Fri, 22 Jan

Fri 22 Jan: normal chores and morning activities. after putting the 3rd shift out for Play Time, Eddi and i started cleaning the Meow-tel. sweeping the shelves and floor; then spraying it all down with water, and applying biodegradable soap, and then rinsing, several times to get all the soap out. this was a really hot sticky sweaty job, we needed to cool down. another thing that Madi mentioned was that we needed more sand to be used for kitty litter in the enclosures. where do you get the sand ? from the sea of course. so Eddi and i took 5gal buckets and a shovel out about waist deep and started shoveling sand in the buckets. we then spread the sand out in the sun and when it dries, you shovel it into the litter boxes. we're in the kitty litter making business, too bad it isn't scoopable ... they don't have that here :( here is a picture of the outside of the Meow-tel after we finished there, we went to The Split for a break. Francesca, from Guatemala, was there selling her weavings: table runners, table cloths, wall hangings, etc. they were beautiful and all made by her family, some by hand and some on a loom. she comes to Caye Caulker for 2 weeks each month to try to sell. Eddi bought 2 of them ... here we are with one of the ones she bought: i'd like to tell you about the Squirrel Cage. well, that's what i call it, because it has wire around it. there are 4 sweet cats in there. here is one of them, Mu-ne-ca .... doesn't she look like she's ready for her photo shoot? but .... when we walk in this room with the food ... this is what they do .... they look like squirrels in a cage ! unfortunately, you can't HEAR all the meowing .. or fortunately for you. i do have some video, but i have not had any luck uploading it to this site. i'll try to put it on You Tube .... sometime .... when i don't have anything else do to. when/if i do, i'll let you know. it's really the best way to experience it :)

Thurs 21 Jan

Thurs 21 Jan: after chores and a breakfast, Eddi and i put in a few hours doing handy-man jobs ... i guess all skills i've learned by living alone are paying off. i installed a few more hooks where needed, trimmed some branches that have been in my way, and replaced hinges on the doors to one of the 'litter-biPeter had it held up with bungy-cords; but i thought that replacing the hinges and more hooks would make it easier. with a drill that has no 'reverse' it's been difficult to do a lot of the tasks. so now in order to make a pilot hole, i drill a screw in part way, then use a manual screwdriver to take it out, then go from there...... Eddi repaired a hole in the fence with some hardware cloth we found lying around. i also helped Eddi put her canopy over her bed since she is not used to doing these kinds of things. Madi was very appreciative when she got home, and said she was going to kidnap me and not let me leave :) i took a short break and went to The Split for a swim to cool off. it's much windier and cooler on that side of the island !!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'd been trying to have some 'shrimp sticks' that i'd seen on the road to the Split......, but either he's not there when i'm hungry, or he's there, but i've just eaten. on my way back, i finally caught the 'shrimp stick' man ! he came here 2 yrs ago and was walking around, when someone offered him a beer. he said 'he was raised to be a polite child, and his mom told him when someone offered him something, it was impolite to refuse' .... so he stayed and drank. the next morning, he was hung over and walking towards the water taxi, when someone offered him a beer ... same story ....... and here he still is ..... when i told him where i was staying, he said 'oh on the buggy side of the island' ......................... :( photo of Jack and the shrimps. they were wonderful, i had mine with garlic and chili peppers. he has lots of options: basil, italian, curry, honey mustard, ginger .... i highly recommend them if you are ever on Caye Caulker! a few more pics from Caye Caulker: it is not uncommon to see PILES of Conch shells around. Conch has a season here and they harvest a lot of it. i couldn't resist this one:

Wed, 20 Jan

Wed, 20 Jan: Chores took longer today, because we were trying to explain the routine to Eddi, the 'new kid on the block' ..... Eddi and i needed to go to "Meijers" to get water, i buy it in gallon jugs. Before we left we started the 1st Shift of Play Time. This is where Madi attempts to give all the cats some 'real' outdoor time, even though i think i mentioned that their 'living areas' are quite spacious. this is a photo of only PART of one of their living areas: But of course, there is a true time-tested routine for Play Time. Cookie and Midnight go out first; for a couple of hours. We've been told that Cookie starts fights with all the other cats, ... except Midnight, they live together. so Eddi and i took a walk to access the internet and go to the market. when we got back, it was time for the 2nd Shift of cats to go out. But first you need to put Cookie back inside; Midnight, however, can stay out. Then you can let Swiper out. he is a loveable cat, but doesn't get along well with most of the other cats. actually i think he is quite smart, because he gets to be outside almost all by himself, and get all the attention. he's the siamese one that is one of my favorites. i think i already showed you a picture of Swiper ... but another won't hurt. :) At the same time you let Swiper out, you go around to the other side of the house, and try to get Candy, Sugar, and Carmel out of their cages and put them outdoors. They never want to come out, so you have to drag them out, then, when it's time to come in Sugar and Candy never want to come in... and it's a hassle at the end of the day. These 3 cats live in separate enclosures the rest of the time, because the other cats pick on them. Sugar's enclosure is the large green one, she is able to go down below also, so has quite a bit of room. All the rest of the cats are able to be out and roam around their enclosures. We also can let Sheba out. i guess Swiper doesn't pick on these cats.... Some of the cats have distinguishing markings so you get to know them, but there are so many that look alike, that i can't tell them apart yet This is Sheba, she has one 'crinkled' ear. So while 2nd Shift was out, Eddi and i took another walk to get some hinges, WD40, screws, and a permanent marker. i am trying to get some layouts made up of the areas, showing who eats where, what kind of bowl they get, and what kind of food they get. When we got back it was time for 3rd Shift. Now we let 13 cats out of an area called "The Pussy Cat Lounge". There is a 'hatch' that you left up and they all file out. Here is a photo of Eddi lifting the hatch and letting them out. we can then open the door of the Meow-tel, and let those 16 cats out into the area that we just vacated. i had to get to the beach, so i took an hour off and headed for the split. it was very windy on the other side of the island and much more comfortable. wasn't sure about what to do for dinner, so i headed out with my computer looking for a 'cheap' place to eat that had wireless internet service. after stopping and asking at 3 places, i found a nice little place down by the water that served simple sandwiches, .... like subs, really good crispy-on-the- outside bread that i hadn't found anywhere here. they weren't that cheap at US$8; but i was tired of looking and asking. she also had 'movies' there, tonights feature was the production of Michael Jackson's final concert, which was actually rather interesting. i assume that i will eventually 'learn' from my mistakes, but i did it again tonite! i also ordered Rum and Coke. although those cutsey rum drinks are good, they are expensive, so i've switched to Rum and Cokes, usually US$2.50 ...... i had 2. they were US$5 each ... that is double the normal price! i protested, but the owner had gone, and the little island girl just looked apologetic and said 'it's not me' .... i hope i've learned my lesson ... first the wine ... then, i don't think i mentioned a breakfast with orange juice that was 1/2 the price of the food ... and now the drinks. i will definitely need to be more careful. i'm going through more money than i had anticipated and not doing anything much other than eating ... and drinking :)

Tues, 19 Jan

Tues 19 Jan: i got a lot accomplished today after chores. i have a ceiling fan in my room, but it is not over the bed. i also have a mosquito canopy for my bed (thank you, Kathy D) that i hadn't gotten up yet. i think i'm getting most of the bug bites at night, so i want to get that up. Last night i was thinking i should put my bed under the ceiling fan because i wasn't getting any air circulation where it was in the corner, duh....... so today, i moved my bed under the fan, and found some screws and the drill and put the canopy up over my bed. it's perfect now ! of course all this took a lot of time to find the supplies, and while i was in that 'supply' room i kind of organized it and familiarized myself with what was in there, ... for future projects. Madi has lots of 'stuff' .... like me ... you can almost always find what you need just by looking around. Pic of my bed with canopy ... do i sleep like a princess ? then decided to go for a swim, so i headed out to find something to eat on the way. a fast food take away place .... and 10min later, a chicken burrito ... not exactly McDonald's fast, but pretty fast for here on the island. and, the best part ... only B$5 ... i.e. US$2.50 :) when i returned home, Eddi (a woman) from the UK had arrived. she has been emailing Madi for over a year and now has come to stay for 2 months. it will be nice to have more help! i went to the Sports Bar to use their wireless, but ended up paying for the internet cafe in order to upload my photos. getting the photos in to my blog is becoming a time consuming and rather expensive task. i don't think there is a better way to do it here either.

Sun, 17 Jan

Sun, 17 Jan ok, i've been asked exactly how 'chores' work here .... Madi gets up somewhere around 5-6am .... first she takes care of her 'own' 4 cats that she brought with her from NYC, that stay in her room. then she comes down and let's the cats out that live in "Tiger's Den", 18 of them. they get an hour of 'playtime' while she prepares the food. it's easier to do that when they are out from under your feet, meowing ............ Photo of her getting ready to let the cats out. the round big orange structure on the right is her rain water tank. after all he rain they had in Dec, she said it is almost full. she uses this water for the cats ... NOT the water that comes out of the faucets in the house .... so i figured i shouldn't drink it either :) i'm still asleep but usually wake up around 6:30am to the sound of cats meowing ... Madi is already down there with them preparing their bowls, and they know it. so i get up and start helping her. just me ... Peter, Anna, and Mikko, are not helping with the chores. they are not going to be here that long, and it's too time consuming to try to get them acquainted with all the routines... so, it's Madi and i for now. it's a LOT! Since i'm here, i've identified a lot of little things that need to be done. so, Peter has been doing these 'fix-it' things in and around the cat areas. believe me, there is a lot to do, just little things; like fix the hooks that keep the doors closed. they had rusted off, and Madi was using a cement block wedged against the door to keep it closed. i was tripping over the block and it took precious minutes to move them, open the door, place the food, close the door, and replace the block! so getting those things done has been very helpful. Madi and i work together until about 8am, when she needs to get ready to go to work and catch the 8:30 water taxi into Belize. After she leaves, i continue to finish up where we were, ....cleaning litter boxes, filling water bowls, and washing all the food dishes .... after EACH feeding ..... do any of you do that ????????????? i never did! and then i go to another room where the kittens and young cats are living, and take care of them; then the cats across the street that really aren't 'hers'. after that, i need to get something to eat. i'm not much of a big breakfast person, so i've found some whole wheat bread from the local bakery and peanut butter (not skippy nor jif-- went to the grocery store and found a young guy and asked him which brand he liked best... i bought that one. it's good!). and i have some fresh fruit, bananas ... there is nothing like a fresh banana, papaya, pineapple, melons. more on chores later ... back to Sunday, ...even though it is Sunday, chores still need to be done. in fact the weekends are usually busier since Madi is here all day, and she keeps working, non-stop. this is the time that she 'flushes' the floors, shelves, and litter areas with water, then applies some biodegradable soap, then flushes again. since the soil is so sandy here, it drains pretty quickly and does make a difference. the morning was cloudy, cooler and windy, so snorkeling is off for today :( however, the afternoon turned out very nice ... and we could have gone ... but did not instead i walked around the island and took some photos. The Caye Caulker Water Taxi Dock. these boats go to San Pedro and Belize City, about every hour. This is the company that Madi 'works' for ..... or is trying to 'save' our Meijer's -- even though it says "Bar and Grlll" it is a combination grocery store with hardware in the back. Just like home :) Our Bakery ... whole wheat bread ! some nice sugar cookies :) my bug bites are making me miserable ... i can hardly stand myself, itching, itching, all the time. i finally thought to take some benadryl ... it seems to help. Peter is leaving tomorrow, so we took Madi out to dinner tonight. i was really tired, maybe the benedryl ... doesn't usually affect me like that.

Monday, 18 Jan

Mon 18 Jan: Peter left for Guatamala and Honduras this morning. it was a perfect morning. after chores, i set up snorkeling again with Janne and Henk, the friends of Peter from Holland. we will go snorkeling while he rides a hot dusty bus to Flores... poor Peter :( our snorkeling boat took us out to the reef in front of Caye Caulker. there were 3 different spots. the first place was wasn't too deep, altho we did see a few divers at about 35 feet. saw a stingray as soon as i entered the water. our guide really guided us. i stayed close by so i could see whatever he pointed out. he coaxed a moral eel out of his 'den' with some fish. he came out and headed towards us with his mouth open. they look so vicious, but they have to keep their mouth open because they don't have gills, .. it's the way they breathe. lots of fishes and different corals: brain, star, lettuce. saw a pretty big grouper under a bank of coral. we snorkeled for almost an hour... i was getting cold, even tho i had my new wonderful neoprene jacket on. the next stop was Stingray Alley. Similar to the one at Grand Caymen.... for years the fishermen cleaned their fish at this spot, and the stingrays used to come and feed. they still come today and swim with us tourists. i actually got to hold one . they are like soft wet velvet. very soothing! the next spot was Coral Gardens ... lots of coral outcroppings quite close to the surface. you can just stay in one place and continue to see lots of little fishes, anemoes, and sea urchins. it clouded up for awhile and actually rained quite heavily while we were with the stingrays, but who notices when you're in the water. it was a great snorkel experience. i can't imagine what a bad snorkel experience would be; hopefully i never do. i have not posted this because i was hoping that Janne would send me some photos of our trip ... but ... i'll send them later ......when we got back to Janne and Henk's place, they 'insisted' that i come in and use their HOT water to shower and wash my hair. WOW ... simple pleasures :) my bites are still driving me crazy. i went to the pharmacy to get something for a couple of the cats, who seem to have allergies and have raw patches. the pharmacist said i could take the same thing for my bites and it wouldn't make me sleepy. so i got some for myself too. and it works! on the way to the pharmacy i took some more photos: golf cart taxi: they made their fences out of the dead coconut branches: if i had time :) .... i'd research this and let you know what it is :) Catholic Church ... this one i know. i tried to get in, but it was locked,.... is there a message there ? when i got home Madi also suggested putting aloe on them, so i slathered up, and that gave some immediate relief. no other topical creams have worked. i even bought one here that is hemp based, and got some from Janne that she said works ... none of them worked for me. but the aloe did .... go figure! Janne and Henk invited me to join them for dinner at their place tonight. it is their last night. we ate outside at their picnic table. i stopped for ceviche on the way there, we had rum and cokes, visited, then ordered Chinese, take out of course, to eat at their picnic table. a good night

Sat, 16 Jan

Sat, 16 Jan hey! i've been here a week already .... and we are finally geting some nice weather! YES ! what a wonderful day ... PERFECT, best day yet. it was hot, sticky and buggy doing chores today. i took a quick jump in the water at the house just to cool off. Peter was reading under the tree, i suggested we take advantage of this beautiful Belize day and go down to The Lazy Lizard at The Split. The 'split' was caused by a Hurricane Hati in 1961 ... it literally cut the island in half. Arial photo of Caye Caulker, at the top of the photo you can see where it split. it is now a nice sandy beach with a little bar, picnic tables in the water, hammocks on the deck. The split is quite deep and the tide is strong there. you just get in the water on one side of the bar, and float, and let the current take you down a little to the other end of the bar, and get out, go to the bar, get another drink, repeat ...... easily entertained, aren't i? i had been here in December, so i knew about their signature drink ... Lizard Juice ... and it's reputation. i had 2 of them in Dec and don't recommend it, .... if you need to function. Peter and i shared one. that was plenty. as you can see, it is very GREEN ! on the way back home, we stopped at Peter's friend's from Holland, and arranged to go on a snorkeling tour with them tomorrow! let the sun shine in :) as wonderful a day as it was, it did have a lot of sadness in it. Cloudy, the young and gentle tiger cat lost his fight against the poisoning of his system due to his urinary tract being plugged. it is especially sad when this happens to one of the more affectionate cats; since not all of them are. Madi was very sad, of course, because she did all she could. this is what happens when you do not have resources available here on the island. we buried him there on her property, and i consoled her the best i could. we made a nice resting place for him. back to Rose's for dinner. tonight it was grilled Hogfish ... awesome ! met another guy, Josh, who is also travelling. he was there with his parents and they are going to get scuba certified. i love it here :)