Jerry Jeff Walker in San Pedro

It was only 7 pm, but Tom and I headed out to Ambergris Brewing Company about 3½ miles from our house. As I’ve mentioned before, the available modes of transportation on our island are bicycles, golf carts, and taxis. We have a golf cart and are practicing not looking like complete idiots while driving.

San Pedro does not reflect the idyllic, tranquil island life I had anticipated prior to my arrival. Taxis, golf carts, and bicycles are driven as fast as possible, and it is common to see toddlers bouncing along on the back of the carts or perched on the handlebars of bicycles. There are no seat belts, no doors, and, remarkably, very few accidents. The golf carts are gasoline powered and Belizean teenagers seemingly have the ability to get them up to 70 mph! Pedestrians, beware.

Anyway, Tom and I were going to check out the Jerry Jeff Walker Band performing at Ambergris Brewing Company next to the Phoenix Resort, just named the number one hotel in the World. According to Trip Advisor, the Phoenix Resort located in San Pedro has received the Traveler's Choice 2012 Award, as "The Best Overall Hotel in the World." According to them, the Phoenix has "the best of both worlds: island life and modern conveniences, including an exceptionally clean property, perfect location, and superb staff."

Ambergris Brewing Company is neither a brewing company nor “The Best Overall Bar in the World.” One step above a shack (next to the Best Overall Hotel in the World), it sits on the beach anchoring “Wet Willy's,” the most popular bar on the island, Wet Willy’s sits out on the dock, and it is at Wet Willy's that Jerry Jeff Walker is set to perform. So, anyway, Jerry Jeff’s band was playing at the Brewing Company, but Jerry Jeff is under contract to Wet Willy's for the week and couldn’t play.

Jerry Jeff has a house about a quarter mile from where we live, but we haven’t been hanging with him yet. It’s also doubtful that Tom and Shelley are going to make the concert since the tickets cost $150 each, that's USD, and especially since I told Tom (Bella has the inside scoop on everything on the island) that Jerry Jeff will be performing this coming Tuesday at Fido’s for free. Plus we’re in tight with Caspar, the bass player at Fido’s who performs Thursday through Sunday with his band, “All the Usual Suspects.” Don’t worry, we’ll introduce you to Caspar when you get here. He’s fixing his specialty, grilled barracuda, for us this week. Whoa!  And yes, I DO eat fish. I am, after all, an island dog.

On the way to Ambergris Brewing Company, Tom gave a ride to Corey, a young musician whose bicycle tire had a slow leak on his way to the Marina Store to buy beer for the band. When Corey hopped off, Tom offered a ride to a young family of four who jumped on the cart with no hesitation whatsoever. Byron, married to Amy, hosts a 2-hour Christian radio program every morning. When they got off, a guy named Wallace whistled us over and said he would appreciate a ride downtown. Wallace said he was a jack-of-all-trades and would be happy to be our driver and tour guide as long as we lived in Belize. He expressed disappointment when we arrived at our destination that Tom refused to give him a tip!

By the way, the band was really good, and we had a great time.  Y’all come visit us. We’ll do Ambergris Brewing Company. You’re gonna love Belize!