7-18 Feb -- Life at PAW Continues

7-18  Life at PAW Continues


one 'batch' of kitties waiting for supper ... patiently   :)

Birdie ... acts like he wants you to pet him ... but then he decides he doesn't ... kind of typical for a cat ... but he bites and bites hard ... we finally had to put a sign up for him ... (Do Not Enter - Tempermental Kitty)    ....and he looks so sweet !

unfortunately, nothing more has been done to the catteries since Garreth left ... however, the 100ft roll of 4' metal arrived ... wow ... it's so heavy i cannot move it.    :(    ...this is the metal we will use to protect the interior walls from cat spraying.

the volunteer couple that had been here working in the catteries for 2months left ... a couple days later 2 new guys arrived from Germany to volunteer.   they are schedule to be here for 3 months ... and they are not cat volunteers; but 'construction-types'    YIPEEEEEEEE  :)

i've been suffering from some skin rash irritation on my face, neck, forehead, eyebrows, ... itching like crazy !   ,,, also on my arms and sides but the neck is the worst !

Stone Crabs ... and their claws.    Wilbur trapped these and was taking them to one of the nicer (more expensive) restaurants.   i talked him into giving me a couple of the smaller ones ... what a treat that was !

 ...  i like these claws because you don't have to kill the crab ... you 'just' break off one of the claws  (ouch!)  :(    ....and return it to the water and it grows another one  :)

***

our 2 new 'construction guy' volunteers got right to work ... they are wonderful !     ....young, but experienced and mature ...     in 2 days they installed the metal around the inside of one cattery ... exceptional job   ... no way in hell would have i been able to do what they've done!

it will keep the cat pee and spray from soaking into the wood and smelling ... and will be great for an easy cleanup !


***

so, not much else to report.    i've been doing a lot of projects; but not much of significance to show; except our new 4x5 Bulletin Board  ... which i orchestrated and helped install .... and ... painted red  :)

... and a map of Caye Caulker so we can show our guests where things are ...  PAW is in the middle, near the bottom ...

now i can work on lots of other info signs to put on that board    :)

the back side of the Bulletin Board faces the washing machine .... so Madi asked me to paint it red also, so it wasn't so boring for her to look at ... but just as i was about to start painting .... my hand started painting a poppy ... go figure !    Madi filled in the background with yellow the next day  ....

speaking of  'guests'  ... we only have ONE guest now ... and only a few since Feb.    one of the 'walk-ins guests' told me that when they looked at hostelworld.com, it showed that we had no vacancy!   .... so i went to the site and tried a lot of different dates, and sure enough ... no vacancy.   Madi has been on the phone with them for over a week now trying to straighten things out.   for some reason, they 'turned her off' !      ... this is truly devastating for her and the kitties .... this is the busy season that is supposed to 'tie her over' through the slow season ... and we have NO guests !    .. i just searched again and Pause doesn't even show up  ....  :(

 ***

ok, one more cat photo ... i walked past this door the other day and saw a 'mass' of grey stripes and white bodies ... there are FOUR kitties all happily sitting in the sunny doorway together

this group of kitties will eventually be 'homed' in one of the new catteries ... they've mostly lived in this one apartment together ...  i can hardly wait !

1-6 Feb

1-6 Feb

Madi had 5 volunteers when i got here ... 3 single women and a couple.   one of the girls left shortly after i got here; but i became friends with the other 2, Wendy and Lizzie.    it is one of the great advantages of living in a Hostel and volunteering.   You meet so many interesting people.    ... and then they leave  :(

This is Wendy the morning that she left,   .... also Madi and her Mom.

 

i also made friends with Alex ... she is the tall one in the picture ....... and i am NOT the shortest  :)

but Alex left yesterday .... so it's time to start with some new friends ...

***

this is the first year i am trying to quit work around 4:30-5pm; take a shower, change clothes, enjoy the sunset .... and we always have some pretty ones ...

Madi has kayaks for FREE and they are really popular ... especially at sunset ...

love this sweet Peaches enjoying the sunset too !

 

 

***

Lizzie, one of the volunteers who recently left was the 'art' volunteer.    she and Madi are in her 'Art Center', (soon to be cattery).

Liz figured out a way to make sell-able art out of the hundreds of cat food cans that Madi disposes of ...   she made these really cute refrigerator magnets out of the bottom of the cans ...and she made 2 bookmarks out of the sides of the can !    ...   5B$ = US$2.50

now we need to try to sell them ... this is the little 'micro-store' at the entrance to PAUSE Hostel ...

we're supposed to continue making them ... but so far that hasn't happened  ...  :(


i had to be a little creative myself.   Madi has lots of keys and she could never remember which one goes to what ... so i made these key fobs out of the sides of the cat food cans ...

***

so, now i think we may be starting a war on Caye Caulker .... Madi's property is on the back side of the island ... the side where the Mangroves are.   the Mangroves are an essential part of the sea; they protect the shoreline preventing erosion from storms ..... and, they are the nursery for a lot of marine life.   the little fish eggs float into the protection of the Mangroves where they develop and grow out of harms way of the bigger fish that would eat them.    they are also home to SeaHorses.    Madi is lucky enough to have a few of them living in her Mangroves.   i've posted photos and videos of them in past years.    It is quite rare to see a SeaHorse, and the Snorkel Tour Operators are 'cashing in' on the opportunity to show them to their tours. 

they come close to shore in their boats, get out and wade into the Mangroves and capture the defenseless SeaHorses in a plastic tub, and then take them to the boat and pass them around to the tourists.    If you can zoom in on this photo, you can see the SeaHorse in the tub   :(

it sounds nice enough on the surface; but the constant disruption in the SeaHorse's life has to be detrimental to their health.   And, it's not just one boat ... today we had NINE  (that i saw, possibly more) boats come in and drag the poor little SeaHorses out of their homes, sloshing them around and banging their sides against their container, changing the water temperature, and then returning them somewhere near to where they found them .... only to have another guy come in and take them out again.   obviously, i am furious and cannot understand how they can justify their practice.    i am taking photos of each of the boats with date/time.

they are right there in front of me ... i can hear them talk about this being their nursery ... and then they stand there and tell me that they don't think what they are doing is harmful ...
some of them are nasty and told me to go back home ....

i thought i'd try to appeal to the tourists, because they probably don't realize that what they are doing is harmful ... so, ... "i made up my own little sign"   :)     .... (Five Man Electrical Band) ....

and i just stand on the dock with my sign; after they have read it, i ask them if they understand .... even the tourists just give me blank stares ... of course, by this time, i am sure the tour operators warn them about the crazy lady who will try to tell them that it's harmful ... one of the ladies was down right rude as well ....all the tourists that i've talked to on my 'beach patrols' in Roatan have never been rude; ... most thank me for informing them and for what i'm doing.

the woman that lives on the other side of the Mangroves is upset and very vocal ... several tour companies filed a harassment complaint against HER yesterday and this morning the Police paid her a visit ... what about the harassment of the SeaHorses ?

i am so frustrated.   Dive and Tour Shops all tell their customers not to touch or disturb ... i really don't get it ... except that they want to make $$$.     i've sent an email to the Belizean Fisheries Department ... 5 days and no reply ... i resent again.

this is going to get ugly !     Stay Tuned !

***

another volunteer showed up unexpectedly this week ... and thanks to Garrett, huge progress has been made !    on 4 Feb, one cattery is fully enclosed ... although far from ready to house kitties ... it's a huge milestone!

Madi has been wanting to build new catteries since the first year i was here ... but money and help have always been a problem ... this year, however, seems to be the year ... i just hope i get to see those kitties in their new homes before i leave.

She has been at this long enough to know exactly what the best way to structure the buildings to make life a bit easier for her and cleaner and more comfortable for the kitties.     Criteria includes full walls on the sides of the building that the winds and rains come from; and also lots of mesh screening for adequate ventilation; nothing touching the concrete floors, so it's easy to wash.   .... the kitties will have all their beds, swings, etc suspended, and they will be able to get out of the wind and rain in the  loft that yet needs to be built.   and, a new concept we're going to try... after brainstorming, i actually came up with the idea of putting metal/aluminum sheeting, 2 feet up, all the way around the interior perimeter .. it will be non-absorbing and easy to wash if/when the cats pee/spray.    yes, they do that;  there's lots of territorial maneuvering that goes on.   this is genius ... but she has had 12+ years to think these things through.   she is amazing!

there was an open-air structure in the middle that was build several years ago, the 2 sides were added recently ... the middle has been dismantled and will be integrated with the other 2 buildings ... still with the tree and open-air.

***

a cat photo before i go ...

Spirit thinks that Tutti, or is that Frutti's, head makes a good pillow .... :)

and yes, that is one of my new signs for this year  ... Madi now has 4 brand new bikes for rent  :)

for a week or so the weather has been very very hot ... 2 nights ago the wind picked up and this is Day 2 of wind, rain, and cold ... poor me :(

First Blog - Jan 2016

My First Blog of 2016:

it wouldn't be a start to my adventure without an airline mishap.    Out of Kzoo at 6am and into Chic.    sitting on the plane pushing away from the gate a message from the Captain that they heard a 'clunk' (technical term) that they needed to investigate.   it turned out to not be much of a problem, but delayed us out of Chic for an hour.    arriving in Miami before my flight left, i ran from gate D1 to D48 .... and arrived just a few minutes after the plane left ... it seemed to me that they could have held the plane, they knew we were delayed and knew we had arrived ... but they have a commitment to leave on time, with or without all their passengers.   They did 'comp' me at an airport hotel, ... i was definitely skeptical, but The Element Hotel was VERY nice; i could have entertained all of you in it !

 

... i'd highly recommend it ... plus vouchers for lunch, dinner, and breakfast.    i arrived a day late; but my luggage and i arrived safely .... and i heard it rained the entire day before ... so i fooled the weather gods  :)

So, here i am again at Madi's, P.A.W. Animal Sanctuary of Belize ... she named her hostel PAUSE ... she's pretty creative.   
lots of new changes since last year.  it's amazing what can be done in a year.   In addition to the 10-bed and 4-bed dorms from last year, a private room was converted to a 6-bed dorm, and then there is a new 6-bed dorm, which is predominately for 'volunteers', and also used for over-flow; and 2 new private rooms ... including this VERY cute new building called The Sweet Pea Pod, named after one of Madi's cats.

not surprisingly, i love the colors  :)

we've been pretty much full every night since i've been here, and turning away a few people a couple of days.

the dock has been extended another 40 feet into the sea ....

and sweet Peaches continues to be a favorite and is always willing to sit for some attention ...

i have not been snorkeling yet, so those of you who are looking for 'fish' photos will have to wait ... and those of you who are a bit bored with them will be happy.

i have been busy all day, everyday, as usual.  

it's nice to see that a lot of the things that i accomplished over the years are still 'in tact' .... mug rack, bathroom wall paintings, signs ... that makes me feel good :) 

i am in the 'volunteer dorm' (6-bed)which was just an empty room last year ... this is the view from my bed ... :)

the weather has run the spectrum since i've been here:   from very cold (down to 50F one night), and then today, which was sweltering hot with absolutely NO breeze .... great conditions for no-see-ums.... i slathered myself with Ocean Blue Oil to keep them away ... or more accurately, to cause them to stick to the oil, so they can't bite  :)

one night we had a benefit dinner here at Pause ... they served grilled whole lobsters, coconut rice and beans, freshly made pico de gallo, and rum punch.    i watched the coconut milk being made from scratch! ... from fresh coconuts from the gardens ... nothing out of a can or carton here !     ...all for B$20 = US10   :)   

Madi's brother Wilbur is preparing for the end of the Lobster season and has begun the task of bringing in his lobster traps ... he provided the lobsters for our Fest the other night.    and, i am hoping to be able to spend a day snorkeling with him SOON !

i took the Water Taxi to the larger island just north of us, Ambergris Caye, and met with my friend and Dentist, Ken, who conducts a Dental Clinic for the children here each year.   we spent the evening at the Jerry Jeff Walker Camp Belize 'Concert' .... and managed to squeeze into some great seats and had a fun evening listening to one of Country Music's 'old-timers'  .... if you don't recognize the name Jerry Jeff Walker, you might recognize his title hit, Mr Bonjangles, from 1968.

i bought a new underwater camera to try out this year, an Olympus TS3 ... it has some crazy features on it .... this is O-So ....

my friend, Darrel, came over from Ambergris Caye, to the spend the evening... after dinner we went out to the end of a long dock and just laid on our backs looking at the sky .... i saw a FALLING STAR  ! ... i can't remember the last time i'd seen one  ...happy night  :)

The Split, where the island of Caye Caulker split after a hurricane has always been a 'hot spot' ... but WoW... it has changed too ... new buildings, restaurants, coffee, pizza, and gelato shops have sprung up all over .... i had to try out the Gelato today because it was so hot ... this Dark Chocolate Sorbet was a HUGE hit in my book ... it was a treat to sit in the shade and look out over the beautiful waters.

we also have Melanie the Duck ... she is very sweet ... unlike her predecessor, Melody, who loved to chase me and bite my ankles ... a crocodile got her a few years ago .... :(
Melanie was sitting on 8 eggs when i got here and we never saw her ... there are no male ducks around so her efforts were fruitless; and it must have been sweltering inside her house.   with the help of my chicken/duck friend, Jackie, we removed her eggs and now she roams the property looking for any coconut handouts from the guests; and i don't think she was traumatized too much  :)
--i need to find out why ducks stand on one leg ..... Jackie ?????