Catch of the Day

We had company last week.  Our friend Jay came to visit.  It was his birthday present to come to Belize.  Happy Birthday, Jay!  Finally having a vehicle and someone to sight-see with added sudden activity and excitement to our household.  Due to rain, our plans flip-flopped and we ended up driving toward Cayo District for a day of spelunking at Actun Tunichil Muknal or ATM cave.  We arrived very late in the afternoon only to find out that we needed to have a guide for the tour and that the only available guides were about an hour away.  Fortunately the guard at the gate was good enough to give us a business card for a guard who came right away--an hour.  Unfortunately, I was not at my peak physically and was grumpy to boot and did not go with the family and chose rather to sit in the pitch dark in the truck in the parking area by myself while the family followed the guide into the jungle.  I do not have pictures to share, and you'll have to wait for their stories, but they are fantastic and worth remembering to ask them about.  They include fording a river 3 times, swimming 80% of the cave tour, seeing 2000 year old skeletons and Mayan pottery, etc.  Whet your appetite? 

That same weekend, we stayed with some new friends of ours who have property in Spanish Lookout, Albert and Anita.  We met them at church and it was love at first sight.  They have 3 children ages 6, 4 and 1-1/2 (I think).  A&A introduced us to the area by driving us by family plots, existing oil sites of another company, and stores with items one cannot readily obtain in our district (electronics, food, appliances, household goods, etc.). 

Next we chartered a boat to take us to the cayes (pronounced "keys") for snorkeling and fishing.  The water was very choppy.  We all had fun jumping the waves and getting splashed.  I caught all the water in the face. 

H, KR, Jay, & C waiting on the pier for our boat.

Bernard, our captain, posing with Jay's barracuda.  AKA lunch!

Look at those teeth!  H had them save some teeth for him. 

We fished around many of the cayes.  Bernard said the water was "murky" because of the waves and fishing was not easy.  Normally the water is much calmer.  B and I both had great bites, but we only have stories of "the one that got away."  (Later C had a tarpon on his line.  They are great game fish since they are great fighters, but it too got away.)  Our captain also showed us several private cayes that have guest houses to rent.  Maybe sometime we can go back and enjoy some solitude, but we were interested in getting some lunch and snorkeling.  I was interested in finding a bathroom ASAP, so I was glad that we were headed to Laughing Bird Caye next.  Because of all of the waves, it was difficult to find a place to dock and we had to make a few tries at finding a good place to anchor.  I nearly jumped over board to take care of my personal business, but Bernard was very kind and stopped long enough to allow me some privacy.  Thank you!  We all got out and walked around and splashed in the water around Laughing Bird, which is mostly coral.  It is VERY sharp and I was glad that I encouraged everyone to wear their water socks to protect our feet.  Because the water was too choppy, we didn't stay but maybe 15 minutes.  We ended up at Frigate Caye, another private island owned by a local to rent. 

K holding a conch she found on Frigate Caye.  It was only the shell.

Snorkeling fool. 

Lunch that Bernard and Ennis, the island's keeper, prepared.  

A long, but very enjoyable day on the water.  Bernard brought us to the beach at Cozy Corner, which is next to hour house.  Front door service!  We came home covered in sea salt, sunburns and smiles.