Bella Considers the Cow Foot Soup

And don't yo' come back no mo'

We're mostly going to talk about food today, because, hey, Bill Gates isn't in town every day, okay? The fact is, that rascal and his big boat were gone when we woke up in the morning. We heard he went to his own private island, purportedly the largest island in Belize, but I don't know if that's true since I thought Ambergris Caye was the largest one. Then I heard he and his entourage are staying up on the north part of the Island. Whatever. As far as I'm concerned, it was still kiss and run.

Shelley's latest x-ray.

Tom and I went to Elvi's Kitchen at lunchtime to get some food to bring back to the house. Everyone thought Shelley would be doing a lot better physically today, but she had to go through a lot of twisting and turning yesterday to get good x-ray pictures, so she's really hurting again and didn't want to get out.

Grandma Jane wanted to stay home, also, to eat the hot dogs she had bought the other day, so we didn't get anything for her. The rest of us opted for Elvi's crispy fish tacos and a huge garden salad. The tacos are served with a fabulous ground black bean dip with coconut, plus guacamole, cabbage slaw, salsa, and a unique spicy sauce. Are you hungry yet? (I didn't notice what the hot dogs were served with.) Then tonight Grandma Jane prepared a meatloaf for dinner with sugar snap peas and salad. Yay, comfort food!

When people ask us about the best local food, we always say Dianita's, a seven-table establishment across the street from the Tropic Air terminal. But another place we love is Briana's Deli on Middle Street. The previous time we went there, Shelley asked if it were okay if I came inside. (Yeah, I know, I'm a dog. Shudder, shudder!) Briana (herself) said, "Well, of course she can. She isn't going to pee on the floor, is she?" I love that girl! Our party (made up of gringos, of course) skipped the cow foot soup, the fish ball soup, and the pigtail. But we were told all those local items are really good.


Another great place is Tim's Fast Food--which it really isn't--on the main road south toward Victoria House. When you see it, you think, "Uh, no way. Thanks, anyway." But you'd be wrong! They serve really good Chinese food and curry, too. It's funny, because the original Tim's Fast Food burned down about a year ago, and the new one looks as though it were built about 25 years ago!

Just an Aside: The sign on the left shows the hours for PepperOni's Pizza, our favorite pizza place. When we went there last Tuesday evening, we noticed, for the first time, the second sign. Net result: "We're open Sunday through Thursday--with the exception of Monday and Tu d y." Okay, it makes sense . . . now.

The Island Academy

Tom and I had to run next door to the Island Academy this afternoon to get some information for a friend. One of the teachers, Jeff, was very, very helpful, and we really appreciated it. In fact, he may qualify as one of the nicest guys in the world. (It turns out he was the former youth pastor of the young man we met at the YWAM facility, "Destination Paradise," about a month ago.) If I were a teacher, I think Island Academy (grades K-8) might be "Destination Paradise."


Y'all come visit. We'll eat a cow's foot and talk about men who don't stick around. You're gonna love Belize!