Lunch with the Prime Minister of Belize

Friday March 14th was a big day politically in Belmopan. Ministers & senators flocked into the city for the presentation. I was meeting a few people for lunch and we’d just sat down at our table when the honorable Dean Oliver Barrow, Belize’s new and much better (this is not high praise so much as the anticipation of an end to the corruption of the former ruling government’s upper echelon) Prime Minister walked through the door to join his party. Okay, so I didn’t actually have lunch with him but he did smile, nod & say hello as he passed our table. Needless to say the place was packed with political type people which made the Belizean process of ordering drinks and food, then waiting for the bill even longer than usual but I didn’t mind. The company was good and I got to tell everyone I had lunch with the Prime Minister of Belize.

Spring has sprung in Belize

While some countries are still digging out of snow, here in Belize we have a different kind of ground cover. There’s a big ol’ tree that I can’t remember the name of that has no leaves and looks quite dead most of the time. It stands above most other trees and can be seen along the highway as you drive through the mountainous areas of the jungle. Once a year the tree blooms yellow flowers that look like giant snap dragons and the country-side canvas is dotted with yellow blotches for a few days. Alas, the flowers fall in the wind and are strewn all over the ground. It couldn’t be a more perfect setting for a wedding with the bride making her way to the alter. I do happen to have one of those trees in the yard, but no bride so Cleo will have to do. Even Miguel, who does the yard work commented on how beautiful it was, right before he got out the weed whacker and slashed them all to bits. Ahhhh, say la vie.
Lunch with the Prime Minister of Belize

Hobo gets the Axe!

Yikes! My baby is only 2 years old and he’s already chasing the girls around… I’ve been told he’s a bit of a Casanova and has been trying to mount a certain lady friend. Since he’s not considered “fine breeding stock” (although I can’t imagine why???) his jewels will have to go. I made arrangements for the ‘operation’ and went out to supervise the procedure. After seeing him get an injection to numb him from the pain, being the brave soul I am, I went for a walk. I couldn’t watch. “It will only take 20 minutes,” said Dr. Doom. I walked though the orchard for about 40 minutes and when I got back Hobo was still where he was when I left him. He looked fine. My first reaction was to look under the hood. Yep… Definitely something missing! No blood, no pain, no loss of appetite. Why did something not seem quite right? Again, no cohunes, no blood, no pain, no loss of appetite. I thought to myself, “This guy is good!” After a little more spoiling I put Hobo back in the pasture and went home. I got an e-mail from the lady I board Hobo with the next day letting me know that Dr. D was out on Sunday to geld Hobo. What the… did she mean. Yesterday was Wednesday? Seems Dr. D didn’t want me to know he’d done the deed already and decided to fake doing it on Wednesday. If I ever find out the reason for the charade, I’ll let you know. I just has to be a doozy!

Pelicans in Dangriga

March 7, 2008
Hello. I’m back after a long winter’s nap. This is not an excuse for not blogging it’s just a fact. Today I’m going to tell you about pelicans. These ones were sunning themselves in Dangriga across from the market. I don’t get to Dangriga much but it is a good place to go for Garifuna culture and food. It’s best to buy direct from the little stands if you want to experience real Garinagu food. And… it’s also full of pelicans! They’re big dopey looking birds that hang around the ocean looking for fish. Very graceful in flight, but take offs and landings are more along the clumsy albatross side. They look pretty majestic here and recover quite well from the embarrassment of landing by floating demurely across the water and looking at each other as if to say, “Was anybody watching that Petey? I hope Petunia didn’t see me. I kind of got a crush on her.” Meanwhile Petunia comes in crash and burn style rolling across the water in front of her admirer, shakes herself off and swims away in the opposite direction.
Am I getting carried away again? Some things never change.
P.S. the chickens, cats, dog and horse are fine.
Next blog: Hobo loses stallion status.