Still the Weekend

Here's a few more shots of what's happening during the weekend. Of course, there's the shots that were missed entirely, like the ones of Dianna and me sitting on the front porch with Doug and Twila (they bought the big lot up Ferry Road from us) having a few beers and commiserating with each other about what rough duty being down here was. Sorry, folks, but that was the topic - well, in part. We did talk about fish, the weather, building, local roads, the ferry... that sort of thing.

Here's one to warm you up - Willie, a young kid who works weekends at the Copa Banana, torched the burn pile, so I shot a few pictures of it. This is one.

The Burn Pile In Action

These shots give you a good idea of the progress taking place under our house. We're hoping they get at least a bedroom and the bathroom working. Then we can move in. We only have about two more weeks here in this duplex. It's rented starting 1 December.

The Foundation Columns Are Almost Done

The Foundation Columns A Different View

Here's some better shots of the walls of the laundry/utility/storage/workshop room.

The Wall Keeps Going Up

View From Across the Room

Isidoro and crew worked very hard to finish up the fence project. Their work is excellent. It's been a real pleasure to work with him and his guys. You'll see more of them as they're going to build our canal-side fence and the wall around the septic drain field.

Myo and Esidoro Assembling Elsie's Gate

Putting Fabric Onto the Frame

Finishing up Elsie's side of the fence project brings this phase to a close. Eugene, a young man, (who Bob fired early on) has proved to be a worthwhile member of the team. He's been a steady worker and pretty reliable.

Isidoro's cousin (I'm sorry, his name slips my mind) is quiet and just gets in there and works. He's a permanent part of Isidoro's crew.

Eugene Cutting Tie Wire

Esidoro's Cousin Finishing the Edge

Here they are attaching the last part of the gate to the post. It's done.

It's Attached

Elsie's fence is now done. Once we closed the gate, it really felt like the yard was closed in.

Elsie's Fence - Done

Elsie's Fence -From the Other Side

Here's more shots of the"dolphin-fish" as the locals call it in our canal. He's about 3-feet in length. Maybe I'll try my hand a catching him after we get moved in. They're good eating along with the Tilapia that are also in the canal.

About a 4' Tarpon in Our Canal

Big Fish

Here's a really nice shot of him after he turned around. I can't wait to get to using my good DSLR and lenses. There's so much wildlife here to photograph.

Still A Big Fish

To Market, To Market...

Ah... There's something really elemental and satisfying about going to the marketplace here in Corozal. Fresh fruits and vegetables are generally available everyday, as long as the item is in season. For example. The other day we tried to get radishes. None of the market vendors had radishes. Finally, one of them told us that radishes were out of season and that no one would have them. It just never dawned on us there was a season for radishes, I mean, Safeway always had them, right?

The lady below is one of our favorite vendors at the marketplace. She's showing us some of her wares. It was interesting, that while this was going on, a truck was delivering fresh broccoli to the market and all the vendors, her included, were keeping an eye out to make sure they got their fair allotment of the delivery. We also bought a head of broccoli.

One of Our Favorite Vendors at the Market

Dianna selecting some fresh green peppers. Vendors here usually have a broad assortment of peppers, mild to blow the top of your head off, savory, spicy, you name it.

Everything Always Looks to Good

One of the more interesting fruits we've found here (I have no idea what it's name is, locals call it something like "mammia"), looks like ripe papaya on the inside, but tastes like pumpkin pie - complete with cinnamon.

The View From Peter and Sylvia's is Good Too

Here's another shot of some of the fruit that's available. Watermelon is usually available everyday as is mangoes, papaya, bananas, plantain, grapefruit, grapes, and surprisingly last month, Washington State apples! Complete with labels and really shiny, shiny.

Fresh and Lots to Choose From

Here's a view looking down the marketplace. Notice also how clean the marketplace is. It's like that every day. All the vendors are pleasant and easy to deal with. There's virtually no haggling, a relief for us Gringos unused to that process, with prices set. They might vary a bit from vendor to vendor, but are similar throughout.

How Much You Want?

Also at the market (I'm sorry, no pictures of this yet) is a fish market. Fish day is Thursdays. The fish sellers usually have Snook, Snapper - 3 or 4 kinds, Jackfish, mackerel, etc. of various sizes. Now, buying fish is a two-step process. There's the fish seller, but the person who will likely be helping you decide on what fish you want is actually another business person - the fish cleaner. After you decide on the fish you want, the cleaner takes the fish and puts it on the seller's scale. The seller states the price and you pay that. Then, the cleaner takes the fish down the hallway and out back to the cleaning station, where he scales and guts the fish. He will also cut fillets or steaks for you and bags the fish. For this service, you pay about $2.00BZ. A completely separate transaction from buying the fish.

There are rules of conduct for fish cleaners posted on the wall near the cleaning station. Only cleaners with current health certificates can work there. There can be no spitting, cursing, smoking, or alcohol. The fish cleaner we had was proud that he used fresh lime juice in his rinse water and made it a point to tell us that fact.

There's also a restaurant upstairs at the market. We haven't eaten there yet, but we will and