Well, after seven weeks to the day we had to turn in our free loaner truck. That’s because our brand new 2019 Mahindra Pik Up was finally ready for delivery. The Mahindra truck is a quad cab 4 x 4 turbo diesel with a six speed transmission that gets 31 mpg. When we placed our order it was for a 2018 model in red, but all they had at the time was a silver or a white one. The dealer told us that there was another shipment in a couple of weeks and there should be a red one if we wanted to wait, plus he would give us a free loaner in the meantime. Basically the shipment was late and it turned out that they were the 2019 models not the 2018 like we put the deposit on, but the good thing was that the price was the same.

When we ordered it we wanted a big front bumper that would hold a winch and a good steel rear bumper with a trailer hitch. I did not know that they would have to fabricate the front bumper to fit the new model, but what a job they did. The bumper looks awesome on the truck and now they have a pattern for the front bumper when anyone else wants one. All I have to do now is to add my winch and a light bar and we will be all set.

When we got to the dealer in Belmopan to pick up the truck there was basically a photo shoot going on, because this is the very first 2019 in the country and it has this nice new bumper. We also opted for a tire upgrade to some Pirelli scorpion mud tires. Plus being red instead of white or silver really helped bring it all together. They took pictures of us with the truck and asked if it was okay for them to use them in their promotions and such.

After we went and got plates and insurance for it it was back to the office to sign a couple more papers. They have a brand new promotion going on when you buy a new vehicle, where you spin the wheel and win cash, service or credit there. Kelley was the very first person to spin the wheel and she won $200, what a great way to leave the dealership. Of course there were more pictures of the promo wheel because this was the first time it was used. We were told that there were only five trucks in this shipment and they were all ready spoken for, we got one, the head of the biggest radio station got one and the Prime Minister of Belize got one. I wonder what the Prime Minister will win when he spins the wheel?

Since we were already in Belmopan and we had just won some money, there is a fruit tree nursery down the road that we have been wanting to go to. A few miles down the Hummingbird Highway and then six miles down a dirt road to the Mennonite community of Springfield where horse and buggy are the standard vehicles of choice. There was even a sign as you entered that read…Welcome to Springfield, dress decently. And no, we did not see a Mennonite Bart Simpson running around in Springfield. Anyway they had lots of exotic fruit trees and other plants. After studying the list of plants for awhile, here is what we came away with. A mango tree that will produce two types of mangos, a citrus tree that will have red grapefruit and valencia orange on the same tree, a lemon tree, a lime tree, cocoa (chocolate) trees, coffee trees, cinnamon tree, starfruit tree, macadamia nut tree and a couple vanilla plants. Combine that with the bananas, pineapples, black pepper, oregano, basil and other stuff we have growing, we should be able to open up our own little fruit stand in a few years.

In case you are wondering where this mini orchard is going, it will be along the road bordering our property. When they put in the power poles they cut back the bigger trees and everything else a good fifty feet from the road, since then the plants have come back and are now 10-15’ tall. Ruben has started clearing a good section of that but leaving a 10’ buffer of plants so that from the road you will not even see the little orchard on the inside. It will take a couple years before the trees will start to produce, but with the way things grow here it could be sooner.

The floor for the garage is done, but not without a couple of setbacks. We had planned to use a batch truck where they mix everything on site in a big truck. It was going to save a significant amount of money over doing it with a small mixer. The day the first pour was scheduled to be here the truck broke, but they thought they could fix it by later in the day. By the next day we find out that it’s the transmission in the big truck, so on to plan “B”. We were scurrying around to get two 14 yard trucks of sand and gravel here as soon as possible, (which one didn’t show up till 7:30 pm in total darkness) plus another 90 bags of cement and renting a mixer so that everything could get going once again. Since they were already a couple days late on the pour they got going at 6:00 am with 11 guys working like clock work. The first half was poured and finished in a few hours and then they called it a day. Now here it is at 6:00 am on a Saturday morning and again the cement mixer is going strong.

A little more chaotic and expensive going with plan “B”, but the floor is done and it looks great. The walls are going up now and everything is back on schedule. The galvanized steel beams for the roof are ordered along with the zinc sheets to cover it as well as the windows. About the only thing left is to get a hold of the guy who makes the metal roll up door and the steel man-door.

Creature feature of the week, the giant grasshopper. The grasshoppers here are huge, usually 4-5” long and the most amazing colors. I don’t think we have seen any two the same yet. They range in colors from bright green, yellow, red, black and yellow spotted and every other color of the rainbow you could imagine.

The last couple of nights Kelley has heard something big running around under the house, I think it’s time to put a camera near the house and see what it might be.  A couple of the locals are guessing that it is an armadillo because they are clumsy and loud when they walk, hopefully the camera will capture something.