The Last Post!

Friday, February 28, 2014.

This is my last post from Ambergris Caye, Belize!  Well my last post from here this year?
As we get ready to leave, I look out on a beautiful Caribbean sunrise, our Canadian flag hanging forlornly in the still morning.  Aptly denoting our mood as well!  We have enjoyed our stay here immensely.  Having our friends and family share in this experience made a great vacation a fabulous vacation!
As we enjoy our final coffee on the patio, all else seems so far away.  We will savor this brief moment as reality will soon rear itself and we will be back in Alberta, enjoying our coffee at our island of granite and attempting to find moments in our memories that let us briefly return to the beaches of Ambergris Caye!
Farewell to all of our new friends here on the island, we hope to see you all again!

Johnny & Munchie.

The End is Near!

Thursday, February 27, 2014.

This was our last full day on the island.  Brenda used up her supplies and made muffins and cookies for half the town!  We zipped into town to deliver some of the baked goods and then hit the art gallery for the final time.  Brenda made her choice and our latest local artist is on its way home.  It is a really bright and colourful piece of 5 dancing ladies, San Pedro style!  I believe that it is destine for a wall in Phoenix!
We met the owner of the big house next door today.  Dennis, from Maryland.  He is a very nice gentleman and will make an awesome contact for future trips to this part of the world.  I am pretty much convinced that we will be back here sometime in the future.
We stumbled upon an area of San Pedro that we had not yet been by.  The beach street behind the high school.  Near the bakery, fire department etc.  There were a number of vacation rental spots along here that will be worth investigating for the future!
We learned that Florencio lives right near there as well!  He stopped by after work today for a Belikin and told us that he was going to miss us (and by us I think he means Dan!).
We donated most of the left over and unused food stuffs to Rene and his family.  Rene had to work so his wife Elsa and his youngest (7 yr old daughter) came by to pick it up.  We gave them a ride home with the goods.  He has a house just north of the bridge on the lagoon side.  The power and road have not made it out to his place yet.  They own the place through a government grant type of program so they do not have to pay rent or a mortgage.  The "house" is basically a one room structure approximately 20 x 20 that the five of them live in.  No power, water, in door plumbing!  Elsa said that the road is supposed to reach them this April.  Walking to their house amid the other shanties along make shift single plank walkways over stagnant water gave us a real appreciation for what we have!
Our last meal was at Hurricane's.  We had bumped into the bartender, Josh earlier in the day, he was off at 5 pm this date.  Brenda told him she would bring him some cookies on our way later.  We asked him if Nelson would be working and he said that Nelson had not been around since Monday and he didn't know why.
On our way into town this evening, we dropped off more cookies with the bridge keepers then stopped at the veggie kiosk to drop off a couple of recipes that Munchkin had promised the owner.  We stopped by Josh's place and gave him his cookies.
At Hurricane's we learned from Rosie that Nelson had quit on Monday, something about a dispute with the owner over needing a doctor's note!  Even with all the drama our meal was again awesome!  There was even some live entertainment!  A table of six were having an absolute blast, it looked like they had been at it pretty hard all day.  They treated the entire place to a boisterous bit of nonsense speaking with rather poor imitations of Brit accents!  They believed it to be quite humorous and of course laughter is contagious!
Back at the Pelicano, we spent the evening packing up for our trip home tomorrow.
I had checked the forecast for Edmonton, looks like it may be a tad cooler than we have seen for the past month!

All good things........!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014.

Even with a beautiful sunrise this was a gray morning for the kids!  Gracyn, her parents and my baby boy had to depart for the ice, snow and chills of our home land.  Brenda made them a farewell breakfast and then we load up Big Blue for the drive to the airport.  Well wouldn't you know it, the gas gauge on the cart was not working and I had not checked the tank recently, so we ended up running out of gas just before the bridge!  This was not so great a calamity though, as I had given us enough time in case of any unforeseen mishaps!  Nolan took this to be a sign that he was destine to stay longer on this tropic paradise!  I was able to hail a cab and send the crew off to the airport while I waited for Cholo's to bring me some petrol.  As it turned out I rolled up to the airport just 15 minutes after they did and was able to see them off.

After watching the kids board the dragon fly and taxi off, Munchkin and I headed for home.  It was a very quite morning and afternoon.  We spent the day lounging in the sun, reading, playing some cards and resting!  We saw Florencio when we got back.  He had been under the weather and had not been around for the past few days.  He said that he was feeling much better and was sorry he missed saying goodbye to the kids.

That little silhouette is the Peanut!

We decided to hit Fido's one last time for supper.  Our server, Jamie, asked where everyone else was.  We told him we were all alone for the next couple of days and then we too, had to leave.  Brenda got a hug from him when we were leaving.
We got back to the Pelicano after making a quick stop at a market for cookie making supplies, Brenda had decided that there were a number of persons here that she must provide a final batch of cookies and muffins to.
We went to bed not wanting to think about the morning as it was one day closer to our leaving here.  We have completely and thoroughly enjoyed our time here.  Spending the first part of our stay here with our friends and the last part with our family made our island adventure complete.
I truly believe that if you were to judge a person's wealth by their friends and family, then Munchkin and I are the richest people on earth!

The Kids last day!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014.

Our last full day with the kids!  Most of the morning was spent catching rays for the final time.  Gracyn had a blast playing in the surf.  She still insists on sampling the sand!  Doesn't seem to bother her much, but bugs the heck out of her mom!
Kirsten, Nolan and Munchkin took an afternoon run into town for some final souvenirs.  When they got back we hit Coco Loco's for a beverage.  Brandyn and Nolan got into a game of bocce, wasn't quite like watching Canada vs Sweden, but it did pass the time!
We got hit by a bit of a storm while we were there.  The rain came in sideways!  It last about 10 minutes and the sun was back.  It did help to keep down the dust on the road!  The bartender at Coco Loco's, Marlin, said it was just to water the plants!  Marlin said that this past fall, they had more rain than they have had in 70 years.
Dinner for our last night with the kids was at the Caprice in the Holiday Hotel.  We all had fresh fish of one type or another.  Another fabulous meal!

On our way into town for dinner we forgot to bring the bridge pass.  The little guy at the toll booth gave Brenda a hard time about it and told her she would have to walk back to get it!  He kept a straight face and when Brenda insisted that he walk with her he laughed and waved us on!

The evening was spent with the kids packing for their journey home.  They are on the 9am dragon fly in the morning to jump across to Belize International, then on to Houston and home.

Golfing on Caye Chapel!

Monday, February 24, 2014.

Everyone was up and at-em bright and early and after a breakfast of quiche (which it appears real men do eat!) we hopped aboard Big Blue and rocketed into town to catch the Caye Caulker Water Taxi.  We went from San Pedro to Caye Caulker, then onto Caye Chapel.
The taxi dropped of Nolan, Brandyn and I at the Caye Chapel Marina.  Our contact, Evan Young was there waiting with golf carts for us.  We learned at that time that we were the only golfers booked for today!  So this is what we got for $75 USD; unlimited golf, clubs, balls, carts, and exclusive use of the 18 hole golf course!

Evan gave us a brief history of Caye Chapel.  He said that in 1998 the owner of the island, a coal baron from Kentucky, Larry Addington, began building the resort.  He had owned the island since 1971.  Evan said that he came to the island in 1998 as a construction worker and ended up being kept on as the manager of the place.  He said that Addington had built the resort primarily as a retreat for family and friends.  Between the 10 villas and 16 cassidas there is a total occupancy of only 55 persons!  In 2009 the "resort" officially closed.  Since that time the ownership has changed and the bank currently holds the title and is attempting to sell complete package for $30 million USD.  Evan is still the "caretaker" and has two employees who maintain the basics of the golf course and grounds.  He also said that they have armed security 24/7 to protect their interests!  Evan said that some of the past visitors to the island have been MTV, who rented the entire island for a week and had Beyonce in one of the villas, Bill Gates also rented the entire island for a week.

When we first arrived we did have to sign a waiver releasing Evan and the place from any liabilities including getting bitten or killed by crocodiles!  Fortunately we came back with all of our fingers and toes!  We didn't see any of the crocs.
It was a pretty fantastic day!  Playing golf (not well, but still swinging a club!) on a Caribbean island all to ourselves in February!  Definitely a bucket list item and can be checked off!

 
The girls did not fare as well as we did.  They were pumped about doing some shopping at the cruise ship centre for the endless knock offs.  This did not pan out.  As it turned out the two cruise ships that were scheduled to come in cancelled do to rough seas and were unable to tender.  As a result, most of the shops did not open!  The girls said that Belize City is no San Pedro!  The locals were not as friendly, the place was dirty and stifling and they were happy to get back on the taxi for home.
After we got home we opted to chill out for a bit then head into town for some pizza at Pinocchio's.  Gracyn and I took a swim off the end of the pier to cool done before we head to town for dinner.
That night was another early one for most.  Brandyn staked a claim to a corner of the sofa and checked the inside of his eyelids for quite a while before hitting the sack.  Nolan got a second wind and ended up over at the Pirate's Treasure.  He's not sure when he came in, but Munchkin believes it was after 3am!
Tomorrow is Brandyn, Kirsten, Gracyn and Nolan's last full day on the island.  No plans were made and we will play it by ear and see what the day brings us!

Mayan Ruins & Chillin' with the Peanut!

Sunday, February 23, 2014.

Was up at 6 am to watch the Canada vs Sweden gold medal game.  Brandyn, Kirsten and Nolan had a jungle tour booked for this morning, so Brandyn saw the scoreless first period before their boat arrived.  So Brandyn had to wait until his return later in the evening to learn of Canada's 3 - 0 win to capture the Gold!  I must say it was an exciting game!

The trio's day of jungle touring included two boat rides and a bus ride.  It started at about 6:40am when the boat from Seaduced Tours arrived at our dock to pick up the three.  They then headed west to the mainland.  They traveled by both boat and bus inland ending up at Laminia Mayan ruins.  They said that it was very impressive.  Kirsten said she felt a bit of a thigh burn after the climb to the summit of one of the pyramids.  They said that the boat ride on the river through the jungle was pretty good as well.  They saw quite a few different animals along the way; monkeys, crocs (not the footwear!), bats and lots of birds.  They were hoping to see a howler monkey, but only heard them.

When they got back from the tour it was already after sun down and they were pretty much played out.
So, while the jungle crew were away braving the wilds, Munchkin, Gracyn and I spent the day together.  It was awesome!  The Peanut was good as gold for us.  We went into town for a ride and ended up at Fido's for a beverage and some fries for Gracyn.  On the way home we stopped at the Super Buy and Munchkin went in for a few things.  Gracyn and I waited out front.  Gracyn decided that she liked the young lady manning the sales table and insisted on having her picture taken with her!

We spent the afternoon frolicking in the sand and sun and just having a grand old time!  We met a fellow from Ontario, Matthew Brown, who moved down here 2 1\2 years ago and is now selling real-estate here for Coldwell Banker.  He offered a lot of very useful information about the island and expat living here.  He also said that there are road hockey games a couple nights a week that are an island style shinny!  That was

Gracyn & Callie play date!

pretty cool!  
That evening we ate in, Munchkin making a tandoori style of chicken with oven roasted spuds.  With the crew played out and another early morning and busy day planned for tomorrow everyone drifted off to bed after a game or two of cards.
Tomorrow; golf on Caye Chapel for the boys, and a trip to "Knock Off Central" in Belize City for the girls.

Coconuts & Beach Art!

Saturday, February 22, 2014.

Did up a bit of beach art to note Gracyn turning 11 months old while here on Ambergris Caye in Belize.  We had collected shells for the past week to get enough for the project.  The Peanut more or less willingly participated in the photo op!
We went into town for lunch at Hurricane's.  The catch of the day was grouper and the special was tostitos with blackened grouper.  Nolan and I chowed down on this, it was very tasty.  Munchkin tried the authentic Belize chicken.  I had a taste, it was pretty darn good!  It was another wonderful meal, still haven't had a bad one yet!
In town Brenda took Nolan into the art gallery for his opinion on some local art she is considering.  Still not sure if she has made a choice yet.
Back at the ranch, Nolan and Brandyn took a go at snorkeling off the pier.  They weren't able to see much as the wind was strong and there was a lot of silt disturbed.  Bill from Oak Bay was on the dock to offer instructions and opinion about the boy's technique and abilities!  Did not go over too well, really!
We had a young fellow stop by on his way home from work.  Nolan was working at getting into a coconut

and the young gent said for a drink of water he would show us how to open a coconut in about 30 seconds without any tools!  We took him up on it and in about 20 seconds he had a green nut husked!  All he did was hold it the right way and pounded it against the trunk of the tree.  The husk just split and peeled off with ease!  The guy then said that the best coconut milk comes from the green ones.

He then promptly climbed one of the trees and knocked down two for us to try.  Nolan took the challenge and using the new found technique was able to husk one lickedy split!  The green coconut has much more milk than the the more ripe ones and it is better tasting, although the meat of the riper ones I prefer.