12 Jan, Thurs

Thurs, 12 Jan yes, it was another HOT day today. every night when i get in the shower, the water, ...cold water, runs brown. how can i get so dirty???? Wilber, Madi's brother, was in the water by the dock this morning. i noticed he was cleaning Conch shells. he had been out in the boat yesterday and picked up 35 Conchs !!!!!!!! he sold the meat for B$10/pound and was cleaning up the shells to sell in Belize City for B$5 each. they were absolutely beautiful with their pink pearl lining. Wilbur cleaning the conch shells i worked through the morning, shoring up one of the catteries. it is absolutely amazing that it is still standing, rotting boards, and no support beams are everywhere, or should i say no-where, ...but less of them after today. i want to put a roof over this area, but need to get it supported before i go crawling up there! and, i've sent an email to my brother to find out how to do it! so ... 1pm, and Madi and i met and actually began our 'art project'. of course, there is going to be a learning curve. i am not using the same materials that i used when i took my workshop. those compounds need to be steamed and dry-cleaned ... not an option here, so we are using something different ... and, it is acting different :( but we'll figure it out eventually. at any rate, we had fun today. Madi wants to thank everyone who donated to this project. she said she couldn't believe how much fun she was having; and didn't realize how she missed this kind of 'distraction' from her everyday life and chores. here is Madi at work. you probably won't be surprised to find out she is painting 'cats' on her scarf. i went to the Sports Bar tonight to eat and use their internet. they don't have any seafood here, only 'bar food'. i had quesadillas with chicken and jalapenos. i think they were the best quesadillas i've ever had! and they play 'my' kind of music, i ate outside right by the water, and the internet was pretty fast ... a good night! you all can be really happy you are not here .... well at least when it comes to the no-see-ums ... i am wearing my bug outfit around Madi's, but obviously my feet aren't very well protected. they ITCH !!!!

11 Jan, Wed

Wed, 11 Jan i got up to say goodbye to Nicole. i am happy she decided to go to Tikal; it's a big step for her to travel by herself. i wadded out in the water first thing, hoping i would have a better chance for some photos of the SeaHorses. the weather was changing. Madi said that it will either be cooler or hotter. now, see, she could work for the weather service here too! at any rate, the water was choppy and i couldn't hold the camera steady... i'm going to keep trying; but here are some from today. Madi had told me that there were some black and white SeaHorses, but i didn't see them yesteday. today i saw 3 black and white and 3 yellow SeaHorses. if you look carefully you can see the 3 black and white ones to the left of the yellow one. the yellow one with black stripes. and this one is pretty cool ! while walking out of the water this little Yellow Stingray caught my eye. i got some price quotes on roofing and other supplies at the hardware store. it was almost lunch time, so i stopped at my favorite Belizean-Mexican place for my favorite Salbutas. the man came out and shook my hand and said "welcome back, good to see you again". ...like i said, it's like being 'home'. it was really hot again today, has been hot for several days (since it rained on Nicole and i at The Split). here is a picture of Masky high up in his coconut tree, keeping cool and taking his afternoon nap. i worked a long hard day today, tackling a job that i've put off for 3 years; ...tearing out and replacing a litter box that was back in a dark corner and rotting. i finished it after the sun had set, with the help of my headlamp. i told Madi i expected time and a half. you might notice that i haven't complained about the mosquitos nor the no-see-ums. i didn't want to jinz myself. but .. they have arrived, or returned, i don't know which. but they were everywhere today ... including my room. so, it was time to put up my 'safety net' over my bed before i went to sleep. i went to The Enjoy Bar for dinner tonight. last time my lobster was $25, tonight it was $20 and included ceviche appetizer, 3 sides, garlic bread, rum punch, and fruit dessert. it was so good. i like this place except for the loud music they play :( ...can i eat lobster every night ??????? every day Madi and i plan to start our art project; but it seems every day gets away from us. tomorrow, tomorrow we will start !

10 Jan, Tues

Tues, 10 Jan worked most of the day again today, putting a tin roof over another area where the cats are. hopefully they will stay a little drier now. Nicole and i helped Madi move a double bed frame up the stairs to her Mom's place. inside her Mom's room i saw a photo of Madi in a service uniform. she was in the Army for 12 yrs while living in the US. how is it i never knew this? WoW ! i also learned that Madi had found several SeaHorses by her dock and had transported them under the mangrove trees where they would be less likely to be seen .... and harmed. so later in the afternoon, i put on some shoes and walked around the mangrove trees. sure enough .... i saw 5 yellow SeaHorses. 4 were about 3" long, and the other one was only about 2" long. i've only seen a SeaHorse once before and that was while hanging upside down over the side of a dock. i spent a lot of time watching them and trying to photograph them. the reflection of the sun/sky through the trees made it really difficult here is a picture of what i expect a SeaHorse to look like ... tail curled and in an upright position. and ...i had no idea there were YELLOW ones ! but most of the time they were extended and horizontal they are in only about 1 foot of water, and all intertwined in some type of seaweed. since this is a new one for me, i had to look up a few SeaHorse facts: unlike most other fish, they are monogamous and mate for life; AND they are among the only animal species on Earth in which the male bears the unborn young ... how cool is THAT ?

Male seahorses are equipped with a brood pouch on their ventral, or front-facing, side. When mating, the female deposits her eggs into his pouch, and the male fertilizes them internally. He carries the eggs in his pouch until they hatch, then releases fully formed, miniature seahorses into the water. how cute!

Because of their body shape, seahorses are rather inept swimmers and can easily die of exhaustion when caught in storm-rolled seas. They propel themselves by using a small fin on their back that flutters up to 35 times per second. Even smaller pectoral fins located near the back of the head are used for steering.

They anchor themselves with their prehensile tails to sea grasses and corals, using their elongated snouts to suck in plankton and small crustaceans that drift by. Seahorses have no teeth and no stomach. Food passes through their digestive systems so quickly, voracious eaters, they must eat almost constantly to stay alive. they graze continually and can consume 3000 or more brine shrimp per day. they are strange creatures. they just kind of float around. but i did see their head striking out as if they were feeding on something. i took some video and will let you know when i get it posted to You Tube. i also realized, and am sad to report that after one day of snorkeling, my new underwater camera will not turn on :( it would have been perfect for these pictures! i just don't have good luck with cameras :( i'll try again another day when the sun isn't shining ....and i'll get out my underwater housing for my other camera. Amazing! i also spotted a tiny Puffer Fish; about 1" long. you may recall i saw 2 of these when in Roatan last year. those adults were probably 10" long. the 'UN guys' went fishing today and Nicole and i were invited for fresh fish dinner. we arrived at their Hostel and were greated by the 'Madamn' who was really quite unpleasant and indignent. we were not guests of the hostel and we were not allowed in. i understand the need for security, but that was ridiculous. Stefan came down and apolgogized and we had to leave. i had stoppped at my favorite Chinese for fried rice to serve with the fish ... so Nicole and i found a dock out on the water and ate our fried rice. the moon was breathtaking this evening, big and yellow and still low on the horizon. unfortunately, i didn't have a tripod, so this was all i got. you'll have to use your imagination. it really is nice to visit the same place several years in a row. i walked into the Chinese place and the same sweet happy smiling Chinese lady was there. she recognized me and gave me a big hug. that was cool! after Nicole and i ate our'dinner' we walked to Wish Willly's to have a drink. we both ordered and when the hammocks became available, we moved in. Wish Willy came over later and visited with us, and 'bought' us our drinks. it is nice to be remembered :) Nicole leaves on the first taxi to Belize. she is on her way to Tikal for a few days; then back up to Cancun for her journey back home. so tonight was her farewell and she bought a pizza for Madi and her Mom.

9 Jan, Mon

Mon, 9 Jan worked on trying to finish up the project that Neil and i started. but i didn't go well. nothing is easy here. the screws were rusted and in so tight, i could not get them out. borrowed Channel Locks from the neighbor and tore the heads off a few of them. i made numerous trips to 2 different hardware stores; and struggled with this project all day. in the end, it is still not finished. i need some self-drilling metal screws (the kind that you use for your gutters and downspouts) , but they don't seem to exist on the island :( after a very much needed shower, Nicole and i walked to the Hostel to see if any of the guys wanted to go for a pizza. or as she said "fancy a pizza". we got 4 guys to go to the new pizza place on Caye Caulker. it is a Belizean Rum Bar as well. they only serve rum and beer; and it is 2 for 1 all day, everyday. and the 1 is B$7; which makes it the cheapest drink on the island ... and great pizza too !!!!!!! had a fun night with our UN guys: France, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany were represented tonight. the invited us to join them tomorrow for a fish fry after they get back from their fishing trip. sounds like fun !!!!!!!! someone has pictures, but not on my camera :(

8 Jan, Sun

Sun, 8 Jan we decided to book a snorkel trip with Carlos Snorkel Tours today. after a bit of work in the early morning, we headed to Carlos' at 10am. Carlos, along with other local businesses in Caye Caulker were featured on a short segment on CNN last year. this was a great trip with several stops. first we snorkeled at Hol Chan, a Marine Reserve on the reef closer to San Pedro. i've snorkeled this sight several times before, and it never disappoints. it's truly a wonderful place to see a lot of large fish, since it is a reserve and there is no fishing allowed. it was Nicole's first snorkel experience; and she loved it. me too ... i'm the one in the white shirt :) first thing out of the boat we saw a Green Sea Turtle. i do love seeing the turtles :) followed by this Spotted Eagle Ray. this was very special since you don't see these very often. Carlos then coaxed the Green Moray Eel out from under his rock. you generally see just the tip of the eels nose. Carlos worked some 'magic' to get him to come all the way out and swim around the area. i was impressed ! those were definitely the highlights of my day. of course, we saw lots of other fishes as we snorkeled the area of Hol Chan. these big Black Groupers were particularly friendly, almost like a dog wanting to be petted. this one came right up to me. a Hog Fish, identified by it's pointy dorsel fin. they are quite tasty to eat :) an anemone Nassau Grouper ... different from the Black Grouper there were so many Rainbow Parrot Fish, even Carlos commented on it. after this snorkel, we headed for San Pedro where we were able to walk around and have lunch. Nicole and i went to Fido's, where they had live music with plenty of warm sunshine. we returned to the boat and headed out to Shark and Ray Alley. this is the place where you can get up close and personal with Nurse Sharks and Southern Stingrays. this site never disappoints either. as soon as they hear the boat motors, they are there. Carlos was able to 'capture' a nurse shark and turn him on his back. this puts them into a trance-like state, so we could all feel the 'fine sand-paper' of it's skin. Nurse Sharks do not have teeth as you can see. they are bottom feeders and have plates that crush their food. much like a Stingray. cute huh? from here Carlos took us on an underwater tour that was very nice. then we got back in the boat and i thought we were headed for home; but we stopped once again at at Coral Gardens and snorkeled more. i forgot an extra camera battery so there are no more underwater photos for the day. :(

7 Jan, Sat

Sat, 7 Jan i decided late yesterday that 2 days of manual labor with my shoulder was enough; and declared a day of rest, at least for any heavy work. so today i took it easy and in the afternoon i unveiled the art project to Madi. i have brought with me all the supplies to dye silk scarves. my intent is that Madi and i can paint these scarves and sell them. hoping that this might become an 'income stream' for Madi as she continues to make scarves and sell them to tourists. i had told her about my idea and that we were going to do an 'art project'. but it wasn't until today that she knew what it was going to involve. she is very excited about it. we assembled the frames, gathered the materials, and Madi started thinking about and researching ideas to paint. it was a really hot and humid day, so later in the afternoon, i introduced Nicole to The Split. in 1961 a hurricane split the island in two parts. The Lazy Lizard is the bar at The Split. they have added on another level to The Lazy Lizard; ... pretty fancy for Caye Caulker. we sat on the tables in the water and enjoyed ourselves, even though it clouded up and even rained while we were there. back at Madi's, she said it never rained there (a 10min walk away). Nicole and i finished up the day and ate at a new Italian restaurant that was built across from Madi's on the property that she once owned. it is a nice restaurant with great surroundings and good food; but a bit pricey for our budgets.

6 Jan, Fri

Fri, 6 Jan more work around the cattery. late in the afternoon Neil returned from finishing his scuba certification and helped put a 'pitch' on a roof enclosure that has been leaking. it was quite a project, and not one that i would have been able to accomplish on my own. thank you Neil ! we showered and headed back to The Enjoy Bar for dinner this time. it was Neil's last night on the island, and party-ing was on the agenda. we were joined again by Steve, and also Stefan from Paris, and Anders from Sweden. the restaurant had lobster tonight and it was wonderful. i had the B$25 lobster, there were larger ones for B$30, $40, and $85. here is Neil holding the $85 monster! dinner was great and included a conch ceviche appetizer (kind of like fresh salsa with conch meat), a shrimp kabob, garlic bread, and fresh fruit. after diner, we moved on to the Sports Bar where we participated in their Trivia Contest. our team name was United Nations since our group consisted of members from the USA, Canada, UK, France, and Sweden. we came in second in the first round and didn't place in the second round. i now have a reputation among this group. one of the questions was "what was the largest grossing porn film made". several of the guys immediately said "Debbie Does Dallas" ...... i immediately thought "Deep Throat" ... but i'm a dinosaur, what do i know. we submitted "Debbie Does Dallas" and ... the answer was wrong; my answer was the correct one ... :) we left there and headed to the I&I Bar .... it's a reggae bar and kind of like a 'tree house'. there are multi levels, they are all open air, and have swings to sit on. i hung with the 'kids' until about 11pm; then headed for home. the rest of the group stayed on. age and experience does have it's advantages, i felt great the next day :)