In Placencia, we stayed with our good friends Ron & Rhonda in their guesthouse. Our buddy Darren (who built next to us) was finally getting back down to Belize after a long absence. He flew into the city and then met up with us in Placencia to spend a few days on the beach before we headed back up to the jungle.
It was pretty quiet in Placencia, as a lot of restaurants and resorts shut down this time of year during the slow season. So we didn’t really do anything exciting, mostly, it was just a chance for us to relax on the beach without the crowds and to see some friends we hadn’t seen in a while. One day, we played music bingo at The Sea Cow beach bar and I actually won some beer money. Then another day, Placencia Beach Club was having a decades music pool party with a DJ playing music from the 60’s to the 20’s. Other than that, we just enjoyed the beach and hung out at some of our favorite places that were still open.
One of the reasons we picked that weekend was that we’d made arrangements to pick up everyone’s lobsters for our Lobsterfest in the Jungle coming up the next week. We brought back 70 lobster tails and 5 big whole lobsters. Once we got back home, everyone came over and picked up their lobsters so they could start thinking about what delicious lobster dish they would bring to the feast.
It was a perfect day for Lobsterfest in the Jungle, the sun was out, the weather cooperated, and no pesky insects. There were about eighteen friends who came together to share their favorite lobster recipes with everyone. Reggae and other beach music were playing in the background, cold beverages were flowing, and everyone was having a good time.
All our friends outdid themselves with some phenomenal lobster dishes. It was a great chance for everyone to try different ways that lobster can be served. There were mini lobster grilled cheese sliders, lobster Thermador, candied bacon wrapped lobster bites, jalapeño poppers with lobster, lobster ceviche, lobster pasta salad, cheesy lobster dip, Thai lobster curry, creamy Cajun lobster pasta, lobster mac-n-cheese, plus a few side dishes. There was something for everyone. I know I tried everything and still couldn’t decide on a favorite.
It was a great Lobsterfest in the Jungle, and everyone thought that this should be an annual event. We are perfectly fine with that, because where else do you have a chance to try so many different lobster recipes in one place? Maybe we’ll see you here next year!
After stuffing ourselves with all that lobster, we still managed to go out back and throw some hatchets at the board. A lot of the hatchets hit the ground, but after a while everyone was getting the hang of it.
The next morning after Lobsterfest, Kelley cooked up a dozen eggs for breakfast. Okay, they weren’t chicken eggs, they were small quail eggs. We saw them at a meat market and thought we’d give them a try. They were good and buttery tasting and I said that they would make great mini eggs benedicts. Then I laughed… who wants a mini eggs benedict, I want the full size with lots of hollandaise sauce.
One food that Kelley and I love that is not available here is artichokes. For the past 6 years, we have tried to grow them with no luck. Every so often, we’ll ask about them at the market in town and they always say they can’t get them. We asked our friend about artichokes at the produce stand in our village. Since he supplies produce all over the country, he said that he would ask his importer about them. About a week later he sent us a picture of ten nice artichokes he’d got for us. They were not cheap, but sometimes when you want something, price doesn’t matter.
The biggest and one of the most beautiful flowers we have around here are on the dragon fruit plants. They usually only bloom at night for one evening before they start to develop the fruit. I was up early in the garden the other morning, and to my surprise, there were at least 20 big flowers wide open, it was quite a sight to see. We have been eating dragon fruit for a few weeks now, and there are at least another 80 buds on the plants. We have the white variety and the deep purple, which are both very delicious.
Our daughter-in-law recently sent us some information on the nine-banded armadillos that we have in Belize. It said that the nine-banded armadillo has a unique reproductive cycle and will give birth to genetically identical quadruplets, all from just one fertilized egg. This will happen once every year during their 12-14 year life span.
We have seen armadillos around our house before, but usually just one at a time. The other day on the side of our house, we saw something amazing, there were four little armadillos all foraging around in the bush. They couldn’t have been more than six inches long, not including their tail. We got real close and watched them for a while, and Kelley got a few pictures. They were the cutest little things, and to think that they were all identical quadruplets made it a very special sighting.
Another special sighting was a Collard Forest Falcon. He swooped right across the front yard and landed in a tree opposite our front porch. They are one of the largest members of the falcon family, very secretive and a fierce hunter. They are able to kill prey larger and heavier than themselves. Sometimes we can hear them calling in the distance, but we rarely see one.
There are a lot of big insects around here, but this might be the biggest one we’ve seen. We see many stick bugs around, and this one has to be at least twice as big as any of the others we’ve seen. As you can see, he is about the length of Kelley’s forearm, and yes he is harmless.
We have learned that you never just grab anything without looking first, not knowing what might be there. For instance, a few weeks ago I went to get something out of my toolbox and there was a 3′ snake in there. He was a harmless parrot snake, so I managed to get him out of the garage and back in the yard. And then last week I went to grab my beer koozie in the garage, and it’s a good thing I looked first, as there was a big spider on it.
Belize is an amazing place, and we have seen and experienced more than you can imagine in the short time we’ve been here. Plus everything we’ve learned about plants, animals, insects and all the Mayan history, that we never would have known about if we hadn’t moved here. I feel that we have gained a lifetime of knowledge in that short time. I know this life isn’t for everybody, but it’s been one hell of an adventure for us so far.
Awesome stuff/experiences, as usual.
Brad & Carol
Looks like fun1