Monday, November 29, 2010

Monday, November 29, 2010 - UPDATED

Monday, November 29, 2010:

 
Wow, what a stark contrast from yesterday. This morning there is a wonderful easterly cool breeze and it’s sunny.  Love it!  We might go exploring today.  Otherwise it will be sitting and watching TV…blah! We’ll see what Gerald says. Nothing going on in the resort tonight – movie nights are Tuesday and Thursday and they are playing Inception and Robin Hood.  Haven’t seen those…so may have to go.  

IT’S A MIRACLE!  WE SAW A ROAD GRADER COME BY OUR CONDO!!!  OMG! A REAL ROAD GRADER!!!  A GRADER! BY OUR CONDO!!!  YIPEEEEEE!!! We’re gonna go ride the road…just back and forth, back and forth!  =) (it’s the little things here, you know?) Wonder if they have done anything on the other side of the bridge …  HERE IT COMES AGAIN! I HAVE TO TAKE A PICTURE! IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!

As if seeing a road grader wasn’t enough excitement for me today, on our way back from picking up water, we stopped at the big Lebanese owned grocery store on the south side of town to see if they had butter flavored spray Pam. No luck, but…and I almost started to cry…they have Dr. Pepper. DR. PEPPER! You just have no idea what that means!  I also got some Spam for Gerald, Hidden Valley Ranch dressing and Stove Top cornbread stuffing and Country Crock butter.  We stopped at the local veggie stand and got some bananas, tomatoes, homemade salsa, fried plantains, sweet potato and taro.  It’s a wonderful day so far, and I just couldn’t imagine it getting any better…unless I win the lottery!    

No road grader on the other side of the bridge. They keep saying it’s coming though, but it will probably have to be after the rainy season.  They are expecting some rain here on Wednesday and/or Thursday. Governments don’t move fast anyway.  I’m pretty sure it was a private venture that did it on this side. Probably some resort up north and they made a good neighborly gesture by grading the whole thing.  They get points from me!

We came back, dropped the groceries off and went back to town just to drive around and walk down the beach to see the places and restaurants.  It’s something to do and we got to ride down the smooth road again (eheheee).  On the way, we picked up a young girl (early 20’s) walking by our condo. Gerald had seen her earlier in the morning by the Crystal water company, which is way south of town.  Lots of ride giving here.  Most workers can’t afford a golf cart, so if you have room…why not?  We also gave an elderly lady a ride this morning too. It’s good for the soul to help people. Anyway, this young girl (her name is Michelle) was walking from the north by our building.  She said she went to visit a friend, but he wasn’t there. Wow.  That’s a long way to go to visit a friend that you don’t know is there! Whatever. We’re going to town anyway.

We are scoping out an ice cream shop for Gerald. We’ve seen a couple advertised, and we haven’t had any since we left Placencia. Michelle ends up coming with us. She said she doesn’t have anything else to do.  Ok?  We walk up the park center and beach area. So many different restaurants! It would take forever to try them all! Little vendor stands and wood carvers. A Rastafarian has some bowls and platters he carved and he is talking up Gerald! (ha!) They are really beautiful, but now is not the time to buy things like that. (I know…did you pick yourself up off the floor?) We see the same Rastafarian further down the beach with another setup and more carvings. These are even better than the ones off the main road.  We stop and talk again and he has a little Belizean Raccoon. He’s a cute little guy!



We’ve had enough of being in the sun and walking today.  So we take Michelle back to her hotel/room south and go back home to get a bite to eat, talk to Erica and Bradley and get a nap in before Gerald plays across the street at Coco Locos. 

I’m resting on the couch and a worker comes by and wants me to open the laundry room so he can check and change the water filter again.  That’s twice in a week, and still not much difference.  It still looks and sometimes smells like used toilet water.  Makes me wonder if it’s doing any good taking a shower? My hair is reminiscent of that Seinfeld episode where everyone’s hair was all flat and greasy looking from the low flow shower head. We don’t have a problem with the shower head here, it’s actually great (better than the last place), but the crap (no pun intended) in the water is making my hair flat and greasy looking. I’m glad the dress and appearance code is casual here!

We get ready and start dinner – just a salad – then try Skyping with the grandkids. I’ve paid for premium high speed connection here.  But unfortunately, having to use a third party filter to be able to access Skype, has slowed down the internet connection and thus speed.  So our connection is not so good. They are only hearing parts of our conversation and the video from them pauses and stalls. Plus you get kicked off frequently.  The third party connection has to frequently change ISP addresses because the cable/phone company finds and block the sites. Oh well. At least we get a few minutes. Bradley can’t sit still that long anyway! So we say goodbye and head across the street to Coco Locos.

We get to Coco Locos – it’s about 6pm. We missed happy hour (4-6).  The bar stools are full – about 10-15 people there.  We say hi to Linda and she introduces us to the other locals and residents at the Bermuda condos. We talk a little bit and Gerald gets his guitar out and starts to play some songs.  They seem to enjoy his playing and make several requests of old country songs.  Gerald sure wishes Ron was here to help him sing some of the songs they are requesting! But it was a good night – we even had some dancers and it looked like we were real close to getting one on the bar!

The bar usually closes down around 8, and it’s getting close to bedtime anyway, so we head back.  Gerald wants to stop at the resort bar, there is supposed to be karaoke there tonight, but no one is there, so back to the condo! Eat a snack…head to bed!           

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Sunday, November 28, 2010:

Today is another still day, no breeze and hot. Nothing really much going on except Gerald wants to go see Dennis Wolfe and his band The Usual Suspects, this afternoon he is playing at the palapa bar here at the resort. I need to do some more laundry too (towels, sheets, darks)…since I have finally got that one load done.  (but no more whites – which is about 80% of my clothing).

I also need to take a scrub brush to the shower today. I only bleached and wiped it down before, but I bought some Kaboom yesterday when getting the rust remover, and hope it works better. Plus it doesn’t have any toxic chemicals, which is even better.


The shower was about gross! That Kaboom really works good! It gets the Tina stamp of approval.

Laundry is done. Sheets washed and changed. Dusted.

Oh no!  Computer problems! …of course…why not? I hope this thing lasts! I’ve got plenty of space left on it, I don’t know what’s wrong with it.  Maybe because of all these programs I’ve downloaded lately, they may not like each other. I usually have Outlook, Word, pictures, the internet, and now the Skype program open - probably a few too many. I had to do a hard restart 3 times in a row.  You really get close to losing your stomach when you restart your computer and all you get is a blank screen!  4 hours later … it seems to be working ok.  Better try to keep my open programs to a minimum!

Music is supposed to start at 4 and it’s now 4:30…so we quickly clean up and head down.  They are also serving pizza tonight for the new arrivals. Dinner!  Naturally, when we get there, nothing is happening. It’s almost 5, and the band is just now starting to set up.  Caribbean time I guess.  So we have a drink and about 45 minutes later, they finally start playing. 

They’re ok. Reminds me of Bill Murray’s “Nick the Lounge Singer” character.  They sing familiar songs, but sing it their own way. The internet said he told stories and interacted with the audience, but there wasn’t any of that.  Wonder if he’s tired of doing this?

We have pizza, see and talk to Joy our neighbor, and talk to some other guests. I also meet the Owner and Developer’s wife.  She is wearing white.  Actually a white and brown tank top from Cache’ – I know because I have one just like it. I almost brought it, but it was too heavy and I took it out of my suitcase! Wonder if she does her laundry here, or sends it out. Boy would I like to “talk” to her…but this is not the time and perhaps it’s not my place. Plus I don’t want to ruin the evening nor talk about it anymore. It doesn’t do any good.  I just know I won’t stay here again, nor recommend it.  

That’s it for today. I'm beat. Talk to you tomorrow.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Saturday, November 27, 2010 – A week in San Pedro…

Saturday, November 27, 2010 –  A week  in San Pedro…

It’s a little quieter out there this morning, but then again it’s Saturday and not as many workers running by. This morning … there is no wind or breeze. Stifling. Yesterday we had gale force winds! In fact they were so strong that it got a hold of a door upstairs and kept banging it - from 2am to 6am - every minute or so we heard SLAM! SLAM! So we didn’t get much sleep. Needless to say, it didn’t take me long to get to sleep last night for sure.

But we have a coffee pot now and I’m looking forward to not chewing coffee grounds in my coffee. It tastes so good!

We have a view of some little rock walls that lines the ocean front property across the street and there are a couple of pretty good sized iguanas that reside there. We see them every morning. This morning two of them are out and they are eyeballing the bright hibiscus flowers that are hanging on the hedges that line the property on this side of the road. They apparently love to eat hibiscus flowers. The problem is that there is a lot of traffic on this road, and they could get run over or spotted and eaten, but you see them looking and assessing the situation and risk despite the dangers. One takes the chance and runs across the street quickly. OMG…he only has 3 legs – one of his arms is gone! He runs pretty good for having 3 legs!  He gets to a hibiscus bush and there is a flower that is hanging down but he can’t reach it because it’s too high up.  He climbs on the wood edging and stretches towards the flower.  Closer – but still not enough. I tell him he isn’t going to get it … it’s too high for him. He looks around a bit studying the bush, climbs down off the edging, and in a flash, he hops up on the branch that has the flower, pulling it down towards the ground. He then proceeds to hold the branch down with his one arm and body, while wiggling to the end of the branch, then grabs the flower off and lets go of the branch. Dude! That was awesome! He waddles along the hedge and snatches up a dozen or so more flowers that are on branches or have fallen on the ground. The other iguana is watching him from across the street and wants to come over so bad, but he is too afraid and only gets to the edge of the road and runs back to the wall.  Then, quicker than he came over, he scurries back across the road to his spot in the sun. Nice breakfast! That was fun to watch! I’m going to call him Trey (for his 3 legs) and keep an eye out for him!

I walk down the hall this morning and suddenly I see a big toenail lying in the middle of the floor.  I yell at Gerald for cutting his nails and not picking them up.  He didn’t do it. Now I ask you…seriously…how does a toenail that doesn’t belong to either of us get in the middle of my floor all of a sudden?  Did someone break in to the condo last night and cut his big toenail and just leave? I mean really? This stuff doesn’t fall from the sky you know. Does it? I’m going to look for a rubber chicken to sacrifice today or something, to get rid of this bad juju! (tooey, tooey, tooey, tooey)!!!   It is just me isn’t it!! Ack! 8<

I check on my laundry.  I’ve soaked my whites in a half bottle of bleach overnight with not much change.  I think Linda said that I should use some sort of rust remover or something called The Works. I gotta go look for that today. I can’t do any other laundry until I get this mess cleaned up. I just hope my clothes will hold up through this last leg! If they don’t at least my suitcases will be lighter huh? (looking on the positive side Bob!)

Don’t know what else we will do today, except go to the pool. Darn. I hate it when that happens.
So, we go to the pool for about an hour. It’s about all you can take here or you will fry like a funnel cake at the fair!

But at least I finally get to finish my Nook book “Sh*t My Dad Says” by David Halpern.  It’s a good book, funny and takes me back to days gone by. My dad was not so abrasive, but I could envision either of my grandfathers saying those things.  Do you know why old people are crotchety? Because they know more stuff than us! They don’t have time to sugar things up and speak truthfully, blunt and frank. Read it if you like funny, you’ll get a kick out of it.

Anyway, we come back from the pool and there is a paper taped to our door. What now I wonder? But it’s only from the resort about events happening this week.  One is a poker run this afternoon starting at 2pm and the run goes to 5 local restaurants up north (Aji, Lazy Croc, Legends, Coco Locos & The Palms), 2 of which have been recommended to us by others.  We’ve never done a poker run before, but we get the gist of it.  The proceeds usually help a local charity or family, and it would be something fun to do, maybe meet some people, and check out the restaurants. 

So we clean up then go into town to get some rust remover to try to save my laundry. We see Rob at the hardware store (I bet he wishes he’d never met me).  We tell him of our orange laundry dilemma, and he says they have never had that problem before. I’m thinking “Really?” then why does everyone in this building tell me of the numerous clothes they have ruined here because of it? Whatever. (By the way, Rob is not a local.  He’s a transplant.) And it suddenly dawns on me why Pam would be upset that I bought a white shower curtain to replace the mongy thing she had hanging because it will show all the stains. She absolutely knew about the water issue and conveniently left it off the 4 page list of instructions for the condo we are supposed to follow. I’m supposed to put everything back in it’s place, even if I didn’t find it there, but the guest doesn’t get the courtesy of a warning about not drinking the water, or doing laundry in it. But I digress.  
Back to the condo. I rinse the bleach from the clothes before I add the rust remover (I don’t want to make some sort of toxic explosive with the bleach and rust remover chemicals!) and let them soak again.  I’ll be lucky if I come out of this with more than 2 pieces of thread!

Registration begins at noon, but the poker run doesn’t start till 2, so we have plenty of time.  We go over to The Cantina where registration is, and meet Tammy. She is the owner (her boyfriend looks like Don Johnson).  We register, get our official 3x5 cards and have an appetizer and drinks.  They have a tex-mex menu and we have the chicken flautas. They are really good! We hang around for a while and figure we will start with the farthest restaurant first and work our way back.  There doesn’t seem to be ton’s of people – not like we see at home, but that’s ok, I don’t want to have to fight crowds.

We head down the bumpy road to the first stop – Aji (everyone pronounces it differently, but most everyone pronounces it "ah-gee".)  It is a lovely little place, with about 4 wooden casitas that you have to wind through, then through nicely groomed and sculpted gardens to get to the beach and restaurant/bar. Very romantic. The bathroom is priceless and looks like it has been built from rocks!

Gerald said the water in the toilet is brown –they must use gray (non-drinkable) water for flushing. Smart idea - just don't use it for drinking or laundry like they do here at Reef Village. The sink is outside and is made like a fountain.  How cute! 



We head back to the bar to draw our cards and get a drink. (we are going to have to pace ourselves, otherwise, we won’t last for 5 drinks!) Anyway, it’s a lovely little place and the owner is very nice.  We have a nice conversation about her place and ours, and promise to come back for dinner. We also discuss these annoying bugs and they are putting out coils because they are chewing on her daughter.  She says the no-see-ums (or sand flies) don’t like, and can’t penetrate oils.  So an oil based product is what to use for them. Which is why Avon’s Skin-so-Soft became so popular – it’s oily so they can’t get through it (except I don’t like the way it smells). Unfortunately it doesn’t work for the skeeters and you have to use the deet to keep them away. I guess that is how the natural stuff I’m using (Sand Fly Bye-Bye) works. It has essential oils, eucalyptus, coconut, and the citronella smell among other ingredients, so it works for both.  Enough of that. Now off to The Lazy Croc.

The Lacy Croc was recommended to us for great bar-b-que. We are told they are only open for a few hours a day and you have to get there early to get some – otherwise it’s gone. They also have good sides. And the best part? There are live crocs in the pond there and you sit on the deck and watch them. We are anxious to see that! We get there and are still full from our late lunch/snack at The Cantina, so I just get a water and Gerald gets a drink.  Then I see fried pickles on the menu…and I have to have some of those! They also bring us a sample of the bar-b-que pork with 3 samples of their sauce.  Man is it good!  Another place we have to come back to for sure! 


Then we spot a croc in the water just below the deck.  It’s HUGE and we think it’s fake at first and I’m leaning down under the deck rails towards it with my camera to get a close-up shot and its eye lid moves! YIKES!!!! IT’S REAL AND ALIVE!!! Gerald didn’t see the eye move, and doesn’t believe me.  I see the other eye move, he didn’t see it that time either, so he still doesn’t believe me. Eventually it takes off in the water, and he sees it swim across the pond…ok…he believes me now (but did think it may have been on a cable or something)! The owners have 2 dogs and I wonder how they keep the crocs from eating them! But they have a palm-trunk fence that’s a couple fee high, so the crocs can’t come up and the dogs will stay on land. Hope it works, although we heard later that one of the dogs is slow and got a little too close to the water and a croc got him. Right there in front of a bunch of little kids! Horrific! Luckily it was the croc with the bum jaw (!) and the dog got away! I would have just passed out or panicked and tried to help the dog like the Crocodile Hunter and gotten myself in deep trouble like a ding-dong! Phew…glad it didn’t happen while I was there! 




We see the owner opening up a bottle of baby oil. He mixes it with a little bit of Off with deet. Of course, that would work! My mom said vanilla keeps the skeeters away too. Wonder if you could mix baby oil with vanilla? (We used to mix baby-oil and iodine to stain our skin when I was a teenager, sort of like a fake bake. Speaking of fake back, Gerald and I wonder if the water will turn our skin orange like it did our clothes? Won’t have to worry about sun damage then…but I may come home with Lucille Ball hair!)  

(I think Gerald wrote this...) 

 We eat our fried pickles and drink our drinks, then off to the next stop…Legends.

Legends is a probably a hangout for the younger crowd I’ve surmised.  I think this is where the fighting and ruckus was coming from our first night here. They are supposed to have famously good burgers (I’m skeptical since the beef, as a general rule, is not so good here in the Caribbean), but it is some place we have wanted to try. We actually did try last Sunday, but it was closed. Anyway, we are still buzzed from our other drinks and stuffed from the food we have eaten so far, so we just go in and get our card and leave. We see an older guy in there who is about 3 sheets to the wind. We saw him at The Palapa Bar earlier in the week and he was 3 sheets to the wind then too.  He actually grabbed this Rastafarian’s long dreadlocks (they were past his knees) and was making some comments to him and then touched his face.  Were I Mr. Rasta – I would have whipped the sh*t out of him with my dreadlocks for being so rude as to grab my hair and touch my face without asking or permission, but Mr. Rasta was far too polite. Anyway, he was being just as rude and obnoxious this time by using foul language and talking disgusting about someone that we had just met. He may have been right about her, who knows (and I don’t care), but he was flinging the F bomb all over the place, and other derogatory words, about this gal. Dude, you don’t even know me? Wait till you get to know a person before you start acting like a pig. And what if I had been a good friend, relative or really liked the gal? We think that she probably kicked him out of her bar for being a drunken twit and he is mad at her for that. Anyway, it was another reason to get the heck out of there without a drink or food. Next stop…Coco Locos.
(This little boy is waiting for his mommy and dady to come out of Legends)

Coco Locos we’ve been to. It’s a cute little bar and we have met some very nice, friendly and helpful people there. It will definitely be a place we continue to frequent. It’s a little after 4, and there is a crowd at the bar. It’s apparently about the time when the regulars are there. We also see a couple people from the poker run. We say hi to Linda and Chuck, who we met before, and are introduced to Joy, who lives in the unit below us.  (We’ve heard that Joy has a set of keys to our unit. We’ve actually heard that lots of people have a set of keys to our unit. Which makes us feel real secure. The instruction “booklet” grills us about how important it is not to lose our keys. Why? There are 50 sets running around this island. Maybe the gas station attendant at the south end of town doesn’t need a set? I digress again.) Anyway, we have a drink, talk with Linda a bit, draw our cards and head to The Palms at Reef Village where the run is supposed to end at 5pm (we thought).

We are quick-stepping it back to Reef Village because we thought you had to get your last card and turn it in there by 5 pm.  But we were apparently wrong.  Only 2 other people were there before us.  The rest didn’t show until 6. We could have stayed at Coco Locos longer. There was also supposed to be music and bar-b-que between 5 and 7.  But the music didn’t start until 6 either.  We waited around because there was a raffle we had entered, and we wanted to see who won.  The people we talked to, along with us, didn’t have good cards at all. Ace with king high was about it. But, some gal came in later with 2 pair, and she took the prize (not sure how much, but I think it was a portion of the proceeds.)  We order a bar-b-que chicken and split it and wait for the raffle – which doesn’t happen until 7. But, as it turns out, was to our advantage because Gerald’s name was drawn and we won a dinner for 2 at Aji!  YAY!  I guess the run was worth it after all! But it’s almost 8 pm and getting to be our bedtime so it’s time to head back!

It was a pretty good day.  The poker run was a good idea. And even though I didn’t get all the stain and color out of our clothes, they are a little better, but they are only good for rags or wearing around the house, can’t use them for good anymore. Now we will have to incur the added expense of taking our laundry to a service – which is exactly what I wanted to avoid and why one of the requirements was a washer and dryer.  But I didn’t want to wash my clothes in mud - I guess you need to be specific when asking those questions. Live and learn. And I have learned that I don’t ever want to stay at Reef Village again and I would not recommend it to anyone else. I would also go a step further and say don’t rent this unit. The owner and caretaker’s reaction has been less than caring or forthcoming about the important issues – like having clean sheets and usable water – not to mention the smaller issues of no privacy, disgustingly dirty appliances, and slimy shower.

But…I will say again…tomorrow is another day Scarlet. I will only focus on the good that has happened today and not dwell on the bad (if nothing for my own sanity). Till tomorrow…

Friday, November 26, 2010

Friday, November 26, 2010 - UPDATED

Friday, November 26, 2010:

What to do today?  Nothing probably.  A worker here stopped by to see if we wanted to go on a tour of the property so they could update us about our benefits? No thanks.  No more timeshare stuff for me.  We are definitely not interested in timeshares.

I got to talk to my Dad and grandma, and we talked to Avis (Gerald’s sister) via Skype. That was fun.  There is a delay in the transmission of the voice, so sometimes it’s a little tough, but you get used to it.  It’s better than nothing. Actually, I had told my Dad that if he needed to talk to me, call on my cell phone and I would call him back on Skype because of the $3 per minute cost. But if it was an emergency, call back and keep calling until I answer. So he called and while I was trying to get my Skype ready to call him, he called again. Freaked me out! So I answered! No emergency – he forgot! Oh well!  

Rob (the “caretaker” here) stops by and brings 2 new pillows, 2 sets of sheets (1 new and one used) and a remote control (without batteries).  Progress? I guess.  I ask him about a toothbrush to clean the coffee pot per Pam and I don’t really get anywhere with him.

We also ask him about the water. It’s still yellow. He said that he would check with the office about changing the filter again but the water is generally not good to drink.  Really? Why isn’t that on the list of “amenities” of this place? Colorful, non-drinkable water?  He said none of the water in Belize is drinkable. We advise him the water was in fact very drinkable in Placencia, and in fact I think it tasted better than our water at home.  He is surprised.

The remote he brought to use with the bedroom TV says nothing about being able to work a Jensen TV. Plus, he didn’t have any batteries.  I know, I know.  I have some, but why should I use mine? If I want to use a remote, I’ll have to use mine - that’s why. But I’m taking them home with me!  The packaging is written in Spanish and Portuguese. Great. Luckily the instruction sheet has some English. Un-luckily – Jenson is not listed as a compatible TV so it doesn’t list a code to program it.  I’ll have to try to see if there is another general code that works, which means scanning manually. There are about 100 potential codes, and I have to push 4 buttons for each potential code.  I push buttons for 45 minutes until my fingers are sore and I got nothing.  I check on-line for another hour trying to find codes and still nothing.  Forget it. I’ll figure out what channel I want to watch in the living room and then change it.

Is there a positive? Sure. I got new pillows and sheets. So I figure I better get those pillow covers washed.  

I throw a load of whites and light colors in the washing machine with the pillow protectors. I haven’t done any personal laundry yet, only washed the sheets and towels from here. The end result? They are all orange now.  Our clothes are ruined (including 2 of my new Chico blouses).  I wash them again with bleach (or what I think is bleach anyway) – nothing.  So now, how do I do laundry? Wear all orange and black?  It’s the Halloween island!? I’ve just renamed it. Halloween, Belize.    I know I’ve seen other’s wearing white here … how the hell did they get them to stay white? Do they just buy new clothes after they get dirty? WTF? 

Two important things to remember about San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize:

1)      Don’t drink the water.
2)      Don’t wear whites and if you do, don’t wash them here.
3)      Don’t do any laundry here, because even the non-whites get stained.  

I think it’s time to cry now. I’m going to the store to get some more bleach … wish me luck.

Friday, November 26, 2010 - UPDATED:

We get more bleach from the store (and I have Gerald go across the street to the hardware store to pick up a 5 cup coffee pot too…I’m freakin tired of chewing my coffee.).  I ask the clerk how she keeps her whites clean (as I have been told it’s the water in Belize).  She says she just washes them! Of course, all the kids in school have white uniforms. People all over the place have white clothes.  The only people who wear orange stained clothes are the ones here in Reef Village!

I bring the bleach home and start the wash again.  This time I add about a half bottle of bleach to the water and I’m letting it soak.  I hope the material holds up or I may be coming home in threads! I’m a little stressed wondering how the crap I’m supposed to be doing any of my laundry now, so we decide to go across the street to Coco Locos to have a drink. Then maybe we’ll go to Legends for a burger for a treat for dinner. 

There are only two guys at the bar and two gals behind the bar.  One guy leaves.  We order our drinks and talk a bit.  Then I ask the one gal how she does her laundry and not turn it orange! Turns out she lives in our same building too and said she could have warned me about the water and what not to do.  Wish Pam would have done that.  I know this is a 3rd world country, and I didn’t expected it to be like home, but a little courtesy and warning about a few things would be nice, and would have saved my laundry.

But, these people seem very nice and helpful, and it feels good that someone understands.  Linda was very helpful.  She owns the bar and also a condo here.  Jillian is her daughter - she is working there too. We also met Chuck.  He owns a condo at Bermuda and gave Gerald some information about a couple other musicians on the island. He also gave us some tips on a great BBQ place up the road, so we will have to try that out.  They told us about the big Thanksgiving dinner they had over there last night - about 50 people and tons of leftovers. Had we only gone over there earlier!

Linda said that Gerald could bring his guitar over there any time, and she even has an acoustic one he can play. Linda reminds me of my sister DaLette.  Outgoing, friendly personality and looks. Linda says she does her laundry with certain additives and said she will let me see so I can get some myself. It’s nice to have assistance and help instead of a “too bad – life in Belize is crappy” response and attitude. 

My gawd, things might be starting to look up! 

We get back home and decide to make dinner here – that way we can drink more at Coco Locos!  We have baked potatoes…and they tasted really good! Got to talk to Jeff & Annie…that was fun! But it’s 9:15pm, and way past my bedtime! We'll talk tomorrow I'm sure! Till then - ‘nite all!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010 - TURKEY DAY 2nd (& final) UPDATE

Thursday, November 25, 2010 - TURKEY DAY 2nd UPDATE:

Well, don’t know what I did exactly, had to download (and redownload) a couple of programs, not sure which one is working, but I don’t care. I finally got Skype running and even made a couple phone calls to friends and family! What a relief! It’s not a 100% like a phone, but better than $3 a minute!  So…no sun today, just working on internet.

We made reservations at Celi’s on the beach for a “traditional” Thanksgiving dinner.  Everything is different here, so it’s a risk, but we go downtown anyway. They don’t open until 5:30…we are there at 5:10.  We get a drink next door and wait. As soon as they open the door, Gerald’s in. We are the only ones there. That could be a bad sign (what’s new?). We order the traditional American Thanksgiving dinner and hope for the best.

It doesn’t take long for the food to get to us.  It doesn’t look bad. Turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes with marshmallow, stuffing, dumplings, bread, and a piece of pumpkin pie with pecan topping. And….it was yummy.  Not like home (for sure) but better than we could have hoped for.  What a relief that something has gone right!  And then other people start coming in and soon it’s crowded! Phew! We have our bellies full and are content!

(Our Thanksgiving Dinner)

Now for the ride home! It’s not bad enough that you have eaten till you are somewhat miserable, but now we have to endure the bumpy ride home.  Of course, I wasn’t thinking of that when I was shoving the food down my throat right?  And although the two guys playing guitar and squeeze box walked down the beach faster than we (Gerald) drove it, it was still a rough ride, and our immediate goal was to keep what we ate!

Survived the ride and back “home” safely, keeping dinner intact. We’ll try to make a couple more calls (keep your fingers crossed), but other than that, watch a movie and go to bed.  Phew…these busy holidays wear me out!   ; )   

Hope you all have your bellies full too! Who’s shopping tomorrow?!


I’M UP ON SKYPE!! YES!!!! (only took me about 6 hours!)

I’M UP ON SKYPE!! YES!!!! (only took me about 6 hours!)

Thursday, November 26, 2010 – Turkey Day - UPDATED

Thursday, November 26, 2010 – Turkey Day:

HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE!  I hope everyone is safe and happy!

We’re stuck here…! ; )  This is not a holiday for them, but most of the restaurants do have special menus in recognition of the Canadian and American Thanksgiving holidays. I've seen some Christmas trees too! We have reservations at a restaurant called Celi’s tonight for a “traditional” meal. I’ll let you know how that goes!

Not much on the way of plans today.  Maybe hit the pool again, since we really haven’t been doing that at all. Maybe run into town and explore some more.

I’ve been trying to use Skype, but I had trouble with the internet yesterday and I can't get on Skype now.  I can get on the internet and do everything else, but can’t access Skype! Go figure! So if you are reading this…we can try gMail video chat or something if you have a gmail account? But, I’ll keep trying to get on Skype!

LOVE YOU ALL!

TURKEY DAY UPDATED:

What a nightmare! The local telephone company BTL blocks the use of Skype and like programs.  This requires you to use their phone services at outrageous fees. Extortion at its best huh?   I’ve been since 7 am this morning trying to work on this and get some sort of program that bypasses or encrypts the information. Still working on it. Went through gMail and got a brief video (before it was blocked), the audio was really breaking up…but the instant message was fun! Still working on the issue and hope to have it resolved … before we come home! =)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 - It's My Bubba's Birthday!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 - It's My Bubba's Birthday!:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUBBA!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Not much happening today. Sunned a little on the condo deck, watching people go by. Then went out to the pool for a couple of hours.  The water is cool, but feels good, because it is hot here!  No rain so far today.  We may take a nap and then a ride up north to see how far we can get without sinking into sand!

Between the loud golf carts and the dump truck that goes by every 5 minutes, there is too much noise here to get a good nap in.  I think I did not choose well on this particular place. Between the condition it was in when we got here, and the location, I would not recommend Reef Village.  I’d go further out of town, or if I wanted all the noise and action, I would stay in town. There are a lot of places to stay in there, and you don’t have to worry about paying a toll to cross the bridge.

We got on the cart and headed up to the Palapa Bar to see what it’s all about.  See and hear lots about it.  Forgot my camera so I didn’t get to take pictures! (can you believe it!)  Anyway, it’s a bar and restaurant that sits out over the water. It catches the breezes so the skeeters are minimal. People write all over the walls, stools, floors! It’s a nice gimmick! And who cares...the sun will fade it, the ink probably preserves the wood, and people have fun. They tout good food, so we may have to try it sometime. It was cool to watch the waves go over the reef and the boats go by.

Come back home and make salads for dinner.  That’s about it. I’ve been trying to get my Skype up and running to call my brother and friend, but it’s not working. I don’t know if the problems is that everyone in the world is Skyping now and it’s down or what, but I’ll keep trying.  Uploaded gMail video just in case!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010:

Raining (pouring) again.  Gerald caught a double rainbow out the back door.


Think we will just hang around today – maybe go get a dish strainer.  I need to measure the sink so we can get one that fits (and yes I have a tape measure with me!).  I’d like to find some cheap rugs, and pillows or pillow covers too but I don’t know where a “department” like store is here. Guess we can ask around.

Chew the morning coffee. (still not using that dirty coffee pot here! It’s not my dirty and it grosses me out!) 

Only saw 1 or 2 ants coming out of the owner’s cabinet. None on the floor.  That Terro stuff is good!

Update the blog.

Guess I’ll scrub the shower down with the baking soda and brush I got, and get that layer of crud off.  Gerald is “helping me clean” right now! =) 

The bamboo rug in the livingroom is so dirty looking and has sand in it. It’s bugging me.  I’m going to take it outside and beat it a while to knock the sand out and try washing it off.  I wanted to get a cleaner for it, but she doesn’t want me to do anything with it.  Although she said I could put it in the shower…but I’m not doing that even though it is bamboo.  I don’t want to ruin it anymore than it already is and have to replace it. (that would be my luck!).

We take a walk to the restaurant here to grab a burger but they are closed!? So we will just take a drive go to the water company to get a 5 gal jug of water to drink and cook with, and maybe get a bit to eat too. 

We stop at the hardware store to look for a strainer. The one they have is too big, but I do get a small rug, pillow protectors and a water pump for the bottle so we don’t have to tip it over.  

Then we head to the other side of town to see about getting some water.  At the stores the 5 gal bottles are $5 bze and at the water company they are $3.50 bze.  That’s a savings of $1.50 bze (or about .75 cents! Wooohooo!)

We take the beach road – it’s a lot smoother. And stop at a bar and get a burger.  It’s ok. Not Fatted Calf…but it will do.  They gave us some chips and salsa and it was yummy! I’d make a meal of that!

As we are sitting at the bar, the kids get out of school.  There are lots of kids here!  They wear uniforms. I think that is great.  The grade school children wear gray and white: boys gray pants and white shirt (tucked and belted), the girls gray shift dress with white shirt underneath, white socks and black shoes.  The older kids wear all white.  They look like they are in the navy! Boys: white pants and shirt (tucked and belted), the girls white dresses, white socks and black shoes.  The girl’s dresses have collars and there is a tie that is colored. I’m guessing that identifies which grade they are in, but I haven’t asked yet. It’s on my list of things to do.

Back to the condo, hook up the pump to the jug-o-water. Empty the trash. Sweep the floor. Work on the blog. Blah blah blah.

Tonight is movie night at the Reef Village. Gerald wants to go see.  Not much too it.  They aren’t playing the movie that was on the sheet, but who cares.  The screen is so far away and the sound is in the bar.  Glad I didn’t shower for that one!

We’ll eat some popcorn and watch a movie in the condo.  Then bed.  Nite all!

Monday, November 22, 2010:

Monday, November 22, 2010:

It started out sunny, hot and humid.  Now it’s cloudy, rainy (more like pouring) and humid.  I guess it’s still the rainy season till the end of November…so only another couple of weeks and we should be home free!? (I hope)

Sitting on the deck this morning, lots of workers are going north.  Must be lots of construction up there. Kids going to school are headed south. Either way, there is a lot of traffic on this road at 7am. It’s a noisy spot for sure. I’m glad I’m not on the first floor!

I still don’t feel comfortable in this place.  All the clean stuff is sitting on the kitchen counter because I don’t want to put anything away in these cabinets where the ants are crawling. I’m also thinking about if the high traffic areas are this dirty – how dirty are the non-active areas! (these are the weird things I think about!) But, I don’t think I have much choice, so I guess I’ll go ahead and pick a cabinet, clean it out with bleach and maybe find some type of shelf liner or just use foil to line the cabinet so I can put this stuff away and get it off the counter. Otherwise it feels temporary and a month of temporary is a long time. But now we have to get ready to go.

We take off across the road and catch a boat to Captain Morgan’s Retreat.  It’s north of us. My cousin Machelle loves Captain Morgan Rum…I have to go at least get a souvenir for her. Turns out it’s a timeshare, fractional ownership type thing.  Although they do have a hotel part, and you can own a condo outright.  James Brown (oww…I feeeeellll good…na na na na na na na!) signed us up.  It’s pouring down rain again…but they have yellow rain coats – so we look like the Gorton’s Fisherman! At least we stay relatively dry.

We went ahead and toured the property and went through the program. (it’s only time – which we got right now!) We waited for high pressure sales tactics, but I guess after they hear our story and quest, they pretty much left us alone. They just showed us the resort and gave us the price list.  The resort is privately owned, so I guess that’s why no killer salesmen – that was really nice.  It is a really nice place, and wonderful views. You can walk to the reef!  The rooms were very nice – smelled clean. The condo we saw was absolutely beautiful.  It’s got all the bells and whistles. The owners are the Tombstone Pizza family and are very active in the maintenance and running the place. I remember checking it out when looking for a place here, but it was over my budget. I would recommend anyone go there. You just have to take a short 5 minute boat ride from the airport.  They told us they have a maximum capacity of about 120 people, and they have 100 staff persons. So the staff to guest ratio is great, and we were treated wonderfully.  Doctor Como is the bartender and he is a funny guy! They have a local Belizean Culture Night on Tuesdays and we are going back to experience the buffet of local cuisine and see the band etc.  And the best part? We Got a $100 certificate…that we used for lunch and some souvenirs for Machelle!




 (the most important delivery - BEER!)

Here is a kicker story about our tour! (and further proof of how it’s been going for me lately!) When James Brown signed us up, because we are staying at Reef Village (apparently also a timeshare place) he told us not to say that we are staying there because they are a competitor and it would preclude us from getting the $100 and him from his fee. He told us to say we were from the Bermuda condos, and he gave us a room # to use.  Ok.  Whatever. What do we care? I just want to see the place. Luckily we had looked around the condos as we passed them to catch the boat! (very nice places by the way!) So we give the girl our info, take the tour, and then get ready for the pitch for sales. We’ve been there before. If you don’t seem like you are going to buy, they will hand you off to a more experienced salesman who uses the aggressive tactics. Anyway, we’re sitting in the room and another guy comes in. There is small talk. Naturally, he asks where we are staying…Bermuda (blah blah blah).  Turns out – he owns a condo there! WHAT! OMG! I have a hot flash! He asks us a few questions about the pool and stuff, and like I said, luckily we had snooped around the place before we caught the boat, so we were able to answer the questions. I sort of felt he was grilling us too! So he says maybe we will run into him there! AAAAKKK!!  Hope we don’t see him on the streets! We run down James Brown and let him know that he should pick a different place to use besides the one that the main salesman has a condo!  Thankfully we survive!
(we "stayed" in the middle floor - far right unit!) 
 (salt water pool at Bermuda)

We get done with the tour and get a drink at the bar and wait for the water taxi.  We come back home and they drop us off at the Bermuda condos (…where we are staying right?).  There is a little bar over there called CocoLoco, and we go take a look. (ok…we’re snooping around again!).  But it looks like it’s open to the public, so hey!  It also appears the bar is somehow attached to the last building in that complex, because the little pool has a swim up to the bar with stools. I’m not sure if  all of the buildings are in the same complex though, because they are different colors.  Probably was meant to be a big condo complex with a bar etc, but as the normal course goes, it’s all good in the beginning, but eventually it falls apart, so they just separated them out and the last building got the bar, and the middle two got the saltwater pool! Anyway, it’s a very small place, with signs that have names on it showing how far they are to the bar (ie – Bill and Susan, 14 steps ad 12 stairs; John & Mary 50 feet) and there are tons of shoes stuffed in the palapa roof!  It was cute.  Looks like they don’t sell food though.  We’ll have to check it out, cause there could be potential for fun there!


On our way back, we see lots of iguanas. Pretty good sized ones too (not as big as St. Thomas though). And not too shy either! They love these rock walls that line the properties! I think Judy would not like it here!





We get back to the condo, drop our stuff off and get on the cart to head in to town.  If we want to cross the toll bridge with the cart, we have to pay $2.50 usd each way. That could add up, so we figure once a day for 30 days is $150 and a monthly bridge pass is $75 and you can cross all you want.  So we need to go into town to the Town Council and get a pass.  The ride is bumpy and we pick up a hitchhiker (boy if you have an empty seat! =) But it’s a good way to be nice to the locals and get information! He is very nice and tells us about local stores and stuff. We finally navigate to the Town Council and get our pass. Then off to the big hardware store to check out the price of a coffee pot and drain plug so I don’t drop anything down the gaping hole in the bathroom sink.  The stopper is gone – and I can see myself dropping something important down the sink and having to pay a plumber $300 to fish it out!  After that we need to go to the Greenhouse, which is THE place you have to go for good fruits and veggies.

We get to the hardware store.  These places are funny.  It’s packed in like a Hoods! But some kid helps us out and we get a little strainer, but couldn’t find a plug to fit. I get the list out and we hunt the other things too. We get Clorox wipes, shelf liner, felt pads (to put under the chairs so they won’t make that horrendous noise as you scoot them out), baking soda to clean the shower (it’s a natural abrasive you know, and I’m trying to be as green as I can) and some ant killer (not a spray, it’s liquid drops you put on paper that they take back to the nest). Then we are off to The Greenhouse.  We go in and take a look.  I actually expected a dirt floor veggie stand, but what I find is quite different.  It’s a really nice place, clean and they have lots of GREAT stuff! I’m excited to get avocados!  This place is more than I imagined and we are definitely going back, and the best part is it’s locally owned too!  We complete our purchase and head back home with our treasures!

We put our things away, the sink screen fits perfect and felt pads quiet the noisy chairs. I move all the stuff from the lower shelf of the upper cabinet, clean it out, line it and skillfully pack our things in it. I find other things in the cabinets that I may want to use, so I get them out and put them in the sink to wash.

Ah…some accomplishment - it feels good. I’m hungry now, so I finish my leftover lunch, and Gerald makes a sandwich for his dinner.

I get the Torro ant killer out, read and follow the instructions (I’ve used this stuff at home). I put a couple of pats with the liquid down on the counter where they seem to have a run and one on the floor next to the fridge – there are a lot running around down there!  The ants don’t go for it at first, so they have to be persuaded. I’ve heard that they don’t like to walk on powdery substances, so I get the baking soda out and sprinkle little white levees and berms all over the kitchen counter trying to corral them. It doesn’t really work. So now I have baking soda all over my counter and I have to clean it up! (looks like a cocaine addicts dream!) Eventually one ant gets on the paper and discovers the liquid, and as ants do, they tell their friends (and they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on!) and eventually lots are on the liquid. Must be some sort of sugar water with poison in it. I’m a little freaked out about this, thinking they will tell all the ants in Belize about the sugar water in our condo (and there are A LOT of ants here) and then I will definitely have an infestation! Oh boy! But the instructions say that at first lots will show up, then they will take the poison back to the nest and eventually you won’t see them anymore. It does get worse, and I keep watching them nervously. I watch as a trail of ants goes up and into the locked owner’s cabinet above the fridge.  Wonder what’s in there!?  The ants on the floor are going under the baseboard by the front door.  I check the pats once more before I go to bed and the trails have died down (no pun intended) but I don’t know whether it’s just because it’s night and they are going to bed too or it's actually working?  Oh well, the worst that could happen is they get mad at me and attack me while I’m sleeping. Wouldn’t surprise me - i'm sure my karma aura is black now. But I’m getting tired, so I’ll worry about it later.

I write a little on my blog, but I’m so tired…and it’s just 7pm! Gerald wants to go to the Scary-oke tonight at the bar, but I’m just not in the mood to hear possible rejects from American Idol … so I just stay home, take a shower, relax and hit the hay. Gerald goes and comes back a while later.  It was as I suspected, and I’m not sorry I stayed home. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz