My Bread & Butter Caye holiday

Pictures top down: Dwayne (in window), Chris, Conan, and Fatboy.

The weather finally cleared so we headed out to Bread&Butter on Saturday 1/15 for some intense reef fishing and communing with Dwayne. Conan and I invited one of the guests, Chris from northern CA to come with us too. He’s been camping at Kismet the past week and has been fishing the lagoon with us too. Four other guests, 2 from Utah and 2 from Germany, will be headed out that way to snorkel and fish so it will be a full boat, at least on the way out. We figure to be out there 3-4 nights and will be tenting it because there isn’t enough rooms for the 3 of us. So I’m finally getting to use my tent, which I’ve dragged from Atlanta to Orlando to Belize and it’s been packed away for a year. I took it out the other day to make sure it was still usable and didn’t have anything living in it, which is and didn’t. Ya never know around here! Mice, tarantulas, scorpions, etc get into everything. We arrived at B&B around noon and, after saying hello to Dwayne and King, Conan and Chris immediately set up their sleeping quarters so they didn’t have to do it later in the dark. Conan has a 2 man tent and Chris has a camping hammock with a built in mosquito net. It’s actually pretty cool. A half hour later I had a lure in the water and immediately caught a nice barracuda. This time I came prepared with heavier tackle to try for the 6’ tarpon too that I’d lost a few months ago too, but never saw one. Fishing wasn’t very good but we had a wonderful time anyway. We did catch and spear enough to eat and to bring home a few for later dinners. I ended up sleeping in one of Dwayne’s cabins, which had a full size bed and bathroom so I was quite comfy. Conan and Chris camped out. Dwayne was with us almost the entire time and we so enjoyed his friendship and stories. He coined a new phrase too. He laughed about Conan’s cancelling his flight home and his “I’m never going back to the states” so now he (Dwayne) says he’s “going to Conan” too! King and Willie, Dwayne’s island caretakers treated us tremendously and we found out what a great cook King is. I’ve actually known King for quite a while since I’ve been to B&B on previous snorkel/fishing trips but had never met Willie. Anyway, I want to make you jealous by telling you of out dinner Tuesday night. Fresh caught lobster, stone crab, conch, and fish sautéed with King’s special spice combination, rice/beans, and salad. I can’t remember when I’ve had a tastier meal. I normally cruise right through my food but that night I REALLY took my time. Actually we ate quite well the entire time but that meal was a true standout! Enough about food now. We fished every day, and sometimes several times a day. It usually started at 5:30am on the dock and moved to one of Dwayne’s 2 boats. Conan and Chris always had snorkel gear with them and would jump over the side whenever the section of the reef looked most inviting. Conan always took a spear gun with him on the off chance he’d see something worth shooting at. Me, I stayed in the boat and fished. We trolled and dropped line in the deeper water. Like I said the fishing was nothing to write home about size-wise. Even the guides were saying how bad the fishing was. We did catch barracuda, grouper, and grunts and had fun doing it. Conan and I spent a day fishing and we also toured the Smithsonian Lab at the outer edge of the reef. We caught them between crews so there wasn’t any science going on but had a good tour none the less. We also took a trip outside the reef, where Conan did some snorkeling. He said that was the nicest place he’d seen this trip. We also watched a marlin sneak inside the reef but were too far away to chase it. The snorkeling was great, as always, right around B&B and both Conan and Chris spent many an hour with spear gun and spear pole in hand, snagging quite a few angel and parrot fish plus a few other types. They all were very good tasting! Our final day there Willie went out to check his net and found that he had caught a 6ft nurse shark, a 4 foot sun shark, and a hawksbill sea turtle. Luckily the turtle was still alive and was returned to the sea. The sharks were filleted for sale and we got a couple of pounds to take back with us and had it for dinner. The weather was very nice the entire time and we enjoyed some glassy seas. Sadly though, we had to leave. But I’m sure Conan and I will be back there sometime in the next few months. Dwayne leaves for his farm in Minnesota on the 20th to prepare for the spring planting but will be back in a month. He grows soybeans and corn and raises turkeys. He says his daughter runs the place when he’s not there.

The 2 guests from Cologne GE, Simone and Frank, have been on the road for the past 8 months. They are traveling around the world by motorcycle. They arrived at Kismet on Thursday and pitched their tent. If you’re interested in following their trip their website is http://krad-vagabunden.de and has an option to translate it into English and Spanish. It makes for some pretty interesting reading!

Enough of my rambling now. I have to set my tackle boxes and restring 2 rods up for lagoon fishing at 5am tomorrow. Chris and I did go down tonight and he caught 2 nice catfish that he threw back.

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

I'm sorry!

Ok, ok, so I have to clarify 1 thing and sort of apologize for 2 others. First, I said that I was not calling out to Dwayne on Bread&Butter because it seemed that they were keeping me from calling for one reason or another. Well I didn’t listen and made the call and arranged for Conan and I to be there today. I should have waited for a sign because I guess they got mad. I woke up to dreary, windy, cold rain this morning with a rough surf. So we pushed our trip off until tomorrow. It’s been cold, windy and drizzly all day today. We’ve pushed our departure to Saturday now. Next I said I was glad not to have 27X7 internet because I got my life back by not feeling tied to it like I was in the states. Today we ordered wireless internet for Kismet and it will be installed tomorrow. Conan is totally lost without it and Tricia will have another selling point for Kismet, plus she can charge for it for those not staying but wanting access. If it becomes a moneymaking proposition for her Conan and I will have to renegotiate our contract (LOL). I’ll have to pretend we don’t have it though so I don’t lose my life again although I might be able to resume my downloading of movies and TV shows again. The 3 of us will split the monthly cost of US$65 with Tricia paying the US$112.50 installation. Finally, I want to apologize to all of you whom I’ve been telling that you should move here to Belize because of the cold temps you’ve been experiencing. I think I jinxed myself because today I’m freezing! I actually have dungerees on and thought of breaking out a jacket and putting on shoes before coming to Thong’s tonight for the internet! Sad thing is that you all will hate me because it’s 72 degrees! But there is about 10 knots of wind so that makes it feel like 62. LOL!!!

And life goes on for the Fatboy...

Life has been pretty quiet for the Fatboy since he returned. Lots of really interesting and international quests that I’ve eaten, sat around and talked, and, of course, fished with. At times I think Peter is a bit perturbed with the number of people I bring to the lagoon with me but I instruct them that they need to keep out of his way, or accept when he throws his net across their fishing line, because that’s how he supports his wife and 5 kids. At times there are lines going in every direction in the water. I try to keep them out of his way as best I can. Of course I do want them to catch fish so it’s a juggling act. He’s more upset when several people are casting at the same time because it moves the fish in directions he’s not expecting or that his net can’t reach. But he’s still making the money he needs to pay his bills and feed the kids. I told him to feed the kids less, skip a couple of days each week, and he’ll have more change in his pocket. He says they tend to cry when he does that and he can’t sleep. I told him there’s room for him to sleep in the chicken coop and he laughs. Anyway…

With the many fun and interesting people staying lately, and more already scheduled to come in the next month (including my fishing buddy Bruce from Maine around 2/9), my evening life has changed a bit. In the past I’d watch a movie every night, or a couple episodes of one of the TV series that I downloaded. Now I sit with the guests, and sometimes eat one of Tricia’s family style meals at 7pm. It’s like being with family, with everyone sitting around the table eating and gabbing for a couple of hours. Fishing twice a day takes up most of my time. Five to 7:30am or later if I take my canoe (sometimes as late as noon); breakfast around 8:30 and a visit with the guests; a couple hours in my hammock on the beach with my iPod, book, and cigar to read and nap; 3:30pm is dinner (if I don’t plan to eat with them at 7pm); and back to the lagoon at 5pm until about 6:30. head for bed around 9pm or so to start all over the next morning. Hopefully all of you will get to retire and live the life you dream of after so many years of working and raising a family. It’s a tough life but some has to do it!

Conan still hasn’t decided which way he’s leaning, whether to rent a house, buy property with an existing house or build one on, or buy a Mennonite house and have it delivered to Kismet. He did buy Ron’s ’84 Ford van though so has wheels at least. He’s enjoying living in Belize and Hopkins and seeing some of the sights. One of the things that he says is a requirement to live here is having his own diving tank air compressor so he can fill his own tanks. It seems that none of the places here that have one will fill the tanks of others. Not sure if it’s an insurance thing or what. So he’s talking about having a friend pick one up for him and ship it in pieces as replacement parts to make the duty fees more manageable. With that and a motorboat he’ll never want to leave. One of the bad things about hanging with Conan is that he has to hit the internet every day. Here I was so used to going once a week or so. Now it's almost like I have to come along. Not that I don't love hearing from you all and seeing our family's lives through Facebook, but it was one of the things I liked about not having full time internet access...you aren't living your life online.

I’ve been wishy-washy about calling Dwayne to set a date for Conan and I to stay on Bread&Butter Cayes but it seems as if my Angels are having a hand in that. Every time I think of calling, and forget, the weather the next day or 2 is iffy. We want serious reef fishing time and not to be sitting in-doors with bad weather. So I’ll play it by ear and when my Angels think the time is right I’ll make the call and we’ll head out.

Strange but true, I found out tonight that Hopkins has an official website (http://www.visithopkinsvillagebelize.com/) and a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hopkins-Village-Visitors-Page/100909679962574)!!! I’ll have to tell Tricia about it so she can get Kismet onto both. The website and FB page are new so don’t tell about all the inns and restaurants yet and still has work to be done on some of the links that go nowhere. But take a look and see some of what Hopkins is about.

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

Happy New Year!

I wish for all of my friends and family to have a healthy, happy, and rewarding 2011!

Rich and I had a wonderfully gastronomic dinner at the Ravenous Pig in Winter Park Fl. on Tuesday December 28th! We ate like, well like the name of the restaurant, ravenous pigs! We tried quite a few of the menu selections (our selections are at the bottom), which change almost every day. We also had a few of their signature beers and drinks. We really wanted to eat through the menu as it was so hard to decide what to select but, since we were headed to see the movie “True Grit” we held back so we could enjoy the movie without suffering overstuffed stomachs. About the movie. While I enjoyed this version I still enjoy the 1969 original (John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby) better. On Wednesday Matt and I saw “The Fighter” (Mark Wahlberg) and had the all-you-can-eat St. Louis ribs and sweet potato fries at the Route 46 Smokehouse. Needless to say I’ve probably gained back some of the 40 pounds I’ve lost since moving to Belize! But…it’s worth it! Thursday was spent in the Disney Studio theme park and, except for breakfast at Denny’s, we ate park food and had a great time. Time to finish my shopping and prepare for my trip home on Sunday and back to my normal menu.

Reading the emails that I got from friends in Hopkins it sounds like I missed a good New Years Day BBQ at Louie’s house. Dang, I hate when that happens! But I did enjoy eating my way through my “must eats” the past 13 days in Orlando. It sure will be nice to get back to my normal routine of rising with the sun, fishing, hanging in my hammock reading, fishing, and going to sleep at a reasonable time. Traveling upsets my internal clock now that I’m old. Of course spending my 1st and last nights in Orlando getting plastered, doesn’t help! The 1st night was spent in a joint called “World Of Beer” where my son Rich and I drank a multitude of designer beers, including chocolate and coffee flavored pints. Last night was spent with my son Matt at the “West End” drinking 2-for-1 Guinness and a number of different flavored shots. Needless to say I was not ready for my 5am wake up this morning. The one thing that I am grateful for is that I’ve never had a hangover. I’ve been a bit queezy a time or two but don’t suffer the pounding headaches that my friends have. Not sure that’s a blessing or not but I sure am grateful. Matt says he inherited my good genes including the no hangover one. None the less it was a good was to start and end my trip.

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

The Ravenous Pig
Chef/Owners James & Julie Petrakis
407.628.2333

SOUP
Peasant Soup
New Smyrna Little Neck clams, house-made chorizo, black-eyed peas, butternut squash, parmesan broth

APPITIZER
House-made Soft Pretzels with whole grain mustard, taleggio-porter fondue
House-made Gruyere Biscuits and smoked sea salt butter

SALAD
House-made Charcuterie and Artisan Cheese
served with house pickles and grain mustard
- sopressata
- Coach Farms Triple Creme
- toscano
- venison terrine
- spiced orange
- Tarentaise Vermont alpine guryere
- coppa
- lardo grilled bread

Waterkist Heirloom Tomato Tart
smoked rogue river bleu cheese, arugula and almond salad, balsamic-caramel reduction

ENTREE
Guinea Hen
mushroom and truffle stuffed breast, roasted garlic polenta, red wine jus, fresh oregon black truffles

Cocoa Nib Crusted Venison
Roasted sunchock and brussel sprouts, heirloom caramel-apple puree, cider gastrique

DESSERT
Brûlée
butterscotch crème brûlée, stout-fall fruit bereweka, cocoa-nib tuille

Dumpling
gala apple dumpling, brown sugar-cranberry streusel,
cinnamon ice cream

I came to Orlando for the warm weather???

Today would have been my Dad’s 83rd birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!

I want to wish all of you a very wonderful New Year. I hope that you and your family are granted bountiful blessing is 2011!

I went to my 1st Hopkins Christmas party on Sunday 12/19 at the Help Age Center (Senior Center) with Ron and Conan. I guess now that I’m old I can legally join in their fun (I turned 60 on 12/22). I met a lot of very nice people, both locals and ex-pat Americans and French. Dinner was turkey, ham, potato salad, pasta, and of course rice and beans, plus beer and soda. I was doing OK until the Anisette came out… Needless to say I slept like a log. Thank God I don’t get hang-overs!

I’m in the states now and it feels so weird! One of the hardest things to get used to is wearing shoes again. In Belize you can go into most places barefoot, including restaurants. Most of the restaurants will even serve you sans shirt. I’ve even been in the American Embassy twice barefooted. Here in the U.S. everyone wants your feet and chest covered. Of course there is more broken glass and rough pavement here and less sandy roads and floors so it’s an incentive to wearing some form of foot wear if nothing else than to not leave bloody footprints behind you. I think the only reason for the shirt is to be fair to women who have to keep their breasts covered. Hey why not just make it optional??? I see plenty of uncovered women at Kismet, although they are almost always Europeans. They have a different idea of what is acceptable beachwear. We Americans are much more prudish than they are. To me it’s no big deal. When Dave and I were in Playa Del Carmen there were 6 young British women lounging just below our room topless and it was no big deal. Neither he nor I stared and they just sat there reading and talking, minding their own business. It was an American woman who convinced the hotel that it wasn’t proper and they were forced to don their tops. So, anyway, I brought the “Jesus” sandals that Ron gave me and a pair of sneakers that I hope not to have to take out of my suitcase. I checked the weather before leaving and the Orlando forecast showed 70’s and low 80’s for the next 10 days so I might not suffer too bad having to wear my sandals. I’ve always been a proponent of bare feet since I moved to Orlando the 1st time in 1987 and when we lived in Alpharetta GA for 5 years. I just hate the restrictive feeling of enclosed feet for some reason. I met a Canadian couple in the Belize City airport who have a house in San Pedro on Ambergris and they said the same thing about it feeling odd wearing shoes again. They though, are headed home for the holidays and MUCH colder weather. They’ll be back in a month though.

I’m staying in Sanford Fl at my son Rich’s studio apartment, sleeping on my blow up mattress, and getting to see TV whenever I want and having a wonderful visit. I really don’t miss TV though. The past few weeks I’ve even been without my movies because of the cool people staying at Kismet. (Conan was talking about extending his stay so I may see him when I get back.) Rich and I plan dinner tomorrow (Tuesday) at a restaurant that he’s been itching to try, The Ravenous Pig (www.theravenouspig.com), that serves locally grown veggies. Matt and I will hit the Route 46 restaurant for one of my “must eats”, all you can eat BBQ ribs. I’ll miss taking Carrie to the Cracker Barrel though for her Chicken/Broccoli casserole because of scheduling conflicts, but did make up for it by taking her to see the latest Harry Potter movie and a nice sushi dinner, with dessert in an Irish Pub (me a Guinness of course and Carrie a Bailey’s and a bread pudding). Today (Monday 12/27) it’s FREEZING!!! It was 31 degrees when I woke up and it’s 37 right now. Rich’s heater doesn’t work well so I’m thinking about checking us into a local hotel for the rest of my stay. I had to run off to the library just to warm up!

I’m downloading as many movies as I possibly can before returning to 13 Casa Del Mar (my trailer home). My daughter Carrie is downloading the latest TV series episodes that I follow (Warehouse 13, Fringe, Dexter, etc) as well as some of the new ones. But TV and watching movies has become less and less important to me over the past couple of months. I’m deep into my 5am and 5pm fishing and that doesn’t leave much time for anything else. When I get back the place should be jumping and in January some of the regular guest, like Bruce, will be returning and I’ll be in the thick of it with them too. But I do lend Tricia and others copies of my downloads, and they’ve seen much of the 650 that I already have, so I need some new stuff.

Carrie and I plan to go to Disney to see the Christmas lights on Thursday 12/30. It’s always a nice thing to see as they do such a nice job there. It all started years ago with the Osborn Family lights and they’ve expanded it every year so now it’s several million lights. They do the soap bubble snow on the main movie set street too.

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

Another day in a life...

JP and Renny from Montreal, Conan, Tricia, and I went on a snorkel/fishing trip to the reef on Saturday 12/18 and had a great time. We got to the marina earlier than Patrick (our boat capt.) so I started fishing right off the bank. The 4 of them all made their comments about how I just couldn’t wait and how I wasn’t going to catch anything so it was a waste of time. Boy did I fool them! Not 5 minutes into it I hooked and landed a 9lb 12oz 3foot long barraCuda. My comment was, "Oh you non-believers!” They just don’t understand that “fish fear me and men envy me” when it comes to my fish catching ability! I laughed the rest of the day over it. It actually turned out to be the biggest fish of the day. While JP and Conan fished a bit they were more interested in snorkeling. JP was now hooked on fishing though. Again, while he has fished a bit, he never truly got into it. Seeing me catch the Cuda sure changed his mind. Conan and I watched as he mastered the art of tossing a lure from one of the docks on Bread & Butter Caye and both commented on how he was hooked. While I was filleting the fish he even commented on how he was going to buy a rod and reel on Sunday. Anyway, as soon as we docked on B&B I started throwing lures. While Zeppi was here he left me with a bunch of lures that I fell in love with, and caught great fish on, so I was throwing my favorite, a Kastmaster single hook feathered lure that I’d caught several snook and jacks, and the Cuda at the marina on. A minute later I landed a 10” Sand Diver that wasn’t much bigger than the lure. Ugly as sin and great sharp teeth! It looked like a prehistoric fish. I had to ask what it was because I’d never seen, or caught, one before. The tide was low and the water shallow so I didn’t get the big Cudas following my lures. Patrick was floating out in the water trying to fix his engine so I called him over and we went back out to the deeper water so I could fish while he continued his repairs. Everyone else except Tricia and I went snorkeling and loved it. Me, I just threw and didn’t catch anything. After lunch we headed out for some trolling and more snorkeling. At one point it was just Trish and I trolling but not catching anything while the other 3 swam. I did get a few hits and finally caught another Sand Diver about the same size as the 1st one. (Conan made the same remarks I did after seeing it.) Finally a big hit and I landed my only other big fish of the day, a 4lb 10oz Caravelle Jack. Unless the line broke I wasn’t losing that fish because it took both treble hooks deep in its mouth. Thanks Zeppi for your 8” silver finish minnow lure! Our dinner was assured now with 2 nice fish in the cooler. That proved to be the last fish of the day too. But, again, that insured JP’s new found love of fishing. I love introducing people to the activity I love so much and seeing them enjoy it.

Lagoon fishing has been exemplary lately. Tarpon, snook, and jacks all running at the same time; either onto or out of the lagoon, both early morning and early evening. Zeppi and I have been catching almost enough to feed our crowd of 8 with our daily catches. Tonight (12/15) Conan has a jack to throw in the pan. He caught his 1st last night and was a VERY happy boy! He was laughing about wanting to “catch like the big boys” (Zeppi and me) because he’s only caught catfish in the lagoon. He did make a reef trip and did catch a barraCuda so he’s at least caught something bit I know how it is to see others catching while your hook stays shiny and bright. So no he’s one of the big boys! Hopefully that will keep up. Zeppi hooked a small tarpon this morning that broke off so both of us came home empty handed. Tricia and I have enough fish in our freezers for group dinner today but we need to get some fish on the stringer tonight or it will be chicken for dinner tomorrow…

We’ve had a really nice crew of people staying at Kismet of late, some staying in rooms, others camping on the beach but all interesting and fun. One of the guests, Rob (he goes by Red because of his red hair) drove from Florida with his 2 dogs Tootsie and Onyx. A few days ago Tootsie, a Daschund, went missing. Were all concerned but Rob, of course, is devastated. He’s been papering Hopkins and Dangriga with handouts announcing a BZ$200 reward. That is a lot of money here so everyone is looking. But so far nothing. Please say a prayer that Rob gets his kid back. He’s such a nice guy. Thanks!

Zeppi left on Saturday 12/18 and I missed him as soon as he left. I did howere buy his fishing rod and he gifted me a bunch of lures that I liked, and what I used to catch my fish that day. Sadly I lost my favorite of the lures fishing the reef. I added it to my Orlando shopping list. Conan is still here to share fishing with and will be may be here still when I get back. He's mulling over buying land or possibly having a Mennonite house delivered to Tricia's property. His moving here would be great. We hit it off as soon as we met and have been constant fishing companions. He reminds me so much of my friend Joe from Orlando that it's scary. He's a born near Chicago, grew up in the D.C. area and now lives in Utah. I don't hold any of the last 2 locations against him though...

I’m readying myself for my trip home, putting together all my travel docs and packing a few clothes. I left some clothing with my son Rich last time I was there so plan to use those plus buy a few things so I can travel from Hopkins more lightly. I now have a doc that says I lease property and the tax doc that shows I paid duty on my trailer. That, plus my monthly visa stamps, should meet the Belize government requirement for having a return ticket to the states without having a resident card. I got caught up in that the last time I came back and had to buy a 1 way return ticket for US$691. That’s what I’m using for this trip. The round trip fare was US$7 more. Anyway, it will be good to be back in the land of my kids, better junk food (I have my “must eat” list all ready!), and more fishing tackle. Coming back to Belize I’m allowed two 50lb checked bags and, as always, I’ll fill my suitcases to the max! I carry a folding duffel inside my large check bag, and carry my 2 carry-ons so I have plenty of packing space. This time though I’ll have to buy a new large suitcase because the wheels broke off in Playa Del Carmen last time I was there. Cobbled roads are very hard on the wheels…

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

Fishing, fishing, and more fishing

I finally trapped my last mouse using a string on the handles of the bag he was crawling in. I was napping on my couch when I heard something rustling. I thought at first that it was the wind in the leaves but then I realized it was in the garbage bag I keep in my sink. I looked over and saw the bag moving. Getting up from my couch made too much noise and he ran away. See I keep a small garbage bag in my sink for the compost waste I generate when I make my meals. Anyway…I thought of a plan for trapping him. I tied the 2 bag handles together and put the bag back in the sink with just a small opening for him to enter through. I passed a string through the upper cabinet handles and tied it to the bag handles. When he crawled in again I pulled the string, the bag flew up 1 foot off the sink, and he got trapped in the bottom of the bag. I took him outside and… (You make up the answer you like the best. I either set him free or smashed him into mouse pudding.) Hopefully he was the last one. He was too smart to walk on the sticky traps they sell here. I just got back from visiting Ron in Corozal for 3 days (actually I rode up with him…more later) and it looks like I may have another one. Hopefully Zeppi will be bringing REAL traps with him today. (He forgot.)

The Austrians left this morning (12/5) and it’s pretty quiet now. They were such a nice group of kids and we’ll miss them. Last night was Kathryn’s birthday and we went as a group to the Driftwood Pizza joint to celebrate. Tricia even baked a rum cake which Elvis delivered after it cooled. Lots of food and drink and a great time was had by all! Kathryn traveled off to Honduras to catch her return flight and Lisa, Julia, and Hans Peter to Cancun for theirs. There was a bit of confusion though. No one remembered that it was Sunday and the Hopkins bus to Dangriga doesn’t run Sunday mornings. So Tricia called Patrick to act as a taxi service so they didn’t waste the morning. Cancun is a good 8 hour, 2 bus, trip and I’m not sure how long to Honduras but it has to be at least equally as long. Now we’re waiting for Zeppi and Louie to make their appearances…

Tricia baked Kathryn’s cake in a Pyrex bowl that literally exploded when she took it out of the oven and placed it on top of the stove. Luckily she wasn’t hurt and the glass when everywhere but on the cake. She plopped the cake into a rectangular pan and added the rum sauce. While it wasn’t particularly pretty to look at it was still delicious and we all had a good laugh over it. I held a hurricane lantern over it so Kathryn had a candle to blow out and she actually did it! So I guess her birthday wish will come true.

I took a ride up to Corozal with Ron on Monday (12/6), to look at the truck his boss is selling, and stayed until Thursday (I took the bus home). It’s an ’87 Ford F250 XLT Club Cab, 4X4, diesel, 4 speed manual, and it’s in really good condition. The only problem with it is that the actuator for the clutch pedal needs to be replaced (master and slave). We tried to fix it by replacing the hose that connects the 2 (one is in the engine compartment and the other down below) because we did find a crack. That didn’t fix the problem though so Ron is going to take a ride to either Orange Walk BZ or Chetumal MX to get the parts. I told him not to hurry because I won’t be back up until after I come back from Orlando in early January. I did leave a small deposit though so the truck IS mine.
Zeppi, his brother-in-law Louie, Louie’s son Louie and his son Max and Max’s wife Robin all arrived from Dangriga on the 5:15pm Hopkins bus and at Kismet around 7pm on Thursday 12/9. Introductions all around because I’d only met Zeppi before but had emailed with Louie Jr. I quickly learned they are a nice bunch of people. The 4 newbies are staying at least a month while poor Zep has only 10 days to stay out of cold and snowy NJ. Everyone but Zep were supposed to drive down here with a trailer (remember I mentioned about possibly having a trailer buddy a few blogs ago?) but because of the drug war in Matamoros MX the border has been closed a few times and travelers advised not to cross into Mexico from Brownsville. So they drove to Ft. Lauderdale FL and that’s where they parked the trailer. Little did they know they would meet Robert, who had also arrived that day, who had just driven through Matamoros a few days before. Oh well… Zeppi and family all stayed in the large 3 room. 4 bed room. Friday morning found Zep and I at the lagoon with Peter around 5am and Zep soon had a 3 pound jack on the shore. (It made a nice breakfast for us all.) While we were at the lagoon we booked my fishing buddy Damascus for a reef fishing trip at 7am on Saturday. Louie and Max showed up a few minutes later but the fish has gone to sleep and we walked home. Louie, Max & Robin had been to Hopkins 2 years before and rented a house on the south end for 6 months so after breakfast (around 10am) we all took a walk down (south) the beach so they could renew old acquaintances and look for another house to rent. Two hours and 6 or 7 stops later, plus a few stops for beer at the stores, we finally left the beach for the main road and the trip north for more visits and beers. We also stopped at Kaitlin’s bakery so Zep could order his carrot cake birthday cake for Saturday. Anyway Zep and I left them after another 45 minutes (around 2pm) so Zep could start lunch, which actually turned into dinner at 6pm. They were all stopping to talk to someone they were told may have a place to rent. They finally came back around 2:15pm with the news that they had rented a 2 bedroom house 12 houses south of Kismet and right on the beach. They immediately packed and moved into the house. So now there are only 4 guests remaining, Conan, Robert, and a young Greek lady from Holland named, Sadie and its much quieter now. Zep says he will finally get a good night’s sleep because the 4 others snore terribly.

Saturday 12/11, Zeppi’s 45th birthday, found us being picked up on the Kismet beach by Damascus for our fishing trip. A cold front had come through so the fish were pretty closed mouthed. Zep did catch his 1st barracuda, and, I also didn’t know that it was his 1st trip out to the reef to fish so it was doubly nice to see him and his 1st catch. He also caught a couple red snapper when we fished the 200 foot drop-off. I trolled a houndfish (like a barracuda but with a gar type mouth) and also caught a yellowtail snapper. At least we had enough to feed 11 people and I have 3 red snapper dinners in my freezer. We’ve been fishing the lagoon every morning at 5am and every evening at 5pm. Zeppi has caught 2 jacks about 3 pounds each while I’ve caught nothing. Conan went on a snorkel/diving/fishing trip to the reef with the Austrians and Conan caught a barracuda. So he’s at least caught more than the 3 catfish he got on his 1st and 2nd lagoon trips. He and Zeppi have been keeping my crab traps busy and have a nice pile of blue and red crabs to boil up. Zeppi’s family members haven’t caught anything but swear that they will because they bought US$700 worth of new fishing gear before coming to Hopkins. They’ll be here for a while so maybe I’ll be able to get them on a reef fishing trip to end their dry spell. It’s funny but we’ve been fishing every 12 hours the past few days. We start at 5am and fish until about 7 or 7:30am and then again in the evening from 4:30pm until about 6:30pm. It’s a great way to spend the day but with Zeppi and family, Conan, and Robert here I’ve not gotten in my normal naps and reading in the hammock lately. My body is starting to tell me how old I am because of those missed naps. But I wouldn’t miss a minute of time with all of these folks!

A good fishing day for Zeppi, Louie Jr. and me! Louie caught his 1st Belizean fish, a small barracuda and Zeppi added to his stringer with a 4lb 13oz black snapper. I started the day with a 4lb 8oz caravelle jack in the morning (Zeppi was too hung over to join Conan and me) and finished the night with a 4lb 3oz snook. My jack was part of tonight’s communal dinner and the 2 from tonight are a start toward tomorrows. We’ve all been congregating at Louie’s house for most meals and having a great time. Zeppi is too good a cook and I’m sure I’ll be commenting on how he needs to leave because we’re all gaining weight from his cooking. He laughingly reminds me that I wrote the same thing in this blog when he was here in April. If anything his cooking is better that April so I’m sure I’m gaining back some of the 30 pounds I’ve lost. Thank God he doesn’t live here!

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