My Mom II

Momma L, or as I refer to her, Mom II, is here visiting for the next couple of weeks.  Her flight landed just before Hurricane Rina was predicted to hit Belize.  The hurricane ended up being down-graded and missed Belize except for some rain. 

It has been fun re-exploring the peninsula through new eyes.  We have taken many walks and literally stopping to smell the flowers.  I remember doing that when I took my first strolls too.  I had intentionally avoided certain shops knowing that I'd love to visit them for the first time with Mom II.  Art shops, the coffee shop, some restaurants.  We have also introduced her to some of our favorites like Cozy Corner and J Dee's restaurants.  Both had recently been closed for spiffing up during the off season, but have just re-opened.  Barefoot Bar is opening tonight for their Halloween bash, so she can hear the soca and reggae that we loved when we first arrived.  Hope that the 9pm-2am schedule tonight doesn't discourage her!  It normally doesn't run that late, this is for their re-opening and for the holiday. 

Here are some of the sights we shared with her this week:

Cockscomb Peak viewed from the lagoon in Placencia Point. 

Part of Cozy Corner's renovation included a hammock station.  B is relaxing before dinner.

C in his hammock cocoon. 

KR says peek-a-boo.  One of her last 9-year-old moments.  Today she turns 10!

The beautiful skies over our beach thanks to Hurricane Rina.  We loved the pastels.

Mom II and the kids climbing the roots of this tree behind the coffee shop. 

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. 

Drive

Fits and starts.  That pretty much describes the last few days.  Fits we've all thrown (me included and quite possibly--ok really--the most) and starting over.  B picked up our vehicle this Friday.  We decided to drive to Cockscomb Preserve the following day. 

We woke up late--8:30 and after some odds and ends errands, we headed out.  This was our first outing with just our family!  I cannot tell you how weird it felt to be riding.  I took plenty of video and a few shots while we were driving.  I'll share just some of it here.

The kids find it funny that speed bumps are called HUMPS here.  There are 30+ of these from the beginning of the peninsula to our house.  

 

One of the buildings seen just as you turn onto the road into the Preserve.

I took video of driving over one of the secondary roads, but I cannot upload it right now.  You'll have to take my word for it when I tell you it was like driving in a Ford truck commercial when you are warned that the driver is a professional on a closed course.  Fun for all of us. 

While we didn't see any, this park is also called the Jaguar Preserve.  

 

 I felt stupid when we pulled up to the preserve to find out it was going to be a lot of hiking and much of it geared toward backpackers and we wore shorts and sandals. (I felt less stupid when later we ran across 3 women and one of them was wearing a dress that was above the knee and another was carrying a travel coffee mug.  Sometimes I just wonder.)  It was at least ten degrees cooler due to being inland and being in the higher elevations.  We paid for a map which had points of interest numbered coinciding with numbered posts along the trail.  On our second stop we were standing unawares in an ant hill until they began biting us.  Ouch!  (We are itching 2 days later.)  Needless to say, we watched our steps a little more closely and didn't pay attention to the signs too much afterward.  The trails were muddy and it began to rain.  Rain in the rainforest.  Uphill we walked. 

A little frog we saw at the river we had to cross.  The frog is about the size of a quarter.

Turn your head to the left.  I couldn't figure out how to rotate the pictures.  :)

All smiles at the foot of the waterfall.  There were signs granting permission to swim here, but we didn't bring suits.  

From here, we decided to take the "small hike" to the peak to lookout over the preserve.  We were told at the visitor center before taking off that it was an additional 10 minute hike from this point and that it was about .2km.  The map was wrong and so was the guy at the center, because it was almost 1-1/2miles from the falls and it was all stinkin' uphill.  I'm not sure what the grade was, but it was a vigorous hike.  B said we were at 831 km elevation.  Good thing that we stocked up on water (and Oreos) before leaving the visitor center. 

After our hike, we were famished since we got to the park at lunchtime and hadn't eaten.  It was 3pm.  We were soaked to the bone and muddy.  We found a spigot behind the bathrooms and washed off.   We found  a restaurant at the foot of the mountain that we'd passed on our way in.  What a delight.  We pulled in to the family's yard.  The restaurant was an 8-sided, thatch-roofed building, with concrete foundations and floor with panoramic views through the screens.  We were unexpected customers and we shared what they'd already prepared for their family for the day.   We were served a fresh fruit tray harvested from their yard.  Watermelon, pineapple, oranges and bananas.  Mayan chicken soup, rice, tortillas and an interesting cabbage salad with carrots, green peppers and avocados all served family style.  Wonderful atmosphere.  I could imagine a trip back with Mom II as the sights, peaceful sounds of the nature that surrounded the building and pleasant conversation with the owners and seeing their family drift in an out ranked within her Top 10 favorite things in life.  I realize that days like this cannot be repeated, but I think she'd enjoy it just the same.  I wouldn't wish being soaked, muddy, sore from ant bites, and being bone tired on her or anyone, but we were the happiest miserable people on the planet sitting there. 

Spin a Yarn

I am having a difficult time trying to come up with words to express some of my thoughts and feelings stemming from this weekend.  Some of them are intense and profound. Other thoughts and feelings are subtle and fun. 

First, I spent almost an entire morning online Saturday.  I NEVER do that.  (Of course I did get 4 loads of laundry, meals and a walk with the family in during the day, so I feel I redeemed myself.  {grin})  A few weeks ago, my mom suggested a blog site to me.  http://www.creatingafamilyhome.com/ I don't go to the site itself, instead I have the new posts delivered to my inbox, so a little is lost from the experience, but I get all of the reading and the pictures from the posts--the new stuff.  My mom knows me and I do LOVE the blog.  Through this blog, I discovered the joys of "yarn alongs".  Kelly, who posts the aforesaid blog, repeatedly mentioned "joining Ginny in this week's yarn along".  Saturday I was inclined and had the time to nibble.  I clicked on the link which only took me to yet another blog, but there was a post titled, "Yarn Along".  Come to find out, Ginny is a homeschooling mom who knits and loves to read.  Weekly she makes a post titled YA and shares her progress on her knitting project and a picture of the book she is reading AND (drum roll please) she asks others to post on her site links to what others are knitting (crocheters are accepted--yay!) and reading.  During this moment the floodgates of Heaven were opened to me and the loneliness I've felt here in Belize dissipated as I clicked on numerous links to find other homeschool moms (some also in other countries) and their projects and what they were reading.  Above I have posted a picture of my current crochet project and the book I read today.

The book I read is one that C is going to be reading for school this week.  It is thought provoking and gave me some relief to see that it has possibilities of lending some reassurance to C, as a young teen, that he too is not alone, which is a problem we all face when we are that age.  Parents who don't understand.  A foot each in childhood and adulthood and the confusion it causes with expectations of others and of self.  Hormones that mess with the mind and emotions.  I recently finished a book almost 1000 pages long and I found this 119 page book heavier and deeper and wider than anything spoken in the long book.  My mother-in-law (just the technical term because she is my mother too--Mom II) gave to me a book for my birthday this year that is similar to Guests, but on a child reading level.  The lessons are the same and given in the same manner--through story.  This is a book also written from the point of view of a coming of age Native American boy at the time of the first Thanksgiving.  I highly recommend a trip to the library to check out this book--no matter what your age, gender, or time, or how you feel about yourself.  It's never a bad time for self-evaluation. 

The comment above about my crochet project being current is slightly misleading.  In a previous post I mentioned a granny square project that I'd been working on for 12 years and that I avoided it like the plague.  This is THE project.  Perhaps the old blue Wal-Mart bag tells how long I've been dragging this thing around.  It is the perfect project to use scrap yarn.  (That is the silver lining to which I cling.)  I refreshed my memory on the number of squares needed to complete the afghan....836.  Miss K counted the squares in my bag this week and I have only topped out at a whopping 248.  Depressing!  Good news...I may run out of scrap yarn soon and all knitters and crocheters know what that means...buy more yarn for a new project!  Yay!  After seeing the Yarn Alongs this weekend, I've decided to try to knit socks, or maybe a scarf, or mittens, or hat, or...ok...maybe you should help me decide.  Now it's YOUR turn to comment.  I'd love to hear what you have to say.  Show me a project.  Spin your own yarn.  Tell me what you are reading.  Blessings.

Investments

Bracelets made from coconut shells.

Evan's work shop for classes.

Little boy who came to play with me.

K working on her woodcarving project.  (Mallet is made from green-stripe bamboo)

For those of you who follow the blog who may not know, our trip to Belize began nearly 2-1/2 years ago.  Now, the people who know us well are scratching their heads, because B and I hadn't even had Belize mentioned to us until the very end of June this year.  Remember B was released from Delphi in 2009, just a couple of months after we were married.  Being without a job has been one of the biggest blessings and became the first step toward our investment business about 6 months after that event.  As with many start up businesses, ours wasn't exactly profitable.  OK.  It wasn't profitable at all, but we were standing in faith that God had brought us together as a couple and as a family and that He always provides for us and that He always wants what is best for us.  His ways are not our ways though, so by some people's standards, we were (are) crazy.  Long story made very short, our investments in the oil and gas sector led us to a company who ended up purchasing one of our properties and eventually hired B as a contractor to come to Belize and start up a new project.  Now he is the Vice President of International Operations. 

Since coming here, we have been investing in some art work.  If you have been following, you'll remember that we have befriended a local artisan, Evan Leslie.  He made the bracelets pictured above.  We are heavily invested in his life too, and trying to work with him to build life skills and walk with him in his renewed relationship with Christ.  B prays with him and lends moral support.  I am using my business management and teaching skills in our covert mission to make him self-sufficient with his business and teach him to get through the lean times when tourist season is dead.  This is not a fun task for me.  Learning tough lessons is not pleasant.  Teaching them is equally trying.

Coming to Belize has also afforded us the opportunity to invest in our children's education of the wide world in which we live.  They are learning about third world countries' people, politics, and customs.  We are all learning about living outside of our comfort zone.  We are learning how hard it is to be away from family and friends.  Part of this we pick up from our classes with Evan.  Above you can see his workshop which is located on Main Street.

The open space of Evan's shop and being on Main Street, allows for many opportunities to greet people.  The little boy in the photo above stopped by to watch the kids work on their projects.  He saw me check my phone for the time and he asked me if my phone had games.  I snapped a picture of him and showed it to him.  He liked that.  Then I showed him some of the games that I have loaded on the phone.  I became his new best friend.  Within minutes he was reclining against me and we were talking as he was playing.  We are investing in people here.  I never learned his name, but he'll remember me and come to me if he sees me again.  The people here long to have closeness with others.  There are many who have suffered greatly at the hands of family.  Rape.  Physical abuse.  Drugs and alcoholism.  Abandonment.  Girls being prostituted out by their mothers for drug money.  Children living with step parents only or no family at all.

Look closely and you can see the tap root of our avocado pit.

We are putting roots down here just like the pit above.  We have been plopped into the Caribbean and God has told us to swim.  Just like the pit, we are growing as individuals and as a family.  God has taken time to invest in all of us.  If we allow Him to, we will grow, but sometimes we have to do some things that seem a little crazy...like packing up and moving to Belize. 

Lubaantu

Once again, time has gotten away from me.  Between teaching the kids, cleaning the house, cooking, the holiday on Wednesday and having a last minute dinner with some new found friends in Maya Beach, there has been little time to sit down to the computer to write.  So, for all of you asking, I did NOT fall off the face of the earth.  We're still here in Placencia; however, due to some friends we did get out and do some site-seeing this week.

This Wednesday was Belize's 30th birthday.  The celebrations started on Tuesday night.  We walked down and there was a band playing 50's style music that had Christian lyrics!  Yippee-skippee!  We stuck around for a bit and watched C & K participate in a hula hoop contest.  C was even a good sport and played "air drums" with 3 other boys.  He won some candy for that performance.  Fireworks were to begin at midnight to usher in the birthday celebrations following a flag raising ceremony at 11pm, but the fireworks were detained on a barge in Punta Gorda.  Apparently someone hadn't gotten the proper clearance to have them shipped up on the barge.  (sigh)  We came back home, put the kids in bed, but our friend, Freddy, was asked one hour prior to the flag ceremony to do a speech on the passing of the founding father of the country a few days earlier.  He called Brian to come and listen, which he did. 

The next day Freddy and Janet came and picked us up in their pick up truck to ride to Lubaantu Ruins.  Here are some of the pictures we took.

We found it interesting that some of the corners were rounded and not squared.

Rain forest canopy seen from ruin site.

The portion of rock that butts out from the ruin on the left is a place where sacrifices were placed.

Lubaantu contains many vistas as it is an entire Mayan city.

Some buildings were close together and some were farther apart.  Here you can see Janet, me and the kids climbing back up from the bottom of one of the ruins. 

While as the crow flies, Lubaantu isn't that far from our village of Placencia, but since we can't fly we had to drive.  Click here for the map to see how we had to drive up and around the peninsula.  Freddy is a pastor who has planted many churches in the area, especially for the Spanish/Mayan.  We made several stops before heading to Lubaantu to take fish heads for soups to some pastors in and around Big Creek along with some clothes and toys.  We drove to Punta Gorda to take a generator that Freddy had repaired to a pastor there.  We just missed the holiday parade, but the family was coming home to eat and they invited us to join them.  Wonderful family and felt very welcomed.  I'm not sure I could've handled 7 extra guest dropping in and being as hospitable as there were.  Thank goodness for BBQ in town for the celebration!  Next we headed to the ruins on our way back home.  I think for B and me, the best part of the day was visiting the people along the way.

We were allowed glimpses into the very personal and every day lives of the people here.  We saw the Mayan women in the rivers washing clothes on the rocks, cleaning dishes and bathing, little boys climbing trees and jumping into the water.  We smelled the wood smoke clinging to everything as we drove close to houses they use to cook with and fight off mosquitoes.  We saw entire families out in the yard, playing with children, doing small hand work, repairing equipment.  They walk and ride bikes and horses.  Saw drunk men staggering up the road.  Children miles away from home going who knows where.  Gangly horses tied by the edge of the road for hours with nothing to drink.  Girls grinding corn next to the hand pump for that evenings' meal.  Beautiful, worn faces and eyes that speak of simpleness.  They have no jobs.  The only job they have is living and providing for their family.  They raise chickens, use fruit from the nearby trees, they grow corn, beans and root crops.  Sometimes they might have a pig.  So much Americans take for granted.  Toilet paper.  Running water that is safe to drink.  Roofs that don't leak.  Electricity.  Cars.  Medicine. 

I feel so blessed to be here in this time and sharing it with my children and with all of you who read the blog.  I wish there were some way to bottle up some bit of Belize to bring to you, but to really get the feeling, you have to be here.  We haven't been out much since we still don't have a vehicle of our own, but we hear there is much more to see.  I'm looking forward to sharing more with you.  God bless!

Week in Pictures

I have attempted many times and have failed miserably to blog this week for one reason or another and now I find myself so far behind that I cannot pull together everything that happened in a fashion that I would be happy with, so instead I will simply post pictures. 

 

The video is a small snippet of the parade celebrating St. George Day and Independence Day.  See if you see anyone familiar... 

A wonderful story about how seriously this village takes having fun together is demonstrated through the parade last Saturday.  As with parades we are familiar with at home, Placencia's parade starts at one end of town and circles back and ends up where it started, except for here there is only one road, so they turn around and come back.  B & C dropped out of the parade shortly after the video was taken, as they'd traveled most of the length already.  At that time we didn't know exactly how far up the peninsula the parade went, but we thought that surely it shouldn't take too long.  Over two hours later here the procession came back.  We thought they must've gone clear up the entire peninsula instead of just the town (a 40 minute trip by regular speeds and not parade speed).  Come to find out, the parade did just go to the water tower to turn around (about 10-15 minutes more than B & C coming back), but the truck that B & C had walked behind had broken down and instead of the parade continuing on, the entire parade halted while the truck was fixed and THEN they all came back down--still dancing, singing and partying.  Now that is was I call dedicated to having fun!

Sea Urchin

Safer way to handle a sea urchin

For all of you following the blog, I need to make a correction to one of my past posts.  I referred to one of the shells that H found as a sea anemone, but it was actually for the urchin.  I knew that was what it was, but the word escaped me at the time and I knew the mistake I'd made the minute we saw the live urchin.  Forgive me for misleading you!  It was not intentional.

The knit sweater project I brought with me.

It fits!

Next plarn project--outdoor rug.  I'm makin' it up as I go along, folks....

 

Friends from church gave away avocados and we are starting our own tree.  Maybe.  

 

 

Woodworking Class--Evan and KR working on Cat (ended up with flower)

H has a knot in his board and is getting some help

C getting instruction on how to use the chisel

Evan's gift to us.  It is a natural abstract that cannot be fully enjoyed by the pictures alone.  We LOVE, LOVE this piece.  Thank you, Evan!

OK.  So there you have it.  A good week.  A full week.  A diverse week.  A school week.  A rainy week.  A cooler week.