The good news:
Matt and Angie came back to us on Friday 5/6. They were here last November and enjoyed it so much they just had to return as soon as possible. (And we love that!) This time they brought their eldest daughter Shanee, a pretty little blonde to try the place out as well. She was an immediate hit with me because almost the 1st words out of her mouth were that she wanted to go fishing. A girl after my own heart! We didn’t make the nightly lagoon run but the next morning around 9am Matt, Shanee, and I grabbed fishing poles and Angie came along to sightsee. We didn’t catch anything but it was a nice way to start off their trip. Shanee, well Matt too, is excited about getting out to the reef for the big ones and we’ll do that as soon as Conan and I get the boat ship shape. On the way back to Kismet Shanee looked out over the sea and said she was impressed by the number of people out in the water and how far out they were. I guess she must need glasses because it was 2 large flocks of pelicans sitting in the water waiting for their breakfast to swim by. We had a good laugh over it. They did the zipline excursion yesterday and loved it. Matt taught repelling in the Army so he’s cool with it but Shanee was scares stiff. But she jumped off on each of the 6 different zipline and ended up loving the whole thing. Angie loved it too. They couldn’t stop talking about how much they enjoyed it. A couple of us here keep threatening to do that and the cave tubing too but for some reason we never get around to it. One day… Shanee left us today to return to her hubby and 3 year old daughter but she swears she’ll return. Matt and Angie would like to get the entire family down to enjoy Belize because they are hoping to retire here in 5 years or so.
I was like a kid in a candy store the 1st 2 days Matt and Angie arrived. I’d asked Matt to head to the store and resupply me with weights, swivel snaps, and wire leaders because I was about out. He did better than that, adding in some hooks and a couple lures too. I’m fully resupplied now. Another request I had was for a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream for my coffee and a bottle if Irish sipping whiskey. I got those the next day! He brought a bottle of Jameson, one of my very favorites. I shared shots with Conan and Chris (more on him later) in the kitchen and brought the bottle over to the Driftwood to share a bit with my Irish friend Oliver. He was in heaven too because you can’t get Irish whiskey here in Belize and I’m always teasing him about his joint being a pretty bad Irish pub because I can’t get any there. Bad me I wasn’t able to share a shot or 2 with Matt (it’s one of his favorites whiskeys too) and Angie until Monday night because they are always on the run. He wouldn’t take money for any of it but I’ll make up for it in other ways. It’s also just nice to see the 2 of them again. He and I still hold the total fish caught on a reef trip and I’m hoping we can better our total and keep he and I number 1.
Chris came back through Kismet on his way back to the sates and his job, on Saturday 5/7. It was a grand surprise because we didn’t know when to expect him. Conan and I were sitting in the kitchen yakking when he walked up and yelled to us. He’d grown his hair out and shaved (said it was for the ladies he met on his C.A. travels) so it took a second to realize who he was. So he got quickly back into the swing of Kismet life. Sad part is he only stayed until Wednesday 5/11 when he had to head to Belize City for his flight. Hopefully he’ll return next year!
Tuesday May 10th was our 1st reef diving/snorkeling/fishing trip out to the keys. Matt, Angie, Shanee, Conan, and I were the crew. They all snorkeled and I fished. I didn’t catch anything and I won’t tell you about the big cuda I lost after it jumped twice (ok I guess I just did) but Dwayne’s (owner of Bread&Butter Caye) 2 workman caught a nice cuda and a small jack. My compatriots had a great time with Conan and Dwayne’s Hawaiian sling spearing fish. We were given the 2 fish, actually we were given a much bigger cuda for taking them out and I gifted them each a lure, so we ate well that night and even fed 5 other guests. So, all in all, it was a great day!
And now the bad news:
Well it happened again! I was showing a flick up in the kitchen on Mother’s Day and while we were fully committed to watching “Paul” (which was pretty funny by the way) someone stole my newest rod/reel and Matt’s brand new rod/reel that he brought from the states from outside my trailer. We knew of 2 locals who passed through the property that night and promptly went to one of them and he was ruled out immediately. The other one, we have no idea where he lives. So it’s time to set up a sting and salt the area and wait in ambush with hard sticks and machetes. Conan and I were told by 2 separate cops that it’s legal to stab a thief in the butt or leg to “slow him down and make it easier to catch and identify (because of the wound) the thief. We hope to catch someone red handed and make an example of him by giving him a permanent limp that will remind other potential thieves that we’re tired of it and ain’t gonna take it anymore! News updates as they happen! Anyway, Matt and I visited Uncle Harry’s and replaced out missing gear. As I walked in I ask Harry if it was alright that I called in a Dangriga cop. He asked why and I told him about out latest misfortune. I said, “Who knew we had new fishing tackle and who would benefit most from it going missing?” We had a good chuckle over that and picked out our stuff.
We’ve had a heck of a time getting the boat out of the water and up on the beach. It took 6 of us and a big come-a-long strap the 1st time and 5 guys and a come-a-long the 2nd , and we didn’t succeed that time. We have two 6” PVC rollers and a couple of boards too nit we just can’t figure our how to get it up the double slope of the shore line in front of Kismet. We bought a heavy duty hand winch, an 8X8 railroad tie, and a bag of cement trying to make it easier but each idea fails. We’ve sunk the darn thing at least 5 times now. The post is now cemented into the sand under the palapa and today (Monday 5/10) and mounted the winch on Wednesday. When we attempted to pull the boat out we found that, even with the post cemented 2 feet into the sand, it wasn’t stable enough to pull the boat. The boat did move a few feet until the post started pulling forward, at which time we stopped. So we bailed as much water out of it as we could, all the while waves were refilling it, and finally were able to get it floated. So we pulled it out about 100 feet into waist deep water, set the anchor, and hooked up the battery to get the bilge pump working. No luck! There was just too much sand in the pump hole. Someone, and I won’t mention any names to protect all of us because we’ve all had some pretty strange ideas, determined that we should face the bow (front of the boat) toward the beach. VERY WRONG MOVE!!! Several large waves poured over the transom (the wall at the back of the boat that the engine is connected to) and down she went. So we swam off heavy hearted and took a much needed break, We’d been at this more or less from 2am on, trying to use high and low tide to solve some of our problems. We figured that high tide would help us get the boat up the slope. We thought that waiting until low tide we could get most of the water out and it would be easier to pull it up. Twice we’ve used Robert’s (another long term resident) 2 wheel drive pickup truck to winch it up the darn slope. We’ve now beached it half way up the slope but it isn’t high enough and high tide refills the boat with water and floating seaweed. We are all pretty sore from all the work we’ve done to save the boat. Matt is a weight-lifter kind of guy and even he’s suffering. I guess it’s because we aren’t used to working in moving water, being pounded by big waves, pushing/pulling the boat with shifting sand around our feet, and bailing like madmen for extended periods of time. It uses different muscles that we don’t normally use in those ways. So, nothing has worked and we’re all very frustrated but we have to keep trying because we want to save the boat. Today is another day and we’ll start all over again. And another thing…we’re getting rashes in delicate places from spending so much time in the water. I guess it’s time to pray to the patron saints of lost causes, boaters, the sea gods and goddesses, and anyone else we can think of to save us poor miserable boat people. We just can’t win…
And, so, life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize… And, as always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
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