05/23/2008, Placencia, Belize
Today makes day two of our stay in Placencia, a lovely little seaside village on a narrow peninsula off the mainland of southern Belize. Survey says that the top ranking adjective most commonly used to describe this little town is "laid back" followed closely by "sleepy" then "lots of bars with funny names". There's the "Purple Space Monkey", the "Tipsy Tuna" the "Pickled Parrott" (notice a theme here?) and the most famous drink would be the "Pantirippa" (think about it). Have not tried the Pantirippa yet. I'll let you know.
Tonight is Friday, a big night in Placencia and I'm told by Stephie, a pretty French backpacker type selling handmade jewelry along the boardwalk (which is by the way cement) that if I go to a place called "The Driftwood" that I will see Garifuna dancing the likes of which I have most assuredly never ever in my life before seen. She opened her eyes very wide and then quickly shut them tight as an animated emphasis to her point.
Then she knitted her brow and said "Wat ees dis word "dreeftwood" ? My eengleesh ....ehhh.... not so good."
I say "it's a piece of wood...... you know wood, right?" and rapped a knuckle on the table top. She nods and I continue ".........that, you know, floated up on the beach...." and mimicked with my hand a little piece of wood floating up on the beach.
"Oh!" she says "you mean like sheep explode..." and she makes a big explosion noise complete with hand gestures simulating the explosion and the pieces-parts raining down then floating up on the beach and looks up nodding hopefully and says "Yes?"
"Well.....not really.....sheep??" I say.
"Huh?" she says.
"Sheep........why would sheep explode?" I say. I looked puzzled.
"Ahhhh.....I dunno.....maybe....... de petrol tank catch fire?...." with a shrug.
"I wasn't aware that sheep had a gas tank" "Is that just French sheep or is that sheep everywhere? I mean, I admit I don't know all that much about sheep, but I thought they ran on meadow grass or something...."
"NOOOO...... not sheep...... SHEEP!
Then I got the eye-roll. With the French it's less apparently than 30 minutes. Damn the Franc. At length I bought some homemade French backpacker jewelry I'll never wear.
I'll agree that Placencia is indeed "laid back" and quite a pleasant contrast to the much more touristy San Pedro, the student-ghetto atmosphere of Cay Caulker and the urban jungle of Belize City. I like it here very much. And there is a cruiser population here in the anchorage intermixed with the big catamarans of the Moorings charter base located here.
Jason and I have just spent a full week exploring the offshore atolls of Turneffe and Lighthouse Reef. These are the best and most beautiful that Belize has to offer. We went spear fishing and snorkeling along miles of pristine reef and out at Lighthouse even had the benefit of mooring balls to make the nights more stress-free. There was a sheer wall face nearly right under the boat were the reef dropped down into the abyss much further than I could see. Too bad we had no tanks. The wind died down while we were out there which is a bit of a double edged sword as the heat and the bugs can find you then. We walked ashore on Long Key at Lighthouse and promptly met a woman who, when she goes back to the States lives in my hometown of Fairhope and works at the local Rite Aid. Small world, huh?
Jason has been a pleasure to have aboard. He's picking up the sailing stuff pretty quick and certainly enjoys the diving and the whole experience. Jason is a pretty smart guy, currently getting a degree in Biology at UNC Asheville and is a well-spring of scientific information. It's been great having him on board and having a good mind to talk to. I knew we would get along the first night when while sitting at the bar having a Belikin or twelve the following verbal exchange took place:
Jason: "Well...... waddya think?"
Me: "I gave up thinking back in January"
Jason: "Oh..............(and with a nod)...good thinking......""
I don't know yet how much longer he'll be aboard, he wants to do some diving and perhaps inland travel here in Belize and I'll probably be heading south soon.
So Placencia is essentially my last stop before clearing out of Belize and heading for Guatemala. I've met some cruisers here from Houston and they have confirmed the stunning nature of the experience of heading up the Rio Dulce for the first time. I've had my fill of beaches and clear water...... as beautiful as they are. I'm ready for a little jungle cruise adventure.
HEA
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05/16/2008, Cucumber Beach Marina, Belize City
Jason made it in yesterday and this morning we are headed back out to the reefs. If we can make good time we will go out to Turneffe and get inside the reef and see whats happening out there for a day or two. Its about 35 miles out to Turneffe mostly against the relentless trade winds but we will probably be able to angle off and get some sailing in. If not we will hole up behind on of the many keys lining the barrier reef and wait for a good time to cross to Turneffe.
I will probably be away from an internet connection for a week or so so don't look for much from me until we get back to the mainland.
Off we go into the clear blue yonder.
HEA
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05/14/2008, Belize City
I've spent the last few days here at Cucumber Beach Marina cleaning up the boat and once again pulling everything out of its hiding place and trying to put it back in a more logical manner. I've done this many times now, pruning back on things that I've not used, stowing the rest more compactly and in a more logical manner. Slowly I'm getting more and more organized but that apparently does not come easily for me. But, for the time being Angel is neat and tidy and every thing is in its place.
Yesterday I took a taxi to downtown Belize City for provisioning. Back in the states you would just go to WalMart and pick up everything from apples to replacement zippers in one stop. Here in Belize its an all day affair scooting around from Queens Market (many trucks lining either side of a canal, each selling some particular type of produce or another) then on to the Super (a sort of Belizian department store) for sundry items, cleaning supplies, canned and dried foods) then to Kings Meats for poultry, beef, cat, etc and then to the beverage distributorship for soft drinks and a couple of cases of Belikin beer of which I have become particularly fond. Then its back to the boat to squirrel it all away.
My taxi driver was Errol, of Caribe descent complete with dreadlocks and a "no problem mon" jamacian type accent. Errol was very entertaining, talked non-stop, took me on a little tour of his favorite spots, negotiated a truckload of produce at Queens Market for pennies, and shared with me his views on the world, America, religion and his approach to life. I am not kidding when I say that Errol seemed very wise, very happy and very at peace with himself, the world and his place in it. Regarding the US, Errol says that aside from our self appointed alpha male attitude in the world he still believes that Americans are also more compassionate that other countries and cites in evidence of this the statistic that 72 percent of Americans keep pets in their homes which delighted him to no end. He also said that the US is also the preeminent first responder to any disaster or crisis anywhere in the world. So taking everything into account, good and bad, he loves America. I took some video of him but it did not come out very well.
Anyway, I'm waiting for Jason Kinney to arrive Thursday and we will set out hopefully friday to check out he offshore atolls.
Hope everyone is well.
HEA
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