Marketplace Update and More

Construction continues at a feverish pace. I mean, my God... Just look at the progress here, will ya?

Footing holes already dug for half of the new bodegas in the marketplace. Construction speed that is simply unheard of - well, at least here in Corozal.

Footing Holes Sprouting Everywhere

This afternoon, while getting ready for the Men's Group meeting, this time at our place, I spied a visitor on our back screen door. A pretty praying mantis. He (or she) wasn't really interested in what I had going on, so after I snapped this photo, I left him/her to his/her own devices.

I'll have to look it up to see if it's a praying mantis or a preying mantis. Sort of different ends there - one feeds the soul and one feeds the bod, or is it a play on words? Hmmm, I wonder.

Screen Door Visitor

Well, it turns out it's a Praying Mantis. Often, it's incorrectly written "Preying Mantis", usually because of its aggressive nature. Thanks Wikipedia.

Now this morning. As Twyla and I were walking the doggies into town, as we were approaching the fishermen's pier, something just didn't look right to me.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I told Twyla, "I think one of the boats has sunk." Neither of us could recall any bad weather during the night, so unless a through-hull fitting failed or a wooden something or other failed, I can't imagine what caused the problem.

As we approached the pier, there was no doubt as to what happened. One of the fishing boats had definitely sunk - motor and all. No one seemed to be in any great hurry to raise it from the depths, so we contented ourselves with a couple of photos and then continued on our way.

Definitely a Problem

Didn't appear to be any sheening from fuel, so that was a good thing. Lord only knows what kind of damage salt water will do to the motor and controls over the long term.

Yah, she's sunk alright.

When I passed by later in the morning, like around 10:30 AM, the boat had been re-floated and again, no one was around, so maybe damage had been minimal.

On our way back from the morning walkies, I stopped to take a picture of the new Hailey's Beach (used to be Hailey's, then it was the Hurricane, and now it's Hailey's once again. They seem to have decorated the place quite nicely - curved bar and all. Several outside seating options are available, a play area for kids and off-street parking.

Their sign says they have a seafood menu and also serve Belizean Cuisine. As long as the beer's cold and the chow is good, we'll participate. I'm looking forward to our first trip down there. Might just ride our bicycles down for some refreshment.

Hailey's Beach

Don and Brenda's Visit

Let's see. When I left you last, Don and Brenda were just stepping off the plane in Corozal.
Suffice to say, we had gorgeous weather for their visit. Morning rise and shine for more spectacular sunrises were the order of the day.

We didn't make Don and Brenda work near as hard as we did Owen and Sandy. One other thing that was different was that we at least had kitchen cabinets and a working kitchen sink. Woo hoo! It's the simple things in life, y'know?

I took Don around to several of the finer spots in Corozal, Lano's Hardware, Cinty's, the un-named tortilla stand under the awning, places like that.

I've mentioned before that we went to Bill and Jenny's Cerros Beach Resort for a beer and some lunch. Well, this time we did it one or two better. We actually went there and stayed. We rented two cabañas (notice the fancy tilde'd n?) and spent a night there. The first evening, Bill (who is a world-class professional chef) prepared the four of us a great shrimp ceviche. He proudly told us his ceviche (only prepared to order, no pre-made ingredients) had just won Lonely Planet Magazine's "Best Ceviche in Belize". It's hard to describe just how good his ceviche really is. For one thing, it's huge - arriving at the table is a platter piled inches high with the tastiest mix of veggies, shrimp, or conch (when available) and lime juice, plus some other spices. A full meal for four.

We spent the night in our cabañas. With the resort being completely solar/battery powered, there were no fans in the cabañas. I didn't find that to be an inconvenience. I took a cool shower and hit the sack. I had a great sleep, no bug annoyances or anything. On the other hand, Don, Brenda, and Dianna all reported various minor discomforts - being too warm, no air circulation, couple of mosquitos bugging them, etc. All did get enough sleep - well enough to be able to face the coming day in fine fashion.

The following morning we arose to another of those terrible sunshine-filled days that we have to endure down here. So, to make it through the day, Don and I had to go fishing. I mean, they forced us to go!

0800, or thereabouts, we had to trudge down to the dock at the resort and get into the boat. What a boat, though. Outfitted with a couple of plush, padded deck chairs, we traveled in style out to the fishing spots.

Arriving At The Dock To Start the Trip

We had a very knowledgeable captain in Eduardo. We fished for snapper, mostly, and a few other targets of opportunity.

Eduardo, Our Captain

Don, Casting Into the Mangroves

Of course, one of the mainstays in our area (we can see them daily from our deck at home) is the hard-working Frigate Bird. These guys have it really rough. They hunt up thermals and spend the entire day floating on air, hardly moving a muscle.

A Frigate At Work

A right properly and gentlemanly way to fish. All we had to do was cast and reel in, cast and reel in. We didn't even have to bait our hooks.

Don Working Up A Sweat

Getting Our Hooks Baited

We got back about 4 PM. And ended up catching 4 nice pan-size black snappers, 3 catfish which we threw back and one sucker shark, which we also returned to the deep.

On returning to the resort, Brenda and Dianna greeted us at the dock with hugs and kisses. Ok, maybe not quite that dramatically - they did greet us with cold Belikins - that they were drinking! We had to go to the bar to get our own beers. I guess they really missed us.

We stayed for supper at the resort. Bill whipped up our snappers into a really great dinner for the four of us. Grilled snapper, Fettuccine Alfredo, and fresh veggies. A delightful way to finish off the fishing trip.

After dinner and a few more Belikin, we drove (in the dark) back to the ferry and home. that drive is enough during daylight. At night, it is something unique, as is the ferry ride in the dark. Something to be experienced for sure!

Getting back home, meant time for Don and me to try to configure the wireless print server Don brought down for me. We worked for two days on that and still couldn't get it right. Arrrghhh! How frustrating.

Since I have the Satellite modem and wireless router positioned in the "attic" over the bathroom, it was easier for me to mount a ladder with my laptop to try to configure the server. After a couple of days, this got to be really uncomfortable.

On My Perch

After a day or two relaxing around the house, the four of us headed off to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye.

I was lucky enough to be able to claim the right-hand seat up front with the pilot. What a treat! I can only imagine what Brenda thought. She wasn't real sold on flying in such a small single-engined plane anyway, and there I go, up to help the pilot fly the thing... She came through in good fashion anyway.

Takeoff From the Right-Hand Seat

As we flew from Corozal to San Pedro, we passed over the New River and the ferry we had crossed coming back from Bill and Jenny's.

New River Ferry

Don Snapping Away in the Spacious Cabin

Here we are approaching the San Pedro Airport. Takeoffs and landings are the coolest parts of any flight, and it's especially so when you have a front seat view.

Ambergris Caye In Sight

Lining Up The Runway

Banking on Final

Almost Ready for Touchdown

On arrival at San Pedro, we took a cab to the Hotel San Pedrano, about 4 or 5 blocks north of Ruby's Hotel, where we have previously stayed.

The San Pedrano is a small, clean, economical ($45 US per night) hotel. AC or fans are the options. Our rooms were on the second floor, facing the street. It had comfortable beds, TV with a remote that required two hand operation (to keep the batteries in while you pushed the buttons).

Relaxing at the San Pedrano

We made the rounds of the stores and eateries and watering holes in San Pedro. All of it fun. Dianna and I picked up some coozies (zippered beer bottle bras or wet suits) for home, some extra key chains, and a custom shirt for me, and pants for Dianna.

Brenda Enjoying Beer on the Beach

As Is Dianna

Another View At San Pedro

Don Soaking Up Sunshine

As part of our visit to San Pedro, we wanted to give Don and Brenda a true taste of island life. So, we took the water taxi over to Caye Caulker, whose theme is "Go Slow".

Waiting for the Water Taxi

Lobster Pots on Caye Caulker

Of course, after that long (20 minute) taxi ride, we had to find a place to relax. The beach-side bar we found had a hammock that Don just had to try out. Dianna took time to stop and smell the roses... or whatever they were.

Life As We Know It Is Rough

Smells Galore

From San Pedro, Don and Brenda took off for Belize City and the International Airport, heading back to that four-letter word - w-0-r-k. We, on the other hand, were faced with a 15-minute flight back to - what is it, Paradise?

Oh yeh, part of being in paradise is putting up with tropical whatsis... in this case, a severe case of diarrhea. I had it for about 4 days. Major bummer. I was already dehydrated beforehand. Then catching whatever bug it was, just exacerbated the situation. I'm just now getting myself re-hydrated sufficiently. Thanks Brenda, for the azithromycin cocktail. It worked wonders.

So, here we are, back again to the mainland and home once again in Corozal.

We started a new project. As if we didn't have enough to do already. Cody is putting in curbing to define the plant beds and the driveway/walkways. After we get the curbings in, we'll bring in black dirt for the beds and white crushed and 1" gravel for the driveway and walkways. That will go a long way to making the place look sharp and finished.

Cody Cleaning Up the First Curb Casting

Cody Removing the Forms

Here's a familiar face showing back up. Abraham Camara. Who had been here with Franz and crew for most of the construction of the house. After their part of the project was done, they all went over to San Pedro to work on a three-story condo project. Abraham wasn't thrilled with it. Being gone all week from his family, plus no extra pay, plus the expense of living in San Pedro, forced him to head back to Guinea Grass and home.
Unfortunately, that meant no pay either. He called us to see if we had any work. As luck would have it, his timing was perfect. I was thinking about hiring another worker for a time for some smallish projects. So we hired Abraham. He's a good and skilled worker, so it was easy to bring him aboard.

Abraham Caulking the Wall/Ceiling Interface

My project is doing some mahogany quarter-round moulding. Here, I've varnished it, and soon will be putting it up on the porches, to get ready for screening in the porches.

1/4 Round Mahogany Trim

We finally got all of our kitchen cabinets in. The plate rack and the pantry are all in place. Now all we have to do is tile the kitchen counter, the divider bar, and the bathroom.

The Plate Rack

After these projects, the only stuff remaining for the house itself is to have Cody and Abraham cast the downstairs floor as we're going to wall in the whole downstairs, making the house truly two levels.

After that, we'll build a parking palapa for two or three vehicles, then the swimming pool, and guest/party house. Then we're done - I think.

And finally for this addition, Dianna noticed this feller on one of the lamp posts the other day, so I snapped a couple of shots of it. Turned out pretty good. This praying mantis is about 4 or 5" long. We thought you'd like to see her.

Praying Mantis At Work

A Different View