OK, OK, I’ve been a sloth. For the past two weeks, or nearly so, there has been a daily blog on Belize from this quarter. When we got to Caye Caulker on Sunday, however, I “went splat.” “Went splat,” you ask? I have an expression, “to go splat” which means to utterly relax.
I’ve done a few photographs, as you will see here. This one was late our first afternoon. The sun had pretty much gone down on the east side of Caye Caulker, but it was still high enough to shine on this traditional Belizian sailboat.
We had a fantastic time with our participants, but with the blog and inquiries on the workshops, I rarely got to bed before 12:30 after my shower. With the oft-recalcitrant nature of the Internet at Cotton Tree Lodge, I couldn’t always upload our blog, so I’d get up early in the morning, usually 5:30 or so to return to the main communal, thatched cabana at the Lodge when the Internet was fresh for the day.
People would jokingly asked if I had even gone to bed, as I was in the same position when they came for breakfast as I was after they had left to retire for the evening.
So, when we got to Caye Caulker, I just “went splat.” Pete and Fran, my brother and sister-in-law, greeted us at the airport and had the makings for rum punch available at the condo where we’re staying. We sat on the terrace, enjoyed the view of the Caribbean sea right across the sandy road, and sipped Barrel and fruit juice. Arnie and I always like the way the water sparkles when you look into the light.
Across the way, kitty-corner to the right, Shrimpy set up, and in due course, I wandered over for some of his fabulous shrimp skewers. Ginger for one, his honey-mustard BBQ, garlic, and hot pepper for the others. Shrimpy is full of tales and drama, and we always get a kick out of listening to his stories. An ex-pat, he came to Belize quite a number of years ago and reminds us of someone who probably was part of the hippie era.
Caye Caulker, for Arnie and me, is all about walking. Some people take golf carts everywhere, but the island is only five miles long and anywhere from less than a quarter to a mile and a half wide. A good portion of the five miles is north of The Split, so I suspect the length of our part of the island is closer to 3 miles in length. From where we are staying “into town” is perhaps a quarter of a mile.
With a population of around 1,800 people, suffice it to say, the island is small.
Yes, there are bicycles on island, the kind where braking involves reversing the rotation of the pedals, but taking the time to adjust the seats isn’t worth the effort. Besides, I don’t know about you, but bicycle seats can be so uncomfortable!
So, Arnie and I walk everywhere. One morning, as we were ambling along the beach road, I saw this hammock. I loved the faded colors and tattered state it was in. It worked as a black and white I thought.
One of the traditional things to do is watch sunset. They are always different, and we love the way the light plays on the water.
For the past several evenings, however, the reflections in the water haven’t been good. It has been too windy. Still, there is something mesmerizing about water and sunrises and sunsets, so here is one from the other night.
Now, we’re off to see about some snorkeling. If the boat is too crowded, we’ll content ourselves with snorkeling right down at The Split.
It’s Island Time, Mon. No worries!
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