The list of great things

It did not start out to be a particularly eventful day today, but several really great things happened.  

1.  ...and most importantly - I found the cure for my itching!  Did you hear that in a really loud and excited voice when you read it?  Because that's how I typed it.  I. FOUND. THE. CURE. FOR. MY. ITCHING!!   Even better is that it's free, and I can make it here in the kitchen of Alta Vista.  Are you ready for it....it's ICE.  Yep, ice.  Kind of anti-climactic, no?  Again, thank you Google.  In a moment where it was either find an answer or slit my wrists, I came across a post where someone said that icing the welts reduces the swelling and numbs the itching.  Seemed plausible and, hey, I did try vinegar so I'm not above this.  I ran down to the kitchen where three trays of ice just happened to be waiting, and rigged up a ice pack using a ziplock bag and a tea towel.   I rested it against one of the largest bites and the relief was almost instantaneous.  I nearly cried.  Throughout the night I went through all three trays of ice, but didn't itch.  The welts were easily reduced to half their size.  The only minor mishap was when my ziplock bag sprung a leak, but that was quickly rectified.  I cannot tell you how happy this makes me.  In fact, I am sitting with an icepack on my legs as I type!
2. We got to do our first night dive!  We set out just as the sun was going down (see picture below), and set course for the local reef about 3 miles off shore.  When we got to the dive site, we got our instructions from Alex (the dive master) about how to use the flashlights instead of hand signals, what to do if you get disoriented (remember, bubbles go up!), and other basic safety precautions.  When it was appropriately dark, we strapped on our tanks and tumbled in.   There were five of us in total - two other guys, Andrew, myself & Alex.  We each had a flashlight so there was quite a bit of light among us.  Within a few minutes we were on the bottom and heading out to the reef.  The things you see at night are quite different from what you see during the day - squid, parrot fish sleeping inside these gelatinous cocoons they form for protection, urchins, a spotted eel & huge schools of sardines.  We also saw a skate and a puffer fish, and got to hold a conch.  We had hoped to see an octopus, but no such luck.  At one point, Alex had us all turn off our flashlights so that we could see the little phosphorescent fish that swim near the surface.  Indescribable!  Sorry, no pictures...too dark.  I think the most amazing thing is that Alex found his way back to the boat after an hour long dive.  Seriously, I had no idea where the hell
   we were in ocean in the dark.
   
   

   

   Sunset over Caye Caulker on our way to the reef

3. We were finally successful at checking off the last place on my lengthy Caye Caulker food list!  This is, quite possibly, the shadiest place I've ever gotten food from.  It was being cooked over a burning barrel, people.  The "stand" is a blue tarp strung over the burning barrel with a wooden bench beside it to hold the food.  I didn't have the camera with me so you'll have to take my word for it that this place was dubious, at best.  However, people on line have raved about the food that comes off the burning barrel, and I'll eat damn near anything once.  I went up to order and a girl who looked to be about 8 or 9 greeted me.  I asked her to walk me through the items on the menu, which she did surprisingly well.  I told her to give me one order of each.   While we waited for the food to be cooked (on the burning barrel, let me remind you), we listened to very loud Mariachi music coming out of the house (oh - did I mention that this stand is in someone's front yard?).   Within about 10 minutes, we were handed a large bag of food that totaled $18 BZ ($9 US).  I gave her a $20 and called it even.  We rushed home to open everything up, and were delighted with the results.  It was so much food that we had to wrap about half of it up for leftovers.  Perfect end to a very great day!  

Clockwise from left:  garnaches, fry taco, enchiladas, empanadas,  & baleadas.  

The Yard

As I've said before, the yard at Alta Vista is shared by one other house (Casa Verde).  Debbie, the neighbor, is the master gardener here.  She's done an amazing job!  I have fleeting thoughts about what great fun it would be to garden in a tropical environment, but then I remember that boa constrictors live here and I quickly change my mind.  I was brave enough to walk around and take a few pictures, however...  

A type of orchid that grows in little crevices on the trees.

Another orchid.  This one is growing out of the ground.

This hibiscus plant is at least 10 feet tall.

This vine grows up the tree trunks.

Here's a close-up.   See the roots grabbing on?  It
reminds me of a big centipede.

Another one of those orchids on a different tree.

This big guy was just making his way through the yard when I was
taking pictures.  He'd better be careful - Debbie is trying to catch him
and then relocate him to a different part of the island!  Luckily, he's too
big for the trap,  So far, all she's caught in it are a few blue crabs.  

Bananas!  I like that big pod that grows on the banana plant.

They're baaaack!

The sand flies, that is.  My legs are, again,covered with quarter-sized red welts.  The itching is, as before, driving me crazy.  I'm super-dosing on Benadryl and mixing it with other topical ointments in ways that every package insert warns against.  I've even resorted to putting vinegar on them (thanks Google search engine).  The vinegar stings like hell & makes me hungry for dill-pickle chips, but doesn't really help the itching.  I can get an hour or so of relief, and then I'm back to where I started.  My suggestion for the military would be to put terrorists in a room full of sand flies, and tie their hands behind their backs.  It would not take long before they would be singing like a canary just to get an arm free to scratch.   Who knows what they might give up for some Calamine lotion?  

A typical street in San Pedro

Ok, enough of that & on with the day's events.  We were up early this morning (see above for reason) so jumped on the water taxi to San Pedro, which is the main city on Ambergris Caye.  We were over to that island in February of last year, and didn't love it.  Being believers of second chances, we decided to give it one more shot with an unfortunately similar outcome.  Though hugely popular with tourists, San Pedro is just not for us.  

Now, don't let me lead you to believe that San Pedro is not beautiful.  It certainly is.  The beaches are much nicer than the ones on Caye Caulker, and luxurious resorts are aplenty.  The issue we have with San Pedro is that it is a city.  Busy, noisy, hectic.  It just doesn't feel like a holiday to us.  We poked around in a few shops but the only thing we purchased were three avocados.   The gift shops owners do not like us - we typically only purchase about $20 worth of items any time we travel.  After an hour, we were sweaty (it's another scorcher today) and ready to go back to Caye Caulker.  We had an hour to kill before the next water taxi, so we had a snack on the beach.  

Upon returning to Caye Caulker, we ran back to the house to get suited up for a swim.  I cannot describe to you how wonderful the water felt in this heat.  As an added bonus, the salt water stops my bites from itching.  I wonder if I could invent some sort of tights that would hold sea water on my legs, and still allow me to be mobile?  I'll have to think on that one...

We tried a new place for dinner - Bambooze.  It's a little restaurant on the beach and gets a lot of positive reviews.  The food was good, though not the best we've had on the island.  I had a fish sandwich in a nice mango sauce.  Andrew had a shrimp quesedilla.  We had a lovely view and the breeze blowing off the ocean felt wonderful.  The owners dog, Chico, kept us company throughout the meal - he was a goofy little guy and kept rolling around in the sand.  

Chico

The view from our table.

Andrew's Bailey's Coloda.  It's a cocktail and dessert in one!  

Now we're back at the house for the night.  We are scheduled to do a night dive tomorrow night, so keep your fingers crossed that the weather cooperates!   Oh, and while you're at it, keep your fingers crossed that I find a cure to my itching, if you would be so kind!  

Hot, hot, hot!

Do you know the poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee?"  My junior high English teacher used to recite that poem to us routinely.  I can still bring large sections of it to mind, and it never fails to make me smile.  That poem, about a man trying to escape the cold by any means possible, could be written about Andrew.  He hates the cold.  He hates the snow.  If he had his way, we would live in Florida.  I, on the other hand, am a born-and-bred Canadian.  I love winter.  I love snow.  I hate humidity and temperatures over 80 degrees Fahrenheit  (26 Celsius for those of you clever enough to use the metric system).  Today was my version of hell with air temperatures reaching just about 100 F (38C).  When you throw in 80% humidity, we have "feels like" temps around 115 F/46 C.  That.  Is.  Hot.  

Fortunately, we are in very close proximity to the ocean!  Annette, the owner of the house we rent, offered to take us to a dock that many of the locals swim from, so we could avoid the crowded "Split".   We spent about an hour there in salty, watery coolness.  The water temp is about 84 F, but that is  a far cry from the air temp, so it feels wonderful.  Andrew snorkeled around the "reef" the local residents have developed out of old toilets and sinks.  He saw big schools of fish, a skate (watch out, they sting!), and some big starfish.  I bobbed around in the waves chatting with Annette & her sister, who is here for a visit.  

Andrew's idea of heaven - unlimited snorkel time.

View of the pier from shore. 

We swam here twice today - once in the morning with Annette & Teresa, once this afternoon about 5 pm when I thought I would snap from feeling sweat run down my back.  Both times it was wonderful!  In between, we managed to find a few meals.  I'm sure you were worried!  Breakfast was from our favorite stand on Front Street.  I had a Johnny cake (stewed chicken in a coconut-milk bun) & Andrew had two stewed chicken tacos in flour tortillas.  Cost for those three items was $2 US (including a 75 cent tip).  Paired with the fresh fruit we're still working our way though and it was the perfect breakfast.  

For lunch, we went to Syd's for fry chicken.  I've talked about Syd's (and posted photos) before.  It's divine.  You must try it.   After the sun set, we tried to get burritos from a stand that I've read about on Back Street.  It wasn't open by the time we happened by at 7 pm.  Neither was Anna's pupusa stand.  I wonder aloud if the heat killed everyone?  We ended up at our old standby, Paradise.  I had a BLT (I was craving a sandwich), and Andrew had a shrimp burrito & a plate of fries.  Three rum/pineapple juices and a Belikin between the two of us and our total, with tip, was $27 US.  

We're back at the house now, fighting over who gets to have the oscillating fan blow on them for the longest before it swings back.  Andrew, sadly, typically loses this one.  It's for his own good, really.   

Just another day, for you and me, in paradise...

Despite the fact that we are continuously busy at home, there is a large piece of Andrew and I that are (apparently) slugs.  This trait hits it's peak when we hit the terra firma of Caye Caulker.   Our first full day today and  all we really accomplished was a few meals and a nap.  It's exhausting.  We actually slept until about 7 am today, which is very exciting to report!  Freaky was waiting to join us for breakfast.  She continues to be displeased with our lack of canned tuna, and is not shy about voicing that displeasure.  

Breakfast of champions - fresh fruit from the mobile fruit stand that came by yesterday,
coffee & toast.  Andrew also had an egg.  I brought the peanut butter from home.  Seriously, I did.  

After breakfast we did our "chores".  This involved washing up the few dishes and taking the compost out to the bin.  In the yard we encountered Debbie, the neighbor, who gave us a lengthy and informative, if unsolicited, tour of the garden.  This was followed by the low-down on "the crack house" next door.  They smoke crack there and are currently without electricity, in case you were wondering.  Neither of these things seem too surprising to us.  It is, after all, referred to as "the crack house".  I also have to assume that, if I was addicted to crack and living on a tropical island, electricity may be of low priority.  That, however, is purely speculation.  If I ever move here and become a crack addict, I will confirm whether or not this is true.  

We finally managed to escape Debbie, and headed up to the roof deck to get some sun.  We're trying to  avoid just hanging out at the beach to see if that helps at all with the sand flea bites.  So far, I've got a few, but not nearly so bad as in past visits.  I've also come well prepared with two different types of antihistamines and an arsenal of topical agents.  I'm sure the local pharmacy will miss my business. 

About 12:30 pm, we rode in to town to find some lunch and to pay Kim.  While deciding on a place to eat, we stopped to watch the kite surfers.  They make it look so easy I am convinced that I could do it.  I imagine that this is the exact thinking that lands people on those TV shows that set their unfortunate mishap to cheerful music and then play it on a loop (backward and forward).   I'm sure that many of them utter the last words "Hey, let me try that!" just before the camera starts to roll.  Luckily, I do not have a kite board.  I also do not know anyone here who has one, so I am safe for today. 

Windy day today - the kite surfers were out in full force at The Split.

  For lunch, we settled on a Lebanese place that opened just around Christmas.  The are roasting whole chickens right in the eating area, and it smells divine.  We share a plate of baba ganoush and the half-chicken platter.  The baba ganouch (eggplant, tahini & garlic spread) is smoky, heavy on the garlic in a great way, and served with warm pita.  The half chicken platter comes with fries, a salad, hummus & garlic sauce.  It's too much food for us, but all delicious.  With two iced teas, the total is $30 BZ ($15 US).  

Lunch!

From the restaurant, we pedal to Kim's to pay him for the house.  Victor had stopped by the house this morning to collect for the bike rentals and told us that he had a lot of bikes to choose from currently if we wanted to come by and look.  The bike I was given had a smaller basket, so we told him that we'd stop to see if there was a bigger one.  We've come to appreciate that a roomy bike basket is a necessity here on Caye Caulker!   After settling up with Kim, we went to look at Victor's bike stock.  There, in front, were these two beauties; just purchased a month ago!  Caddilacs in the Caye Caulker bike world, we snatched them up quickly!  

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading & napping.  Having to take a Benadryl for some bites, even I slept for a little bit - scandalous!  The plan for dinner was to try for Little Kitchen.  It consistently gets rave reviews on websites, and it has been on my list for some time now.  We tried to eat there in November but, being low season, it wasn't open every night.  Now that we're in the thick of the tourist frenzy, it's a good time to try again.  

Now, if you are squeamish, Little Kitchen may not be for you.  First of all, it's not exactly in the "desirable" area of town and you have to then walk through a bit of a back alley and someone's yard to get there.  If you make it this far, you then have to climb two flights of very steep and somewhat rickety stairs to get up to the restaurant. 

This way!  The rise between each step is about 18 inches - whew!

If you're able to brave the alley and the stairs, your reward will be this view...

 The chairs are plastic.  The menu is written on chalk boards.  The cooking is done by "My Mom".  The waitresses refer to her  repeatedly - "I'll ask My Mom what she has for vegetables.  My Mom says that the fish is good tonight."   The whole place shakes ever time someone new comes up the rickety stairs.  The food is amazing!

Menu

Andrew's dinner - lemon pepper shrimp, rice & beans, veg.  He liked everything except the vegetables.  No surprise.

My meal - snapper fillet in a coconut & cilantro sauce, beans & rice & veg.  I liked everything A LOT.  Even the vegetables.  :)  

We also had conch ceviche to start.  Andrew had two Belikin & I had a bottle of water and a glass of the local ginger wine (think of a fermented homemade ginger ale!).  Total, including tip was $32 US.  I'm happy we made it here!

Home, sweet, home-away-from-home!

We're back!  We had a 10 am flight out of Miami, and landed in Belize City just two hours later.  We were scheduled on the little Tropic Air commuter plane to Caye Caulker an hour after we landed.  Andrew calls this plane a "puddle jumper".  I call it "almost certain death".   I did remember to have my camera in hand this time, however.  

Andrew in the "back" of the Tropic Air plane.   In total, the plane holds  15 people, plus the pilot.
You have to sit wherever there is room, and crawling over people to get to a seat
is not only acceptable, it's necessary.  The "isle" is only about 12-inches wide.
Notice that you have to hold your carry-on on your lap.  

The view from my seat behind the pilot.  I'm practically the co-pilot!  There was a little more
button pushing on his part than I would normally like to see (it was windy today), but we
made it safe and sound.  

We were met at the Caye Caulker airport by Peter, who drives one of the "taxis" on the island.  By now, you probably know that this means it's a golf cart.  It's only about 3 blocks from the airport to Alta Vista, so we rolled in to the yard about a minute later. 

As we pulled up, we saw Annette, the owner, and another woman in the yard with one of the men who sells produce from a bike/cart contraption.  We recognized him from our previous trips.  His wife runs the fruit stand up on Front Street and we buy fruit our from her every few days when we're here.  Good timing on our part!  Before the luggage was even off the cart, I'd purchased 8 bananas, a papaya, a pineapple and a pound of lovely, tiny plums.  Total cost - $7.50 US.  Pretty good, considering it was delivered!  

After we've finished with the fruit vendor, Annette welcomed us back and introduced us to her sister who is visiting from Oregon.  A few minutes after that, Kim (the property manager) pulled in to the yard on his dilapidated 10-speed.  He came upstairs with us to hand over keys, but forewent the usual speel - "You know the drill, you're regulars."  He told us that his wife had surgery, so asks us to come by the office tomorrow to pay him for the house, instead of settling up today, as we usually do when we arrive.   

Before leaving, Peter had generously carried our bags up the two flights of stairs (not unappreciated in the heat and humidity) so we're were able to unpack and settle in quickly.  Freaky was soon to say hello.  Risking another nasty "Do Not Feed Me" note, we came with two cans of Pounce treats.  Annette told us that the last renters were feeding her canned tuna every day, so we should be prepared for the fact that she's been spoiled.  It's a hard life for Freaky.  

About an hour after we landed, we were on bikes (ready & waiting for us at Alta Vista, courtesy of Victor!) and heading in to town.  We settled on Rose's for lunch and enjoy cold, limey ceviche & a plate of "assorted seafood fingers", consisting of shrimp, fish, octopus & conch.   With two beer for Andrew & a Pink Gin for me, the total (with tip) was $35 US.  

Andrew with a Belikin.  The Belize flag is the perfect backdrop. 

My now standard "first drink" photo with a Pink Gin - gin, bitters & grapefruit juice!

Ceviche - heaven!

"Fingers" - shrimp, fish, octopus & conch

After lunch, we cruised on back to the house.  The roads are rough this visit, with potholes that rival the Grand Canyon.  It makes for a very meandering bike ride, or a very sore bum!  Back at the house, Andrew quickly embarked upon in his favorite holiday activity - resting his eyes.   They must have needed a lot of resting as it took 2 hours!  

Eye resting.

Freaky uses the eye resting time to have a bath.

About 6 pm, we got back on the bikes to go back in to town.  We stopped at Scuba Bert's to see if he's going out at all this week.  Bert remembered us and greeted us like old friends.   Our hope is to do a night dive this visit, but it's been very windy here the past few days so no visibility for diving.   Bert told us that the winds are expected to die down in the next few days, so a dive on Tuesday or later, is possible.  He says he knows where to find us if they are able to go out.  

After Bert's we decides to go by "Auntie's" for take away.  Remember Auntie's from the November trip?  It's the hole in the plywood building that amazing food comes out of.  I ordered shrimp fried rice & Andrew had breaded shrimp with fries.  Total was $15 US, including tip.   We headed home to eat and were for the night.  Both the owner's and the next door neighbors are here this time, so it's nice to have some activity around.  It feels much safer than it did when we were here in November, though Annette tells us that someone (likely kids based on what they took) broke in to her unit on the main floor just before she arrived.  They took mostly electronics.  We're still hiding everything, and will take our passports to Kim's safe tomorrow, just in case.  

Pennies!

Years ago when we were first married, Andrew & I would go annually to an old bed & breakfast that was reported to be haunted.  We loved that place!  The woman who owned it would tell us stories about how ghosts leave pennies for you to let you know that they are around.  The culprit at her Inn was named Gus.  That story has stuck with us and, to this day, whenever we find a penny in a strange spot, we say there must be a ghost nearby.   Sometimes we thank Gus. 

Tonight when I was getting in to my suitcase in Miami, I lifted out my toiletries bag and, right underneath, was one lone penny.  We're happy that someone else is along with us!  I hope it's Gus.  

The one penny in the midst of my suitcase. 

Getting there is...well, it's just getting there

Travel day today.  I always wonder why we have to get up in the middle of the night to go on vacation, but it seems that we just do.  The car service picked us up just before 6 am and we were through security and at our gate (with coffee!) by 6:30.   I do love the little Humphrey terminal!   To start off the day right, Andrew had upgraded us to 1st class for the first leg to Tampa.  Sun Country has fairly reasonable upgrade prices so it only ended up being a few dollars more per person because we didn't have to pay to check bags.  A few the other "perks", aside from the lovely, spacious seats were free drinks, use of a digital movie player, and a hot breakfast.  I would say that the first two were perks, the third was not.    

Andrew with his first (of a few) free Bloody Mary.

First class breakfast.  The fruit was good.  The rest, not so much.

Free DigE Player to watch movies on. 

Andrew playing games on his DigE Player

 We landed in Tampa about noon, and then had a three-hour layover before our short flight to Miami.  Once in Miami, we picked up the rental car, stopped for dinner, and then made our way to the hotel.  Andrew has a knack for finding great places for a great deal on Priceline, and the Doral Resort is no exception.  Home to the Caddilac Classic golf tournament, and newly purchased by the Donald, it's quite beautiful.  The room is spacious and we have a sweet little patio that overlooks the golf course.  I wish we were staying longer!  Tomorrow morning we'll head out by about 7 am to get back to the airport for our flight to Belize....

Door to the patio

Andrew on the patio.  Too dark to take a picture of the golf couse it looks out on.