18 Feb - I Need Vitamin Sea !

4 girls arrived together ... they had met on the water taxi and all ended up here for a couple of nights.   they said they wanted to go on a snorkel tour with Wilbur ... i asked him if i could come along .... as his assistant  :)   ... he agreed ....

i was pretty excited because i've been here 29 days and  ....

the morning looked a little cloudy, ..... and about the time we were ready to leave it started POURING !      ...i checked the weather and it said 100% chance of rain    :(
after 25min it stopped but didn't look promising  .... i don't do rain ... and i was willing to cancel the day ... but the girls all said 'let's go'  ... so we left ... 5min out and a big black cloud covered us and it started raining again .... but it didn't last long, and it cleared up with a pretty blue sky  :)

we arrived at Hol Chan Marine Reserve .... Hol Chan is Mayan for Little Channel ... it is the channel that leads through the Reef into the deep blue ... it's been a protected Marine Reserve for many years so there are lots of fishes and other marine life there ...

as soon as we got into the water, i spotted a Green Sea Turtle ... are you ready for a few turtle photos ?

up for air ...

and back down again ...

Permits ... yes, i saw Kermit the Permit  :)

a school of SchoolMasters hanging around the soft coral ...

Nurse Shark

i love these TileFish .... they 'wiggle' when they swim, kind of like an eel or snake ... and build their homes in the rubble and sand on the bottom ...

it was rough snorkeling in the channel today, pretty choppy ... but it was GREAT being in the water again!

we were finishing up Hol Chan, we saw another 2 turtles ...

we left there and Wilbur asked if we wanted to go to San Pedro to sightsee and have lunch .... or .... do extra snorkeling .... i was happy to hear them all say they wanted to snorkel  :)    ...so we headed to another spot,  where the fisherman clean their Conch.    there is usually an old LoggerHead Turtle that hangs around there knowing he will get some food.     when we got there, the turtle was not there ... but Wilbur picked up a couple of dead Conch shells and started banging them together ... calling the old guy in ...   sure enough ... he came 'running'

.... we watched him for a little while, but he eventually left, pouting,  ....since he didn't get any food.   

....we snorkeled some more, then in the distance, i saw him again ... it looked like he was trying to eat a Sea Urchin.    i headed that way to investigate ... the closer i got .... i realized it wasn't a Sea Urchin ... but instead, it was a little BurrFish .... this is a photo of another one from a few years ago so you can see how cute they are and how iridescent their eyes are ...

these little fishes have the ability to inflate themselves when threatened ...and this little guy was DEFINITELY being threatened !     ....he was as round as a beach ball, with his tiny little yellow fins going as fast as they could ... but they were worthless and he had no mobility because he was so round.

this turtle was relentless .... he wanted to eat that little fish ... but the little fish was too big and he couldn't get is mouth around it ... but that not stop him from trying !
Wilbur and i tried to distract him and get him away, but he was having no part of it.   we continued interferring and trying not to get bit ourselves, thrashing around in the water.   this went on for 10-15min ....

here  is the video of this nerve-racking event .... i hope it plays for you ... i can't view it with the internet connection here  :(

Finally Wilbur gently picked the little guy up and held him out of the water ... the turtle was confused and started to swim away ...but the little fish needed water and when Wilbur put him back in the water that turtle made a U turn and rushed in again ...

...trying to pin him down to the sand so he could get leverage and bite him .... i was frantic.     we wanted to get the little guy over to a reef where he would have some protection, but we were too far away .... Wilbur yelled, 'we need to put him in the boat in a bucket and take him somewhere else' ....

i took off for the boat ...swimming as fast as i could ... whipped off my fins .... climbed up the ladder ... got the bucket ... filled it with water ... and handed it to Wilbur just as he arrived with our little friend

this is him in the bucket after he relaxed and un-inflated himself ... the white marks are scratches from the turtle ...  Wilbur said he will be fine ...  :)

He said that we saved both of their lives because Turtles often die when trying to eat these fish because they get stuck in their throat and then they can't breathe.    he told us of a fisherman-friend of his who was 'approached' by a turtle "asking for help" ... the turtle had an inflated BurrFish in it's mouth, couldn't spit it out, and couldn't swallow it ... it was going to die.    the fisherman took a knife and stuck the BurrFish, it deflated, (it was already dead) .... and he took it out ... the turtle left without saying a word  :)

Whew what an event we were able to experience !    ..we went back in the water to snorkel a bit more ...  and visited with some some other fish


Smooth TrunkFish

2 TrunkFish ... you can see how unusually shaped they are with a flat 'bottom' ..

a Porcupine Fish ... they also have the ability to inflate themselves as a defense against predators ...  i LOVE these guys coz they have such big human-like eyes and a sweet smile ..

then we went to Shark Ray Alley, also part of the Marine Park.... where the Nurse Sharks and Southern StingRays are used to being fed by the tour guides (which they aren't supposed to do anymore).    when we approached they all appeared; but when they realized we had no food, they continued on their way ...

a few of them were still hanging around the corals though ...

a Rainbow ParrotFish with ElkHorn Coral ...

this is Wilbur releasing the little BurrFish to his new home ... where there is lots of coral for him to hide in ... typically you see these fishes in the turtle grass in shallow water ... but he might be happy to just chill a bit in the safety of some nice corals ...

a Sargeant Major in some ElkHorn Corals ...

a Pork Fish .... not a very nice name for such a pretty fish !

a Nassau Grouper ... although you see lots of Grouper on the menus in Florida ... you won't see any here ... they are protected because they have been overfished ...

they also have the ability to change their color depending upon their surroundings ...

our next stop is called Coral Gardens .... just as i got in the water i saw a Spotted Eagle Ray in the distance ... he wasn't interested in visiting, but i got a few photos before got too far out in front of me ...

they have great little faces .... kind of like a dog with long nose ...

also saw this juvenile Yellow Tail DamselFish ... they don't get their yellow tails until they mature ... but they more than make up for it with their iridencent blue spots on their little black bodies !    ..they are FAST, really hard to get a photo ...

a 4-Eye ButterFly Fish

before we got out of the water, i saw another Spotted Eagle Ray in the distance ...

Wilbur said it was the same one ... but i disagreed ... and i'm sticking with my story :)

the sea was getting rougher and the waves higher .... we'd done a lot of snorkeling and we were heading home ... but Wilber wanted us to see the sunken barge ... i'm not much for 'ship wrecks', but back in the water we went ...  it was actually pretty cool .... lots of corals had grown on it over the years ... with white sand covering what is probably the ugly rusty spots ...

and you can look through the holes ...

there was a Nurse Shark resting inside this one ...

...and we returned to the Dock after a long day .... my legs were actually tired from snorkeling ... obviously i am out of practice !!!!!!!!!

***

Update:  the Great SeaHorse War of Pause vs Tour Guides has been 'lost' temporarily.   while i was snorkeling today, the Police came to Madi's because a complaint has been filed against me  :)     ....and, Madi's business may now be in jeopardy, so i'm staying away from the dock and the tour boats ... but my behind the scenes activities will not be stopped.   

***

I also took the Water Taxi to San Pedro on the 19th and renewed my Visa for another 30 days ....  i was going to have lunch with Darrel ...  as i waited for him to finish up a tour, i walked south all the way to Banana Beach Resort where 8 of us girls stayed in Dec 2010, my first trip to Belize .... i don't remember it being that FAR away from town ... or else i'm just getting old ... it's still a beautiful 'resort'  ...  great memories with great girlfriends !

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 ?????