Tales of Coconut Rum

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Well - we are really on the countdown now. Just one more full day to go in Belize, before we start the journey home. We have a night in LA and hopefully some shopping in Santa Monica to sweeten the bitter pill... but seriously I am going to have some real re-entry problems. I made the mistake of logging on to my work email today and it all feels a little too real.

We have had a busy time since my last blog. Who would have believed that life in a seaside village could be so action packed. We have been adopted by the Gardiner family (Placencia goes back to 5 original families and the Gardiners are one). When I say "adopted", I mean that we have been big suckers on the tour front, but they have been fantastic. On Sunday, we went snorkeling with Uncle Gerald at Laughing Bird Caye. This is a world heritage site. The reef is spectacular, particular the fish life, but also the coral. You snorkel right off the beach and it is gorgeous. Uncle Gerald is seriously the fish man. He does not use a snorkel and free dives. With big black fins, all you see is a black streak in the water and he looks just like a fish himself. We are hoping to do another trip with him tomorrow - he talked himself up and said that we can do a trip where he catches seafood and then cooks it for us on the beach, plus snorkeling. It sounds so good... but we need to find another 2 people as the minimum for trips is 4.

The following day, son Doyle took us to Cockscomb, which is the jaguar reserve. Doyle was suffering from a hangover (more on that later...) but the trip was still fantastic. In the morning, we did a hike through the jungle and Doyle pointed out a lot of the medicinal plants. It was really interesting... my family of greenfingers would have loved it. Then we went tubing down a river. Imagine slowly floating down the river with jungle on either side... you get the picture. Finally, we went "rock sliding" - just what it sounds like. Sliding down moss covered rocks on the river. Just scary enough to be exhilarating, without being terrifying.

So back to the coconut rum of the title. On Sunday evening, Rachael and I headed to the Barefoot Bar, as usual, for happy hour and a dose of panti ripper (coconut rum and pineapple juice... mighty fine. In fact, we are thinking of bringing some coconut rum home with us - even after Sunday evening!) We were drawn by the sounds of a reggae band: "Inner Vibrations". It didn't take us long to befriend the lead singer, Saylah, and before long he was dedicating songs to us. Rachael danced with a local Belizean, who told her she was "pretty good". Highlight for her, given that the locals can dance. The Garifuna women certainly have big butts and they like to shake 'em. Indeed, they seem to have a life of their own. Meanwhile, I was befriending the crew of the local French Cruise ship, sailing the "Caribe". Another highlight was when Saylah thought we were 24. We told him to add 10 years (I know, but we're on holiday so some artistic licence is permitted). The music finished at 10. Did we go home? Of course not, there was more coconut rum to be drunk. So we made our way to the Tipsy Tuna, where we danced in the "sweat box"... just as it sounds. We got home at midnight and it's fair to say we both felt a little dusty the next day. Doyle on the other hand must have been truly suffering. I had seen him the night before befriending a tourist. The funniest thing was that he had obviously offered to give the girl and her friends a lift on the boat to the bus stop the next day. He was studiously ignoring her, which was quite entertaining.

It's fair to say that last night, after drinking and tour, R and I were both shattered. The light was out by 8.30pm and we both slept for 10 hours. I believe in the "sleep bank" - ie if you make a withdrawal, you have to make a deposit later. So we were making the 2 hour deposit.

One thing I really like about this town is that there is no segregation between locals and tourists. Everyone hangs out at the same place and in fact the locals are delighted to meet you. Soon after we arrived, we were told there was another kiwi in town. In fact Annette from Whangarei has been living here for 16 years and is married to a local, but soon after she made herself known to us and seemed truly delighted to see us. We haven't met any other kiwis on our travels, so we were pleased too. Later R met her husband, who told us that there were some other kiwis in town. Inevitably they were staying in our hotel, so we met them too.

Today I had a Thai massage and then this afternoon we hired bikes. Imagine old lady bikes with no gears and no brakes. To stop you simply pedal backwards. And we even had baskets. The road was indescribably bumpy, so we had quite a funny time.

Things I will not miss on holiday (in true Pollyanna fashion, I am trying to get my head around going home, by thinking negative thoughts about travelling):
- special needs shoes - although we found that it was not an impediment to having a good time at the Barefoot Bar, nor the fact that we were not wearing makeup and our hair wasn't done. In fact, we fitted right in
- lack of clothes - although it certainly makes getting dressed in the morning a lot easier... we were concerned on the river trip that we needed a change of clothes - don't they know we only have 2 pairs of shorts
- rice and beans - we decided to try the local Belizean food for lunch today (having only eaten it at Big Daddy's diner in Belize City) and it didn't improve on the second go. I don't mind it, but it wouldn't be my first choice, especially as they seem to eat it for lunch with stew. Not compatible with the climate.
- the heat - ok, I'm really pushing it now. The temperature is just perfect. I can't lie.
- panti rippers - I'm lying about that too. Indeed, I will have to log off now as happy hour at the Barefoot Bar starts shortly.

Cross fingers that we can do our snorkeling trip tomorrow.

L xx

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