17 Jan, Mon

Mon, 17 Jan woke up to real heavy fog this morning! a good day to work ... so i started ... about 11am, the fog burned off and it got HOT. it was still, the sea was like a bath tub, not a ripple. so about noon i grabbed my snorkel stuff and GoPro camera, and headed for The Split again ... to see if i could improve my video capabilities ... still not much luck. unfortunate too, because i saw the largest stingray i've ever seen, ... it looked like Darth Vadar in the face ... kinda spooky. he was feeding when another snorkeller yelled at me to come look. he was kicking up an incredible cloud of sand. visibility was zero for about a 20ft circle, for awhile we couldn't see a thing. it really was awesome ! i'm always so regretful when i can't share photos of these things, sorry :( i will try to post some snorkel photos on You Tube when i get a chance. Here is a photo that i did get of a sea star .... there are a LOT of sea stars at The Split. beautiful sunset tonight .... went to dinner alone tonight ......... to Tom Boy's ... an Indian restaurant on the corner. i had Chicken Curry which was very good! and, they even had internet service ! :) the dogs around here feel quite comfortable just laying in the middle of the street ... .

16 Jan, Sun

Sun, 16 Jan Darren arrived yesterday from Virginia. he's on vacation for a week and wanted to check out Belize, he found Madi on line, after many emails; here he is. he reserved 'my' room before i let Madi know when i was actually arriving .... so, i'm sleeping on the 'futon' in the other room with Stephanie. worked a few hours in the morning, and when the rest of the group quit working, i quit too. and Ishie, Darren and I went to the Split to snorkel. i took my GoPro camera today, i was excited to try it out underwater. it was in-between tides, which was perfect. the water was real still, so you could snorkel without fighting the current. it was HOT and SUNNY ... it was Sunday, and everyone was out! this is more like it!!!!!! when i got back, i quickly downloaded the video from my GoPro ... a bit of a learning curve will be required ! not much success in the photography department today :( here is one pic .....Darren snorkeling in the great blue. this evening Stephanie, Ishie, Darren and I had dinner at Roses. Roses is one of the original 'grill-out-front' restaurants in Caye Caulker .... you stop at the grill and choose what you want. Ishie and i choose these: it was my favorite place to eat last year. this year, not so much. they've raised their prices, my lobster wasn't very big, and charge $7 for a rum and coke... how dare they! but the presentation was great! here we all are left to right: Stephanie, Darren, me, Ishie

15 Jan, Sat

Sat, 15 Jan it's the weekend :) i worked until noon,... replaced these hinges. i know that doesn't sound like much work ... but believe me ... it was ! the weather is warming up a little again, so i decided i deserve a brake and headed out for The Split. Madi saw me as i was leaving and thought she had a new guest; guess i'm looking pretty 'seedy' while working. it was mostly cloudy, so i didn't go in the water, but i laid down in the sand for awhile. it felt good. my nephew, Tyler, gave me a new camera to try out while i'm down here. it's called GoPro Hero, it's High Density, has a really wide angle, a waterproof case, is rugged, and the best part is, that is has no settings. just turn it on and shoot. i took a video of the entire length of Front Street (the street in 'front' of the water), from the Dock all the way to The Split. i just held it at my waist (spy-like) while i walked, so it's a little 'choppy' and uneven; but WOW, the quality and clarity is incredible. i posted Part 1 on You Tube. go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92X5BnI0CVk. i'll get Part 2 as soon as i can. on the way back, i had Conch Ka-Bobs ... they were pretty good, but i guess i wouldn't get them again. pic of one of the shops on Front Street. Tried the Oceanside for a drink and internet service tonight ... they didn't have 'my' rum, the internet didn't work, and the music got really loud. time to go, and call it a day.

14 Jan, Fri

Fri, 14 Jan still cool here, but more sunshine today ... but i still continued to work all day; except i took a break for lunch and went to my favorite little Mexican shop, El Paso, and had my favorite ... Salbutas. They are made with masa corn flour, fried, the topped with shredded chicken, cabbage and carrots, with a tomato and jalapeno slice on the top. I love them! Here is what they look like. house next to El Paso, with it's resident chickens. i 're-did' this area .... boards, peg board, metal roofing, and plastic tops were stuck around the fence to keep the cats in/out. it was really pretty 'trashy' looking, don't you think ? before. after. Ishie arrived yesterday, a young girl from Tahoe and plans to stay for 3 weeks. She's very nice, outgoing, and adventurous, .... and helped me with my chores today. Our first job was to walk to the lumber yard and carry home two 14 foot 1x4's .... i'll bet they've never seen that before :) Stephanie (from New Brunswick) and i went to dinner tonight to Pirates. They were grilling in the street, which seems to be the thing this year. last year there were 3 places doing that, now almost every restaurant (and anyone else, it seems), has their grill out on the street. they had a nice big piece of grouper for B$30. i asked the guy if he would sell me half of it for B$15. he really didn't want to do it; but eventually he did. it was great grouper. dinner also came with 2 sides, a ceviche appetizer, and free rum punch. not a bad deal for B$15.

Thur, 13 Jan hummmm ... how can it be such perfect weather, and i wake up this morning to blowing wind and much cooler ? ....what is this...Michigan? i guess the weather is unpredictable everywhere. and, today was the day i was going to force myself to go for a swim/snorkel. i must admit this weather is much more conducive to working, and i continued to work. there is yet another area that has been patched and re-patched ... and a hazard as well, some of the wire stuck out and 'grabbed' you as you walked by, if you weren't careful. here is a before picture: and the after picture where i replaced the board and the mesh screen ... looks nice, huh? here are a couple of photos of the cats taking their afternoon nap. and the pelicans on Madi's dock.

11 Jan, Tues

11 Jan, Tues Jos stopped by with his cameraS and took a few photos of a couple of the cats, and left a donation for Madi. Every little bit helps. Once people come here and see the work (challenges) that Madi faces, they often want to help in some way. my maintenance duties are taking me forever coz we have few tools. i'm replacing latches, hooks, hinges, and screens on doors to the cat cages/rooms. no gloves, and my fingers are raw. plus i fell ice skating christmas eve and my wrist is pretty much useless.... hurts like hell when i try to use a hammer :) ...and forget about twisting it, as in using a screwdriver! poor me :) . and the wood that they have here is SO HARD that you can't get a screw into it without a pilot hole ...... and the drill (electric, with a long cord that is always somewhere else); doesn't even get through the stuff. i don't know what tree it comes from; when i ask, everyone just says it's 'hard wood' duhhhhhhhhhhhh ... do i sound like i am complaining? well, just a little. the things i am doing aren't that difficult and should only take a few minutes; but because of the above challenges, they end up taking hours. it is frustrating! before pic ... boards stuck every-which-way into the fence to keep cats in / or out .... and after pic of the same section of fencing ....all nice neat and tidy :) i've been working non stop since i got here, and have not even put my feet in the sea yet! do you feel sorry for me ?????????. but, after all of the above 'complaining' ... i am really happy here :) at dinner tonight, i am sitting on a balcony on one of the back streets of Caye Caulker drinking a new drink: rum and fresh ginger with a half of fresh lime squeezed and rubbed on the rim. and you're supposed to turn the glass around to keep drinking from the lime juice on the rim, ... this is high tech stuff !!!!!!!! it's good, not sweet nor sour, ...... just refreshing ! it's very quiet here on the back streets, no wild crazy drunk kids :)

12 Jan, Wed

12 Jan, Wed This morning i got to the Bakery in time to get some of their Ham and Cheese sandwiches, ... unusual, a little spicy, and very good. Madi hired a 'professional' carpenter/builder today to make 3 window frames and put double screens in them. Walter worked ALL DAY, did an excellent job, .... and charged her B$50 (US$25) ... what does that tell you ? i, on the other hand, continued my tasks in an effort to keep the cats from escaping from where the are supposed to be. tonight, i'm at a restaurant with Karoke :) "it's only words, and words are all i have....." about time to leave ... :) but, maybe one more drink .... and now some spanish song ... oh my .. ok .... what ???? Black Sabath ?????????? a girl with from San Fran with a bunch of "YOUNG KIDS" from around the world ... Black Sabath ?????????????? This island knows no generations barriers; an amazing collection of peoples of all life styles from all around the world. That's what makes it so unique. last night i woke up scratching my ankles and arms ... tonight i am slathering myself with pieces of an aloe plant that is outside my door. so much for keeping myself free from no-seem-ums !!!!!!!!! i really HATE this side-effect of the area ! i still wouldn't trade this for winters in Michigan :)