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 !
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.
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 ?????
No comments:
Post a Comment