Battle of St. George's Caye Day Barbecue

First, I have to tell you, Hughesnet Fair Access Policy, in a word, sucks. Not only are you limited to 125 Megabytes upload as well as download, during any 24-hour period, but, during the day, when most users are online trying to do whatever, just getting a page to show up on your screen eats up the better part of 5 minutes or so.

Then you factor in all the software that wants to automatically update itself, you can see it's easy to exceed the threshold and be throttled by Hughes for the next 24-hours. Oh well. At least we have a connection, so I should be thankful - I guess. It's extremely frustrating in any case.

This Fair Access Policy (FAP) crap just started being enforced when we got new modems. Before, we could more or less do as we pleased. Not no mo! The Intertubes police are on the job, damn it!

To give you an idea. The megabyte limit is more or less equal to 25 still photos. Now, imagine watching a new video on YouTube... Bingo, half-way through a 2-minute video and you just stiffled yourself for the next 24-hours.

Enough bitching, eh? On with the show.

Last weekend we had a very nice get-together with our Godson, Isaiel and his wife Amarily, son Joshua and a little girl of their neighbor's,nicknamed O-B (never did find out her real name). Actually, it was on Monday, which is a holiday here in Belize. It was the Battle of St. George's Caye Day, which celebrates the defeat of the Spaniards in 1798 by the Baymen of Belize - considered to be the first stroke in the long fight for Belize's independence. A battle that actually took place over several days - from the 3rd to the 10th of September. The final battle that culminated an on-going series of battles between British forces, the Baymen and the Spaniards from 1716 to 1798.

Well, it was a nice little get-together. Isaiel had called a couple days before to see if we were going to be home then as they wanted to come see us.

They showed up about 10 AM. We went down to the palapa patio, enjoying the shade and slight breeze. We really had no plan of what we were going to do. We were talking about what we wanted to do and somehow the topic of tortillas came up. Amarily makes tortillas for her family every day and suggested she could teach Dianna how to do it. That sounded like fun.

This kind of suggested doing a barbecue. Well. Amarily also does a barbecue chicken stand a couple days a week in Guinea Grass, the village they live in, and she said she'd be willing to teach us her secret BBQ marinade/sauce recipe.

That sounded like a lot of fun. After a quick trip to the store, we commenced getting with the program.

First up, a mini class in the pool house kitchen with Amarily teaching totilla making and how to prepare chicken for the grill.

Amarily Conducting a BBQ Class

Then, it was hands-on to prepare the chicken, the marinade, and the tortillas.

Amarily Teaching Dianna All About Chicken BBQ

Here they're working on cooking up a stack of flour tortillas. Soft, fluffy and tasty.

Cooking Tortillas

Meanwhile, the kids weren't too interested in cookery, so the pool was beckoning. After a small snack of some lemon cookies, it was time to get wet.

Isaiel Entertaining OB and Joshua

By the way. Did I mention that it has been hot? Well, it has. When we came down to the pool house, this is what we found. We keep candles around all over for the odd power failure, just in case you need a light. This is the first one we've had totally collapse. Just thought you'd like to know.

Something's Wrong

One of the secrets to good barbecue is to keep stuff from sticking to the grill. Other than using Pam or some other non-stick spray (which we generally can't get down here anyway), what do you do? Well, the easy answer is to use half a lime and spread its juice all over the grill. You can also use a slice of onion and do the same thing. Here Isaiel is demonstrating just how to do it. Believe me, that grill is HOT.

Un-slicking Up the Grill Surface

Then, we get down to business. We did spread out the coals so that the grill wasn't quite so hot before we put the chicken on. Isaiel and I took turns keeping the chicken on a nice rotation on the grill.

Isaiel Taking a Turn At the Grill

Amazingly, we cooked the bird on the grill for a long time, yet none of it burnt and the insides were juicy and so tasty.

Just About Ready To Eat

Amarily spread more of the marinade on the chicken a couple of times. I can tell you this much. It's made from recardo and vinegar and  a bunch of other spices as well.

Amarily Basting the Chicken

I almost forgot. Dianna and Amarily also made a crackerjack potato salad that went perfectly with the chicken and tortillas. We ate till we were about ready to pop.

Then it was back to the pool. O-B didn't have as great an appreciation for the pool as did Joshua. He took to it like a fish and splashed around most of the afternoon.

Isaiel and Kids Enjoying the Pool

As the day wound down, Joshua really didn't want to quit playing in the pool.

Isaiel and Kids Enjoying the Pool

Of course, April was part of the party. She is convinced she's a dog. Wherever we go in the yard, just like how the dogs follow us around, she does too. Sometimes right in the way. Here she's blocking the sliding door - as cats do.

April Even Got In the Act

Of course, this was right at the point where we were moving stuff from the kitchen to the palapa so we could eat. A gentle guide foot gets the mission accomplished.

April Being Nudged Out of the Way

This was a great way to spend the holiday. Pretty much impromptu and a lot of fun.

Not Quite By June 1st

Hurricane preparedness sometimes is a fluid thing. On the one hand, you follow your checklist (you do have a checklist, right?) and get all your important papers in one place, preparedness supplies ready to grab, generator ready to roll, car tank filled at least half-full, etc.

One thing we wanted in place for the start of hurricane season was our burglar bars. People run hot or cold on these things. I do think they're miss-named. They should be named storm bars or something. Burglar protection is like a lot of other items - they tend to encourage honest people to stay honest. If you're home, burglar bars might give you some early warning as the bad guys attempt to hacksaw through them or something. They might just slow the bad guys down enough to allow you to wake up and take some other meaningful defensive action. If you're not home, hopefully your neighbors might see or hear something.

There's also the fire safety thing. Folks don't care for the idea that they may be trapped inside and can't climb out through the windows. I didn't say there weren't trade-offs.

The main reason I have them is for hurricane protection. Mine have a half-inch track, top and bottom, to allow me to slide a piece of plywood in that effectively blocks the window louvers from being in the direct flight path of any high-velocity debris that might be coming our way. I figure it's a lot easier to replace the plywood than to replace the whole window louver.

Well, it's a personal choice. You either want them or you don't. I do. Pretty much the same reasoning that we don't have any glass windows in either house. I don't want flying shards either.

Isaiel Drilling Mounting Holes for the Bars

Isaiel Pech (who also happens to be my Godson) is from Guinea Grass, south of Orange Walk, came over yesterday to install the bars. He's done most of the metal work on our place. The gates, fence pieces, most of the metal screen doors, decorative hose hangers, etc.

The bars had aged a bit. He had them ready to install over a year ago when we stopped construction for a while. This was the first opportunity we had to install them.

Tightening Lag Screws

Isaiel's older brother Romeoleo came along to help with the installation. Isaiel also brought his wife Amarilly and son, Joshua along. They had a nice visit with Dianna while the installation was in progress.

Just in time for the World Cup Final, we all got together in front of the tube to watch the game and to have some of Dianna's homemade pizza. I wanted Holland, but everyone else was rooting for Spain. Turns out they were right. It was a fun match anyway.

Completed Burglar Bar

The bars end up being a nice and clean looking installation.

While Isaiel was working, we talked a bit about DIY television shows. He just recently got current (electricity) run to his house, so he's pretty proud of that. He also has cable TV and his favorite shows are the DIY home repair shows.

I was talking to him about how you can learn techniques, find out about new tools, etc. He said that yes, that was true. He had been watching one show with some welding being done and the host was using some sort of magnetic tool to hold small metal pieces so they could be welded true and square without needing to have an assistant. Later, he had gone to a Mennonite hardware store and asked about it. The guy had some and demonstrated how it would work. Isaiel ended up buying one to try. He had it with him.

Isaiel's New Welding Tool

The new tool works so well, he's now planning on getting two or three more. You watch. Another three or four years, skills and tools will improve all over Belize. Ah, modern technology.

Godson's Baby Makes First Visit

This past Monday we got our first glimpse of our Godson's son - Joshua Emir Pech, when Isaiel and Amarily brought him by for a short visit. I'm not sure what that makes us in relation to Joshua - his God-grand parents?

Anyway, the little guy is a good looking baby with a full head of hair. Quiet as a church-mouse too, which was nice, even with the adults all jabbering.

Dianna Holding Joshua

Dave Taking His Turn Holding Joshua

Joshua's mother, Amarily is showing him off. To the right is all of us, Dianna, Amarily, Joshua, Amarily's big sister, and Isaiel.

Amarily Holding Joshua

Everyone in the Living Room

They could only stay a short time as they were on their way to Patchakan, a village northwest of here to have Joshua examined by a local practicioner, what we Gringos call a bush doctor. This is someone who practices traditional medicine, sort of a naturopath, using herbs, etc., to treat a variety of ailments and to ward off problems.

Locals use modern medicine as it's available. For example, Joshua was born in Orange Walk Hospital, a government-run hospital. But, locals are reluctant to turn loose of many of the traditional ways and practices. Probably with valid reasons. Bush doctors seem to possess a huge knowledge of plants, herbs, etc., that from what I've read, are surprisingly effective in treating certain maladies.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm sure as time goes on, there'll be many more postings with Joshua in them.