Sunday May 2nd was my Mother’s birthday. She went on to her new life in 1999 but we, her children, always post, or email, or in some way acknowledge her birthday amongst ourselves every year. Today is no different. Happy birthday Mom! I miss you!
And today, May 4th, is the 1 year anniversary of my brother Bill’s very unexpected passing. He’s one of the reasons for my retiring so quickly while I’m still healthy enough to enjoy it. I miss you Bill!
I was rudely awakened Thursday morning at 5:20am by the chattering of a group of locals and sounds of hammering right over my head. I realize though that, because of the 95+ degree heat, Elvis and his crew needed to start work early and get as much done on my palapa as possible before it became too hot. It was 5:45am and already 88 degrees with 65% humidity so to say it was cool would be a gross exageration. It took them about 6 hours to do most of the thatch and was interesting to watch them employ construction methods used in the old days. Elvis and his crew climbed up into the hard stick frame they’d built a few days before and spread out along the length of it. Two men on the ground handed up palm fronds and the men up topside used thick plastic twine and large wooden needles to tie each frond to each hard stick. Plastic twine is used because it doesn’t deteriorate like regular twine. Row by row they overlaid the fronds, using their bare feet to push them tight against each other, to build a waterproof roof. I could see the shade climbing up my windows as the roof got higher. I can tell the difference in the inside heat now too. When they finally quite for the day only a small strip on each side of the roof remained open. It’s now a full 10 degrees cooler inside today than it was yesterday. What a blessing! One of the downsides of my new roof though is that I won’t hear the rain on my metal roof. For me that was a comforting sound and I loved to lie in bed on nights it rained and listen to it.
I’m finally able to set up my table and small BBQ grill outside now without fear of them deteriorating from the harsh sunlight and torrential downpours that we live with in Belize. Until now I’ve been keeping it inside on the small couch by the kitchen table, next to the fridge. It will be nice to reclaim that bit of space. With storage space being at a premium inside I’m forced to use whatever is necessary to keep things that should be outside clean and dry. I do try to keep the interior from looking too cluttered though through the use of covers of various types. I also plan to finally unpack my hammock and hang it right outside my door. Tricia has 4 hammocks around the property that I have been frequenting but now I’ll have my own right outside my door.
Sunday May 2th was the official end of tourist season. The season runs from the 1st Sunday in October to the last Sunday in April/ May closest to May 1st. That doesn’t mean that tourist won’t come anymore though. That only means that the snow bird vacationers are home to roost for the summer. College ends soon and they will come through with their backpacks and spend long weeks traveling through the countries in Central America. Church groups will come and attend to their adopted sister churches. Families will come with their children once schools close their doors for summer vacation too. How many of the tourists will visit Hopkins Village, or Kismet, remains to be seen. I’m sure many of the families will spend their holiday on the Cayes where there is much more for the kids to do, plus real restaurants, and a bit of nightlife for the parents. We always spent our 2 weeks in February every year, for our anniversary, at one or another condo resort on Ambergris Caye, which is situated off the northern Belize/southern Mexico coast and is the largest of all the Cayes. Due to my wife’s medical issues we needed a more normal environment and in close proximity to a hospital. We didn’t go in for the nightlife or frequent many of the restaurants. We came for the sound of the surf and the ease of snorkeling and fishing right off the beach. And we kept to ourselves. Our big decisions everyday were do we sit on the porch, or in the shade at the water’s edge, or lay in the hammock together? When do we have our 1st Belikan beer? We came for the quiet relaxation and to spend time alone together. Now I’m living almost 180 degrees from what we experienced. Except, my home still has a full kitchen and bathroom and a bedroom, where Kismet is more rustic with shared bathrooms and outside showers aiming for the eco tourists in a budget. Tricia’s rates are BZ$25 a night (US$12.50) with dinner costing BZ$22 (US$11). I do use the outside showers though instead of the one inside my home. More for the extra work of keeping my water tank full and my grey water tank empty than anything else. Plus I love looking up at the stars while standing under the shower head.
Ron returned from his stateside visit on Friday April 29th and it’s nice to have him back. While he says he enjoyed going back to Nebraska he’s happy to be home again. He’s moved in with Tricia now (I think I’ve told you that they became an item a few weeks before he left) and it’s funny seeing him sitting at the kitchen table early in the morning versus his afternoon visits. He’s keeping his house for now and they will use it as storage. He’s been home almost a week and he hasn’t resumed the daily 7pm movies at his house yet. Maybe next week. But he and Tricia are still settling in with each other.
Good news!!! Ron says that he has to have cable here at Kismet to be comfortable and is also thinking about, and, dare I say it for fear of jinxing it (?), an internet connection! I’ll pay toward the internet just to have a bit more normalcy in my life, and a closer, more immediate connection to you all. I really don’t miss TV because of all the movies and TV series that I downloaded before I left the states. I have 515 movies and 35 TV series and specials. Some of the series lasted 7 years and I have every episode (actually 1033 total episodes). Plus I have the DVDs that I owned. That keeps me busy at night when I settle in to relax. Anyway, we’ll see what develops. Keep your fingers crossed.
My bother Dave is coming to visit me the end of June and I’m hoping that I’m not driving him and his wife Deanne crazy with my shopping list. Decaffeinated iced tea bags, insect repellant, fishing line and lures, a replacement chain for my chain saw, etc. It’s all those things that are either hard to find, or very expensive to buy here, and that I’m running out of. International bulk rate shipping is expensive at $55 a box via the U.S. Post Office so, as people come to visit, I’ll be buying things over the web and having them shipped to my next guest’s home so they can bring them with when they come down. I’m impatiently waiting packages from my cousin Jodi in WA and my brother Dave in IL and it will be like Christmas when they finally arrive. Jodi went shopping for me for light weight pants and long sleeve shirts for those nights when there is no breeze and the biting bugs are thick in the air. I can’t find any clothing like that here in my size and I hate using the Deet bug sprays when there are other alternatives. She’s also sending Avon Skin So Soft bug repellant. Dave is sending some of the stuff that I can use right now, like the teabags and Deet insect repellant.
I’ve been searching for airfares in August to travel to Edmonton CN to visit Brent and Janet, who you’ve read about in past blogs. They were here in February and invited me up for some fishing at their lake cabin. It would be wonderful to spend some time with them again and a really nice change of scenery too. I’ve looked into flights leaving Belize City, Cancun, and Chetumal MX but I can’t find anything lower than US$800 right now and that’s way out of my budget I’ve used every airfare search site I can think of. . Hopefully something will turn up…
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
