Lights Out

Around noon I decided to get a shower and get dressed.  Yes, I've fully embraced the slacker lifestyle.  Don't worry, I'll be missing these lazy days in a few weeks.

Halfway through my shower, somewhere between condition and rinse, the lights went out.  Unfortunately, the water also stopped running.  I squeezed as much conditioner out of my hair as I could with the dribble of water that remained and got dressed.  Combing through my gooey hair, I figured the best thing to do was throw in a pony tail, head to the beach and call it a Heated Deep Conditioning Hair Follicle Spa Treatment!

I had a postcard to send to The Big Banana Car for their postcard project, so I rode up to the post office to mail it.  I wonder how long it'll take to get to Coopersburg!

I wasn't sure where to go or how long the power would be out, so I just drove slowly back through town.

I was riding along kind of daydreaming when I saw a man on the road - standing right in front of me -waving.  It was Antonio the Rasta dude from the beach last week.  I swerved out of the way.
'Helloooo!  Hi dere!  Hello!!'
I did answer each 'hello' with a 'hi' of my own, but he just kept saying hello!
I smiled and kept going right past him.  A couple of minutes later as I'm pedaling through town coming up behind me I hear, "Hey guurll, hey gurl!  My world, it just got biiiigger.  I got de bike so I can ride wit you!!"
Oh, Lord.
Antonio pedaled along side me.
"Good Morning!" (Morning?  Seems I'm not the only one getting a late start today - it's way after noon!)
"You going to Tipsy Tuna today?" he asked.
"No, not today", I answered.
"You be on da beach?"
"Probably not!"
"Where you goin'?"
"I don't know." (true)
Antonio can be quite persistent but finally, almost at the end of town, he peeled off and went to talk to someone else.
I turned the corner, found a tree to chain my bike to and decided to find a place to eat.

I stopped here and asked if they served lunch.  "We just have that", the woman behind the counter said, pointing to the chalkboard on the wall.  Bacon Eggs and Toast.  OK...seems like a 'breakfast all day' kind of day.  I'll have that.

Here I am on the Bacon Eggs and Toast porch, with my slicky ponytail, reading a book called 'Live What You Love'.  It's about a couple who left their normal life in the States and moved to the Caribbean.  Hmm.

In the meantime, the power came back on in town.   I left to sit on the beach, read some more, and enjoy the day.  I actually sat for a while and wondered what to write about here.  Nothing happened today.  It was in fact, almost boring.  I hung out at 'home', mailed a postcard, had some breakfast/lunch and read a book.  Nothing.

I have a friend who can tell a story about going to the supermarket and it comes out sounding like an action/adventure flick. It makes me think that the excitement of life lies somewhere in the re-telling.   Not that we do things just to have stories to tell.  In fact, your story doesn't have to be retold at all - in a book, a blog, or even talked about to friends.  What matters is how you re-tell it to yourself.  We walk around telling ourselves how dull our lives are then wonder why we feel uninspired.

The day to day life here isn't that much different than home.  I grocery shop, do laundry, clean, make food, work online.  It's just in different surroundings.  My attitude towards these daily tasks is different because every day I expect an adventure.

I've been taught you find what you look for.  Keeping a gratitude journal gets you looking for things to be thankful for.  Writing these posts has me looking for adventure or at least interest, even in the mundane.  Wouldn't it be good to keep that habit when I return to reality?  Can I try to continue to realize how wonderful every day life can be?    

I sat for a little while longer and watched this boat sail by.  I hope the people on it are realizing the adventure they are on!

After a bit, I packed my bag, got my bike, headed back to the apartment to change, combed out my super silky (ew!) hair and went to Zumba.

DAY 17: Nothing Happened and I Wrote About it Anyway

10 Random Thoughts

I am at the halfway point of this adventure.  I arrived in Belize two weeks ago.  I leave in 14 days.

What follows are random thoughts that don't seem to merit a blog post on their own (some of them barely merit a random thought):

1. I've been laying low for the last day or two.  NOT because I'm a fugitive in the Stolen Strawberry Smoothie Incident - really.   I'm just pacing myself.  Don't want to blast through my limited funds and appetite for adventure too quickly, then have nothing left to do.
2.  There's a lot of noise here.  Not bad noise, but at any given time there are birds singing, dogs barking, cats meowing - sometimes screaming...right outside my window, babies crying - also sometimes screaming, kids playing, trees rustling, people talking, cars driving by, waves rolling in (can't hear those from my place...but still) and diners having a good time.
   The Secret Garden Restaurant is right outside my door.  I hear the folks chatting, laughing and generally having a good time.  It's nice.
   Music floats from nearly every open window or door in the village.  Did I mention the birds singing?  And if it rains, forget it.  Rain on the tin porch roof is something to behold!
   All of the noises add flavor to this whole experience.
3. Speaking of dogs barking.  Do you remember The Twilight Bark from 101 Dalmations?   I SWEAR this happens here!  LOL  I've been wakened several times, hearing dogs barking nearby, then more and more distant barks from other dogs until they drift off to dogs barking very far away.
    I only hope Pongo and Perdita find their puppies. 
4. So many dogs!  I've been taking a lot of pictures of the local dogs.  Stay tuned for a pictorial essay on the dogs of Placencia.  Or maybe a coffee table book!  This will probably be the cover girl:   

   5. I forgot to pack my glasses.  When the contact lenses are out - forget about it.  Fortunately it hasn't been much of a problem.  Other than that I did a pretty good job packing.

 6. I am quite bitten up by sand flies. I would take a picture to show, but I don't want to scare you.

I look something like this: 

 

Fortunately it is fairly limited to my hands and feet.

      7. I love having my bicycle.  Sadly, I don't think it is helping my low-back/tailbone issues. The worst part is driving over the speed bumps.  And there are MANY speed bumps.  I guess it's how they keep folks from flying through town, mowing down us pedestrians and bike riders. 

 I've seen the speed bumps referred to as 'sleeping policemen', which makes me laugh....and makes me feel a little uncomfortable driving over them.

Action shot riding my bike.  POV from my handlebars. - it's not easy getting pictures of yourself traveling solo!

    8.  There is a Wendy's here!  No...not THAT Wendy's.  A local restaurant down the main road.  Today's menu board advertised Cow Foot Stew.  I would have a nice picture of the menu board except that it's apparently quite important to remember to put that little memory card BACK in the camera.  At least it's just a couple of village pictures I've lost and not a days worth of sightseeing in the jungle or something.

And no....I didn't try the Cow Foot Stew.  I'm surprised you'd even ask!

    9. Preview of coming blog attractions - snorkeling, Scarlet Macaw Sanctuary, Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve (probably won't see Jaguars...can I hope for a Tapir??), more yoga and Zumba....and a Clogging class!   And anything else that happens my way.

    10. Since leaving home I've met and talked with many people.  The usual encounter involves asking where each other are from, then going on to talk a bit about our respective trips.  When I say I'm traveling alone, staying a month, know no one here and have never been here before (don't worry, I'm careful who I tell this stuff to.....the Rasta answer is that 'I'm meeting my boyfriend right up the road - gotta go!' LOL) by far, the most common response is, "You are REALLY brave!".  

Between people I meet here and correspondences from home (Facebook!), I must have been labeled as 'brave' 15 - 20 times in the last two weeks.  It kind of scares me a little!  LOL   Maybe I should be more worried.

I don't feel brave.  Any one could do this. All I did was push a button to book a flight.  10 Seconds of Insane Courage.  The rest just happens.  

YOU could do this...if I can.  

AND....here's a BONUS random thought!

                         Where I am staying....Secret Garden.       Bruce Springsteen....Secret Garden

                                       

Coincidence??   I THINK, NOT.  (seriously just realized this a week ago - sorry Bruce!)

DAY 15:  Random thoughts on random things

Breakin' the Law

About noontime I hopped on my bike and set out for what lies beyond the edge of the village.


After a while, I came upon a nice looking resort.

 I'll go in and check it out.


It's beautiful.  I chained my bike to the bike rack and and walked through to the pool area.


Nice digs - infinity pool!!


I sat in the lounge area by the pool for a little while.  There weren't many people around - one group having lunch by the pool.

This is nice!

I decide to walk the short distance over to the beach, and sit on a lounge chair.

Maybe I'll go in the water.  This is great!   No sales people - no Rasta.


I got out my book and read for a little bit.  After a while, a waiter came by.
"Would you like a drink, Ma'am?"


How cool is this?

"Sure", I answered and ordered a Strawberry smoothie.
"Yes, Ma'am", he answered and started to walk away.


Sweet!


The waiter stopped turned back and asked, "Oh, what was your room number?"


(!!!!)  Um....uh...is this a private resort?? 


I smiled and stammered something about not remembering...
"No problem, Ma'am.  We get it later", and he walked off to get my smoothie.


LATER??  I don't have a room number!  


I turned to call back and tell him to forget my order but he was gone.


What am I gonna do?   Just say a number and hope there's a room to match?  I can't do that!  If I guess right, it'll charge to some body else.  If I guess wrong...
I could say I'm meeting someone here and don't know their room#.  
I could make a break for it, now!   
I could.....


I went back to my book for a minute to calm down and figure out what to do.


I know - I'll just offer to pay him cash when he gets here with it.  Problem solved!


In the mean time, a guy in a white shirt and dark baseball hat walks over.  He says, "Hi"  and starts asking me how I'm enjoying the weather, if I plan to do some kayaking today.
I look up to answer and realize his hat says SECURITY across the front.

(!!!!!!!!) Just stay calm.  Just stay calm.


I made some small talk about how I thought I'd take a bike ride today.


Which was true!


This only caused him to start making recommendations on places to visit in the village.


I know the village.  I LIVE in the village.  I'm just a squatter in your fancy resort!


I wondered if he'd ever leave.  Meanwhile, as we chatted for what seemed like forever, I kept my arms crossed - just in case real guests had resort ID bracelets!  LOL
Finally, he leaves.  Didn't question my being there.  


Phew!

I dug a $10 bill out of my bag, to be ready for the waiter and went back to my book.  
"Ma'am, your smoothie" 


Geez...do you have to sneak up on me like that??
(a little jumpy, Lorry?)


"Oh, thank you", I said, and took a sip.  "Here, I'll just pay you cash", and handed him the ten.


Easy peasy...


"Sorry, Ma'am - we don't take cash.


WHAAAT?


"Can I just have your room number?  We charge to room."


Um...Uh.  


My mind raced.  I just gave him my best 'I can't believe I'm this absent minded' look, shrugged my shoulders and apologized for not remembering it.


OMG, OMG, O...M...G


He just smiled and again said not to worry - he'd get it later.


Later?  Dude...I'm not going to be here later.  I'm not going to be here in about 5 minutes!


I took another sip of my smoothie.


Lorry!  You're drinking a stolen smoothie!!


Figuring it would look suspicious if I just got up and left right away, I decided to relax and come up with a reasonable exit strategy.  


This smoothie is really good!   


My plan - 
a)Finish the smoothie (but not too quickly so the waiter doesn't come back to take the glass and ask for my room number again....smart, huh??)


Yum!


b)Remove my hat and black cover up when I'm ready to leave, so I am no longer that woman in black who ordered the smoothie and didn't supply a room number.  


LOL...ok, maybe I've watched too many spy movies!


c)Walk slowly and don't panic.


Pffft


d)Leave the ten dollar bill under my empty glass


We'll call it a tip - but it's really bribe money to not chase me across the parking lot to the bike rack


And so, clad in my capri pants and turquoise swimsuit disguise, I slowly made my way back through the resort.  Dipped my toes in the infinity pool, trying to look casual.  Smiled at the resort employees and proceeded to make a wrong turn to get back to the bike racks!


Crap!!         Oh, there they are....


I unlocked my bike and rode safely away, stopping a quarter mile away to put my hat and top back on...


Come on, I don't wanna burn!


I laughed at myself all the way back to the village.  I know it was a non-event, silly really.  Karma getting me back for all those years of  'hotel hopping' at Disney (right, kids!?).  But, still.

I ended up the day back in the village, sitting on my usual beach down by the docks, saying 'no thank you' to the locals passing by selling their stuff and avoiding Rasta dudes.  Had a nice dinner at The Shak, got to see the ground breaking ceremony for the new pier Placencia Villlage is building and hear some live music.  Really nice afternoon.


I guess you can get what you need, right where you are.     Hmm, something to think about.


But just in case, I'm going for another bike ride tomorrow!


DAY 13: Stolen smoothies, there's no place like 'home'

FREEDOM!

I made a decision today, that will greatly impact the next two weeks of my time here.

I rented a bike!

I walked to Captain Jak's Rentals and left on two wheels.  It was great.  Peddling along in a breeze of my own creation.  Passing walkers, dodging potholes, avoiding the beat up Toyotas that roll up and down the main road.

For the next few days, I can get away from the Sidewalk.   Get away from the locals, their beads and baskets.  Away from the Rasta dudes.  I can venture a little farther out of the village.

Oh the joy... the freedom!  Oh the ..................pain!!  I whacked the peddle into my ankle as soon as I got back, trying to walk the bike across the bridge to my apartment.  Ouch.   Ok, no blood, just missing some skin, still love the bike!

I still haven't quite made the transition to Central Time Zone -even though it's only an hour difference.  I'm usually up really early in the morning and ready for a nap by midday.  Today is another Zumba day, so I decided to take a quick nap.  And now that I have the bike, I won't have to walk that mile to get there!

(Not the best pic, but try to appreciate the difficulty getting in the hammock before the timer goes off!)

Boy, did I fall asleep!  I woke up at 4:23.  Zumba starts at 4:30.  Figuring that they'd start late and people straggled in last time, I decided to go.  Grabbed my sneakers, grabbed my BIKE and off I go!

 I flew up the road.

Passed Rasta dude Carl, 'Hey lady, you like music, wanna buy...'  Sorry Carl, gotta go Zumba!

Passed Rasta dude Antonio, 'Hello babee, you got de bike?...'  Sorry Antonio (if that's your REAL name!), I'm outta here!


BTW, this is Antonio:

Did I forget to tell you about him?

Anyway....I pedaled as fast as I could, preparing apologies in my head for being late.  Turned down the road to Zumba house (I can't remember the teacher's name...Yoli, maybe?).

I pulled up and no one was there but the Slovenia Grandmom sweeping the breezeway.  Am I early?  Grandmom said that there was no class today.  Her daughter had to go to Belize City, class on Friday.  Aw, man!

Well, at least I got my heart rate up zooming up the road - bit of a workout.

I took a nice ride back to the village thinking about where to ride tomorrow.

♫We got one last chance to make it real,
to trade in these wings on some wheels ♫...  ~ Thunder Road

DAY 12: Bicycle - YES, Zumba - NO

Sometimes things don't always go the way you think they will.  But, they may still go well. 

 I'm learning to adopt that mindset, and this trip is serving as a great teacher.

Nancy and I hired a tour guide to take us to Lubaantun, the Mayan ruins in the Toledo District in Southern Belize, followed by a cave float, which involves putting on a life jacket and head lamp and swimming through a river where it goes underground into dark caves for about an hour.

At 7:30am our guide arrived, his name is Shal, and we set out for the South. (well, you have to drive a half hour north to get off the peninsula... and then head south)

After about 45 minutes we made a pit stop to - as Shal said - get water in case we get lost in the jungle!

Thank goodness for Tommy

After driving another half hour, Shal asked which ruins we wanted to see, Lubaantun or Nim Li Punit.  We thought Lubaantun (is it wrong that I can't say that without thinking shoes??), but asked Shal's opinion.  He seemed to think we'd enjoy Nim Li Punit more, so we took his advice.  Sorry, Lubaantun!

A lot of the infrastructure in Belize is new or just being built.  We drove the Southern Highway which was very nice, and then got off on to a brand new road, some of which was literally being built as we drove on it!

                                       

 This is a typical Mayan house with a roof of palm fronds.

We passed many small villages on the way.   Shal would point out who lived in each, some Mayan, a Guatemalan refugee town, Mennonites (really?), and Amish.  What??

There are Amish here. Shal describes them just the same way as 'ours', even the long, dark colored clothes (they must roast in the summer), hats, beards (well, on the men) and horse and buggies. 

 I wonder if they make quilts.

I was still feeling a little bad about ditching Lubaantun when we arrived at Nim Li Punit.  

But Nim Li Punit  was BEAUTIFUL!   Lubaa - who??

Stelae - sandstone carved with symbols

                                                        Artifacts in the information center.

Shal telling us about the courtyard.  He knew a lot of information about the culture.  His Grandfather was a shaman snake doctor in his Mayan village. 

                                                    Nancy and Lorry the intrepid explorers.

  The ball court.

 Apparently the Mayans were big into sports.  The winner of the tournament was then sacrificed to the gods.

Second place is the first loser....but he gets to live!

                           Shal on the pathway to the next area.  The scenery was just so beautiful.

                                                    GUMBO-LIMBO!!! (see it peeling?)

                                                            Stairs to the next courtyard

                               Leaf Cutter Ant - he's hard to see, but he's carrying that leaf piece

                                                                             Pretty!

   This is part of the Stelae field, that's one littel stela in the middle, but I mostly took the picture because I just loved the colors.  

                                                     The sky was so blue, grass so green!

                                             AMAZING view from the top of the mountain.

   This is a Cacao tree.  Chocolate.  

Shal said that the Chocolate tree was life to the Mayans.  (To me as well, lol).   

They used it for money as well as all the other good stuff.

Basilisk on a rock.  It's called a Jesus Lizard - because it walks on water!

 After touring the ruins we got back in the car and headed further south.  

                                                 Stopped for lunch at Coleman's Restaurant.

              It was a buffet style, walk-right-through-the-kitchen and have what you want type restaurant.
                                                                And it was fantastic!

 I ate Stew Beef, Stew Pork, Curry Chicken, Beans with Rice, Rice and Beans (yes they are two different dishes!), Cole Slaw, Potato Salad, a fried Plantain and Heart of Palm.  

Yes, I did.

 Heart of Palm is the insides of the trunk of a palm tree boiled down and seasoned - wasn't bad!

And fresh squeezed lime juice!

  After lunch, we got back in the car and headed for the caves.  Shal was a little concerned because of the rain they'd had lately, the river might be flooded

.And it was.

He said we could try if we wanted, but even if we got across the river he thought the mouth to the cave would be blocked.  Nancy and I decided to just head back - I'll try cave tubing next week!

We wondered around the river banks for a bit.

                                                Saw a Mayan woman washing her clothes

And were visited by a couple of dogs

We drove on back to Placencia.  In talking to Shal, it turns out most tour guides in town are freelance.  You book through all the different travel shops, but get all the same guys through each one.  

 (Funny, then how the prices vary from shop to shop!)

  I asked Shal if I could just book through him directly and he said sure and gave me his card.  This will make it easier for me, since it's hard to book a tour for a solo traveler through the agencies - they want groups of 4 or more.  Shal was cool and very knowledgeable - and he knows Lee.  I'll probably use him for any other trips I take.

When we got back, I said goodbye to Nancy.  It was great to have her to hang out with these last few days, but she's heading back to Wisconsin tomorrow.  We exchanged email addresses and hope to stay in touch.

The day didn't go exactly how I planned.  No Lubaantun, no cave float.  But it was a great day and after about 4 hours of riding in the back of a Toyota mini-van, I'm tired.  .

DAY 10: Beautiful weather, cool sites, good food....long drive!

Saturday, Sunday

I made it to the docks Saturday morning as Jay and Nancy pulled up in his boat.  I called a 'hello' out to Jay, Nancy jumped out and by the time we made it to the walkway, he was motoring back to his house building project.

By the way,  this picture from last Wednesday....that's them!  Remember the boat that pulled up and tied to the tree I was sitting under.  That was the day before I met them!

Anyway...
Off we went.  Shopping here pretty much consists of little shops run by locals that sell carved wooden bowls, hand woven cloth items, stone-carved animals, Mayan calendars and jewelry made from beads, seashells and coconuts.

Every shop sells carved wooden bowls, hand woven cloth items, stone-carved animals, Mayan calendars and jewelry made from beads, seashells and coconuts.

Many locals don't have a shop.  They lay a piece of plastic on the ground by the sidewalk and sell carved wooden bowls, hand woven cloth items, stone-carved animals, Mayan calendars and jewelry made from beads, seashells and coconuts.

Occasionally - or quite often - a local will come along carrying a backpack and ask you to look at a few things they make and sell.  If you agree, they open the backpack and remove carved wooden bowls, hand woven cloth items, stone-carved animals, Mayan calendars and jewelry made from beads, seashells and coconuts.

Nancy bought a few things.  She's leaving Tuesday for Wisconsin.  I'm still 'just looking' - don't want to spend all my souvenir money in the first week!

We walked and talked for a long time.  All the way up the beach to Chabil Mar, a beautiful resort, then back to town along the main road.

Nancy lived in Alaska for 20+ years, that's where she met Jay.  Many of those years she lived in a cabin with no running water!  She's a biologist and a dog sledder and we find lots to chat about.

Back in town we went to the De Tatch Cafe for lunch.

Since Jay's busy building, Nancy and I decided to take another excursion Monday, maybe Mayan ruins and cave tubing in underground rivers.  If we go together, Nancy gets away from the construction site and I get to go cave tubing with someone who will make sure I come out the other end!

I left Nancy at the docks when we saw Jay's boat and made my way home stopping at Wallen's, the grocer next to my apartment to pick up a few things.  The guy behind me at checkout said 'hi'.  Turns out it was Jay!  He'd ridden his bike to this end of town to get supplies before heading home.  This was the first I've seen him up close.  He looks just like what you'd imagine some dude from Alaska who moved to Belize to build a house and sail boats would look like - think Mike Rowe's slightly younger brother.

Sunday = Slowday.

Cleaned the apartment - in a split second with only 2 rooms!

Did some laundry.

That's the laundomat - 2 washers, 2 dryers.

Chatted with a Gibnut while my laundry ran.

It reminded me of Cricket, our dog.  A mellow, citrus eating Cricket.  OK, it's small and brown and has pretty eyes - that's about the only resemblance, really.

Walked to the docks and saw this little reminder of home:

The motors on boats wear t-shirts to keep the paint from weathering too badly (so said Ebar), and this one was sporting a Phillies shirt!

I ended up back at De Tatch for a sandwich

That older couple across the way spent nearly their whole meal with her staring out at the view and him with his arms crossed, either barely said a word to each other.  If that's the alternative, I guess I'd just as soon travel alone!  It made me a little sad.  And then I saw this:

                                                                                LOL
Tomorrow - Lubaantun!!

DAYS 8 & 9: Shopping Saturday, Quiet Sunday