12-31-2014 New Years Eve

We messed around a bit during the day and then at about 7:30 we got the New Years Eve party started.

Mark got this cabinet installed behind the bar just in time for the party

This is the owner of the "Bamboo Bar", Mark

Yuri is a Russian guy that makes a secret vodka drink - Mark is trying to make it here

It is only 8, so Yuri wants to pace himself on the vodka shots

Mark and Janet sharing a laugh

There was a ton of food!

Mark and Janet

Francis was having a good time

Annette was having a good time

Janet's head looks like that because she was moving so fast

everybody was having a good time

Francis was getting his groove on

Boom Boom was having a good time

Boom Boom with his wife Delia

The girls (Annette, Janet and Darla) were line dancing

A few beers were sacrificed at the party

Several of the people owned restaurants so they had to come later when they got done with dinner service

There was a nice dance floor

at 11:00 and at 12:00 fireworks got shot off at Dangriga which is about 7 miles away by boat

People headed up to the top floor of the dock to ring in the new year

Mark and Sabrina were the party hosts

those are the fireworks going off in Dangriga.  My eyes could see it better than this...but oh well

12-30-2014 Errands in Dangriga

The actual trip to/from Dangriga isn't all that long, but it almost always takes most of the day because you need to fit in lots of errands (for yourself and possibly for others), and we are operating on Belize time, so things take longer.

We had a brief downpour in the morning before we left for Dangriga.  Here you can see it rolling in.

Dangriga Stop #1:  The airport to drop off Jack, Sabrina's son.  This is the Tropic Air terminal.

Jack and Sabrina in front of the plane Jack will fly on to Belize City, where he picks up his flight to the U.S.

Almost ready for take-off.  (Eric has a video of the plane taking off, which we will add to this when he uploads it to Youtube.)

ALL the stores in town close down from noon to 1 pm for the workers to have lunch, so we had to kill a little time by walking around before we could complete our other errands.  We watched the pelicans near the bay for a bit, and luckily the open air market was open, so we were able to get some fruits and veggies.

Dangriga Stop #2:  We dropped Sabrina at the Transport Department to get plates for the new vehicle (which they were out of the week before).  Success!

Dangriga Stop #3:  We failed to take pictures, but we had to stop by the Immigration Office to pay our fee ($100 Belize total, which is $50 US) and get our passports stamped so that we could legally stay for another month.  Success!

In Belize they don't recycle bottles - they sterilize and reuse them for beer and soft drinks.
People set out their empty cases, and when the delivery truck comes by they exchange your
cases of empties for fresh cases. Here you can see our cases of empty beer and soft drinks
awaiting the delivery truck.

Dangriga Stop #4:  Grocery store for party food and beer.  We got a phone call letting us know that the beer delivery truck in Hopkins had run out of beer (a nightmare just before New Years Eve), so we ended up getting four cases for our own New Years party and five cases for Chef Rob's restaurant.  We cleaned out that grocery store.  Success!

When we returned from Dangriga we still had more errands to run in Hopkins, and on our drive to the marina for ice we saw
this beautiful classic rain cloud in the distance.  (That rain never hit us.)

12-29-2014 Dinner at Tina's

We worked all day and then at 6 we met up with some friends at Tina's.  Tina has a little restaurant that is very small and the locals all love to eat here. 

Tina's restaurant is nothing more than this little outdoor Palapa.  Palapa is what they call these huts with the traditional roofs.

Tina's is inexpensive and laid back.  You won't find any unnecessary luxuries in the decor

The menu is written on the wall

Cara got the beans and rice

Bundiga with fried barracuda on top

This couple sat down and the little dog on the left was already on the seat.  Later the waitress came along and just tipped
the seat and dumped the dog off.

You can't see it too well, but this was 2 geckos mating

12-27-2014 Walked around Hopkins and ate at Thongs

Sabrina's sister and husband got massages by the ocean for a Christmas present.  At about 11:00 we took a tour of town and the Marina and stuff like that.  The marina sits right on the Sittee River just about 1/2 mile before it dumps into the ocean.  They have a beautiful grounds there.

This is called the Curve Bar and it is by the marina on Sittee River. 

These are the ever-present geckos  They like to live indoors too

They have a variety of outdoor areas at the Curve Bar

The view of the Sittee River from the marina and bar

After walking around the marina we toured the back roads and headed into the village of Hopkins. We met Ingrid on the way, and she joined us for lunch and our tour of town.

This is just around the corner from Thongs, and you can see a concrete house under construction.

Cara's Vegetarian Eggplant Parmesan at Thongs Cafe - it's the best she has ever had.

The "Fence of Lost Soles" (flip flops) by the Driftwood bar

12-26-2014 Trip to Dangriga from Hopkins

We didn't get working really early.  Eric went into town and fixed Lea's printer at about 1 and then at 3:00 Eric took Lea to Dangriga.  Today is Boxing Day.  I know that because it was written on the calendar in my room.

In Dangriga there was a gaggle of people walking around town.  Eric got back at about dark and then we all went to dinner at The Rhum Shak.

Cara got the vegetarian plate.  It is on the menu and is a chef's special

Eric got the Lobster

12-25-2014 Christmas Party at Marks house

I got up and took off to a nearby Internet Hotspot to relax and Eric worked for about 2.5 hours until his battery played out.  We are working on some area websites and just need to get organized before we start.

At about 3:30 the Christmas Party started. 

There was Brisket, Turkey, Ribs, Corn, Stuffing, and much much more.

The party was under the Palapa (that is what they call the hut on the left)

12-24-2014 Christmas Eve

We slept in and then worked a while and then at 6 we drove to town and met with Lea and his neighbor who overseas the district's schools.  They have a lot of schools and no computers and I have an idea that we might be able to crowdfund some computers to get shipped in.

After that we headed to the Driftwood Bar and met a couple of cool people.  One guy was Jack and he plays music a couple of times per week.  The second guy was the bartender and he operates a fledgling tour company.  His name was Blaine.  He was very interested in doing a better job of promoting himself online.  We exchanged info and I e-mailed him on Christmas morning.

Too bad we screwed up and didn't take any pictures.

12-23-2014 Happy Birthday Greg and Chef Rob. Angel and Kent came for a visit.

Today is my brother's birthday.  I gave him a call on Mark's Internet phone.  The phone works great. 

We worked most of the day and took a break to shop for some fresh fruit.  The sister of our host Sabrina came in for a visit from Indianapolis.  They arrived at about dark.

A fruit and vegetable truck makes its rounds.  Notice the scale hanging on the stick on the right?



This is a picture of a scorpion that we killed in our apartment...I am doing better checking my shoes and clothes before I put them on.

This is Rob, owner of Chef Robs.  Today was his birthday and his friend who owns Frog's Point restaurant got him a t-shirt.

There was a surprise party for Rob in his restaurant right after he closed

This is a picture of a smaller Katydid or Grasshopper or whatever it is