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 :)

Fri, 15 Jan

Fri, 15 Jan Today was a Belize kind of a day. Windy, warm, and sunny ... now, ... was that so hard? i hope this is the beginning of my 'winter' weather! i went to the Sports Bar to get 'free' wireless service. it cost me USD7 for something to eat and i wasn't able to upload any photos :( came back here and Wilbur was cleaning yet another crate of lobsters. Me, with one of them ! He's a big one ! they were also raking some sea weed from our beach so we could go swimming. Wilbur found a Toad Fish ... strangest animal i've seen yet. it had a long nose and bright red lips or mouth. he was triangle shaped like a stingray. his underside was red and had 2 legs. he was kind of leathery feeling. WOW ! here are some pics ! have you ever ????????????????????? After that i went in the water. today was my first day swimming ... i have arrived! i am happy dinner tonite at the 'famous' Habanera with Peter, at least we had heard a lot about it, however they didn't tell us.... it's rather expensive .. no, it's very expensive by Caye Caulker standards. but, it had all the elements of haute cuisine ... the presentation was impressive .. sorry i didn't have my camera with me ! back to the Reggae bar for much cheaper rum and cokes. .. that place could be my 'hang out' ... i like the bartender :)

Thurs, 14 Jan

Thurs, 14 Jan: Still rather cloudy, cool, and windy. Chores, cats in and out. i got Cloudy, the sick one, set up in a large cage outside so he could enjoy the fresh air. then i took a nap, went for a walk to take some photos. i saw a fisherman w/catch of the day: here he is cutting conch, you can see the quite large 12-13 pound snapper, a cooler full of lobster, and many other fish. there was a couple there buying lobster. US$13/pound for a whole lobster; or US$5/pound for just the tail. the frigit birds were dive-bombing the pelicans ... all fighting for the 'remains' the fishers were throwing to them. and they were flying dangerously close to my head ! it's really been nice having Peter here to have dinner with and go out in the evening. i believe he will be leaving soon to continue south through Central America. So tonight we were going to try Habanara's, since many people talk about it. but, they were closed on Thurs, so we ate at the Sand Box and stopped at the Sports Bar for a couple of rum and cokes before heading home. we were both tired from last night.

Wed, 13 Jan

Wed, 13 Jan: Chores as usual. it was actually sunny today and a little warmer. but by the time chores were done and i was ready to enjoy it, the clouds came in and looked like rain. the cat i mentioned, Cloudy, who has urinary blockage is not doing well, hasn't eaten for a week and is not responding to meds. i went to a bait shop and got a fish for him. he actually at a little bit, very little. when i got back from my walk, Wilber, Madi's brother, was out in the water. i walked out on the dock to see him 'cleaning' his lobsters. he continued to entertain us with his lobster-slaying and lobster education for several hours. he showed us the difference between the male and female, also how to get the meat out of the head. quite a lot of meat is in there, but it's time consuming an most people don't bother. it tastes a little different and has a different consistency. i haven't tried it yet. Wilbur with 2 lobsters: This is Wilbur with a 5 gal bucket FULL of lobster tails, 71 i think he said .....anyone hungry ? Female, stores her eggs in the 'fins'. Male, has 2 penis's ... eat your heart out guys .. one on each side .... pre-sunset lighting the palms in the yard. tonite, i enjoyed my first sunset, right from our dock. it was beautiful ! Peter and i went to Rainbow Grill for dinner, and ate out over the water, then on to explore and find a fun bar. ended up at a Reggae bar south of 'town' ... really awesome place, it just kept going up and up, from one platform/terrace to another, with hammocks and lounge chairs on each level. we met another couple from Holland and enjoyed talking with them . drank more run and cokes than necessary and stayed out until midnight ... late for us !

Tues, 12 Jan

Tuesday, 12 Jan every day starts and finishes the same way. separating and feeding the cats, as well as changing their water and scooping the litter boxes. then, all dishes need to be washed and ready for the next feeding. During the day, they take turns going out, but i haven't gotten that all down yet. Madi's brother, Wilbur, traps lobster and stone crabs ... i don't know what else, but i'll find out. he said they sell them to the processing facility 'just there' pointing to the dock just south. they carry 2,000 pounds of lobster to the mainland. that is 2,000 pounds of just tails, 4oz, the minimum legal size. that just astounds me! that is a lot of lobster! a nice young coupled arrived today and set up their tent at Madi's. Anna and Mikko are from Finland, and like most people here, are 'travelling around'. as we were leaving for dinner tonight we got a 'news flash' from Madi, .... sometimes Crocodiles climb up on our shore! .... this is not something she disclosed on her web page! ....nor did she mention the fact that we have no hot water here -- ever :( ... quote: "it's usually so hot, that a cold shower feels good" :) Peter and i weren't sure where we were going for dinner. he had met another couple from Holland when he was travelling here, and the met them again when he got here. so, we walked to their place and ended up sitting with them, having a few drinks at their place, then the guys went next door and got Chinese take out and we sat at their picnic table and ate. Anna and Henk are a really nice and interesting couple and very easy to talk with. They have been 'travelling' together for 40 years. And i mean doing a lot of travelling for lengthy periods of time. She always packs her suitcase with clothes, towels, lotions, etc., and school supplies, ... and goes home with an empty suitcases. it was a very nice evening.