Sunday Morning Grab Bag - Tuesday Morning Edition

Lynn and Pete, friends from Seattle, arrived Thursday afternoon, just in time to sit around under the palapa and have a nice cold Belikin.

Pete and Lynn Arriving at Casa Winjama

Of course, they came down for a bit of vacationing, but their overall purpose was to check up on the lots that they own. It'll be a few years before they're ready to make the 'great escape' and move down here, so in the meantime, a quick getaway every now and then keeps them somewhat sane.

Lynn Under the Palapa

Pete Relaxing After the Trip

Then, about sunset, we headed over to Corozo Blues for a couple of nice wood-fired pizzas.

Allow me to digress for a smidge here. A couple of days before Lynn and Pete arrived, we had gone to Orange Walk Town with David and Elizabeth, who're working diligently to try and get their new kitchen cabinets installed and functional. One of the major goals of the trip was to visit a couple of hardware stores to see if they could find drawer pulls and cabinet handles - which, surprisingly, they were able to in short order.

Of course, we had to go to Family Market while we were there. We drove by Panifacadora La Popular Bakery but managed to resist going in. I'm not sure that was a good thing.

Since I was running low on tee shirts, I really wanted to stop at the American store and see what they had available in the mens gently used tee shirt department. It's not unusual there to find tee shirts still with tags attached. Generally, these finds go for around $3.00 to $5.00 BZD. Quite the bargain. I managed to find a couple. Dianna and Elizabeth found a few tops and some other things.

Then it was time for lunch. We went to one of our favorite eateries over there at Carlos' Pizzeria. A nice break for lunch. After that it was back on the road and heading for home.

It was on our way out of town when Elizabeth called our attention to the two restaurants. Hmmm, which one to choose? We've never eaten at either one. Too much of a decision I guess.

Which To Choose?

So, back on the topic at hand now. Lynn and Pete have arrived and gotten settled in. Naturally, they wanted to freshen up a bit. And of course, the hot water wasn't working. Not even a whimper. I piddled around with the heater for a bit, deciding that I'd take a crack at it in the morning.

Dianna and I had looked at it just a few days before they showed up and had gotten it working after brushing out all the carbon deposits, rust, dead bugs and other debris. Of course it wouldn't work when we actually have company.

Well, the following morning, I popped the cover and attacked it with my trusty retired tooth-brush, which is great for getting into those hard-to-reach places to get rid of the soot, rust and fried critters - all to no avail, however. I could get the igniter to spark once in a while, but that was about it. We tried new batteries, cuss words and other incantations. Nothing seemed to work, but that I hot-foot (no pun intended) it over to Lano's Hardware and plunk down about $395.00 BZD for a new on-demand water heater.

A bit more cussing and gluing and drilling (I had to get a power tool in there somewhere) and we had it done. The damned thing works like a charm. A bit too well, according to Lynn and Pete. I've been working to get the water temp down to a pleasant 52-55 (C). While you're at it, check out the spiffy connections. Mr. Lann suggested I use the braided hoses as it would allow me to disconnect the heater much quicker if I needed to do some repairs. He also included a shut-off valve on the cold water (inlet) side. The man's a genius I tell you. What an elegant solution. Much better than glued up pipes.

New Water Heater For Pool House

Wasn't it just a couple of days ago I was repairing a faucet at the other end of our place in the well house? I think so. Kinda makes one wonder what else is going to crap out next? Oh well. At least that's about the size of most of my projects now. Our days of huge construction-type projects seem to mostly be behind us, so these little challenges are kind of fun. Expensive but fun.

We were glad that Lynn and Pete would be here for Friday's happy hour. We had a fairly good crowd with several new folks in town, in addition to Lynn and Pete.

Chatting At Happy Hour

Enough folks arrived that we began to run short of chairs for everyone. I think we may have to request folks think about bringing their own chairs if this keeps up. Either that, or we move the seating from the deck down to the palapa patio and take advantage of the bench ringing the patio.

Everyone Huddled in the Shade

Pete Enjoying A Cool One

Some of the new arrivals were new faces in the crowd - not just folks returning from the north. There was John, who had been in touch with me by email for a couple of months before coming down, so I was glad to see him. We also had Darrell, a younger guy who was down visiting, looking at the business opportunities of the area. I'm afraid I was really no help there, so I hope he got some good poop from some of the other folks. Then there was Larry, who had ridden his bicycle from the Sea Breeze Hotel. He had heard about happy hour from Stan, another friend of ours. Quite a jaunt for someone who doesn't do it every day. They all seemed like nice guys. I'm glad they could make it.

The One That Got Away

Lynn and Pete Enjoying Happy Hour

Both Lynn and Pete seemed to enjoy themselves at happy hour. Hopefully when they move down here, they'll be among the regulars.

Chuck and Jamie came, as usual, all the way from Orchid Bay. Jamie was showing off her new craft design, some hand-made Swiffer-like hand wipe things.

Jamie Showing Her Swiffer-Like Mitt

In All Their Glory

Chuck had designed a handle thing for the mitts. He designed and made a cast plastic piece that looked like a tuning fork that went inside the mitt. That in turn connected to a turned wooden handle which allows the user to keep their hands dry while using the mitt.

Chuck Showing His Custom-Made Handle

Lynn cooked for us last night, whipping up some shrimp gumbo from a Zatterain's box that she had brought down. It was pretty yummy. We've been introducing them to some of the roadside fare that's available here in Corozal. Some small tacos from the stand that is right in front of Gomez' Cemento Maya, on 7th Avenue (just across from the Uno station), and this morning to some meat pies from Vivi's (just down towards the water from Caribbean Chicken.

I think Lynn's going to prepare another dish for us this evening. If I remember, it too is a taco dish. So, I'm looking forward to that, for sure.

Tomorrow morning, they take their leave of us. They're going to be flying down to Placencia to spend some time on the beaches there. They'll be flying back to the states from Belize City when they leave Placencia. I hope they enjoyed their stay with us. It was fun having them here. We're looking forward to the day when they finally get down here for good.

Won't be much rest for us however. Tomorrow evening Vivien comes in from the colds of Canada (-27 (C) I think she said in a recent email). We've already told her that the pool is ready to go. She'll only be staying with us the one night, as her house is across the street from ours. It's sure going to be good to have her and Denis (whenever he shows up) here for a few months.

Sounds like we're running a damned guest house. Well, we're not, so don't even inquire about rates and availabilities and all that stuff. We don't do that.

This morning we met Doug and Twyla down at Al's Cafe for breakfast burritos and coffee. It's been at least two years since we've been to Al's. The food was every bit as good as I remember it too. I see the lady who waited on us at the market just about every morning. I think she was wondering how come we haven't come in, but she was too polite to say anything.

Just after we got home, our intention of having pool time was interrupted because of a small thunderstorm moving through the area complete with a little rainfall. I hope it clears up quickly.

I guess that is pretty much it for this edition. I'm sure I've forgotten something, but whatever it was, will just have to wait for the next edition.

Last Vacation Bit and Pieces

Here's some photos from our vacation to San Pedro with the Eternal Eight. I completely forgot to post this posting. It's been languishing in the back waters of the blog for some time now. If I'm not mistaken, all these photos are taken by Judy Smith and she gave me permission kindly, to use them.

I've always thought this was one of the most colorful veggie stands in town. It's not at the market, but on 4th Avenue, right beside the Smart Phone building. It's just not convenient for me to stop and shop there very often. Plus, they're not open when I come by with the doggies at 6:00 AM.

Colorful Stand on 4th Avenue Beside the 'Smart' Building

A nice shot of the wood-fired pizza oven at Corozo Blue's Restaurant. That pizza the chef is holding tastes every bit as good as it looks too.

Time to Chow Down

Now we shift over to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, where we go for vacation just like real tourists do.

Having Too Much Fun

Dean and Lori - They're from Boston. Dean introduced me to the Red Sox Nation at their Spring Training camp in Ft. Meyers, FL several years ago. I'm still a die-hard Cubs fan, however.

Dean and Lori

Here's George and Judy. Judy takes some amazing photos - real compositions. I'm just a hack with a camera, she's an artiste.

George and Judy

I think these underwater shots were pretty cool. This was from the Hol Chan-Shark Ray Alley excursion.

At Shark Ray Alley - By Pam Humphrey

A Ray At Shark Ray Alley - by Pam Humphrey

Coral and Fish - by Pam Humphrey

Here's Roy and Pam. They're from the Old Sod - England. Long trip to come to Belize. They're big-time into the Motocross organization in the UK.

Roy and Pam

Store shelf organization in Belize. I don't see what the problem is.

Strange Bunk-Mates

Ahh, even on vacation, you have to keep up appearances. Here I really was hard at work doing some of the postings I made while we were on vacation. It never ends, I tell ya - work that is... Well, for us, the vacation never ends either. When we left San Pedro, we had a 15 minute flight back home to our swimming pool and coconut palms. Life is rough, but somebody's got to do it. I'm glad we volunteered.

The Writer At Work

After the Grab Bag

Here's a few shots that slipped through the cracks. My apologies to all concerned.

Our neighbor Denis, who works for a tree trimming company with an unpronounceable name (Could it be Asplundh?)  I did find out the name loosely translates from Swedish to 'grove of aspen trees'.

Getting His Lopper Ready

Anyway, Dianna was able to capitalize on his expertise by blinking her baby blues and getting him to prune some of  our trees around the yard.

Denis Ready to Prune Trees

Things looked much better around Casa Winjama once Denis got done. Instead of our usual butcher job with such things that we know nothing about, a true professional made quick and easy-looking work of the project.

While the pruning was going on, we saw a small Mennonite house being towed toward its destination.

Small House Moving Down the Road

Of course Denis can't work without proper supervision. Vivien, Denis' better half, fulfilled that mission while at the same time giving our girls some deserved attention. Who says there's no such thing as double-tasking?

Vivien Loving Secret

While our friends from up north were here visiting, they took some photos. This one, taken by Judy, is of the little fruit and veggie stand beside the Smart telecomm building on 4th Avenue in Corozal. I've always thought this looked like a nice, colorful and clean shop, but I hardly ever shop there as they're never open when we come by with the dogs.

4th Avenue Veggie Vendor - by Judy Smith

Here's another by Judy. This wood-fired pizza oven is a real treasure. It's so cool when your pizza shows up at your table with the smell of wood smoke wafting around. You just know it's going to be yummers.

Hot Out of the Oven - by Judy Smith

Here's some shots of all of us from our Ambergris Caye holiday. I'm not sure who took them, I'm guessing either Judy or Pam, so again, my apologies for not getting that straight.

Dianna and Me

Dean and Lori

George and Judy

Roy and Pam

On the last full day of the holiday, Pam and Roy, and Judy and George took a trip to Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley. Now, I know they've recently had some problems with a couple of tourists who drowned while snorkeling there. I don't know the particulars of that incident at all, other than to say it was an unfortunate accident. I certainly wouldn't let it put me off from going to Hol Chan and enjoying what, in George's words: "Judy and I've snorkeled all over the world. This, by far, was the best we've every enjoyed".

Guide and Friend At Hol Chan - by Pam Humphrey

Hol Chan Shark Ray Alley - by Pam Humphrey

Hol Chan Coral - by Pam Humphrey

Here's another interesting shot by Judy. I dunno, maybe it's an engine degreaser as well as a rum drink.

Strange Bunkmates - by Judy Smith

Ok. Last one. Here's yours truly sweating over a hot keyboard instead of outside by the pool soaking up rays.

The Writer At Work

The Fixin' Begins

This afternoon Dianna and I were out and about. We started off at Corozo Blue's (http://corozoblues.com/) for pizza and beer with Doug and Twyla, to thank them for looking after the house and girls while we were on vacation. As usual, the pizza was delicious and done to a turn in their wood-fired pizza oven. Yummers!

From there, we did a couple of other minor chores, sending off a letter at the post office, checking a sewing project at Alek the Tailor's (I know it's spelled with an 'x' in the index. Trust me, the 'k's' right - d), trying to find the new Chiropractor in town (no luck there), and finally, stopping at Corozal International Airstrip just as the 3:20 PM Tropic Air flight from San Pedro touched down.

I went in the terminal building (what's the term for just up from a shed?) and after a couple of minutes, here come's my package in from Island Pool Supplies.

What Just Flew In From San Pedro

I know what my morning project will be tomorrow. Get that thing fixed so Huey can do his thing and we can get in the water!

That's about it for today. I have to make my rounds and secure everything.

Cheers

New Eateries In Town

Something I haven't talked about in some time is places to eat here in Corozal. It's about time that I do, as we've got several new places for you to tie on the feed bag.

There's Corozo Blues, located in one of the coolest locations in town. On the Northern Highway here Haley's used to be, it's tucked in the corner as you round the bend coming north into Corozal, just in front of Tony's Inn and Beach Resort and across the road from Menzie's Caribbean Village RV Park and Campground.

Corozo Blue's Street Sign

We ate there last evening with Denis and Vivien, neighbors of ours from across the street. We all had pizza, cooked in Corozo Blue's wood-fired brick pizza oven. Without doubt, the best pizza we've had in Belize.

Corozo Blue's

They've done an amazing job with the remodeling. The place is gorgeous. Blue's has a varied international menu at reasonable and higher-end prices for Corozal, superbly appointed furnishings, good service and atmosphere. We ate on their patio, simply the best location going. It's not a place I'd eat at every day, but now and then and for special occasions, it'd be hard to beat.

Another nice eatery is the Copper Horse Inn, comprising a restaurant and hotel. Located at 4th Street and 2nd Avenue, in the former Marc Anthony Hotel and Butchie's Restaurant, it's set along the sea front on the northern end of Corozal, just north of the Sea Breeze Hotel. The lady who owns it is remodeling the hotel rooms and has done a very nice job re-doing the restaurant. Very pleasant atmosphere, and the menu is very good. Portions are large and reasonably priced as well.

Copper Horse Inn

Eating on the Copper Horse's porch is still as much fun as it used to be with Butchie's. The menu features north American-style dishes and is very well presented. The chocolate cake desert looks scrumptious and is very popular.

Next, is the Wood House Bistro, a Chinese restaurant. I know what you're thinking, 'Great. All we need is another Chinese restaurant here in Corozal.' Well, apparently we do, because I've not heard a negative word about the food. Very well prepared and presented in a wood structure - an almost mirror image to Primo's Casita a couple doors north.

Wood House Bistro

Their specialty is Szechuan food, so when the menu says 'hot' or 'spicy', be ready. They mean it. I'm looking forward to getting my taste buds activated there.

At long last, we have another Indian restaurant in Corozal - well, actually in Ranchito (a village on the south edge of Corozal). According to Craig (a friend of ours who is seeing if they really do freeze off of a brass monkey. He spent Christmas up in South Dakota) "D Jackson's is not really a restaurant, it used to be two brothers on bikes selling samosas. About a month ago the papa stopped by the house, he was selling butter chicken and curry chicken out of his car. He dropped off a menu that had 20 items on it that you can order (their phone number is 664-2686) and he will deliver. The food is pretty good.". In fact, we've bought several things (samosa's and roti's) from the young boys on their bikes. They carry everything in plastic coolers and use squeeze-horns to announce their presence. I can vouch for Craig's statement - the food is pretty good.

I heard about D. Jackson's from Bruce (who's bringing me a copy of their menu). He heard about it from Craig. How Craig found it I have no idea. Maybe I'll email him and ask. They deliver all over Ranchito and Corozal at no additional charge either. It seems pretty reasonably priced and with a pretty comprehensive menu - curry dishes, masalas, rotis, tandooris, etc. I know it sounds kind of confusing. It was to us as well till we figured that we were each talking about the same place.

There's also a new take-away chicken wing joint, Crabby E's. We've gotten their wings once so far. Nice and spicy. You can get it mild as well, or even get the sauce on the side for even more control. Portions are nice and big. They leave off the wing tips, so there's no wasted bit included that you can't eat.

Crabby E's Take Out

The way it works at Crabby E's is you drive up (or call, once they get to know you) and place your order. Then go shopping somewhere in Corozal for a half-hour, then come back and pick up your order. Simple, eh? Good, simple eats!

And last on the list is one I've written about before - La Louisianne, located in the former Club Malibu on 7th Avenue.

La Louisianne Restaurant

Still no idea about the menu or anything other than we've heard through the grape vine that they're opening on New Years.

Doing all this has made me hungry. I'm going out to the kitchen and fix myself a peanut butter and dill pickle sandwich.