Laundry day

Since we aren't able to go and see the manatees today, it will be laundry day instead.  There are a couple of laundromats in town, but this is the one closest to us.  It's also the only one that you don't need coins to operate - you just pay the woman who owns the shop.  If you can find it open, that is.  

Laundromat/beauty salon - a giant step back to 1952 for the women's lib movement.

We arrived with two bags of laundry in tow (one of our clothes, one with sheets/towels) about 7:25.  Sign says it will open at 7:30, so we wait.  We should have known better; this is Caye Caulker, after all.  By 7:35, we have grown tired of waiting, so we decide to pedal down to Front Street to get some breakfast.  I've been dying to eat whatever the heck it is that comes out of this plywood box (it smells delicious when we go by) and today is the day!  We queued up behind several hungry locals who are being served gigantic plates of little rolled tortilla cigars that smell heavenly.  When it's our turn to order we ask for four tacos.  "Corn or flour?"  Two of each, please.  "Chicken or pork?"  Two of each, please.  "Hot sauce?"  Definitely!  In just a few minutes, we're handed two bundles wrapped in waxed paper.  Apparently tourists are not trustworthy with the plates.  Undaunted by the fact that we appear sketchy, we unwrap the packages and dive in.   They are perfection!  Shredded meat stewed in a red, vinegary & spicy sauce, wrapped in fresh tortillas and topped with habanero sauce - what could be better than that?  Oh, the price, that's what - $5 BZ ($2.50 US) for 2 large flour tacos & about 6 smaller corn ones.

Breakfast from a plywood box?  Yes, please!

After polishing off all the tacos, we thanked the senora who made them and she told us we should come back tomorrow for the "Johnny Cake".  I guess the "r" on the sign is silent?  I asked her what that was and she told me that it is a flat sort-of biscuit made from coconut milk.  It is then split in two and filled with the stewed pork.  She had me at "coconut milk" but the stewed pork is a definite bonus!  Guess we'll be checking that out tomorrow.  

Now 8:05 am, we try again at the laundromat - nope, still not open.  Caye Caulker time is very hard to gauge.  Ok, we'll eat some more.  Next door to the laundry/beauty salon is "Buddy's".  Buddy's is also a combined business - golf cart repair & take-out restaurant.  Makes sense.  In the mornings they have "meat pies", which I've also been anxious to try.  They have even made The List I have made of the food/places I want to eat, that we didn't get to last time we were here.  I ask the woman in the kitchen if she has any meat pies.  "They aren't ready quite yet," she tells me.  "What time will they be ready?" I ask.  "Eight o'clock."  I look at my watch and point out to her that it's actually 8:05, which seems to surprise her.  She tells me to come back in 20 minutes.  I wonder if how long that really means, but don't ask.  

We head back to the house, for lack of anything else to do with two bags of laundry in our bike baskets.  We kill time there until 8:30 and head back to town.  I can see as we turn the corner that the laundromat is still not open.  As we pull up on our bikes, however, the owner sees us from her house (in the same yard) and comes over to unlock the door.  Caye Caulker time!  I pay the woman $20 BZ to wash and dry both loads and we wander next door to Buddy's.  Score - the meat pies are fresh from the oven and screaming hot!   For 50 cents (US), I get a tiny little pie filled with ground meat and a more of that spicy red sauce that's so popular here.   Yum!  

While we wait for our laundry to finish, we head back to the house.  Victor swings by to tell us that there is a maid service coming this morning, which we already knew because we also ran in to Kim while we were waiting for the laundromat to open.   Very shortly thereafter, two women arrived with cleaning supplies and went to work on our casita.  They were here about an hour and did an amazing job.  Dusted everything, gave us clean linens & bath mats, swept & mopped all the floors, cleaned the bathrooms, did the dishes leftover from last night, and even fixed the faucet that was spraying water all over.  Then they went out to the yard and cut us a vase of flowers!  We tipped them $20 US, which seemed to confuse and delight them, simultaneously.   

Can you imagine that all of this is just growing wild in the yard?

After the women left, we headed up to the roof deck for some sun.  To maintain my sanity and stave off my Benadryl dependency, we're avoiding the beach for a few days so that I can stop itching.  It was overcast with a breeze, so we could stand to be up there for a little while.  Hunger finally drove us down to shower and head in to town about 2 pm.  We opted for Paradise, the restaurant that overlooks the little cemetery and the ocean, because we know the food is good there and happy hour is all day!  We shared an order of conch fritters, which were some of the best we've had here.  I ordered stewed chicken (more of that yummy red sauce - one day I'll find out what it is) with rice & beans.  Andrew had a lobster burrito & fries, which was so big he had to get 1/2 of it to go.  Two beers for Andrew and two rum & pineapple juices for me, and our total (with tip) was $34 US.  

Tomorrow is Sunday, which means that many shops/restaurants will be closed, especially for breakfast/dinner.  This is not a big deal, but it does mean that we need to think a little in advance about what we'll eat.  We know the "Johrny" Cake stand will be open (we confirmed that with her in advance), so breakfast is covered.   We decide to pick up some mayonnaise at the store, and make egg salad bunwiches for lunch along with some of the fruit we still have left.  For dinner we have the fixings for grilled cheese, if we can't find anything else open (I'm hoping for Syd's fried chicken at least once more before we leave!).  

Outside of the store, we met a gentleman who said he was raising money for a youth HIV prevention program.  Boy, did he know who to approach!   I told him what I do for a living and he seemed pleased that I understood what he was talking about.  We talked for a bit about how he is working to spread information to the youth here about how to protect themselves from HIV, and he disclosed to us that he has been living with HIV for 12 years.  He said that he is able to get medication here, and that his health is good, overall.  He then asked me about the man in Berlin who was cured of HIV by a bone marrow transplant (see this link if you're interested:  http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/news/20120724/man-cured-of-aids-virus-news-conference), and if I thought that was going to be possible for other people.  I told him that, unfortunately, that it is unlikely that will be available for others due to the risks involved and the cost of the treatment.  We talked a little bit about hope for a cure, and I congratulated him on how well he was doing with his own health.  We gave him a donation for his program (regardless of whether or not it really exists), and were on our way.  

  

Now we're back at home.  Andrew is napping.  Or, as he tells it, "just stretching out on the bed for a minute."  He has apparently adopted Caye Caulker time, as his "minute" is now going in to hour number two.  I'm on the couch with Freaky, working on reading book #4.  We are likely in for the night, as I don't think we'll need dinner after such a large & late lunch.

We have yet to get over to the north-west side of the island, so we'll try to get to that tomorrow if it's not too hot or raining.  We'll then try and check in with John & Ash to see if manatees are on for Monday.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!