Bella Does Superbowl in Belize

Tom, Tom, Tom, how you have disappointed me. Tom Brady, that is! C'mon, what kind of a ripoff Superbowl game was that? Boo. Hiss.


Pre-game revelry was at Angie and Casper's house. Casper is a self-taught chef who made the meal sing from presentation to last bite. We had ribeye steak, lentils, yellow rice, stuffed cho cho, and potato salad, then coffee with orange slices and a Mounds Bar for dessert. Home for a nap, then off to the big screen TV's at Average Joe's. 


The game began with Mike, aka "Average Joe," taking on bets against his beloved New York Giants. That's strange since Mike is Canadian, but what the heck. Throughout the game Mike loudly abused any and all customers who cheered on the Patriots. The abuse was reciprocated, of course, and all had a good time. Danielle, Mike's suffering wife, said Mike is a very poor loser, and, as demonstrated, a very poor winner! 


Since Average Joe's is not a very large bar, we were surprised to learn that Mike had 250 pounds of chicken wings delivered. Shelley asked if the wings were prepared there and was told, "No, Shelley, the Wing Fairy does the cooking!" I won't tell you how she embarrassed us when the David Beckham underwear commercial came on. Shelley is well on her way to becoming another island institution.


We extracted tons of information from the guy sitting to our left. Larry told us about a fishing trip he went on in Ambergris Caye years ago. At lunch time the guide took the boat to a smaller island where they ate freshly-caught conch, lobster, and snapper prepared over an open fire and followed by a Cuban cigar. He said his decision to retire in Belize was made instantly. For those who may care, Larry, who has been in hotel and restaurant management his entire working life, advises everyone NOT to go into that industry! Oh, well, I guess one could say the same for practicing law.



To our right were four young people staying at Pelican Reef Villas and working hard on their sunburns. They're here for the diving and loving it even though they're still in the certification stage. By the way, Costa Maya Reef Resort, six miles north of town, closed their doors permanently. Maybe Larry knows something we don't.  Also to our right was Amy Knox, owner of Wild Mango's and twice named chef of the year. She and her husband ate lots of chicken wings.




I noticed two interesting things about the national flag of Belize the other day. First, it has a picture of two shirtless guys, one black, one white, cutting down mahogany trees (part of the history of the country). I think Belize has the only national flag with people on it. Second is the Latin motto, "Sub Umbro Florio," generally translated "Under the Shade I Flourish." I believe it is more accurately translated, "Hey, Take a Nap, You'll Feel Better."

Y'all come visit. We'll sit under some palm trees and eat chicken wings with stuffed cho chos. You're gonna love Belize