5 Jan, Thurs

Thurs, 5 Jan: as i awoke the first morning, 2 cats were outside my door, and i recognized them as Patches and Dusty. that was a nice welcoming. Oso the black dog was playing with one of the new cats Sweet Peaches was on the dock on barracuda patrol. later, in the evening, Nicole and i were on the dock and she started barking. we looked in the water in time to see a large stingray swimming under the dock at our feet. dogs are so smart! Chuck, the severely-abused dog, still keeps watch from the top of the water tower, where he stays most of the time. the only one missing was Melody the Duck. a few months ago a crocodile got her during the night as she slept by the shore. Melody never liked me, and the feeling was mutual; but i never would have wished that fate on her. RIP Melody! it was like being 'home' back here at Madi's. Madi has 'inherited' several new cats and has been able to expand a few of the 'catteries'. as always, there is lots to do. i spent today repairing doors of several types around the enclosures. my goal continues to be to try to find ways to make things without metal hinges because they rust so quickly. a beautiful sunset ended our work day. in the evening Nicole, Neil and i started at The Enjoy Bar ...... it is the same place Nicole and i ate dinner last night. tonight we met Steve from Canada there, a friend of Neil's from his scuba class, and had a drink on their swings. we walked down Front Street (that's the street in the front, closest to the sea); and decided to eat at Bambooze. the last 2 years i was here it was called Bamboo :) then the guys wanted ice cream at one of the local ice cream parlors: Nicole, Neil, and i went home; and tried to open a coconut with a machete ...and that was the end of my first full day here on Caye Caulker.

4 Jan - 2012 Adventure Begins

4am - 4Jan and i'm off on Winter Adventure. #3, key word being 'adventure' and never known to disappoint. all went fine with a minor delay in Miami waiting for a different plane to arrive, arriving in Belize only 45min behind schedule, it's 3:15pm. At Immigration, the young officer looks at me, looks at my passport photo, looks again at me and smiles. i have never found the Belizean Immigration Officials to be anything but grumpy. in an attempt to make pleasant conversation, i offer that i was younger then. he smiles and says 'yes'. i explained to him that that wasn't very nice; he said he shouldn't lie; i say little white lies are sometimes ok; he acquiesces. welcome to Belize! but at least i was able to break his facade :) i had packed plastic totes with art supplies to take to Madi. Preparing to go through Customs, i could hardly expect them to believe that my 9 plastic storage totes were part of my daily normal activities so i had to 'declare'. this didn't make much different in the line or time, since Belize Customs decided they needed more money and, at least today, searched every bag, even in the "Nothing to Declare" line. an hour later, after paying a 30% duty fee, i exited the building to find the taxi that Madi had arranged for me, that loyally had been there waiting for me for over an hour! Pascal and his 4yr old son, Pascalito ('ito' being smaller or tiny version of his pappa) took me to the Water Taxi. it is not uncommon here for taxi drivers to have a 'bring your child to work day' ...everyday. Pascal was very nice. i asked him how he knew Madi. he said, "good people know good people who know other good people". i liked that! around 4:45pm i boarded the Water Taxi with 40+ others while the luggage and boxes were loaded as well. it's always pretty tight inside the boat and today was no exception; and the man in the yellow shirt obviously not happy. i seemed to be at the end of the line, but i saw a space 'back there'. vacant i realized, because a racoon was sitting on the bench with his owner. taking up the room of at least another 3 people. ok, it was young raccoon, on a leash with it's owner. being the 'animal-loving brave-soul' that i am, i took my seat next to the raccoon. the kids and owner were playing with it, and like a kitten it was biting and scatching. unfortunately, my upper arm got in the way and it got a little bite. i was wearing a long sleeve shirt, nothing serious, it didn't break the skin; but i decided to ask the people across from me to scooch over a bit so i could sit and watch the raccoon from a little further distance. speeding through the water on our way to Caye Caulker for about 5min, the boat abruptly slows and idles; the gas and oil fumes waifting through the cabin. something is going on, we don't know what, a few minutes later we take off again ... much slower. at 5pm, we stopped ... no explanation was given, ...and none was really needed. we waited for our 'rescue' boat to appear, and appear it did, and pulled up along side of us. and eventually we moved to our 'rescue boat', our cargo was transferred and everyone was happy to be on our way ... well, except the man in the yellow shirt. we cruised along at a pretty good pace; but it seemed to be taking forever. ...and then, ....again ...we slowed and stopped. yes it's true, i have not 'lost my place' in this story ... this is our 'rescue boat'. the guys appeared asked the 8 people that were sitting on one of the 4'x 6' engine covers to move; as they removed it, billows of black smoke, steam, and fumes filled the cabin. we all covered our mouths, they tinkered with the engine; and eventually we were on our way again. Pulling away a little faster than row-boat speed, we left our boat behind. we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset. ....which reminded us all that we should have been there a long time ago .... it's normally a 40min ride. we left at 4:45, it's now 6:30 and will be dark soon; what a nice evening for a leisurely boat ride, ... it was taking forever!!!!!!! we finally pulled up to the dock at Caye Caulker just as it was starting to rain. we waited in the rain on the dock to make sure our belongings were unloaded, because the boat and some unfortunate people still had to continue on to Ambergris Caye, another 'normally 30min' ride. i am glad i was not one of them. Madi had another taxi driver waiting, patiently, for me. Luloo loaded my luggage on a golf cart and i was finally 'home ... it was 7:30 ! it was so good to see Madi. i always forget how tiny she is, i feel like a giant when i give her a hug. first on the agenda was trying to locate Nicole, another volunteer from San Fran; who had arrived via an express water taxi from Chetumal Mexico (with no delays). however, she didn't know where to go, and was wandering around the streets with her backpacks. Luloo found her and Madi took us to the Cabana to meet Neil, a vet student, from the UK that had been volunteering at ARCUS, a wildlife rescue center in Guatemala.. we stood around and visited for awhile, when Nicole finally asked if anyone was hungry .... i was starving, but didn't want to be rude. over dinner, i spent the rest of the evening orienting and educating Nicole about Caye Caulker as i ate my first meal of 2 small red snappers! there was no lobster on the island tonight ... seas were too rough today. i hope that changes soon! Nicole is an almost-animal-rights-attorney, turned vet student. very nice girl who had to take a cold shower last night in Mexico, and couldn't wait to get back to Madi's and take a nice hot shower. i had to be the one to break the news to her; ... no hot showers here either :( Madi had 'my room' ready for me, i took a nice cold shower and fell into bed.

The Final Dive -- Epic !!!!!!!!!

A Special Day. ~~~ !!!! my last day here ... what do i want to do ? ... dive of course! i went out with my #1 Dive Shop, Belize Diving Adventures. Everette, on the left was the Dive Master, and Darrel was the Boat Captain. there was also another couple from Florida. our first dive was to Paradise Canyon; and the second dive was a 'drift dive' at Mermaid's Lair. in a normal dive, you dive down, cruise around and circle back to the boat that is anchored waiting for you. in a 'drift dive', you dive down and go with the current. the Boat Captain watches your bubbles and picks you up 'down the way' .... somewhere .... this time of the year, the sea is really rough .... Easter Winds they call it; and we dove OUTSIDE the reef, and the waves were a good 8'. it was a roller-coaster ride out there, ... up and over and down, riding the waves. they were HUGE ! i was wondering how we were going to execute getting in and out of the boat. i dove in some pretty heavy waves in Utila, with great difficulty. and that was nothing compared to these waves! but, Everette explained that when each of us got in the water and gave the 'ok' signal, we were to go right down to about 10' and wait there; and not spend any time on the surface where we would be thrown around. and, it was a much better procedure and worked perfectly! when we all gathered at 10', then Everette gave the signal to continue down. it's incredible that once you are under the water, the wave action is gone! we started our dive, and i was absolutely amazed at how many very large Groupers were swimming around in the water with us. they came right up to us, totally unbothered. it was ... well, like we belonged there ... like we were just another fish in the sea. Nassau Grouper. Nassau, Snapper, Wrasse, .... and if the Grouper weren't enough ... there were lots of Nurse Sharks just cruising around as well. This is a Black Grouper with a Nurse Shark in the background. here is a shot to give you an idea of the 'canyons' ..... reminds me of the canyons in the Rockies. that's a long ways down there ..... except there are Nurse Sharks swimming around here .... instead of Bears and Lions :) Everette pointed out this tiny Arrow Crab (about 4") ... first one i've seen, with real heavily banded reddish-black legs. a Rock Hind. they hang out around the coral crevices, and i've had a hard time photographing them while snorkeling, because they dart out of sight; ....but seemed to be unconcerned by divers. they are so pretty with their reddish brown spots. lots of Yellowtail Snappers swimming around. another Rock Hind, hovering over a beautiful Star Coral. a Pork Fish ... reminds me of an Angelfish head and a French Grunt body and tail. Black Groupers ... swimming right in front of my face ! an amazing 'hat' coral ... well, ok, that's what i'm calling it. but it was a beautiful bright red-orange color, shaped like a hat, with all these round balls with holes poked in them ... reminded me of a 'popcorn stitch' in knitting .... huh? ....what do i know about knitting ???????? another Nassau Grouper. and more of that same coral. i am so attracted to bright colors, aren't i ?????? ...can't help it that i'm a color person! so we're drifting along in Mermaid's Lair ... when it happened again. i am so fortunate! remember last year, when i was out at Glovers Reef and the dolphins came to play with us while we were snorkeling? ......... well, ........ it happened AGAIN ! this is just such a sensational experience, it's hard to describe! they are so free and .... 'playful' .... that is the only way i can describe it ... and it's the interaction and communication that you feel with them that makes it so special .... amazing ! diving down ... then up again .... and coming back to see what we were doing .... i mean this guy was heading full speed right towards me ... then at the last second twisting and swimming off in the other direction .... WoW! we were all just in a trance watching them. it was a mom and a baby. and the baby was the one that was really playing around. then all of a sudden it was like the mom said, 'ok, enough, let's go' .... and they were gone .... left us with this feeling like we had just been given a gift that filled us with such a euphoric feeling of joy ... what a fantastic experience. and i've been fortunate enough to experience it twice! we continued to dive and see more fish ... but everyone was looking around and around, to see if maybe the Dolphins would return for more fun .... but they were gone. :( before we surfaced, we did get to see a Hawksbill Turtle grazing among the coral. i almost missed him because he blended in so well with the coral. Unlike the Dolphins, ... he completely ignored us ... no interaction what-so-ever. i know i raved about the coral at Cayos, but there is some pretty colorful coral here too ... happy to see it !!! this pretty Azure Vase Sponge, with a tiny little crab on it. What an incredible way to the my Barrier Reef Adventure of 2011 ! Thank you everyone for your support, thoughts, and prayers for my safe travels !

Costa Maya Resort

Day Trip North Darrel and i took the Coastal Express Water Taxi about 1/2hr to the North end of Ambergris Caye to spend the day at Costa Maya Resort ... just to see how the 'rich and famous' vacation. it was great fun. it was a Sat, so their new guests had not arrived yet, so we had the place to ourselves. at the bar; i had a great Dirty Banana drink. Darrel stuck with beer. swam in the pool, ... a chlorine pool !!!!!!!! walked the beach. we had intended to rent kayaks and go out to the reef. but since it was their 'turn-over day', they were not open. so we swam out to the reef to snorkel ... a bit further than i anticipated; but it was fun. saw a lot of Sea Cushion Sea Stars in the sand on the way out to the reef. this was a very curious French Angelfish. i was very happy to finally see a Queen Triggerfish!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love their markings on their faces. the first one i've seen since i've been down here this year! these Tube Sponges were pretty. and this Spanish Hogfish. when we returned to the dock, we found this Yellow Stingray swimming around. it was a fun day, away from the noise and heat of the 'city'.