Bella Stays Cool

Yay, Celtics!

Tom and I were up at dawn to watch the Scottish Premier Football League at Jock's house! Celtics SMASH the Rangers 3-0! Take that, evil Rangers. At the mid-game break, we had a traditional English (not Scottish) breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, and baked beans on toast. Game over at 7:45am. Back home to bed! By the way, I got to meet Jock's dog Heinrich named after Heinrich Schmidtgal, a midfielder for the Celtics. Thank the Lord I wasn't named after a soccer player. 

It's cool being me!

Me, being even cooler.

This afternoon Tom and I wandered down to Ramon's Resort, about 200 yards away, to go swimming--in the Caribbean--again. Water temperature about 81 degrees. Perfect! Then, later, Shelley, Tom, and I went walking down the beach. (That's a big deal: Shelley is outside walking! Yay.) And this is me being adorable on the beach.

Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Belize

If you want to come to Belize and experience scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and manatee watches, or do inland adventures like exploring the Maya sites, caving, tubing, birding, or walking the rainforest trails, then Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures is the place to check out. And the guys you want to talk to our my buddies Jerome and Patrick. These guys will help you make memories that won't fade over a lifetime. (Okay, Jerome, I told you I'd get you in the blog.) Their dive center is located at the beachfront in front of the SunBreeze Hotel in the heart of San Pedro Town. They'll help you arrange your activities, all the way from a one-day diving trip to staying on their private 186 acre island and doing the whole deal. Check them out at www.belizeadventurelodge.com/lodge.html.

I saw a sign over at the local clinic's pharmacy the other day I thought you would enjoy :

  

"As of today, April 16th, all patients are requested to bring their own bottles for liquid medication. Thank you."

And additional thanks to alert reader Jane K. from Missouri, who pointed out that the water activity I referred to in an earlier post is more appropriately known as "parasailing," not "that parachute thingy."
 

Y'all come visit. You can get a cold drink on the beach and hang out with my new beach friend "Sandy." Just be sure to bring your own bottle! You're gonna love Belize.

Bella Overcomes the Storm Troopers

We experienced an unexpected treat yesterday after we put Shelley on the plane to Belize City for a checkup. Take the first road to the right past Maya Island Air, and you'll come across a tiny outdoor restaurant called "Neri's." You might call it a hole-in-the-wall if there were a wall, or part of the food court if there were a court, but that doesn't diminish the quality and taste of the food. 

Neri's Food Emporium

Our friend Angie, Tom, and I had breakfast tacos (both chicken and pork) and crispy fry jack stuffed with beans and cheese. Usually fry jack has the consistency of bread, but the crispy fry jack is fried until it's, uh, crispy. And it's delicious. As a local Belizean friend says, "Tanks! Ah gwein go try dat rite now.Tanx again!" (Seriously, they talk like that!) By the way, the plural of fry jack is fry jack. You can have a stack of fry jack if you want.


Shelley's checkup went very well. She no longer needs to wear the arm sling and shoulder brace and now only takes Tylenol instead of the heavy-duty stuff she was taking. 

So where did Tom and I go last night, now that we can leave Shelley unattended for a few hours? Why, the Star Wars Party at Pedro's Inn, of course. Gino and the Shack Shakers were in fine live music form, and the crowd of tourists dressed for the occasion. 

 Uh, yes, that is Tom on the right even though he is cleverly disguised as "Storm Trooper Captain Rex." Our friend Ritchie on the left (from Ireland, as if you couldn't tell) went as nothing special--as usual. Excellent, Ritchie. 

Sir Richard

I overheard Pedro's manager Cindy complaining, "I'm not a storm trooper. I'm a Rebel Warrior!" A common mistake, my dear, I assure you.
 

Darth Vader

Tomorrow morning, 5am Belize time, we meet at Jock McPake's house to watch the Celtic/Rangers football contest broadcast live from Scotland. These two Glasgow giants dominate Scottish football and seem to exist simply to antagonize the other. The Celtics have been around since 1888 and will win. The other team won't, and anybody who says otherwise is crazy. And lest you think watching U.K. football in Belize is a bit bizarre, please remember, Belize was formerly known as British Honduras.

As you may already know, the Belize National Agriculture and Trade Show 2012 begins April 27th and runs for three days. A reporter from the mainland gives this advice: 

"Everyone is excited about the National Agriculture & Trade Show for this year. With the alarming increase in crime rate, there is a lot that worries me.  As a concerned citizen of this beautiful country, I would like to leave you with a list of 10 things you should avoid when being at the National Agriculture & Trade Show."

(And the number 1 reason is . . .)

"1. Don't drink and pass out anywhere -- you might just get robbed from your belongings without even knowing."

How true, how true.

 

Y'all come visit. We'll make Star Wars costumes out of cardboard boxes and eat fry jack at Neri's You're gonna love Belize!