Our Local Bar

Last Sunday was a damp, drizzly day.  So what do you do on a damp day?  You go to your local bar.  Our friend Craig has a small outdoor bar covered with a good palapa to keep the rain off, so Dennis and I walked about 1 mile up the beach to Craig's BareBones Beach Bar.  We took some mutton snapper to grill on his big grill and also some shrimp ceviche, green salad, and some homemade bread to toast on the grill.  Martha joined us and she brought some pork ribs to grill.  It was great to be out of the rain but still be outdoors since the temperature was so pleasant.  A great way to spend a damp afternoon.

Dennis and Craig grilling the fish at Craig's bar. I really like how he used bamboo to skirt the bar. 

Yesterday we got 2 new water vats.  These vats store about 500 gallons.  We were surprised by the cream color; usually they are black to inhibit algal growth in the water.  Even though they weren't black, they did seem to be opaque, so I hope that will be OK.  Each vat is about 5 ft in diameter. With us down here full time, we will need to collect and store more during the rainy season to last us through the dry season.  Dennis and Richard will get these plumbed in with the other 7 vats.

They are big enough to crawl inside, which you have to do to clean them.  The opening is about 20 inches in diameter.

On the south side of our cabana, there are 4 dwarf yellow coconut trees.  They are called yellow because the coconuts are yellow on the outside and also because the palm fronds turn yellowish as they get older.  We like these coconuts because they are disease resistant, they have delicious coconut water, and they bear abundant fruits.

Coconut palms on the south side of our cabana.

"Dwarf" is a relative term!  They are certainly tall enough to provide some welcomed shade to the cabana.

Look at all those beautiful yellow coconuts!

Another plant whose fruits we enjoy is the guava.  Our guava tree is bearing lots of fruit right now.  Each fruit is roughly pear-sized when mature.  We pick them before they are ripe, otherwise the birds get them.  I made a batch of guava and lime syrup that I will use to flavor yogurt, fancy drinks, and desserts.

Immature guava fruits.  The brown on the leaves is due to the salt spray and windy conditions.  The tree seems to be thriving in spite of the salt and wind.

I do leave some for the birds, but it is hard to be sympathetic to the birds when they take a small chunk out of multiple fruits instead of concentrating on one fruit!   

Three and One Half Weeks

Time is moving right along, as it does.  Our weather has been quite nice, allowing us to do some outside clean up in relative comfort.  I say “us”, but really it has been Dennis who has cut up the fallen tree and moved the wood into the woods to rot, drained the garden hoses and put them away, etc.  I managed to bring a little pottery birdbath inside to clean up and put away.  My big accomplishment has been to sort all my clothes into 4 categories:  clothes that I need for work until December 12 and that I will need again in March when I return to Minnesota, clothes that go to Belize with me for immediate use, clothes that will be shipped later, and clothes that will go to Salvation Army.

I have also been working on selling some of our furniture.  It just doesn’t make sense to take it all to Belize with us.  We will have a much simpler lifestyle there that won’t require as much “stuff” as we have here.  What a relief that will be.

We will celebrate our last Thanksgiving in the U.S. this coming week.   Part of the day will likely be spent at the storage unit where we have the boxes stored that we will ship to Belize early next year.  We need to squeeze a few more things in order to make room at our house for the house sitters.  And we also need to pull out the things that we will ship down right away.  We are hoping that the shipping company that is handling the car will let us pack the car full of boxes.  But back to Thanksgiving – we will have a non-traditional dinner of scallops and fish with cranberry/orange sauce, Brussels sprouts, salad, and cheese blintzes with ginger syrup for dessert.  A nice sparkling almond-flavored wine will accompany the dessert.

So what is worth all this effort, anxiety, and turmoil?  Is it the fresh fruit we can grow? 

Fresh guava from our own tree.  It makes an incredibly refreshing drink when macerated and mixed with fresh, sweetened lime juice (also from own tree).

Is it the wildlife (including fabulous insects) that also make their home in Belize?

Lovely red dragonfly.  I haven't keyed it out yet; that is part of the satisfaction I am looking forward to. 

Is it the back-to basics cabana and associated lifestyle?

This what our cabana looked like in 2008.  Since then Richard enclosed the part below with a cane screen to hide the black water vats and poured the concrete slabs.  The coconut trees are now taller than the cabana. 

Is it the tranquility?

This is my favorite sight in all the world - coming home to our beachfront cabana where life is sweet and simple.

Is it the snorkeling off our front veranda?

Our veranda that overlooks the ocean.  I keep my snorkel gear (in the blue and yellow bag hanging on the wall) handy so I can snorkel at  moment's notice right off our dock.  Or what about relaxing in the hammocks?  Maybe a cold coke will hit the spot while keying out the fish that I spotted while in the water will do the trick. 

Or is it sharing all this with all the other oddballs who found their true home in Belize?

Dennis with Sam, Martha, Chris, and Sue.  We know why we are here in Belize.

It is all of those things and more.  Come visit Belize and see for yourself.