Other good news is that they had already started digging the ditch for the water line, which is being dug by hand.

Thought they would use a backhoe, but we were told that this way they can employ more people, so it all makes sense. After getting Tony all lined up we decided that we should head up to some secret local swimming hole to cool off that Lucy from Crystal Paradise told us about.

A little bit up the dirt road we decided we should get more gas in the car since we were heading off to the middle of nowhere. So we turned around and went to our little San Antonio station to top off the tank. As we pulled up there was a small pick up with two 55 gal barrels in the back. We thought they were filling up the tanks in the truck, but just the opposite… they were siphoning the fuel into 5 gal buckets and then pouring it into the tanks for the pump. Never seen that before but it got us in and out of the jungle without any problems.

Finally found the spot on the river, nice little sandy beach, small pools and even a natural water slide that Randy and Luke enjoyed. Mostly cloudy all day and the river water was very cool and refreshing, a very welcoming thing since it has been so hot.

On the way back from the river we stopped at the Malfunction Junction (which is only two miles from our property) for a couple cold beverages.

Kelley and I ordered our usual Belikin and Randy & Stacy ordered what would become their new favorite drink from Belize. It is coconut rum, water and fresh Jamaican lime juice. A Jamaican lime looks like a bad orange and taste like a sweet lime. It was so good that they got some for the next day to go.

The next day found us heading to the zoo so Luke could finally see the monkeys that we kept telling him about, he was not disappointed.

Lots of animals up  close and personal, unlike any zoo in the states. All the animals there are native to Belize such as Jaguars, Spider Monkeys, Howler Monkeys, Toucans, Deer, Parrots and Tipars (or mountain cows, the national animal of Belize).

After the zoo a quick lunch and then off to the airport so the kids could head back home.

Working our way back towards San Ignacio we were stopping at all the hardware stores looking to order a culvert pipe for the entrance to the property. I’m sure this is what everyone does on vacation. After a drive to the airport and searching for a culvert with no avail we thought it was time to reward ourselves with a cold beer. Pulled up to a little roadside place and ordered up a bucket of their finest. The table next to us was a bunch of creole men laughing, joking and enjoying the same. As the sun started to settle one of the men decided it was time to remove the umbrellas from the tables, just as he was doing so the wind caught it and pulled it down to the ground.

All at once everyone at his table started laughing and calling him Mary Poppins, before it was all said and done his new name for the evening was Rasta Poppins. Fun was had by all.

After a good nights sleep and a good breakfast it was off to to the airport to say goodbye to the island.

We boarded our small plane for what we thought was a direct flight, turned out we had three other stops before we landed in Belize City where we would pick up our rental car. This year we rented a 2014 Jeep Patriot, by far the best car we have ever rented in Belize. Now as we settled into our new ride it was off to more new adventures. As we got up towards San Ignacio we discovered that they were having a heat wave, we’re talking 100°F or more, something we’ve never experienced there. We checked into Crystal Paradise and then headed out to the property so the kids could check it out.

Last time we were here they were working on the main dirt road out to the property. The work they have done in the last six months is amazing, I do believe it is one of the best roads in the entire country and it’s not even paved, but their plan is to have it paved by November.

Made our way out to the small road into the property, some of the grasses on the road were still as high as the hood of the car but I knew there was a good solid road beneath so onward we went. As we pulled up on the property entrance we could see that much of the plants had grown back since we were there last. Let’s just say Randy and Stacy were not impressed and though we were crazy for doing this, and I think Stacy even prayed for us that night.

It was a very long hot night without any a/c in our rooms, usually it is very mild temps here and no need for a/c.  So the next day we asked if they had a couple rooms with a/c and they did so we all moved and everything is much more comfortable now.

Ruben went to work on it the next morning cutting and piling everything up for a burn pile. When we went to check on him later that day he had all the cuttings burned and about ready for gravel. I think this time the kids could more clearly see our vision and not think we were as crazy, but I still think they think we are. What the hell, we’re adults and we can be crazy if we want to.

Earlier in the day we met with the home builder again and got a more accurate price for the first house that will be built. Also met with the guy in charge of the water company and got him paid and ready to run the water to the property. We also pre-paid for a years worth of water service, which comes out to be $5 a month for unlimited water. Not a bad deal.

Went and visited the local butterfly farm, it was an amazing thing to see if you have never been to one.

There were over 2,000 butterflies and 15 different species. The tour guide said that every day they have to collect the eggs and tend to the different stages of the hatch until they are ready to become butterflies. Lots of hard everyday work, but worth it.

Also took Luke to the iguana sanctuary where he got to feed and pet all different sizes of friendly iguanas. He seemed to like the bigger ones better than the smaller ones, maybe because the smaller ones were crawling all over him.

Luke is having the time of his life, seeing all the wildlife, running around and playing with other kids. What a great little travel buddy.

There is a lot more stories to be told, but the Internet here is not the fastest so we can fill you more over a cold Tecate when we get back to Cholla.

A good sleep was had by all. First thing on the agenda yesterday was to get us a golf cart so we would have transportation. Cruised most of the island just checking it out and stopping  occasionally for food and cocktails.

Late afternoon found us at the beach in front of Ramons Village, where we enjoyed the water for awhile while Randy went snorkeling and found a giant hermit crab that he brought back for Luke to check out.

After that, a dip in the pool and call it an early evening.

The next day turned out to be very exciting day. After a quick breakfast we headed down to the dock for a day of fishing with our guide Jerry and his brother Mario. First stop was to get bait. After a short boat ride up the coast Jerry put the boat right on the schools of bait fish and after only 2 throws of the net from Mario we had more than enough bait, so off to the fishing grounds we headed.

In no time at all we were catching snappers, jacks, groupers and a couple good size nurse sharks (of course we let the sharks go). After we had caught all the fish we thought we needed it was off to the beach to cook up a great fish lunch.

Besides the fish we had some wonderful conch cevichi from the conch that Mario had dove down earlier and got. Of course what would a tropical beach lunch be without ice cold Belikin and rum drinks. It was a great day!

While on the beach waiting for Jerry and Mario to prepare our fresh caught fish we had plenty of time to swim and enjoy the beach.

After a swim in the warm Caribbean water we decided to explore the beach for awhile, and what an exploration that was for Luke.  He was finding and stacking coconuts, playing with hermit crabs and chasing more iguanas then you can imagine. After that our beach lunch was ready and man was that good.

We have fished with Jerry and Mario a few times before and they always do an exceptional job of fishing and preparing your beach lunch. Please contact them if you ever get out to Ambergris and tell them Big Wave Dave says hi. 011-501-628-1799 or email  amanda_ack@live.com.

Tomorrow morning we say goodbye to the island and head up to the jungle.