Bella Does Caramba's

We met our new friends Bart and Mandy for lunch at Caramba's on Middle Street before they flew back home. It was raining when we left the house, so we all had to bundle up in beach towels and try to keep the umbrella from flying out of the golf cart. Our cart, like most in San Pedro, has no windshield.

[To answer faithful follower Jane's question, most of the rain we have experienced is of the "Pineapple Shower" variety. The skies cloud up, it rains for ten minutes, and then the sun comes out. Not so today. It was bitter cold (probably down to 68 or 69 degrees this morning), and it has rained pretty much all day long.]

All you need to know about Caramba's is that they have the best burritos in the whole wide world--bar none--period--end of story. Wow, wow, wow. (Dog talk.) Shelley, Tom, and I split an order, and there was plenty for all of us. (I don't eat much, just constantly.) You may want to know that Caramba's just won, this year, a TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence Award and was nominated for the 37th Annual International Award for Catering to be presented in Madrid, Spain, in May.

After the final goodbyes, we took Tom to the immigration department to pay a $25 USD fee so he can stay in the country legally for another month. The process went remarkably fast, at least compared to Shelley's recent ordeal in Belmopan.Then we stopped to talk to Karl who runs the golf cart rental store to get the golf cart for another couple of weeks. It seems that people have signed up in advance to get the next available golf cart. That means we may be golf-cart-less as soon as tomorrow.  Oh, nooooo! I have little legs. Something has to work out. Pray! Pray!

While we were there, Karl gave us a nugget of information we hadn't known. We thought before we got here that Ambegris Caye would be a sleepy, tranquil island. Frankly, I wasn't prepared for the traffic in this town of 13,000 where we thought no cars were allowed. Well, there are cars, plus big trucks, little trucks, taxis, golf carts, and bicycles, all trying to run over each other. It's amazing! Karl said the taxi drivers association begged the government for more permits for cabs. The result is there are 108 taxicabs in a town that is approximately two miles long! And each one of those taxicabs is right behind some poor tourist driving a golf cart!

This Is Our New Neighborhood

Well, it has been a rainy, rainy day, so we came home at 2 o'clock, and here we have stayed. It's an evening for potato soup and television. Yes, yes, we have television here--cable, in fact--so we're in good shape for Sunday's Super Bowl. And, no, there's no picture of me today. It was definitely a bad hair day.

Y'all come visit. We'll do Caramba's! You're gonna love Belize.