One of our favorite local artists (Walter Castillo) posted another painting that he had just completed. We saw it and fell in love with it! The painting is of a festival in Placencia, which we have been to a few times, so we really related to the subject matter. Plus it was the perfect size we had been looking for to fill an empty space over the front door. This was an early Christmas gift to us and it was perfect!

Being the Christmas season we thought we would try our hand at making some summer sausage. We looked at a bunch of recipes and spice options and put together one we thought would suit us. After grinding and seasoning the beef, it got stuffed into the casings and then into the smoker. It turned out very tasty, with great color, texture, and the flavor was better than anything we could buy here. Now we just need to test it out on some friends during the holidays and see what they think.

Our cacao is doing great and they are starting to ripen. Soon we should have enough to start processing and turning it into some delicious chocolate.

Of course, we still have a steady supply of pineapples and bananas. This bunch is the small apple bananas that are sweet, delicious, and our favorites. There are 120 on this stalk, now we are just waiting for them to finish ripening. Maybe there will be some chocolate-covered frozen bananas in our future.

We have lots of parrots that fly over all the time and some groups are quiet and some are very noisy. Now that we actually got some pictures of the noisy ones we discovered that they are Olive Throated Parakeets. We didn’t even know there were parakeets here. I think the locals call them all parrots because they all look sorta the same. Remember when you went to a pet store and all the parakeets would start squawking, that’s what it sounds like when they fly over.

We finally found Rio Frio Cave! Last year when Darren was here we searched for it, but Google maps lied and we never got to it. This time we had better information and found it without any problem. It is the largest cave opening in Belize with an entrance of 65 feet tall. I know… how could we not find it last year.

There is a rough set of stairs leading up to the entrance and a small trail that will take you into and through the cave. Once inside the dark cave, there were waterfalls, stalactites, stalagmites, and even a sandy beach.

A little farther in, the cave turned a little and you could see the opening at the other end. There is a trail that takes you through the cave and hikes you up around in the jungle and back around towards the entrance. Overall the cave is only about a 1/4 mile long but very impressive.

As we were heading into the cave Kelley spotted some Howler monkeys up in the trees above us. There were at least four of them and one of them was even holding a baby. Once we got into the cave they all started howling, like they didn’t want us in there, which made for a very eerie sound inside the cave. Overall, it took us about an hour each way on a dirt road from our place to get to the cave. Definitely worth checking out when you visit.

For the last few days of Darren’s trip, we decided to head over to the beach in Placencia. There were no real plans on doing anything, just hanging out at the beach. We did try to get a day charter out to this two-acre island for some relaxing and a beach BBQ, but the weather did not cooperate with us.

Since the weather was not being too cooperative, we ended up doing a lot of walking around. The good thing is that there are some good bars scattered up and down the beach. And with names like Tipsy Tuna, Barefoot, Pickled Parrot, and Toucan Jacks, how could you not stop.

So we spent a couple of days on the beach staring out into the Caribbean, listening to reggae music and day drinking. I guess someone had to do it, and it was our turn.

We did all get our lobster grilled cheese sandwich fix at Barefoot bar, and that made us very happy.  Plus Darren managed to get some Big Titty Rum. We called the guy who makes the rum and he was in the process of bottling, so once he was done he delivered it right to us.

Well, that’s about it for now, Darren is back home and I’m sure thinking about his next trip. Kelley is in the kitchen making Christmas cookies and I’m thinking about all my projects for this week. More friends will be here over the holidays, so I’m sure there will be a lot more fun to be had.

Take care and Merry Christmas!