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!!!

General life and upcoming travel

I’m about to start my journey northeastward to visit family and friends in Orlando for Christmas and New Years (not the “holiday season”…sorry if I’m being politically incorrect) and am getting excited. It’s been over 6 months since I’ve been back to the land of plenty and my “must eat” list is getting longer every day. While I do miss many of my favorite foods I don’t miss the stress of living there. But that’s the price I pay for living on the beach in Belize. It’s well worth it! Plus, it gives me something to look forward to when I go back to the states.

I was excited about being able to take the Mexican 1st class bus (reclining seats, a/c, and a movie in Spanish) from Belize City this year but yesterday I found out that it’s been cancelled. They did a 90 day test and I guess the ridership wasn’t there so it got cancelled. My options, as always, are the 3 Belize chicken buses to the MX bus in Chetumal or taking a three 12 passenger puddle jumper flights to Corozal BZ and 1 chicken bus to Chetumal and and the MX bus to Cancun. My problem is the cost. Taking the buses will only cost me US$100 (round trip) versus the planes at US$247 (also round trip) but saving about 7 hours of chicken bus time. Taking the planes will cut the money I save by flying out of Cancun instead of Belize City(this trip the airfare difference is about US$600) by about 1/3. Still a significant savings but I’m on a budget now that I'm retired and don't have an income. So I’m careful with my pennies, except when it comes to fishing! Either way I have to spend a night in a hotel (US$60 each) both ways because of the bus schedules. So I’m in a quandary about which way to travel. Comfort versus cost. I DO love to fly and the 3 plane hops will last only about and hour instead of the 7 hour stop and start, crowded, bus ride. Hmmm, sounds like I’m talking myself into flying doesn’t it??? One benefit of having a plane ticket in Belize is that I should have an easier time getting out of the U.S. without a return ticket to the states. The requirement when traveling back to Belize via Mexico is that you have a Belize Retiree Citizenship Card, or own property, or have an itinerary showing travel out of the country you land in. The bad thing about bus travel is that you pay on the bus in Belize so there is no way to have a ticket that shows you are boarding in Chetumal MX and going to Belize. Actually you need the same things if you land in Belize too. I do have a fake property tax document that shows I own property in Stann Creek District (where Hopkins is) plus the Customs duty doc for my trailer and a passport full if monthly Visa stamps. So far I haven’t had any trouble but you never know.

Our friends Matt and Angie came to stay with us for a week and left 2 weeks ago. Conan, Mark, and I were just headed out in the boat to see if Conan’s repair of the throttle worked when we spotted them walking up to the shore from the inn. The 3 of us waved for him to join us and, at first, he waved us off. But common sense prevailed and he quickly dumped his pockets and ran into the water to catch up with us (the boat is anchored out so you always have to get wet to get on board). I hadn’t planned on him coming so I only brought 1 fishing pole with me (if we’re in the boat we fish!) so when we anchored a couple hundred yards off Kismet I handed him my rod. Me, I get in tons of fishing but Matt doesn’t so I didn’t mind. They were fishing bottom with shrimp and nothing but bait stealers were around…UNTIL…off swam Matt’s line! Since we normally catch small stuff off the beach I’d brought a freshwater bass rod (not really suitable for saltwater fishing for those of you not familiar with fishing) with a #2 hook (small) and a wire leader. It bent in half! Whatever it was stayed deep and made some pretty hard runs all around the starboard side and bow of the boat. We were hoping that it wasn’t going to swim around the anchor line and break off but luckily, or because of Matt’s fishing expertise, it didn’t. By the way it was fighting I thought it might be a big stingray because we’d seen locals catching them nearby on previous outings. Matt would horse it toward the boat and it would change it’s mind and direction to stay away. He was worried about breaking my rod but I told him not to. I’d bought it in Houston for $3 at Academy Sports so I sure wasn’t worried about another one snapping in half (I had a barracuda do it to me out on the reef once). So he fought whatever it was for a good 15 minutes, winning and losing line. He was sitting on the bow the entire time until the fish turned to run down the starboard side (OK if you haven’t figured it out yet that’s the right side of the boat) causing him to have to adjust his position and plunging him right off the bow onto his butt and and into a precarious sitting/leaning backward with his feet up position. We all burst out laughing watching him keep a tight hold of the rod and try to stop himself from falling over. It was just too darn funny watching him! To his credit he held on tight and the fish stayed on the hook and kept swimming. I put a hand on the rod until he could stand again. Another 5 minutes of fighting and he finally got it to come up closer to the surface. We saw a large white patch under the water and thought for sure we were seeing the belly of a ray. Off it ran again and back he pulled it. He finally got it close to the boat and we saw that it was a BIG Sea Jack Tuna! Finally up it came, close to the side of the boat, and I gaffed it and got it into the boat. It weighed almost 14 pounds (although it grew exponentially with each telling and Facebook posting of the story. We were all VERY impressed! When I filleted it I dug the hook out of its belly. The hook was bent almost straight. Thankfully it swallowed it and an inch or so of the leader or it would have gotten away. Not sure how you feel about others catching the big one and not you but I was so happy that it was Matt, that he hooked it within 30 minutes of coming to see us, and with my rod. I don’t care who catches a big one because I get as much pleasure out of watching someone else catch one, and the joy in their face when they get it into the boat or onshore. We relived it quite a few times in conversations over the course of their weeklong stay. What a way to start his holiday!!! And, it fed 11 people that night plus a bit left over.

Matt was anxious to dive when he came to visit and Conan wanted to oblige him. We headed out to Tobacco Caye for an overnighter, hoping to be able to rent tanks out there. It wasn’t to be though but we did spend the 2 days relaxing, snorkeling, fishing on the boat and on the dock, and just having a great time. The inn where we stayed was an all-inclusive and the meals were great. My favorite was the deep fried conch. We caught, and speared, quite a few fish to bring back with us and the restaurant (?) let us keep the 1st days catch in their freezer since we didn’t have a chance to get ice before we left. Angie kept her fish catching streak alive too after snorkeling, fishing bottom outside the reef while Matt and Conan snorkeled some more. A great time was had by all!

Matt and Angie brought Tricia, Conan, and me an early Christmas. Tricia got her much needed water filter cartridge replacement. Conan got dive gear and new dive booties, and equipment bags. For me it was a bait net to replace the one that was stolen, a bottle of 10 year old Bushmills Irish Whiskey, fishing tackle and equipment bags, plus 40 cigars that I bought online and had shipped to their home. They also brought a bottle of 10 year old Jameson Irish for our friends Oli and Denise (mainly Oli), who are owners of the Driftwood Beach Bar and Pizza Shack. We pulled the cork on my bottle right quick and toasted each other straight from the bottle. No need for silly glasses because it’s alcohol. After all and what do you use to clean infections and such? ALCOHOL!!! LOL! Too soon it was time for them to leave but the sadness was tempered by the fact that they are coming back in April and bringing their daughter Kelia.

We celebrated Thanksgiving here at Kismet, something which isn’t celebrated in this country, with a 20lb bird, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, mixed veggies, gravy, and an apple crisp for desert. We also had a bottle of red and a bottle of white. I missed having the pumpkin pie but was overly full without it. We had such a wonderful group and a great time.

About a month or so ago Gaston and a male friend (who lives in Mexico) came to visit us here on their way from Gaston’s sailboat anchored in Guatemala to the friend's home in Mexico. He’d asked if the water offshore was deep enough for a sailboat and we told him where he could anchor without a problem. That was the last we thought about it. Two weeks ago who walked into Kismet but Gaston with his lovely wife Britt. They're from Holland. They’d sailed their 43 foot steel hulled sailboat up from Guatemala and were now on holiday, wanting to visit the Cayes and do some diving and snorkeling. We all spent a couple of hours on the boat one afternoon chatting and having a good ol' time. A few days later they invited Tricia, Elvis, and Conan on an overnighter to Bread&Butter Caye. We figured that because it’s so shallow around B&B they wouldn’t be able to anchor for the night so they ended up a few miles away at Southwater Caye (a big touristy island). They cruised around a bit, Conan got to dive and spear fish for dinner with Elvis getting a few lobster and conch. They ended up staying out for 2 nights while Mark ran Kismet. I got to relax. Gaston and Brit are a really pleasant and fun couple.

I mentioned a couple of blogs ago that we have another long term guest living with us. Mark was here last April and has moved to Kismet for a year to have a go at a simpler life. He’s settled in quite nicely but hasn’t learned to procrastinate like we do yet. That will come with time. And, Conan and I are great teachers! He does know how to nap though. And he brought a lot of fishing gear with him so we’re all thick as thieves when it comes to that. He’s living in the room next to Conan and they share a bathroom. He’s a French trained chef so we get some pretty good meals out of him too.

Tourist season has started now and Tricia has had a few nights full to capacity but it’s still pretty slow as yet. The global economic problems seem to be keeping people home. She always manifests guests when she needs money though so I’m sure we’ll be seeing more guests soon.

The update on Conan and Tricia’s arrest and trial is that there is no update. Things still stand the same with their discovery hearing in the Dangriga court on January 9, 2012 when we hope that it will be clear to the prosecutor that there was no theft and is no case. Keep your fingers crossed!

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

Prisoner Update...

Conan and Tricia had to go back to court this morning (Wednesday 11/9) to plead and get a court date set. Of course Tricia had them leaving an hour late and all we could think of was they would be charged with contempt of court for not appearing on time. So…off they went. Around 1pm my cell phone rang and I tried to get outside my trailer to answer it before it timed out bit didn’t make it. A few seconds later I got a voicemail chime and tried to call that. Of course the call wouldn’t go through.. While I was waiting I heard another phone ring and Mark answering it. Next thing I’m hearing is, “They did what? They got contempt of court? They’re going to be in jail for how long?” So I stood by while he took the call and listened to the one sided story. Well the story is that they were arrested for taking pictures in court and the caller said they got a week and 7 days in jail. What the heck is a week and 7 days? Is that 2 weeks or was it a mis-statement and they got 7 days. It turns out that it was Norman the baker calling and he was going to bring Conan’s van and their stuff to Kismet at around 3:30p. Mark told him he would cook him shark for dinner and hung up. We’ll Mark and I got upset about what we thought was another Trish fiasco that Conan was being penalized for because he was with her. By this time it was 1:20pm and I said I would take the 2pm bus to town, get Tricia’s ATM card and get money for her, a carton of cigarettes for Conan (Tricia paid out about US$30 for cigarettes for Conan and he only got some of them), snack foods, and I’d go to Uncle Harry’s Hardware and buy another bilge pump (the new one crapped out again during the night). Mark talked me out of it though by saying we’d use Conan’s van to do all of that tomorrow (Thursday). I said that rather than dropping all of that stuff off at the jail, figuring the cops would steal most of it anyway, we could hire Norman to make a visit every morning with their daily ration. So we sat in the kitchen and talked the situation over, getting more and more upset by the minute. I said I know that Tricia knows you can’t use answer a cell phone in court so why would she think they would let her take pictures. And even if she tried to hide it someone would see. Mark said, “The flash probably went off.” Good point because Tricia doesn’t know how to change the setting on her camera. More talk about what we should do took up another hour. “Do you think the American Embassy would contact the jail and tell them that Tricia and Conan were not married so that her actions didn’t affect Conan?”, said I? “No they won’t help.”, said Mark? I knew that but was hoping anyway because we all know the American Embassy isn’t in the business of actually helping U.S. citizens with any problem other than losing their passport of making arrangements to transport dead bodies back to the states. Oh well, it was a thought. We talked about guests arriving today and having to make meals for them, Matt and Angie coming to visit next week and how much of it would Conan miss because he was in jail? If it was a week he’d miss a couple of days but if it was a week and 7 days they wouldn’t see each other at all. High season is about to start and neither Mark nor I cherished running Kismet because we came to do retired stuff but agreeing we’d do what we had to do for friends. A little while later Conan’s van pulled into the lot and Mark yelled out, “You’re home!” I saw Conan in the driver’s seat but not Tricia so I thought maybe they kept her. No such luck because she soon climbed out. I know your wondering why I was hoping she was still in jail but for those of you that know Tricia you know she can cause a lot of trouble, and often does. We won’t let her go into Immigration or any other government office with us because she tend to cause trouble and we suffer the penalties. I mean she is a lovely woman but she goes off pretty regularly on any official. After 12 years in Belize she still thinks and acts too much like an American in America and not in the 3rd world country that Belize is. They are backward in a lot of things and you have to accept that and go on. Anyway, I yelled down to Conan, “Don’t pass go and collect $200 at your room get your ass up here!” We wanted the straight scoop since we only heard it 3rd person though Norman. They came up laughing and Tricia looked right at me and said, “GOTCHYA!!!. Since I’m normally the practical joker (Who me??? Not me!!!) they figured that it was my turn to be the subject. Mark isn’t one that goes in for practical joke though and while he laughed about it he wasn’t pleased at all. Me, I was ecstatic. I loved it and told them so! “Damn you guys got me!” and “Man that was good!” I even shook Conan’s hand and gave Tricia a hug I told then that it was blog worthy so here I am telling you the tale.

Anyhow their next court date is January 9, 2012 and that is just for discovery. I had told Conan they wouldn’t get a date this year because of the coming holidays. So the story continues next year, unless something else happens. And you know that anything is possible here in Belize!

What's new in the life of the Fatboy???

We’ve had a pretty interesting time here in Belize since my last post. Trips to the reef, overnight stays on new Cayes (for us anyway), and the arrest of Tricia and Conan on November 3rd for shoplifting. I’m going to save that story for later though…

Conan’s boat continues to suffer problems but we’ve managed to make several reef trips as well and a 2 night stay on Tobacco Caye. His troubles include the throttle. bad bilge pumps, difficulties with the throttle, and bad gas. Often the gas that we buy has water in it and you know how engines hate that! The gas stations here really don’t go through any sort of inspection process so who know what condition the tanks and connecting pipes are in. The throttle cables and connections are managed by elves. The elves will crawl into the throttle assembly, under the floor, and into the engine itself to tamper with that system. One day it works fine and the next it doesn’t work at all. The next time it works fine and the next you can’t adjust the engine idle and/or speed. So you never know really whether you are going out or not until you add power and even then it’s iffy. Bilge pumps in boats are a very important item when you are anchoring it offshore with generally 3-4 foot swells. Water manages to find its way into the boat through small crakes in the hull and waves breaking over the transom (back of the boat by the engine). Conan may have some hairline cracks in areas under the sealed floor. Because it seeps into the area that we use as the live well. Anyway, if the bilge pump doesn’t turn on and empty the water the back of the boat sinks lower into the water. If enough gets in the weight of the engine adds to the tilt and eventually it’s sitting on the bottom…again. He’s had to replace the pump and/or the switch several times, and at some expense just to keep it floating.

We’ve made a few trips to the reef to snorkel and fish and have had a great time. Conan has been hired by 3 sets of guest to take them out. He really isn’t in it for the money, although that would be nice, but he does get free gas out of it and everyone is happy. Tina and Tobi, a German couple, wanted to snorkel and got their wish. They’d never fished so that wasn’t high in their agenda. But you know me, I talked them into trying it and they loved it. Tina caught 2 fish and Tobi 1. I’m still waiting for the pictures so I can add them to the Hopkins Fishing Club page on Facebook. The next 2 guests were an older couple from the states (their names escape me) who dove all over the world. Now they were here to dive the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world (next to Australia). We took them first to Bread&Butter Caye but it was too rough to snorkel and the water was murky, making visibility an issue. Since the wind and waves were from the west we figured that outside the reef would be OK and it was. The problem out there was that there was a lot floating patches of seaweed and garbage. As you were swimming you sometimes had to push a path through it. But they did enjoy it. We hit a couple of spots that day. Guess what I was doing??? (Hint: we had free dinner). The last group was a couple, he from NC and she from PA (and I’ve forgotten their names too) who had reservations on Tobacco Caye for 2 nights. They asked Conan if he would take them out there. We’d never been there but heard that it was nice so we figured we’d spend the night out there too. He suggested snorkeling before we got there and they were up for it. Here’s the story of that trip:

Since Conan and I planned to camp on the island I searched for Caye info on the internet. I found that all of the inns were all-inclusive and that there was only a small store that sold snacks and a bar with no food service. So Conan and I packed our usual camping fare of beef raviolis in a can and some other junk food, along with a couple gallons of drinking water and my tent. We usually bring 2 tents but the guests had quite a bit of luggage to haul so to save weight in the boat we decided to being just mine since it’s bigger.

The day dawned sunny and windy and, after 2 or 3 days of flat seas, 2-3 foot waves. Well that was near shore. Anyway, we left about 9am for what should have been a 1 hour trip. Not more than half way to the 1st set of Cayes the waves turned into 4-5 footers and coming from the left rear. It was hard to get the boat over or between the waves very easily so it was a pretty rough trip. Then the throttle elves made a visit. Conan couldn’t adjust the throttles from idle after changing out a fuel tank. That left us drifting and rolling in the waves. Thankfully none of us are prone to seasickness. He was able to add enough speed to get us into the quiet water near a Caye and do a quick repair. He wasn’t able to locate the elves though so we had to stop a few more times for adjustments to the havoc they were still reeking. Part of his repair meant taking off the engine cover and manually moving the throttle adjustment to gain speed. So our 1 hour trip took 2. As we pulled into Tobacco Caye one of the staff (Eric) noticed we were having problems and asked if he could help. In the true Belizean manner he and Conan jury-rigged a throttle control mechanism using 200 pound test fishing line. Conan gouged a small hole in the engine cover and was able to adjust power. While Conan and Eric worked on fixing the boat the couple moved into their room and I explored the Caye, all 5 acres of it. That was the 1st good news we’d had in a while. They finished and Conan and I took a walk so he could see the place while the guests were doing whatever they were doing in their room. We found one of the restaurants and I asked the owner if she served meals to non-guest. Not usually said she but offered to take us on if we ordered a meal early enough. So we booked dinner and breakfast, Another problem solved! The next question I asked Eric was where the good snorkeling places were. He asked if we had room in the boat and I told him to jump aboard. Nothing like have a local guide! Tobacco Caye sits on the northwestern edge of the Marine Sanctuary so fishing is catch and release but that’s where the better snorkeling is. Yeah…sure…catch and release!!! We found out that we could legally keep fish if we went a mile north. So, if we got stopped by Fisheries and they asked if we had fish, our story would be, everything was caught north of the buoy marker. So off we went with Eric pointing the way. He had is stop just south of the reef split. He and Conan were taking lobster hooks and spears in the water, both illegal in the sanctuary too. He told me to look for any fast moving boats coming toward us and to warn them if I could. So over the side all 4 of them went and into the water went my bait. Oh, anther bit of luck was that they had free bait at the inn. They swam, speared, lobster hooked, and I was catching some of the biggest Blue Stripped Grunts I had ever seen! I threw the 1st 2 fish back because they were a bit on the small side (before I started catching the big ones) and at least made it look like I was releasing fish if anyone was watching. I caught a few small Spotted Grouper and 2 Yellowtail Snappers as well. So we spent the day outside the reef, moving a couple of times for the snorkeling. Eric ended up hooking 5 nice lobsters and Conan speared 3 fish, one being a Filefish, which are totally illegal to take as they are considered reef foragers. Not like it was the 1st time he’d speared something illegally After they tired of snorkeling everyone came back on board and we all fished for about 30 minutes before heading back. Dinner that night was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and lemonade. It was served family style and we met a really nice Scottish couple, Ian and Sarah, who are on the road for a year now, celebrating their honeymoon. .After dinner Conan and I went to the bar and bought Eric a drink for all of his help. The night was uneventful, with Conan deciding to sleep in one of the hammocks at the inn, since it was a nice breezy night. I woke around 5am and headed for one of the docks and caught a nice Cero Mackerel (my Facebook profile picture). Breakfast at 8, with Ian and Sarah, followed by snorkeling (Conan) and fishing (both of us). We did head outside the Reserve so some of our fish were now legal. We left the fish cooler by my tent so that if Fisheries came around we’d have less fish onboard. We had planned on leaving that day but decided to stay because the waves were too bad and we didn’t want to chance having throttle problems. It wasn’t a hard decision because we really didn’t want to leave! We got back in around 4pm and I headed for the dock again, with Conan following soon after. I already had a couple nice Mutton Snapper and a couple Porgies and Conan caught a small Barracuda. We were called to dinner by the owner and were served beef cubes, veggie rice, grape-aid, and the Scotts. And the rest of the night (early as it was) was spent in the bar. During the night it started raining and my tent decided to leak. I guess the waterproofing had worn off so I decided to use a bed in the vacant room we were using as our bathroom. Five o’clock came pretty early and I was back on the dock catching more Mutton Snapper before heading out to the reef. We fished right at the channel and were soon visited by the Fisheries Department. It turned out to be 2 really nice guys and the told us that we were fishing illegally and needed to be either 1 mile off the reef or 1 mile north We asked them questions about fishing the Reserve and they were really knowledgeable without being authoritative, as most officials seem to be here. So we decided to head back to Reef’s End and pack to head home. The trip home was uneventful.

Now the story you’ve been waiting patiently for (or skipped down to). Conan had been having bilge pump problems and, with the wave action increasing, wanted to have a good pump on board. So we boated over to the Sittee River Marina instead of driving to Dangriga. He HATES going to Dangriga! Everything there comes with a premium price (US$68), which he was glad to pay. We pulled away from the dock and he installed it. It worked for about 4 hours then decided to quite. So the next day we headed to Uncle Harry’s Hardware in Dangriga and he bought a much better pump for a third less. The next day we headed to the marina for a refund. He explained the problem at the counter but they said the manager would have to make the decision and would call him. No phone call in the next day or 2 so he called them. Manager not around. Next was a visit and still no manager. This went on for almost 2 weeks. He was told that he could talk to the accountant but that did no good either. It seems only the manager could make the refund decision. He finally got hold of the manager by phone (the marina manager sure wasn’t going to call Conan!) who hemmed and hawed about it and then offered to have it fixed. It’s a sealed unit and can’t be easily fixed, and not by anyone in the marina, and Conan said that. But it was the only option. So back to the marina we went. Conan talked to the manager and told him that he wasn’t looking for money but a credit instead since he bought a lot of boat gas there. The manager said that he would have someone bring the pump to the distributer, who would make the refund decision, Conan’s take on it, and he told the manager in no uncertain terms, was that he bought the pump from the marina and didn’t care what the distributer’s decision would be but would wait to hear from him. That obviously didn’t sit well with the manager. Refunds in Belize aren’t as easy to get as in the states, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. Anyway, the call never came but the police did. They ( the village constable and 3 Tourist policemen) arrived at 5pm on Thursday November 3rd to arrest both he and Tricia for shoplifting in the marina. He was charged with stealing 1 quart of 2 cycle motor oil (US$7.25) and Tricia with stealing a bag of potato chips (75 cents U.S.)!!! We know it was because he made the stink about getting his pump refund. The big bad marina was going to show the rich American that they couldn’t be threatened. Tricia was dragged into it because they assumed she was his wife…because she’s white. That’s a common assumption here when 2 white people are seen together. I’ve been accused of being married to her too. My reply is that she has better taste than me and that puts a laughing end to it. They were piled into the back of a pickup truck for the ride to Dangriga. Along the way they picked up 2 more people (non-felons) and a stalk of plantains. Conan said he drove like a “bat out of hell”. During the trip Conan warned the driver that he thought there was a bubble in the tire because of the bumping and that they were in jeopardy of blowing said tire. The driver ignored him and sure enough it blew a short time later. It seems like none of the cops knew how to position a jack and it took them 4 tries to finally get the tire in the air and changed. They finally made the Dangriga jail (it’s called the piss house because of the smell in the cells. Not having a bathroom in them the people pee in the corners) and were told the charges again and finger printed. No one was available to decide whether they could go home for the night because the powers that be were at a local soccer game. Several of the constables thought that they never should have been arrested and that it should have been worked out between the marina and Conan because of the insignificant amount of money (Really??? No kidding!!! But that isn’t what the marina wanted). So Conan was put in a cell (8x10 concrete room with no bed, toilet, or running water) with another jailbird and he spent a sleepless night. He did find out about the Belize legal and prison system from someone in the next cell who’d been arrested 4 times. Good information for what may come later. Tricia also spent a sleepless night but in an office room that the returning officers turned into a party room until very late into the night (actually early morning). The next morning they were allowed to make phone calls to find someone who would sign a US$300 bond so they could come home for the weekend because they wouldn’t be seen my the magistrate that day. If they couldn’t find someone to sign for them they would have to spend the weekend in jail. Several calls later Norman the baker showed up and signed them out. He even gave them a ride back to Kismet. We always like Norman, and loved his US$2 pizzas. We often preorder them on the way into Dangriga and are suckers for his baked goods. They were told to report to the court on Monday November 9th at 9am to be arraigned and have their court date set as they, of course, were pleading not guilty. Monday arrives, they arrive at court, but the magistrate decides to take the day off so they were told to return on Wednesday and sent home. That’s the story as it stands for now. We don’t know if they will be found innocent, guilty and pay a fine and make restitution and/or jail time, or be made an example of, with sentencing to the prison. All are options and you never know which way the wind will blow here in Belize. The standard sentence for stealing a bicycle is one year in the Hattieville Prison! And, if they really want to do Conan wrong they can deport him after any jail time. Tricia is a Belize citizen so they can’t deport her. So now it’s a waiting game. More as events unfold…

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