11-23-2017 Thanksgiving in Hopkins, Belize

We were invited to two different pot-luck style Thanksgiving dinners with expats living here. We split our time between the two, and both were fun.

The first was a much smaller, more intimate gathering at a friend's house.

The dog was between our host's feet licking up the turkey drippings as it was being carved.

The second party was at Mango's Beachfront Bar, and there were lots of people there.

11-1 to 11-20-2017 Miscellaneous Events

On Monday nights Windschief Beach Bar shows movies for free, so we usually go because, why not? This month we
watched "Coyote Ugly", a "Wayne's World" double feature, and "A Christmas Story" (Cara's suggestion, because in her
family it's just not Christmas without watching that movie at least once).

Cara started taking Jujitsu classes. She made one class at this beautiful location on a Tuesday morning because our Internet
wasn't hooked up yet, so no work could be done. 

However, once Internet got hooked up, she could only attend the Thursday night and Sunday morning classes at Windschief
Beach Bar. Actually, Cara is learning Jujitsu (great self defense) AND Kobudo (working with weapons).

Tuesday nights we usually head to Driftwood Pizza Shack for their jam night.

If rain is possible, the musicians play inside, but when it is nice they play outside, which is always better.

November 10th we went to the grand opening of The Sea Bar at Beaches & Dreams (under new ownership).

Big news - our little village is getting paved roads! This is step one, laying down lots of gravel.

November 15th brought the monthly mini-golf tournament, which is always fun regardless of where we place.

Our friend Trevor came in first this month.

11-18 to 11-19-2017 Garifuna Settlement Day Concert and Reenactment

The night before Settlement Day there is always a big concert with many bands that ends around 6 am the next day, and we
actually managed to stay up all night for it.

When the concert ends around sunrise, everyone heads to the beach.

Our friend Marcia hung with us all night and the next morning.

Around 8 am or so the Yurumein (reenactment of the Garinagu people landing in Belize) begins. Of course, now they use
skiffs and other motorized boats instead of the traditional dory boats (wooden canoes).

 

Our friend and her young daughter are wearing traditional Garifuna dress.

There is a lot of drumming and singing, then a procession leads into the nearby Catholic Church.

There is a very informative Wikipedia article about the Garifuna culture and history. (We've been taught that Garifuna refers to the culture and the language, while Garinagu refers to the people themselves.)