A lazy day that ends in fried chicken is a good thing

We did very little today.  In fact, that could be stretching the truth somewhat.  We actually did almost nothing.  

It was another rough night for sleeping here.  For some reason, a dog showed up on the porch of the house next door (currently vacant as the owners won't be here until later this month).  It then proceeded to bark 4 or 5 times with the exact frequency to prevent one from falling completely asleep.  I don't know where the dog lives.  It doesn't live in the house next door.  I know this because those owners were here in February and we talked with them a lot.  They don't have any pets.  They only feed Freaky, as does everyone in the neighborhood.  The dog finally moved on about 2 pm, so we got a solid 2.5 hours before the birds started right outside the window.  Oh well, we have coffee!  

We ate breakfast at home - lovely fresh tortillas filled with beans, eggs, cheese & hot sauce.  Accompanied by coffee and grapefruit - heaven!  By 7:45 am we were finished our "chores" which consist of doing up the breakfast dishes, sweeping the floor & taking out the trash.  Why isn't it like this at home?   We headed out on foot in to town in search of a pineapple, which we found at the fruit stand.   I also bought a jar of peanut butter from the grocery store.  I can't exist more than a few days without peanut butter.   We swung by to say hello to John at the French Angel (snorkel shop).  We want to go to see the manatees while we're here.  However, most places won't go out with less than 4 people (too expensive to take the boat out) so we have to check back every day to see if anyone else wants to go.   No luck today, but we'll try again tomorrow.  John is a friendly guy and remembered us from last time, so it's pleasant to check in with him every day. 

We decided to do a little hike while around the southeast perimeter of the island.  It's not very populated over there and, at the tail end of the rainy season, it was a little mucky.  We slopped around in the quicksand & swamp for about an hour before we realized we'd come to an impasse.  Either swim out to sea, or return the way we'd come.  We chose the latter and, 30 minutes later, we were back to civilization.  A little crispy, but otherwise no worse for wear.  

An iguana on someone's front step.

The "trail".  Lots of little lizards scurrying here and there, but no snakes!

A cemetery we happened upon. 

We opted to eat lunch at home.  Andrew had his leftover pizza.  I had a lovely roll from the bakery toasted and covered in peanut butter & banana.  Ahhh!   We managed to get in an hour nap amongst bouts of moving about the house to various reading/computer locations.  We talked about going up to The Split to swim today, but we got a lot of sun this morning so will do that tomorrow (perhaps). 

By 5 pm we were ready for dinner, and looking forward to trying Syd's.  We tried to go there a couple of times in February, but weren't able to find it open any of the times we went by (that is not as uncommon as you would think here).  We were happy to find it open when we arrived, and sat ourselves in the adorable little garden in the back.  We were quickly joined by a cat, which a note on the menu warned us not to feed.  Syd's is famous for their fried chicken, so Andrew ordered conch (??).  He just doesn't quite get the concept of ordering the house specialty.  He says he doesn't like chicken on the bone because it's "too hard to eat".  I ordered the fried chicken and it did not disappoint!  Especially when you consider that the chicken plate costs $4.50 US.  Huge portions & everything was delicious.  We both had sweet teas & our total bill was $32.50 BZ ($16.25 US) - Andrew being an expensive date.  We left full, but still swung by Anna's for Andrew's breakfast - 2 mixed pupusas & a horchata.  

Andrew's meal - fried conch, mashed potatoes & coleslaw.  $9 US.

My perfect plate - fried chicken, rice & beans & coleslaw. $4.50 US.  Obviously, I made the better choice!

Freaky was waiting for us when we got home.  She came in and had some food & some milk, and is now laying on the floor trying to convince one of us it's ok to pet her stomach.  We won't fall for that one again.  Andrew still has scars on his arm from that little trick in February!   We're trying to follow some election coverage, but it looks like we're in for the long haul on this one.  Won't be decided early, that's for sure but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.