Red Letter Day, My Eye; We Took The Day Off

As I wrote yesterday, I thought it was going to be sort of a red letter day. I thought I would get the rest of the forms out of the well house, get the doors installed, and get an estimate with a bill of materials from Isidoro for the fence.

Ha, ha, ha, you so funny! Thinking all of that was going to get done in one day - here in Corozal... Ha, ha, ha!

Whew! Let me wipe the tears from my eyes and catch my breath. Wow! So, here's what happened. I got over to the property at 7:30AM, and figuring I would get a jump on things, I removed the forms that would get in the way of installing the doors - which was a couple of boards. I waited till 8:15AM, with no workers, in sight, I called Isidoro... no answer. Hmm, must have gone to the Free Zone to work. I left him a message.

I went ahead and pulled out the rest of the forms, removed nails and stacked all the lumber on my piles in the bone yard behind the septic tank, working up a mighty good sweat in the process, I might add.

After that, I called Vasco Doors to see when the guys would be showing up for the installation. Turns out they wouldn't be showing up as the welding machine had broken the other day and wouldn't be fixed till Monday. The doors will likely be installed Monday afternoon, or Tuesday or Wednesday. I reminded them I wanted them to call me first so I could be on-site when they arrived.

I recalled Isidoro, still no answer, and went ahead leaving him a message reminding him I wanted an estimate and bill of materials for the fence project.

I also called BEL to remind them we were ready for the meter installation. The office gal said she had relayed our electrician's message to the crews. She wasn't sure if they would be able to get to it today, but they were aware of it and more than likely would do it on Monday.

Then I grabbed my cordless drill and bored a 1/2" hole in the ceiling near the hatch, to hang the nylon line holding the submersible pump. Oh, yeah. I also pulled the hatch out and removed the plastic liner we had used to pour the hatch.

I was done for the day. I went home, showered and ate lunch. Dianna and Elsie had escaped for the day - A girl's day out, as they called it, with Jenni. The three of them went shopping and swimming in the bay on the north side of town, then treated themselves to ice cream at Jesus's ice cream parlor (the guy I bought the Isuzu from). The ice cream is his dad's recipe and is known to be among the best in Corozal. They got back here about 4:00PM or so, then we had a chicken curry dish Elsie whupped up, with Jenni over as guest. That was pretty much the day.

Today was a completely different story. We took the day off and gassed up at the Texaco - first time I have ever bought legitimate fuel here! (my "contact" is laying low due to a couple of near-misses with Customs).

Then we drove down to the Ferry Road, passing our property (no meter in yet) and on to the actual ferry itself.

Chatting With The Ferry Crew

Dianna Contemplating Reentering the Workforce

On the way over, we chatted with Rosie's brother Rufino (green shirt), who works on the ferry as a crewman. It's a government position, similar to working for the ferry system in Washington State (well, sort of). The ferry crossing itself costs nothing and takes about 5 or 10 minutes each way.

We were on our way to Copper Bank and Bill and Jenny's Cerros Beach Resort (http://www.cerrosbeachresort.com/) to visit with them and have lunch and a beer or two.

Before we went to Cerros Beach Resort, we cruised on out to Cerros Sands Development. Not much to see, no houses, some infrastructure stuff being put in, but that was about it. The only "dwelling" we saw was this old dilapidated RV.

Fine Accommodations At Cerros Sands Development

After that, we went on to Bill and Jenny's Cerros Beach Resort. We walked all around the place again with Bill and his two dogs. Jenny caught up with us after a bit and joined the stroll.

Cerros Beach Resort

Bill and Jenny's House

We asked Bill if they stayed for the hurricanes. He immediately said no, that they were old Floridians who had gone through Andrew and weren't about to stay for this class 5 hurricane (Dean or Felix). They evacuated to Orange Walk for the events.

The Pier at Their Resort

Bill Snapped the Three of Us

One of Bill's Dogs At His Favorite Activity

Me At the Pier

On the way out to their place, we passed Eric and Nancy, who have a Mennonite house there. They were waiting to get on the ferry heading into Corozal. They said they might be back in time to visit with us.

Eric and Nancy's House

Eric and Nancy's Cisterns and Veranda

Eric and Nancy's Water Tower

Eric and Nancy's place has definitely gotten more fancy since the last time we visited them. They've added a veranda all around it (a nice touch) and an elevated cistern for good water pressure.

Also, there is Bill's Dad's house. Last time we were there, the second floor wasn't even walled in yet, and you got to it by climbing a ladder. Now, it has another month before being completed. It sure is fancy and big!

Jenny and Bill on Porch of Bill's Dad's House

A View of the View From their Dad's Living Room

After touring everything at their resort and houses, we repaired to the restaurant and bar for lunch and a beer or three. We each had BBQ chicken and fries (yummers!) and a two or three Belikins to wash it all down with.

After saying good by to Bill and Jenny, we headed back to the ferry. Before I forget, the road condition to their place is jousting with the road from Guinna Grass to Shipyard for absolutely the worst roads we've ever been on. I'm not sure which will win.

Dianna brought a couple of beers for the ferrymen. After she gave them those treats, she actually spelled Rosie's brother for the whole voyage across the river.

Dianna Doing Hard Labor

Once across the ferry, we ran into Eric and Nancy, waiting for the ferry on the other side. We hollered at them and waved. I guess it wasn't in the cards to visit with them today.

We got back and promptly took a nap.