General rambling...

Tuesday night (1/25) I cooked my dinner and brought it up to Tricia’s kitchen to enjoy a last meal with Hila and Chris. All of us here had been talking about various movies we’ve seen and a couple mentioned the movie “Team America” and said how funny it was. Conan had a copy on his small laptop. So I brought my laptop and flat screen monitor up and we had “movie night” in the kitchen for the 9 of us. Before the movie I was showing pictures of former Kismet guests and Conan thought it was pretty funny that, when he’d say, “Go here, go there, open this or that file” and the screen would mysteriously change or the file would open. I was sitting behind the flat screen with my laptop doing his bidding and he was telling everyone that the screen understood voice commands. Tricia made popcorn to add to the movie theatre setting and we all got our drink of choice and settled in. The movie was pretty funny. Maybe we’ll make it an ongoing thing. Maybe another guest draw for Kismet Inn?!

We see less of Conan since we got the internet. He’s not hanging around the property or sitting at the kitchen table as much as he used to. You find him laying across his bed, or sitting Indian style on the floor, pouring over his computer. I try to do as little as possible, pretending that we don’t have it. It’s hard though. I do kick off downloads of movies at night when there is less usage. Downloading uses a lot of bandwidth, which Belize Telephone doesn’t supply very well. I do check my emails at dinner time. But other than that I stay off it and try to live a normal, unwired life.

Chris resumed his travels today. He’s headed for about a week in Placentia Village (an hour or so south of here) and then Guatemala and Honduras for almost 3 months. Says we’ll see him in 3 months as he has a flight home out of Belize City. He’ll have been on the road for 5 or 6 months. It’s going to be a bit lonely for Conan and me without Chris. We’ve gotten to know, and really like, him since he’s shown up at Kismet. I know he’s sad about leaving because he said it was like family here. But he has places to see and things to do! One less fishing buddy for Conan and me too…

When we got back from Bread&Butter we were introduced to an Israeli girl named Hila, from Jerusalem, who had been here about a week or so. She’s studying to become a doctor (possibly specializing in pediatrics) and is a very nice lady. She checked in with 2 other female friends that she met in her travels, which have since moved on and are now presumed to be in Guatemala. Hila thought she would stay long enough to finish reading “Guns, Germs, And Steel” but that turned out to be a more daunting task than she first thought. She doesn’t read English easily so she only got through a few pages a day and it’s a pretty big book. Tricia told her she could take it with her if she wants to but she preferred reading it here. Sadly, Wednesday afternoon, she resumed her travels as she wants to get to Columbia (South America) before her holiday ends. She took the chicken bus to San Ignacio, in the western Belize and will take another chicken bus tomorrow into Guatemala and will visit Tikal, a big Mayan ruin complex there. The night before she left she and I stayed up WELL past our bed times so she could download some of my iTunes music. She was pretty impressed with my library but didn’t have enough storage space to take as much as she wanted. I also have a copy of her music library and will be adding it to the 962 hours of music (or 6401 songs) that I already have. Anyway…we’re really gonna miss that girl!

I just mentioned the “chicken bus” for the 1st time. It’s actually the same buses that I’ve taken all over the country. Unlike stateside city buses Belize uses Bluebird school buses for all of their internal routes. There are probably close to 6 or 7 bus companies and the all use those buses, some of which are in sorry states of repair, or disrepair as the case may be. None of them have a/c so the windows are almost always wide open, with a 50-60 mph wind blowing through it. I have seen people with live chickens, usually in some type of bag, and even a goat once when I was coming back from Corozal. You never know what will be on board! It’s the same in most 3rd world countries.

I haven’t been fishing this week because of the cold front that seems to have come to stay. It seems the fish get lock jaw when it cools off so there’s no sense in going. Chris, Conan, and I did go for a short time last night (Tues 1/25) and get nary a nibble. Not even the crabs stole our bait. The cold front should be gone in a day or 2 and we’ll start back full time again. I actually miss not going…

We got a new guest from Brazil on Sunday, Hindenburg (it really is his 1st name!), and 5 more guests yesterday (Tues 1/25). Two separate couples, Charlie and Aya from Germany and Peter and Ursula from Switzerland (all about my age), and Chris from Philly; so Kismet is pretty full again. Chris was a late arrival and came just as the movie was starting at 8:30. The Swiss couple arrived in a small RV and are camping in the parking lot near me.

Elvis and I set the posts on Tuesday for my new tarp roof and let them set for the night to let the wet sand harden. Wednesday morning we added the cross members between the 6 posts and on Thursday we’ll tie in the two 10x16 tarps. The reason for the 3rd day is because we got a hour or 2 of rain, which was a blessing because I was literally burning the bottoms of my feet standing on my trailer roof. I even had flip flops on but was burned through them. So we’ll start early Thursday morning. It’s getting hot already and the shade will be welcome relief to the inside trailer temperature.

So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! And, as always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!

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!!!