Christmas trip to Orlando

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and Happy New Year everyone!  I hope that this is the start of the best years of your life!

January 18^th marked the 1 year anniversary of our friend Conan’s passing.  We talk and laugh about him daily and miss him as much now as we did when he left us.

After the fun of Costa Rica with Kevin I headed home to Hopkins for 5 days to wash clothes and repack my suitcase for a slightly colder climate.  It was nice to get back to my normal routine of fishing and napping again because I’m not used to all the daily movement of traveling but I knew I only had a few days before my longer trip to Orlando and all the hub-bub there.  I was sure that I’d need a holiday from my holidays after I was finished.  Well I didn’t know how true that was to be.

 

I flew out of Belize City because I found a decent fare on Delta, unlike other trips.  The cost was not much more than if I’d traveled the chicken bus to Belize City (US$6) and the all night Mexican ADO bus to Cancun Airport (US$43).  So I saved myself about 14 hours of bus rides and an extra lost travel day on both sides of my trip.  My flights through Atlanta and on to Orlando uneventful. Clearing Immigration and Customs in Atlanta was equally uneventful.  I’d never done the Atlanta I/C so wasn’t sure how long it would take there.  I found it to be one of the easiest and quickest next to Orlando Airport.  I rented a car from Hertz and saw my name and car stall on the board at the Hertz counter.  I’d been assigned a Chevy Captiva which I thought was unusual because in previous Hertz #1 Club Gold you chose any car from the aisle with the car size you’d selected.  Plus I didn’t recognize the model so I looked it up on the web.  It turned out to be a full sized SUV and a pretty nice car.  I was afraid that the gas mileage would be low and I’d pay a fortune in fuel but that turned out not to be true.  Gas was around $3.25 a gallon when I 1^st got there and as time passed the prices rise.  By mid January the price had gone up to $3.49 then back down to $3.35.  I was guessing that the oil company executives had to pay off the expensive Christmas/Hanukkah gifts they’d given.  It was still cheaper than the $6 a gallon we pay in Belize though. 

I normally stay with my son Rich for my entire trip but on December 1^st he and a friend moved into a 2 bedroom apartment near downtown Orlando.  He loves the historic districts so he moved from historic Sanford to historic Orlando.  The new one was much roomier and nicer.  He still had the old place until December 31^st so I had an apartment to myself until then.  After that I moved in with my friend Elizabeth who lives alone in a 4 bedroom home not far from my kids. She is another old AT&T/Lucent/Avaya friend (well she’s not old just our friendship is…) for the remainder of my stay, which was to end on January 16^th when I was due to fly home. I’d stayed with her for 2 weeks when I was in Orlando in July and she’d told me that she would always have room for me on return trips.  So I took her up on her offer.  It turns out that it was going to be much longer than expected.  Hopefully the adage “Fish and guests have one thing in common.  After a while they both stink and you have to throw them out.” won’t come to fruition with Elizabeth… 

It was great as always to see my kids and Vinnie Orlando, and old time AT&T pal had arranged a small get-together of other AT&T friends too, and it was nice to see them.  Of course I had to meet up with Vicki and Dempsey at Vitorio’s for oysters as quickly as possible.  They are always on my “must eat” list and I had 7 dozen, with a promise of more on our next visit.  Christmas dinner at my cousin Ed and Deb’s is always so much fun (no REALLY!!!) and it’s always great to see their side of the family.  I got lots of surprise Christmas presents from them.  Mostly snacks but 2 new tee shirts (you can never have too many of those) and a gift card that I used to refill my gas tank at a slightly cheaper rate.  Of course I ate entirely too much there.  Deb is such a good cook and their daughter Kristina is too.  The kitchen island filled up with goodies several different times both before and after dinner.  I certainly lived up to my Fatboy moniker that day!   

As for my “must eat” list it’s comprised of all my favorite foods that I can’t get in Belize.  BBQ, Italian, pizza (as opposed to Italian food), Cajun, Tex-Mexican (it’s different than what I can get in Mexico and Central America), subs, and a few other things.  So, almost immediately, I started eating my way through the list with my kids.  

That came to a screeching halt on January 7^th.  As soon as I got off the plane in Orlando my sinuses filled and the coughing started.  Thank you long metal tube and sick fellow travelers thought I. I’d also developed a raging case of acid reflux right after the New Year because I was eating later than I normally do at home.  Home I eat around 4pm, before I go fishing, so that I don’t have a lot of food in my stomach when I go to bed.  Because of Rich and Matt’s working hours, and other reasons, I was eating later so I was suffering.  Antacids and acid reducers generally resolve the issue but for some reason it didn’t this time.  I attributed it to the extra stress that I was feeling this trip too.  So anyway, as I started to feel worse I took my blood pressure at my friend’s house with her monitor.  I do have high BP and take daily meds for it but even with my daily dose taken my BP was at an all time high for me.  So I said I’d like to visit the nearby firehouse for a check there.  It turned out that the house was empty so she suggested the grocery store.  When we got there the ambulance and fire truck were in the parking lot so I figured they were either eating or shopping or both.  Turns out they were shopping and I asked one of the EMTs to do me the favor.  We walked out to the truck and he set me up.  It was now 20 points higher than at home.  Maybe from the stress of seeing the higher reading on the home unit?  Not sure.  But the EMT said I might want to visit a local hospital.  That turned into an unexpected 3 day stay. Oh oh I don’t have medical insurance because none of what I was entitled to in my retirement was good outside the country.  I wasn’t going to worry about that though until the time came.  The ER nurses put me on the beeping machines and an IV as well as doing cuff tests and my BP was all over the chart. At one point in the ER it was 375/255 and I think they were waiting for me to stroke. One of the nurses wrote in my chart that I had chest pains too because I told him I felt a slight tightness so that added cardiac testing to everything else they did over the course of my stay.  Based on initial blood tests I was told I had the flu that was going around.  I wasn’t feeling the really adverse affects that had the hospitals over-flowing though.  So they started pumping me with antibiotics as well as potassium as that count was low too and a bunch of other stuff.  They dosed me with a BP med to see if they could get a handle on that but it didn’t work so on went the nitro patch, followed by 5 or 6 more over the next 2 days.  That finally started my BP headed down but gave me blinding headaches the rest of my stay. So, more drugs for that.  Anyway by ER hour number 4 I was told I’d be there over night. It was after 6 when they finally moved me to a room on the cardiac floor.  Because of the flu epidemic the hospital was already at 109% capacity and people were getting treated on gurneys in the hallways. The local news talked of hospitals erecting tents in the parking lot for the masses.  Thankfully Orlando never got that far and I counted myself lucky to have a room at the Inn.  On the 2^nd day I had a nuclear stress test that turned out to be relatively normal.  Because of my coughing and panting fits I was suffering they didn’t make me do the treadmill.  Instead they used drugs.  Well when I was finished, or rather they were finished with me, I wished I’d done the walk.  Whatever they gave me made me feel like I was having heart attack because the drugs put a strain on the heart so they could measure it.  At least I could go back home knowing my heart is ok.  The final outcome, the thought was, the combination flu and acid reflux put a strain on me and raised my BP.  Late day 3 I was released back into the wild with a bag full of meds to take over the next 7 days and I was a good boy and took them all to completion.  I want to thank my friends Joe and Alice for their visit to my room. I really enjoyed seeing them. Others called with plans to visit but I got kicked out before that could happen.  On release I was told that the 2 doctor’s offices would call to schedule follow up visits a month out but I never heard from either of them.  I figured if there was something to worry about they would have called so I never called them either.  I did call Delta and cancelled my return trip and the nice lady in Tampa said she was waiving the $150 change fee without my even asking.  So that was a relief as my travel budget was dwindling.  I was already almost 2/3rds through my budget when the hospital stay occurred and now I was looking at a month more with the bulk of my cash in the bank in Belize and no easy way to get to it. 

I still wasn’t up to snuff when I left the hospital but it was time to get back to visiting and eating.  My daughter Carrie had signed me up for several restaurant birthday clubs and I received quite a few buy one/get one meals that helped my budget and I found that I could change the expiration dates in the emails on several of them and use them again and again.  Illegal you say?  Well 3 of the restaurants I had coupons for I was a VERY good customer of when I lived in the states so I didn’t feel bad about it.  IHOP go the most of my coupon reuse for breakfast and lunch.  I still had maybe ½ my “must eat” list left.  Cajun with Elizabeth.  She’d never had Cajun before so it was nice to introduce her to it.  BBQ at 4 Rivers with a different kid, or multiple kids so I had that 4 times.  Pizza twice, Sushi once, subs a number of times (always from Publix grocery store because I think they have the best.  Even better than the sub shops). German with Elizabeth because she lived in Germany for several years as a kid. I was crossing things off my eat list.  But as my money dwindled and with the possibility of an increase in flight costs I had to slow down.  Another reason for reusing coupons.  I had $950 Belize dollars ($425 US dollars) in hand and I tried changing them into US dollars at several banks but they wanted outrageous exchange fees so I kept the BZ dollars.  I sure was hoping I could tap that though and not have to worry so much about my dwindling funds… 

After my rental car expired, and I couldn’t afford to renew it, Elizabeth lent me her car whenever I needed it.  I spent 4 days in St. Pete visiting my sister Diana and her family, which left Elizabeth to bike to where ever she needed to go during that period.  Trips out with my kids and another planned trip to Vitorio’s for more oysters and more friends before I leave.  I am SO grateful for her putting up with me and lending me her car.  I invited her to either come back with me to Belize for a couple weeks or travel down whenever her schedule permits so I can try to repay her.  She admits that she REALLY needs the break so we’ll see.  We joke (maybe it’s not a joke though) of her never coming back once she experiences Hopkins and my easygoing lifestyle.  Hey look what happened with Conan a couple of years ago.  He came for a month long holiday and never left.  It happens more often than you think.  I am about to schedule my return flight for Tuesday February 5^th.  I’ve been gone far too long and am having fishing withdrawals and I’m freezing up here.  My New Years resolution this year is to catch more and bigger fish so I better get to it!

I did get 2 bits of great news today. The 1^st is that I called Delta to reschedule my return flight to Belize for Wednesday 2/6.  I talked to a Service Agent in Minnesota 1^st and she had problems determining the price of my ticket because the price kept coming up blank. I jokingly said that it must be free.  So she transferred me to an international service agent who had the same problem.  She got help and was told that there would be no increase in the return airfare.  When I spoke with an agent in Tampa a few days ago she told me that it would cost an additional $230 for my return but did verify that they were waiving the $150 international change fee.  I assume that once you cancel the return portion they book you at a one way fare when you reschedule.  These 2 ladies book my return as the 2^nd half of my trip, thus the same return fare that I paid when I bought the round trip ticket.  So that saved me $380!  I’m more comfortable with my bank statement now as I have that much more money until I leave.

The other good news was that I was contacted by Beatrice Mark who offered me a volunteer position as a U.S. Embassy Associate Warden for the Stann Creek District where I live. She emailed me on Saturday 1/26 and asked if I would be interested and I jumped at the opportunity. Her contact today was to officially offer me the position. The Wardens (American Traveler Advocates actually) assist American travelers who are having problems such as being robbed, lost their passport, gotten ill, etc and I help to resolving their issue(s).  We are their go-between to the Belize officials and the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan (the capital of Belize).  I have a luncheon to attend on Friday February 8^th at the Embassy where we will be sworn in and get initial training on our functions.  We will also have our picture taken with Ambassador Thummalapally as well.  I think that there is a follow up training at a later date too.  It’s not supposed to be too time consuming and I will be backing up Beatrice who is the primary Warden for Stann Creek.  Since my trailer has been robbed, I’ve been held in jail overnite until the Treasury Office at the border opened the next day (I never ended up paying the fine), had my car stolen, and handled the death of an American citizen (Conan) I think I have a leg up on helping others.  I’m really looking forward to it!  Funny though I don’t think I’ll be able to dress as I did when I visited the Embassy 3 times over the last 3 years.  Each time I wore a tank top, bathing suit, and was barefoot. I guess I’ll have to buy clothes and shoes before I leave Orlando…

Well, enough for now!  As always practice peace.  Fatboy In Belize out!

Part 3 of our Costa Rica & Nicaragua trip

Day 10-11 (December 12-13) On the road to Managua Nicaragua and the Holiday Inn:

Happy Birthday to Kevin on 12/12/12!!!

We’d made arrangements with Patty at our hotel to hold most of our luggage for us so we could travel light.  Both of us took 2 days worth of clothes in our backpacks and left the rest.  We left for the car rental agency around 7am and it wasn’t a bad ride.  We were certainly glad that we’d taken the time the day before to drive the route because there was a line of trucks that probably stretched 2-3 miles blocking almost the entire 1 lane road north. The truckers all had to wait their turn to have their load and insurance documents checked by the border officials and it was a very slow process.  Had we not figured it out we would probably have sat behind all of those trucks and cursed the hold up.  But we jumped right into the oncoming lane, and drove off the left hand side of the oncoming lane whenever a car/truck/bus came at us, and made good time.  We got to the National Rental agency and happily the guy showed up early.  So we were 30 minutes ahead of schedule. We walked to the Costa Rican border crossing and were met by a screaming hoard of people wanting to change our money but we knew that we could use American dollars in Nicaragua just like we could in Costa Rica (Belize too) so we didn’t change any.  As we stepped under the building roof (it’s mostly outdoors with the Immigration and Customs people inside) we paid a dollar for who knows what (we never did figure it out), and then $12 at Immigration and got our stamps.  We walked back to the rental agency and were given a ride to just before the Nicaraguan Immigration office where things went equally as easy.  I don't think we spent no more than 30 minutes clearing both borders, which was really nice.  I’m used to the MX/BZ border crossing and you never know what to expect there.  I’ve spent an hour just waiting to have my bags searched by BZ Customs on my way back into the country so I thought these 2 crossings might be equally as annoying.  But they proved me wrong.  None of our stuff was checked at all.  We were picked up by the National Rental guy right at Immigration and walked to our new car, maybe 5 minutes away.  The place we walked through reminded me of Matamoros MX right at the Brownsville TX border.  Food shacks on a dirt road cooking mystery meat on truck and car rim barbcues.  We had our car in just a few minutes and headed out.  We had a nice, and rather calm, 3 hour or so ride to the hotel in Managua.  The traffic wasn’t nearly as bad going north of the border as it was south, although there was a massive line of trucks there too.  But we were in the departing lane so had pretty much a clear passage.  Driving in Nicaragua is about the same as Costa Rica…you pass the slower moving traffic on curves and hills because not much of the road is ever flat or straight.  So you get used to being semi-terrified and do it, otherwise it would turn into an 8 hour trip to go 20 miles.  Both of us decided that we weren’t in any jeopardy of having a heart attack anytime soon because of that!  The drive was really rather pretty.  We passed several volcanoes and a lake that could actually pass as an inland sea, Lake Nicaragua. All along the lake are huge wind generator fields for power production.  Not sure why Belize doesn’t do that too other than they buy all of their electricity from Mexico.  I’m sure they could save quite a bit of money employing wind generators and making their own electricity.  Anyway... As we drove Kevin spotted a septic truck emptying out into the lake and told me that the lake was so polluted you couldn’t eat anything from on or around the lake.  We actually saw another one dumping directly into the Pacific later on.  Pretty sad!  But I digress.  We found the hotel after stopping to ask directions at another hotel that resembled a Holiday Inn (yes girls some guys do stop for directions!) and found that we were pretty close.  The Holiday Inn AND Casino turned out to be a really nice place.  We checked in and, because we hadn’t eaten since our early not-much-of-a breakfast (it was now around 1pm) we headed for the hotels only restaurant.  It turned out to be a pretty good choice, although a bit pricey.  We spent US$22 each on the lunch buffet and enjoyed walking away stuffed.  We figured that it would be our big meal of the day anyway and it was (I snuck down around 10pm for a burger and fries).  Kevin headed to the lobby around 2 to meet up with the Compassionate Child folks for his visit with his boy Angelo.  Me, I just took it easy and watched some downloaded shows.  With the internet being so fast there (as compared to here in Belize) I was downloading as much as I could and caught up on all the shows I’d not been able to download over the past week or so.  So I was a happy boy!  Kevin returned in a few hours happy but depressed.  He loved Angelo but said the area where he lived was pretty depressing.  Funny thing is that Angelo's father is in construction too, same as Kevin. Angelo made him a Styrofoam Christmas tree to take home.  Very cute!  All in all Kevin loved his visit and I think is planning another trip already.  We were up around 7, had the buffet breakfast, and headed back for Costa Rica around 8:30.  We stopped and took pictures up at the top of Masaya Volcano where you can drive right to the top and peer into the smoking caldera.  Pretty impressive!  We spent about an hour or so there before heading south again.  Crossing the border was a bit more eventful but still quite easy.  We stopped in the same spot that we picked up the car and were broadsided by a group of guys jostling each other and yelling to let them take us across the border.  A guy came up and wanted to take the car but we were told that it would be the same guy who gave us the car so Kevin was very leery.  Since we were about an hour and a half early he wasn’t there.  So the new guy got him on the phone and Kevin talked to him.  He was told that, when we met the National guy at the border between the countries, he, Kevin, would give the keys to the new guy after being assured by the Costa Rican National guy that he knew the Nicaraguan guy.  Got that?  Have I confused you?  Well you can’t be any more confused than we were.  But it all worked out.  A guy asked for our passports and filled out the Immigration document for us and then put his hand out to be paid.  The National guys in Costa Rica did it for us so we thought it was still part of the service.  It turns out that it wasn't and we didn't have any córdobas anyway so said no.  The guy got really angry and tore up the documents.  We just laughed it off.  Had he told us up front that he was a paid service we might have let him do it.  After the 2 border crossings, and having to pay US$3 to enter Costa Rica, we were soon headed back to La Cruz to pick up our luggage.  We planned to stop in Liberia for the night but got there pretty quickly so we decided to drive until dark.  We stopped at a combination Papa Johns, Burger King and Pollo Loco for dinner and both chose the chicken.  I forgot to mention that we stopped at a Citibank across the street from this place on the way north.  Kevin needed some American cash.  I ran over to the BK and had my 1^st American fast food burger since July.  Pretty darn tasty too!  Back on the road and looking for a hotel.  We thought we’d have our pick of hotels but that wasn’t to be the case.  They were very few and mucho far between.  After dark we ran across a restaurant with cabanas called Los Gebiraros and called it a night.  We each got our own ant infested room but both slept well. 

Day 11-12 On the way to San Jose for our trip home:  Early up, early breakfast (not too bad), and on the road by 8:30 and headed to San Jose.  Before we left Kevin booked us into a Wyndham Hotel (with another Casino) that turned out to be a really nice place.  We had a bit of trouble finding it because the reservation was actually for the Best Western (I think) but it was actually the Wyndham.  Anyway we got there and were impressed by the place.  Looking at the hotel menu we decided we could eat cheaper somewhere else.  We’d spotted an Appleby’s right nearby and walked there.  It turned out to be a pretty expensive place too.  Not American prices at all.  But the one thing they had here, that we didn’t find anywhere else (including here in Belize) is free drink refills.  My baby back ribs were US$30 but really tasty and the leftovers served as my dinner later in the evening.  Kevin’s fajitas weren’t much cheaper but he enjoyed them as well.  We shared a very good shrimp ceviche appetizer too so again we were headed back to our room stuffed to the gills.  We joked that it seemed that all we did was eat and sleep this entire trip.  Hey we did a lot of hiking, horse riding and other sightseeing too so it wasn’t all eating.  But 75% of our meals were buffet style and both of us have a problem not making a trip or 3 to the line at every meal.  For the most part though we skipped desert to make up for all the food we were eating.  Kevin spent quite a bit of time in the casino and I think actually won money.  I lost about US$20 but had a good time.  A trip to the pool was a disappointment.  The water in the pool and the Jacuzzi was was cold so Kevin settles on the Jacuzzi tub in the room.   More casino later, Kevin still winning, and then to bed.  Breakfast was provided by the hotel and was a buffet, again, but free and quite good.  Kevin said how he was going to miss one of the breakfast staples:  rice and beans.  Actually rice and beans is a staple of almost every meal of the day but you get used to it. Sometimes it’s red beans and others black beans so there is a little variation.  His flight left around 9am and he had to turn in the rental, and my flight was at 12:20, so we said our goodbyes in the lobby after breakfast. I took the 10am shuttle.  Not sure how his flights were because I haven’t heard from him since but mine were all good.  On time, no hassles with security, and no rushing to make connections.  I had already made arrangements with Trish to pick me up in Dangriga so I called her from the plane as soon as we got to Belize City.  She got to Dangriga airport about 15 minutes after I did with Judi and Michael in tow.  About an hours worth of banking and shopping (Trish & Judi) and fried chicken dinner at our friend Norman’s Bakery and we were on our way to Hopkins.  Michael and Judi were taking a bus trip to shop in Chetumal MX with Norman so that was the reason for the stop at his shop.  My trailer smelled pretty strongly of mildew from being closed up for the 2 weeks so I spent about an hour washing the place down before climbing into bed for a long winter’s nap.  I’m only home until 12/20 when I head for Orlando so my mission today was to get my laundry done so I could repack it.  Trish did it for me while I filled her computer with TV shows that she likes and a bunch of movies so that she has plenty to do while I’m gone for the 28 days (unless the world ends on 12/21…)  So now I have a few restful days to recuperate from Costa Rica.  I’m sure that I will need a vacation after Orlando as well.  I’m figuring that the world WILL end because I turn 62 on 12/22 and will be eligible for Social Security (which I’ve already applied online for) and I’ll get screwed out of it!

 

More on our horse ride to the falls at near the Arenal volcano.  Thinking back on it I decided that it had been at least 46 years (high school) since I’d last ridden a horse.  So I decided I’d stand in the “never ridden” line.  I got some old guy who wheezed almost the entire trip.  I kept appoligizing to him for his losing the rider lottery and getting the Fatboy.  I wasn’t the heaviest there but that didn’t help my horse much.  Kevin didn’t like his horse at all and after about a 5 minute ride took him back and swapped him out.  He was much happier with his 2^nd mount.  Some of the trail that we road was truly ugly.  Lots of deep mud, rocky and steep paths, just a misery for the horses.  The guides managed to keep us all together though.  We had a pretty good group of fellow riders and actually met a guy who was born in the same hospital as Kevin and I (and probably most of our 1^st cousins…Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park IL) and grew up in our town of Oak Lawn IL.  He didn’t go to our high school though because he lived further south so was zoned to Richards HS.  Pretty funny though that we traveled all that way to meet a homey!  It really shows us what a small world we live in!

And so, life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize (until I leave on 12/20)…  As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace.  I am!!!

Part 2 of our Costa Rican Adventure

 

Days 2-4:  La Cameron Resort, Puerto Viejo

Our stay in Puerto Viejo was nice.  Kevin spent the 1^st full day looking at properties.  Driving around we met a few people who all had land and land/houses for sale.  One woman that we met actually stopped her trip to town to show us a couple of places near her.  Too far from the beach and a pretty good car ride to town.  Nice though.  Most of the property owners were Polish except for her.  She was Bulgarian.  Nearer the beach and further south we met a local who had quite a few friends who had property so we had a nice look.  Everyone we met was more than happy to help us.  Kevin has lots to think about.  The scenery in Costa Rica is amazing, much like Belize.  Lots of beautiful flowers and trees, majestic hills (actually low mountains) and volcanoes, rainforests, animals everywhere, everything you can imagine.  There were were days that the screaming of the howler monkey woke Kevin early in the morning.  We stopped more than a handful of times on the side of the road for hom to photograph different animals.  Since arriving in Costa Rica he’s taken well over 1200 pictures (he’s a photog junky anyway).  When he’s done working on his photo albums I’ll point you to the URL where he’s posted them.  He’s an excellent photog and does some stunning editing of pics.  I think he could sell them myself.

Day 4-6:  Pachira Lodge on the Rio Sueto near Tortuguero

We left our hotel at 5am for a 2-1/2 hour car ride, a free breakfast where we were to meet the bus, a 1-1/2 hour bus ride to the boat, and 1 hour boat ride to the resort.  On the river we saw a 6-7ft croc and a troop of white faced cappuccino monkeys.   We finally got to the Pachira Lodge on the Rio Sueto near Tortuguero on the Caribbean side and I think 1/2 the people we've met were from France.  Quite a few Germans too.  Had a great time there.  Kevin was surprised by the hotel.  We got to the room and it didn’t have windows, only screens, and no a/c. Well open to the eliments but covered by a porch that kept the rain from hitting the windows.  Welcome to Central America Kevin!!!  LOL.  Belize is full of places like that because the a/c is too expensive and the breezes are enough to cool the room.  It certainly was here. 

We did a couple of nice tours.  The 1^st was a short while after we arrived and to a small village was located almost directly across the river.  It was so small they had no cars or golf carts.  We wandered around for a while looking in a few of the shops then heard lots and lots of drums a few blocks away.  It turned out to be the local high school drum corps.  We listened to them for a while then headed to the beach.  We were told of a tour that took people to see baby sea turtles hatching and running to the sea so we thought we’d schedule that. While we were on the beach I met up with a local fisherman and we spent about 30 minutes talking about fishing local to both of us and what our catches were.  Kevin was off taking hundreds of pictures of various flora and fauna.  A few minutes later we came across a local who had found a baby turtle wandering in his yard.  So we watched him bring it near the sea and set it free.  A couple girls walked up to watch so he picked the turtle up and did it again further back.  As the turtle got to the waters edge he’d pick it up and move it back.  Finally we all yelled at him and he let it go. At 5pm Kevin went on the turtle tour.  I decided to skip it because I’ve seen it a couple of times in Florida.  He LOVED it!  He said they watched about 30 turtles unbury themselves from the sand and head to the sea.  Bad thing about turtles is that only 1% of them survive.  Almost everything that lives on land or in the sea or flies eats them when they are tiny.  But it was an adventure watching them start their sea life.

The resort was all inclusive and dinner was ready when he got back. Dinner was always served at 7pm.  Most of the food was good but not very imaginative.  Buffet style with some form of beef and chicken, rice and beans at every meal (including breakfast).  We both went to sleep and woke early, although Kevin always woke up earlier than me.  The 2^nd day was hike in the rainforest right alongside the resort and in the afternoon a river and canal tour.  Lots of different birds, howler monkeys, and plenty of crocs sunning (in the cloudy weather) on patches of weed.

Dinner at 7 again.  Like a cruise ship all of our meals were at the same table every day. At least we were lucky there because we like everyone.  One couple from Spain (she’s a Brit and he’s Spanish and a newlywed couple from Spain as well.  There is also a lady, somewhere in her 70’s, named Martha who we jokingly talk about hitting on Kevin.  She’s a widow and has traveled to 36 countries on her own since her husband died.

Day 2 was a 2 hour rain forest hike at 9:30am, a 2 hour boat trip on some canals, and another trip at 5pm to the turtle nests.  I was pretty tired so I chose not to go on the turtle nesting tour.  I’d seen that in Florida so I didn’t feel bad about missing it here.  Kevin on the other hand was totally amazed at seeing them crawl out from under the sand and head for the water.  He said that there were about 30 of them all scrambling to make it to what they thought was a new life in the safety of the water.  The guide said that only about 1% of them actually make it to maturity though.  Early bed because we had a big ride the next morning. 

 

Day 5-6:  Tirimbina Lodge, La Virgen

After the boat/bus ride back to El Ciebo we headed toward the Arenal Volcano with a stop for a night at Tirimbina Lodge and the Reserva Biológica La Tirimbina.  We checked in and went for a quick hike over the suspension bridge and ended up at the cocoa plantation that we were going on the tour at the next day.  Not a problem though except that we ended up walking back in a torrential down pour.  After drying out we went out for a nice dinner, hit a grocery store for some supplies and then settled in for the night.  The next morning we went on the guided tour of the cocoa plantation and we were glad that we did.  The presentation took us through the process of picking, cleaning, fermenting, drying and processing of the cocoa beans and included turning the end product into drinkable cocoa just like the Spanish were introduced to in the 1500’s.  Really good tasting stuff!  After that we headed out to our next destination.

Day 6-8:  Los Lagos Resort, Frontera

Saturday we headed for Arenal which was about a 3 hour drive including time for lunch.  Kevin had his heart set on staying at the Los Lagos Resort in Frontera.  It has a hot spring on the property right at the pool bar.  Pretty pricey but REALLY nice.  So we sat at the bar, well I sat at the bar on the internet and Kevin went into the hot spring pool, and later we both went in.  The pool had a pretty big slide so like the kids we are we had to ride it.  We headed for dinner in town.  I’d been hankering for pizza so we chose one of the many pizza joints in town and had an almost acceptable pizza experience.  By that I mean it tasted good but of course didn’t satisfy my craving for a NY style pizza. I’ll be in Orlando in 10 days so will satisfy that craving during my 28 day stay.  We wandered a bit and Kevin found flavored cigarillos for 60 cents US in one of the stores.  I chose 5 chocolate and 5 whiskey flavored ones and they turned out to be quite nice.  A stop in a bar for a drink and then Kevin went across the street for a massage to finish his night.  I know what popped into some of your heads.  It was a real massage not one with a “happy ending”.  Sunday morning the sun finally came out and the volcano filled the horizon to the north of our hotel.  There was a cloud that wrapped itself right near the summit.  What a beautiful sight!  Breakfast at 8, followed by a 3 hour horseback ride up to a waterfall at 9:30.  The waterfall stop included an hour to swim.  Being the weakling with bad knees that I’ve become I climbed part way down and sat at a scenic overlook with a cigar and Kevin made the trip.  He tried getting into the water but it was so cold he said he was chocking on a double Adam’s apple if you get my drift.  We did enjoy the horsy ride though.  The rest of the afternoon was spent at the pool and pool bar.  Dinner in town was a total disappointment.  We both opted for a mixed grilled seafood dinner which included ½ a lobster, half a huge freshwater shrimp, an octopus tentacle, 3 shrimp, and 2 crappy stuffed muscles.  All the lobster and shrimp was severely overcooked and the veggies that came with it were soggy.  Disappointment heaped on disappointment…

Day 8: Leaving Frontera headed to La Cruz

We left Frontera and the volcano and headed for La Cruz in preparation for crossing the border into Nicaragua on the 12^th to visit Kevin’s “Compassionate Child” who lives near Managua.  The trip to Liberia took 3 hours and we didn’t get lost once!  Each time we’ve headed out to a new destination we’ve encountered various levels of lost.  The night we arrived in Costa Rica what should have been a 10 minute ride to the hotel took over 2 hours.  As a side note though the signage in all of Central America is atrocious and street name signs are non-existent so you are guaranteed to get lost.  When Kevin and I were dragging my trailer through Mexico we got so lost that we stopped at a cab stand to ask directions.  Since neither of us speaks Spanish very well (me not at all) the directions were lost on us so we hired him to lead us to the highway we needed to be on.  In CR I reminded Kevin of that so we immediately found a cab stand and in 10 minutes we were at the hotel.  The next morning we didn’t even bother trying to find our way to the highway.  We asked in the hotel registration office for a taxi, explaining what we wanted it for, and at the designated time he was in front of the hotel.  We were on our way to Puerto Viejo without a hitch.  Not sure if we’ll have to do that today but.

Day 8-9:  EcoPlaya Resort, La Cruz

Found a sort of nice resort called the Eco Playa Resort on the pacific side near La Cruz. It’s actually associated with one of the timeshare trading companies (RCI I think).  Bad thing of this place is that it’s infested with ants.  But we were only here for 1 night so we lived with it.  We’ve never had an infestation problem in any of our hotels to date.  Speaking with other guests they are infested too so I know it’s not just us.  Here on the west coast there are really beautiful rock strewn beaches but the water is lots cooler than the Caribbean.

Our next move is to be nearer the Nicaragua border tonight because tomorrow we are crossing over and heading to Managua to visit Kevin’s “Compassionate Child” who lives near there.  It about a 5 hour trip so we want to reduce the driving tomorrow by being at the border.

 

Day 9-10:  La Marida Hotel, La Cruz

Well we took our ride to the border but stopped at the National Car Rental just to check in and make sure the arrangements were in order for picking up the car in Nicaragua.  Truck traffic was atrocious!!!  All trucks are required to check in with their paperwork before crossing the border.  There had to be at least a 5 mile long line with trucks parked 3 lanes wide on the 1 lane road in places!!!  They filled every possible open spot and some were even facing in the wrong direction.  We got behind a bus and the bus drove in the wrong lane for long stretches, with us directly behind it.  We’re thinking that we are safe because the oncoming traffic had to move over for the bus because the was no place the bus, or we, could go.  Worked like a charm!  Just before we turned into the office Kevin decided to juke right to see what was ahead.  When he did the right front drive wheel left the pavement for a 1 foot drop, leaving the car sitting directly on the frame.  A few bad words were said and I hopped out.  A man was standing right on the side of the road and he and I lifted the front of the car while Kevin put the car in reverse.  That worked like a charm too and we were back on the road.  The good thing is that we saw the office not 25 feet futher up the road and on our side of the highway.  The bad thing was we didn’t know if they saw what we had just done.  Nope they were clueless.  We met the guy who was manning the desk yesterday in another office and found that everything was kosher. We also found out that there were no closer hotels at the border so we were stuck going back to La Cruz for the night.  On the way we decided to see if we could get a car in Nicaragua today and save the border crossing tomorrow.  No such luck though so Kevin got directions to a hotel that they guy recommended.  Turned out to be a nice little place owned by a couple who live in Spring TX.  We got 2 rooms for the night, with great a/c then took a walk into town for a nice lunch.  So that’s where we are tonight.  Tomorrow we head for the border again, turn in the Costa Rican rental, get driven to the border, walk 2 blocks to CR Immigration, cross the border, check in with Nicaragua Immigration, get picked up by the rental car people and then head to Managua, which is a 3-1/2 hour drive.  Kevin meets with the Compassionate Child people around 1pm to go meet the boy that he sponsors.  We found out that I can’t go with them because I didn’t go through the background check that Kevin did.  So I’ll sit at the Holiday Inn where we will spend the night. 

So we will see what tomorrow brings. 

And so, life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize in Costa Rica!!!  As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace.  I am!!!



I'm back!!!

I knew that it had been a very long time since I blogged last but didn’t realize just how long.  With the bad things that happened just before and soon after the turn of the calendar to 2012 I lost heart for writing.  Many of you emailed me over the ensuing months to check on me and whether I was still alive as my blog was your only real contact with me.  During that time I’ve enjoyed some great adventures alone and with friends.  Several sailboat trips with Gaston and Britt to the Cayes, a 10 day sail to Guatemala and up the Rio Dulce with a bus trip to Antigua, trips to Caye Caulker (Belize) alone and with friends, several fishing trips to the reef and a trip to Orlando.  I’ve also had a few difficulties befall me during that time, one in which my new (’99 Honda Passport) was stolen 3 weeks after I bought it and was rolled twice and demolished.  But now I think I’m ready to blog again and share my new adventures with you.  At some point I may try to catch you all up on some of the things I’ve enjoyed prior to now.  But for now I’ll start with what is happening in my life right this second.

My current plans are a trip to Costa Rica from 12/2-15, with 4 days home in Hopkins, followed by an Orlando trip for the holidays from 12/20-1/16.

Several months ago my cousin Kevin Drews, of the Phoenix Drews’, told me of his plans to travel to Costa Rica to look for property and I thought, since my plan when moving to Belize was to travel all of Central America, what a great opportunity!  Kevin put his life on hold for about 10 days almost 3 years ago to help me drag my trailer from Brownsville TX to Belize and we had a great time.  So what better way to repay him than to join him on his quest and finally make it further south that Guatemala?  His pan was to head to CR from 12/2-15 with a stop for a day or 2 in Nicaragua to visit a boy that he sponsors there.  So now we are in Costa Rica!!!  I almost wasn't though. I got to Belize International and went to the TACA desk to check in and was told that I didn't have a ticket, that the company I bought it through never finished the transaction. I could however buy a ticket for $750, $300 more than the internet price. So I went across the street to the internet and check it online and it said the transaction was cancelled. Cancelled??? The internet was tooooo slow to do much else so I went back to the counter. They did the ticket and when I gave them my debit/credit card they said they didn't take debit. I told him to enter it as a credit card and he said again that they didn't take debit cards. So I said it once more, telling him how to enter it. Again I got we don't take debit cars. Ok do you take cash? Yep! Well I only brought $1500 so that was 1/2 my cash. CRAP!!! Well anyway both flights were nice and I got in on time. Kevin and Kim were waiting right at customs (no bag check except x-ray). The car rental (National) was easy and Kevin found out that when he wanted to cross into Nicaragua all he has to do is go to the national office right at the border and trade cars. We'll see how that works. The directions to the hotel were a nightmare even though we confirmed then with the rental agent. The 10 minute ride took us almost 1-1/2 hours. We finally arrived at the hotel and the room is nice and the beds comfy. Free breakfast though from 7-9 was included, which was delicious!  Omelets cooked to order and fresh fruit.  The grounds of the hotel include a winding pathway through a very lush tropical garden that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Day 2:  We spent about an hour with a wonderful lady named Mary at our 1^st hotel getting directions to our next destination Puerto Viejo, which is on the southeast Caribbean coast.  She made us a reservation at an all-inclusive resort in Tortuguero, where we will travel to on the 4^th.  Part of that adventure will be a boat ride up (or down) the Rio Torta because the town is not accessible by road.  That will be Day 4 so stay tuned.

By 11am we were on the road for what turned out to be about a 4 hours trip through Limon and a hard right to the south to Puerto Viejo. It turned out to be a curvy route through the mountains and along the coast.  We hit a bit of rain in spots and plenty of wild drivers, which included us at times, as we tried getting around the slower traffic.  I know many of you have driven in countries where it is a common occurrence to pass traffic on hills and around curves so I won’t bore you with the details.  We were afraid to stop anywhere because we knew that we would only have to repass all the slow traffic that we fought so hard to get in front of so we kept going.  Sometime in the early afternoon we got onto the coast hugging part of the trip, where the traffic was much lighter, so we made a stop for our 1^st cervezas at a roadside stand.  Both of us are aficionados of street food and have no problem stopping at what look to be the worst dives you’d ever imagine to sample their fare.  We’ve had some of the best meals in Mexico, Belize, and now Costa Rica at these stands and today was no exception.  We weren’t sure what the meat was hanging above the grill but it we were assured that it was beef.  It turned out to be true and we had a very yummy marinated and grilled beef and boiled yucca meal all for about $20 total, beers included.  The price was a bit high but we knew that we were in the tourist corridor and the prices were going to rise, or so we thought.  We were soon back on the road and it wasn’t long until we had our 1^st glimpse of the Caribbean.  Kevin found a good place to stop and we walked down onto a beautiful volcanic black sugar sand beach where we spent a few minutes enjoying the view. taking a few pictures, and listening to the Howler monkeys screaming in the trees behind us.  Next stop Puerta Viejo and looking for a room for the next 2 days.  We toured a couple of places both on the beach and in the rain forest and settled on Casa Camarona, which is right on the beach.  Dinner at Coconuts Bar and Grill surprised us.  For $22 we had a couple more cervezas and a delightful meal of marinated beef, rice, black beans, diced grilled potatoes and a small salad.  While we waited for it to be cooked we went across the street and bought a few supplies, bottled water for both of us and a bag of Pepperidge Farms cookies for snacking whenever.  There was a coffee stand next to the store that I visited after dinner and partook of my favorite coffee drink…a 6 shot espresso.  The eyes of both the barista and a customer popped wide open and questions flew about how I was I going to sleep in the near future.  I’m sure that they thought they’d soon see a caffiene crazy American running the streets.  Me...caffeine has no affect on me so I assured them that wouldn’t be a problem, and of course it wasn’t because within an hour or so I was fast asleep.

Day 3:  Up at 5am, after a great night’s sleep, and into the bar/restaurant area for a pass at the internet and to watch the sun come up and to start this blog.  We aren’t sure if we are going to remain in this hotel or try for another and we’ll make that decision after breakfast.

And so, life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize.  As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace.  I am!!!

Hello again...

I know it’s been a very long time since I posted but with all that has happened between December and January it’s taken the fun out of writing.  The last thing I posted was about Conan’s passing.  So I’ve been trying to get myself back on track and not doing a very good job of it.  I’ve taken some trips, done a lot of fishing, but spent far too much time alone in my trailer.  I’ve had to force myself to do anything fun because I just haven’t had the heart for it.  I’m thinking though that blogging may be helpful, putting my hopes and fears into it and maybe when I read it I’ll say to myself, “WTF are you doing!  Time to get back your life and enjoy retirement again.”  This won’t be a soul searcher though.  I’ll just recount some of the things I’ve been doing.

We’re trying to sell Conan’s van, boat, and dive equipment, all of which the family has donated to us.  It’s possible that we now have a buyer for the boat and engine but at ½ of what Conan paid for it. There are so many boats for sale here in better shape than Conan’s and for less money so we’ll take what we can get. The guy has been here a number of times to work on the engine and tonight (4/15) he finally got it running.  We bought a green ’99 Honda Passport o 4/14 that is in very good condition with money that we really don’t have yet but we plan to call it the “Conan-mobile”.  Of course Tricia will use her artistic skills to identify the Conan-mobile to all somehow.  I’ll post pictures whenever that happens…

Now to get back track. On Saturday January 28^th our Dutch friends Gaston and Britt, who spend 9 months a year traveling the world on their 100 year old, 42ft sail boat, returned again to Kismet to celebrate Gaston’s 50^th birthday.  Besides inviting his Hopkins friends he also invited friends from Guatemala and Mexico to join him here for a BBQ.  It was nice to finally celebrate something joyous again.  Dinner was BBQ pork ribs, pasta salad, munchies, and copious amounts of soda, beer, and rum.  A wonderful time was had by all!

February 4^th was my 2^nd anniversary of living in Belize and the 9^th of living at Kismet in Hopkins.  How time flies!  It seems like only a short while ago my cousin Kevin and I were leaving Brownsville TX to pull my trailer down.  Seven days after we left we pulled into Dangriga in southern Belize.  I can’t thank Kevin enough for making the trip with me.  Settling into Hopkins was the best decision I could have made.

On February 16^th I was headed to the lagoon to fish around 4:30pm and as I was walking under Kismet I passed Mark and said that I hear a big fish calling my name.  Little did I realize what the future held!  I’d been bringing 2 rods to the lagoon lately.  One rod I set up with a 7/0 hook (pretty big one) and a 5-8 inch catfish for bait. The other I rig with a 2/0 hook and fish with shrimp for snapper and catfish.  About an hour after I put my catfish bait in the water my rod was being pulled into the lagoon.  Twenty minutes later I was pulling in a 27lb Jewfish, the largest fish I’ve caught since moving here.  I had no idea what kind of fish I’d hooked because it stayed deep and kept making long runs, reel sizzling runs until it finally got tired and I was able to pull it to the beach.  As I pulled it literally within inches of the shore I had my 1^st look at it.  It was too big to pull up onto the bank so I dropped my rod and went in after it, grabbing it by both gills.  It was pretty tired from the long fight so it was easy to grab and throw on shore.  I was in heaven!!!  I

 packed up and then tried to put it into my fish bag (I use a 50lb flour sack) but it was too big to fit.  So I began walking back to Kismet holding it by a gill and dragging it.  Jewfish have a bony ridge inside under the gill flap and it kept closing in my hand, crushing my 4 fingers.  My normal 10 minute walk turned in to 20 because I had to keep stopping to rest and to change hands.  By the time I got home all 8 of my finger knuckles were a bloody mess but I got it there.  I yelled up to Tricia for the camera and the crowd from the kitchen came down to gawk at the size of the fish I’d dragged home.  I was leaving the next day on a 9 day trip and my freezer was already full I’d never cleaned a fish that big so I knew I’d need help so I offered up the fish head to Elvis if he would fillet it for me.  One of the female guests wanted to help fillet it so we let her join in.  Tricia offered to call Driftwood Bar and Pizza to see if they would buy it and they jumped on it.  Besides the head that would make yummy fish head soup I got 8-1/2 pounds of fillet that netted me US$37.50 to use on my trip.  And Cindy (the guest) got her chance to help fillet.  She was a mess but loved every minute of it

 

On Friday February 17^th I boarded Gaston and Britt’s sail boat, De Rob (The Seal) along with Cindy the fillet queen and Alexandra (another guest) and we headed out to TurneffeAtoll Marine Reserve for a 5 day cruise.  We spent a night at 4 different Cayes and had a great time.  The snorkeling was spectacular!  Following that the plan was to head for Caye Caulker for a few days of fun in the sun.  I ended up staying 4 nights.  Caulker was the very 1^st place my wife and I visited when we came to Belize over 15 years ago.  It was a very nice, quiet, and quaint place with only 1 street and 6 places to stay.  What I saw when we sailed into the harbor was a much different place.  All I could think, and kept saying over and over was, “What the hell happened?”  It had really been built up and was now crowded with tourists.  Nothing like what we had found all those years ago.  But it turned out to still be a really nice place and we had a blast. Cindy, Al, and I stayed in a small hotel and Gaston and Britt on their boat.  Lots of reading on the beach, wandering the small island and finding places to eat each night.  One of my favorites was a place that did a nightly pig roast.  We also spent time in a sports bar that actually had Belikan Beer on tap.  That was a refreshing change from the bottled stuff I’d been drinking for 15 years.  I was glad to be heading home though…or so I thought. 

When I got home and opened my door I knew immediately that the smell that came hit me hard in the face meant that my fridge had died sometime while I was away, and probably right as I walked out the door.  I opened the fridge and the entire inside of the fridge and freezer was alive.  I never saw so many maggots in 1 place in my entire life.  So I slammed it shut and left it for the morning.  I was able to knock down the smell with bleach and by turning my 2 fans on and blowing out through the door and a window.  It took a full week to kill all of the maggots.  It seemed that another thousand were born every day.  Lots of bleach did the trick.  Now I had to find someone in the area that knew how to fix a combo 12v battery/110 AC electric/propane fridge.  Confused?  My fridge works off my 12 volt battery string when the trailer is moving.  When stopped I can run it on 110 volt electric and when the power goes out it converts to working off my propane tanks (actually butane here in Belize).  So it’s a pretty nifty little appliance.  I had no luck over the next 2 weeks trying to find anyone to fix it.  A friend and I determined that the motherboard had burned out.  Because of the age of the fridge the manufacturer couldn’t find a replacement.  I was able to use some of Tricia’s freezer space so I didn’t have to hit the market every day for my dinner.  After about 3 weeks I borrowed a small cube fridge that she had bought from Mark, a long term guest.  Five weeks later I found a straight electric fridge in Dangriga that would fit in the hole that my fridge was built into.  Or almost.  I had to cut out the base of the overhead cabinet (where I stored my coffee, spices, and extra dishes).  Good thing was I could put all that on top of the fridge.  So now I’m back in business.  Just one more issue that kept eating away at me but one that was resolvable.

 

I fished the full moon in March but bad weather put a quick end to that.  We had a lot of rain during what normally is our dry season.  I did manage to catch an 11lb Jewfish though on March 14th.

I fished the full moon again beginning Wednesday April 4^th from 10pm to 1:30am and caught a 9lb Jewfish, 2 snappers that were 5 and 6lb,  2 smaller snappers that were both a little over 3, a 2-1/2lb  snook, a bunch of small snappers, and 4 catfish that were big enough to eat but I used for bait.  All in all it was a very productive night!  The next night I brought Matt, Angie, and their daughter Kelia.  Matt immediately hooked a tarpon that got off as did 3 or 4 others.  He did catch his 1^st ever snook though.  I caught a 5lb snapper and Kelia and I took turns catching 2-3lb snappers.  They left earlier than I did and I added 3 more snappers in the same weight range.  The next night (Friday) was dismal with only small snapper and catfish being caught.  We did have a nice dinner Friday night and I also supplied all of the snapper for the BBQ on Easter Sunday.  One of the guests wrapped whole snapper in aluminum foil with various veggies and threw them on the fire.  We also had a big pot of red beans and rice.  It was yummy!

Our friends Matt and Angie came on April 5^th for an almost month long stay.  They rented a local house called Blue Haven this time because they were bringing their daughter Kelia and he boyfriend.  When we got to Dangriga Airport to pick them up we found that Kelia’s boyfriend couldn’t make the trip due to work concerns.  So they settled into Blue Haven and were fishing the lagoon that night.  Since then they’ve toured the village, rented motor bikes and rode out to do some zip lining and water fall exploring.  Kelia headed home to Pikesville TN on 4/14 because she was homesick and it was sad to see her go.

Tricia, Matt and Angie had made plans with Gaston and Britt to sail back to Hopkins on their boat and I planned to drive back with our new car.  Well they kidnapped me for the sail back.  They had anchored off Dangriga and according to Gaston the winds picked up around 2am and the boat was tossing and turning.  So on the sail back (we were taking the long way, headed out toward the reef) we got to talking about options.  Britt and Gaston can’t sleep when their boat is tossing because you never know if the anchor will let go.  So we decided to head for either Tobacco or Coco Plum Caye for the night.  What normally would have been a 1-1/2 hour sail took 3 hours.  We decided on Coco Plum because none of us had ever been there.  They found a nice beach to let the dogs run so Tricia, Angie, Ika, Britt and I took their dingy and dragged the kayak to the beach with the dogs.  Matt stayed onboard to fish and Gaston snorkeled to try and spear some fish for dinner.  Yes you read that right…I didn’t stay to fish!  Remember now I was kidnapped so I didn’t have my fishing gear with me.

After exploring the small Caye for a bit I left the girls and I took the kayak over to the resort to see if it was open for non-guests.  Turned out that the bar was open to all.  I happened to put US$20 in my bathing suit pocket just in case and Tricia found US$35 in her dry bag so we settled in for a few draught beers and talked to a few of the guest and staff.  I looked across the bar and saw a guy marking a hermit crab with colored markers.  Now you all remember what we do to chickens here at Kismet so I had to talk to him.  Seems they have nightly hermit crab races and everyone gets to personalize theirs.  Too cool!!  So I told him about our chicken experiments and painting and he and I had a laugh over it.  He invited me to join their search for more crabs so off he, his party, and I went in search of more.  While we were searching I asked him if he knew the rates for the villas but he said only for the one he and his 5 family members were staying in.  Sitting down???  US$15,000 for the week all inclusive for the 6 of them!!!  Theirs came with a private chef and a private boat for fishing and diving.  I almost choked!  I looked at the Coco Plum Resort web page and saw their prices.  Nothing I could ever afford!  And it wasn’t as nice as some resorts I’d seen that had better accommodations for cheaper rates.  But they loved it and it was their 10^th year there.  To each his own I guess.  Anyway the girls caught up to us and we all headed back to the dingy and the boat for the night.  Matt didn’t catch anything and Gaston couldn’t find anything big enough to spear so we had a vegetarian dinner of peanut sauce and mixed veggies.  Very tasty!  Everyone turned in my 8pm because it had been a long hot day.  I chose to sleep on deck in a hammock and made it to around 2am when it started to rain.  We were all up early and had a big breakfast before heading back to Kismet. We arrived around 1pm.  Plans were made for Matt and Angie to go back out with them for 3 days of diving off Tobacco Caye, leaving around 3pm the same day.  They left right on time and the seas out at Tobacco were just right.  They had a great time diving and snorkeling but didn’t catch a single fish.  No idea why because they had every bait imaginable,  I guess the weather and seas made them closed mouthed.  Who knows.

I was sitting in my trailer around 6:05pm MST on Sunday 4/22 when the place started shaking.  I thought someone was having some fun bouncing the trailer so I looked toward the door to see who it might be (I was too lazy to get my Faboy butt off the couch).  No one showed and the shaking stopped after about 30 seconds.  I forgot all about it until I read the news on Monday about the 5.1 earthquake in Guatemala.  So I looked at the map and saw that the epicenter was only about 108 miles southwest of Hopkins.  Mystery solved...

Headed out for some reef fishing tomorrow with Matt and Angie.  We’re also going to spread the last of our bit of Conan’s ashes.  They will be taking the bulk of Conan to the states with them.  Actually they will be smuggling his ashes in, which Conan will certainly enjoy!  His ashes don’t look anything like the cremation ashes you get in the states.  His are “chunky”, with bits of burned wood and such and it looks more like bonfire remains.   So we’re repackaging them and marking them as different beach bonfires and a date. 

Tricia and I are joining Gaston on a 10 day sail to Guatemala on Friday 4/27.  Britt and Ika (Britt’s friend) left for Holland, via Cancun, yesterday.  Now it’s time for Gaston to head up the Rio Dulche to where he moors his boat.  He wants to varnish the mast before he leaves for Holland and that it should take approximately a month, depending on how fast the Guats work.  Everyone says it’s a beautiful trip up the Rio Dulce and I’ve never even made it to Guatemala yet so I’ll probably go.  Gaston says he’ll take a leisurely tour and we’ll probably spend a night in Placencia BZ, a day in Livingston GT clearing customs and immigration, and then a few days going up the river, stopping at night at different towns along the way until we hit his home port.  Hopefully this will be another adventure that will help me out of my depression…

And so, life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize.  As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace.  I am!!!

Conan Douglas Scanland: Sunrise: Feb 9, 1959 - Sunset: Jan 18, 2012

This is one of the hardest blog updates I’ve ever had to write. My very good friend, and brother, Conan, who arrived at Kismet on November 27, 2010 for a 30 day holiday and never left, died very suddenly this past Wednesday January 18^th while we were in Dangriga.

He had been suffering what he thought was a case of gird (acid reflux) or possibly a stomach ulcer for the better part of a week. Mark and I gave him some of the stomach remedies that we had which include Zantac and Tums. What with the diet that Conan followed it was no wonder he was having stomach problems. We thought that the stress of his recent, and still unresolved, legal problems also had a lot to do with a sick tummy. Tuesday was his worst day so he went to the village clinic where he was given more stomach remedies but he was told to return after the 1pm lunch break for an EKG so a heart problem could be ruled out. So back he went and was back to Kismet within 30 minutes. He said his EKG was normal (he the former medical student) but that the doctor saw an anomaly and wanted him checked by a cardiologist ASAP to rule out an infection. Wednesday was court so we knew he wouldn’t be worrying about anything else much less making doctor appointments.

So off we go at 9am Wednesday in one of the guest’s pickup trucks. Conan had mentioned to me the night before that he really didn’t feel like driving so having a ride was a blessing in more ways that one. Two of the guests and I were dropped off as we entered Dangriga, they to renew their passport visa and me for a routine blood panel. Everyone else headed to court. Trisha called me a few minutes later and said that court was cancelled and we made arrangements to meet at ScotiaBank in the center of town because we all had shopping to do. Who is running into the bank for cash (including me), who is hitting the 2 small grocery stores by the bank (also including me) and when we finished we sat on the steps of the bank BS’ing, joking and laughing. Just a normal day. A few of us took the 2 block walk across the river to the fruit and veggie market. Conan, Fran and his son Peder (return friends from Norway) and another couple headed out to Tobacco Caye stayed behind. We got back to the bank and sat down again. Canadian Dave (a friend of ours form Hopkins) walked up and we talked to him for about 10 minutes It was in the 90’s at 11am and pretty darn hot. Conan mentioned how he was suffering from the heat and I said I was too. So we all got up and walked to where the pickup was parked (about a block away), piled in (everyone was in the truck bed except the 2 truck owners and Trish) and drove off. We had a stop to make at the Belikan Beer distributor which was about a 1-1/2 way so Trish could buy a couple of cases of soda and me for a 5 gallon bottle of water. As we turned onto the Belikan street Conan looked at me and said, “Passing out.” And fell over sideways. He was only out a few seconds and back to his normal self. Trish made him sit in the cab with the a/c and he felt better. The pics of Conan are the last one taken of him and he seems fine. We left Belikan about 20 minutes later and headed for Hopkins. Not 2 blocks further on I hear someone yelling but we don’t see anyone but the truck veers to the shoulder and we see Conan slumped in the seat. We pulled him out of the truck and as we do I see that his eyes are open but unfocused and he is cyanotic (turning blue). Once we had him on the ground and found that he wasn’t breathing and had no heartbeat Trish and I started CPR with me doing the compressions. We only did it for 60 seconds or so because he was getting blue-grayer by the second. I got everyone to get him into the truck and I continued compressions until we got to the hospital. A gurney was brought out and I told the doctor and nurse inside the ER what happened and they ran him right in and began working on him. I was not hopeful. I thought more along the lines of an aneurysm and that he’d already bled out. But they did all their magic including shock and a ventilator. They never got a single beat out of his heart though. Trisha and the others had already left for home with Trisha already going into shock. I had already looked through Conan’s phone and the only numbers he had were for his Mother (who is not very healthy) and his ex-wife Dani. I tried calling her but only got her voice mail. I told her who I was, left my number, and asked if she could call me ASAP. I figured that she had his family’s numbers. I called Mark back at Kismet and told him about Conan and that it didn’t look good. Mark of course asked if I was joking because it was such a shock. Once he understood I told him that I was friends with Conan’s sister Kali and his father and maybe he could get contact info there. He had to wait for Trish to get back because he needed her laptop. His Notebook had been stolen from his room several weeks ago. Meanwhile back at the hospital and American nurse was keeping me updated and making sure that I was OK. A very nice lady who is head of Nursing Education at the local college. She came out at one point and said that the local priest was there and did I want Last Rites administered. I knew Conan was an agnostic and told her that but said to go ahead because prayer and the sacraments are a powerful thing. I said I wanted them to do everything they could and I would apologize to Conan later. Thirty minutes later they called it. I asked to say my goodbyes before I left and they let me in after they were finished cleaning him up. I was glad to be able to do that at least. I had a few minutes with the doctor who told me what the process was for obtaining the death certificate and claiming his body. I also asked about an autopsy and he said it would take a few days. So now we’re waiting for that to happen so we know exactly what took him from us.

I took a cab back to Kismet and Mark was on Facebook and friended Kali who responded right away and they chatted and then got on the phone. I called Dani again and told her what happened. She and Conan were best friends to this day and talked often. She too asked if I was joking and I assured her that I wasn’t. She knew but of course didn’t want to hear that it was true. So we talked for a while and I assured her that I would keep her in the loop. Within hours we’d spoken with his Mom and Dad as well. Trisha also notified the U.S. Embassy to notify them of his death and I’ve been speaking with a representative about the procedure we need to follow. I’m taking care of all of the arrangements for his death certificate and having him cremated as per his wishes. Some members of his family will come in the next few months to collect him. I’ve asked in an email if we can have a small portion of him to spread out on the reef he loved so much as well.

Tricia, Mark and I are still feeling that numbness of disbelief. We still expect to see him coming up the steps to the kitchen to talk with us and smoke and drink his coffee. We are all thankful that we had him in our lives for the past 14 months and for all the great times we had together. For me he almost immediately became a brother when he arrived at Kismet on November 27, 2010. We all loved him. He leaves us all with such wonderful memories.

Today, Saturday 1/21, we are holding a remembrance of his life at 2pm central and have invited all of his other friends to come and share their stories with us.

And so, life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize…but much sadder because of the hole that Conan’s passing has left in our hearts. As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!

And another holiday trip to Orlando is ending...

I want to wish each of you a very happy, healthy, and prosperous new year and hope that all of your dreams are more than satisfied.

This past year has seen many ups and downs for all of us, especially me. I thank God for my chance to live in Belize in relative peace and harmony and in good health. If not for that I fear that I would be in desperate straits. Things in the states have happened that has put a massive cloud over my head, one which I know will take a very long time to pass. I have never bothered you with what was happening in my life and I won’t start now because I’ve always been a very private person. But some of it is the reason I left the country to try and start a new life. I do have several good friends to lean on when I need to and that means quite a lot to me. They will keep me on the road to recovery. Hopefully I can get on with my life now.

My holiday visit with my kids is rapidly drawing to a close. Its been a strange trip where, because of circumstances, I haven’t done all the things I usually do, visit the people I long to see, and eat my way through my “must eat” list. I've not gotten my shopping done but my list still has quite a few foods that may not be crossed off before I leave. But hey I can stand to miss a few meals and lose more pounds then I care to admit too. I most definitely ate my share of raw oysters though! In 2 visits to Vitorio’s with friends Vicki and Dempsey I ate my way through 4 buckets of 3-1/2 dozen each, less the 3 that my son Rich ate. If I could find a way to visit there again before I leave I would. Speaking of my son Rich, the gourmet, he introduced me to several very good cafes and restaurants around the Orlando area and my son Matt brought me to a sub shop that is 2^nd to none when it comes to their Italian sub.

Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve found me at parties at my cousin Ed and wife Debbie’s which were grand. Being surrounded by them and their guests (OK here’s where I’m may cause some trouble…), especially Janet kept me grounded and kept my mind far from my troubles. Thanks you guys, I love you all!

I did get to spend time with many former colleagues on Friday 12/30 and while it was a terrible day and the circumstances were not the best for the meeting I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I met up with 2 women whom I haven’t seen in at least 15 years and I was amazed that they looked exactly as they did all those years ago. Some of us though are hard to recognize. Gray hair, less hair, no hair, weight gains, weight loses, sagging skin, you name it. And the same goes for the men! (Sorry couldn't help that…) But they all were the same people that we enjoyed working with and was honoured to call friends.

Tomorrow finds me on my way to Orlando Airport at 6am for a 9:20am flight to Cancun through Dallas/Ft Worth, a 6 hour wait in Cancun Airport for the bus leaving at 10:30pm for Corazol BZ, clearing MX and BZ and Immigration and BZ Customs before arriving in Corazol at 4am Friday, 4 puddle jumper flights starting at 7:30am flight from Corazol and ending in Dangriga at 10:30, and then the ride to my home in Hopkins. But at least I’ll be sleeping in my own bed and seeing my friends at Kismet again. Now I’ll start working on obtaining my Belizean citizenship so I won’t be back to Orlando until next Christmas (unless the Mayans are right about 12/21/12…). I’m also suffering from fishing withdrawals so look for me in the lagoon early Saturday morning!

And so, life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize… As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!