Jaguar...

Nice  New York Times article, with commentary and video of Alan Rabinowitz, author of the book "Jaguar: One Man's Struggle To Establish The World's First Jaguar Preserve."

The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is beautiful, visited by many of our guests, and is located very near us in Belize. Hiking trails include gorgeous waterfalls and river tubing.

Lagoon Delight...

Sometime the light is perfect...

and it's a bit of magic.

A New Addition...

Miss Mina (Meena) is a wonderful addition to our family "pack"... she is a purebred German Shepard, and is just delightful. Almost 4 years old, she has had one litter and is now spayed. Gentle, affectionate and extremely well behaved, she loves riding in the truck, and escorting Dad on his daily "gate rounds." We are so fortunate to have her in our family.

Belize- "Treehouse Perspectives"

If you have any interest in Belize and especially if you already have been "bitten" by the Belize bug... get a copy of this book and sit down and enjoy. I saw this book at Placencia Office Supply and even though it was wrapped in plastic, so I couldn't flip through the pages, I decided to take a chance. I am glad I did.

"Treehouse Perspectives" will test your notions of what it means to live in a third world country. Even if you have never considered the idea, and especially not in the thoroughly immersed way that Tina and Kirby did it, you will find yourself imagining the possibilities.

Set in the remote Toledo District of Belize and beginning back in the early 1970s, the Salisbury's began their odyssey with the barest of resources and little more than a dream.

They chronicle their adventures as alternating vignettes, delighting the reader with details of living that one would ordinarily think might be boring. Far from it. The narratives are at times lyrical and Tina especially has a gift for finding the "pulse" of the  moment, etching for me the words that have eluded my vocabulary, describing why Belize grabs many of us.

No one who has the dream of "escaping" to somewhere, will be bored by this book. The path the Salisbury family took and the rough edges they endured and magnificently adjusted to and thrived on, are not for everyone. But the lessons they learned about the culture of Belize and its' people are terribly important...

After the rain...

This morning, just after a brief rain shower, I grabbed the Nikon D80 and did a little walkabout...

  

and then the sun came out...

Belize Slide Show...

Here are a couple pics and a slide show of some recent favorite shots around The Maine Stay and Kokomo.  Enjoy.

We recently trimmed out a lot of the "jungle" to get some more sun!

This is my "office" out in our garden palapa... where we spend most of our time.

Return to Belize!

Just returned from a week in San Diego to attend a family wedding.  We love San Diego and visiting family. The wedding was wonderful and Kerianne and Christopher are enjoying a wonderful honeymoon in Australia!  The weather in SD was unusually cold for this time of year and we froze our Belizean butts off!  (And yes, we can both say "Belizean" now... Karen finally and officially has her permanent residency). Temps in the 50s probably seem mild to most of you, but we just aren't used to that. 

The wonderful part of this trip was getting to see family. Our daughter Kristen, her husband Christopher and, of course, grandkids Tate and Eva came from Maine for the wedding. Our son Steven came down from LA as well... and was a great guide! 

Hosting all of this with her usual calm aplomb and efficiency was my sister Deb and her husband Bim.  Amazes me how they put up with all the confusion! 

OK, now on to the "other" stuff... did you know that Cadillac SUVs in southern California exiting upscale shopping centers have bumper stickers that say "goeth intercourse thyself" ???  I guess my first visit to an Apple store (I love my Mac computers) was designed to test both my sensibilities and gadget envy!

I was so blown away by the Apple store... I really did not expect a crowd on a Thursday morning. We walked in to see folks at every station... and I really wanted to bring back a 21 inch iMac. Sorry, too big for carry on.  So, as my tongue hangs out... we leave. Sigh... and then there is the soon to be, but not yet available iPad. Oh well, maybe next trip.

Then again... how do we folks living here in Belize have a clue? We thrive on the ins and outs of daily living.  Can we weld this back together?  Is the table saw blade cutting true enough to finish this project?  Where are the those replacement motor brushes for the router? Is there another safety switch or belt for the dryer in Cabana Suite I ?? How many sheets do we need for the guests coming in? For those of you thinking about coming here... don't hesitate, it's all good.  

Our trip to San Diego yielded scads of sewing goodies for Karen... bags of little things I can't even begin to enumerate.   And I bought three pairs of shoes... and Karen was in the same HUGE shoe store and didn't buy a thing. Go figure.  Then we went to the woodworking tools specialty store (how exciting for Karen and Deb) to buy/order motor brushes, planer blades and misc other stuff. 

And then on the last day before we departed for Belize... we packed our bags.  Except we finally figured out that we could do another bag... four, not three!  So, off we went to the Mall at 8 pm.  And I can't tell you how exciting it is to buy towels and a Moen kitchen faucet at that time of night. That's surely how Karen and Deb must have felt in the woodworking store!  

The trip back to Belize was fairly uneventful.  We breezed through customs and made the last plane on Maya Island Air to Placencia. The Continental flight from Houston was 20 minutes late but as usual, they held the Maya flight till all the Placencia folks were through immigration and customs. It's always fun to watch the passengers (mostly tourists) get so excited about finally arriving in Belize, flying on the great Cessna Caravan 12 passenger planes and ogling the scenery as we fly along the coast. It is pretty spectacular.  Of course, those who rent a vehicle at the airport and drive to Placencia, get an equally stunning trip along the Hummingbird Highway.  

All-in-all, a very wonderful trip... but it's great to be home!

  

Fly Fishing in Belize...

Fred Arbona is one of those kind of folks that make me want to learn a skill, just for the sake of saying I did it. His enthusiasm for fly fishing is born out of years of experience and his expertise is widely acclaimed.  We got to know Fred in one of those strange (but happens so often in Belize) coming together of events.  One of the local Placencia Humane Society veterinarians emailed the membership about finding a place for Fred to park his camper for a couple of months while he scopes out the fly fishing scene in the area. Being curious and having the space in our lagoon marina, we began corresponding with Fred. Fred made the trek down from Arizona, through Mexico (a whole story for later) and arrived last week. His truck and camper set up is perfect... and even holds his small pontoon boat and motor. He has been getting to know the local folks and has figured out more in a few days and made more friends than I would have thought possible. Yesterday, while out with a local guide, he brought back tons of "fish stories" and promises of scads of snook. The bonefish, permit and tarpon better watch out!  More later...

Working Boat...

We see lots of working fishing dugouts and converted canoes on our stretch of beach... they make great photos!

We bought some great fresh snapper from the owner!

Grand Slam Belize...

Currents of Belize is a beautifully done documentary about fishing in Belize.  Specifically aimed at fly-fishing folks, and the elusive "grand slam" of permit, bonefish and tarpon. It really captures the spirit of "catch and release" and the work that fishing guides and others are doing to preserve Belize sport fishing.

Birds of Placencia!

We get a fair number of requests for information from the "bird watchers." Recently I wrote about some resources available on the birds of Belize. I have just recently been made aware of another source of information specifically about the birds of the Placencia Peninsula... Ron Spilman's fantastic photos.  Here are a couple... of the fifty plus pics he has taken on the Peninsula or in a couple of cases nearby in Monkey River. Couldn't be too hard for the confirmed "birders" to add a lot to their "life list" or whatever it's called... you can tell I'm not exactly an expert!  Don't miss having a look at the rest of the photos.  Thanks Ron.

Barefoot Beach Bar

Check out all the news and information on The Barefoot Beach Bar... which will be reopened in a new location.  Great news for us all!  Congratulations Bryce and Cassie!

Airports of Belize... Placencia

Continuing on the theme of "airports" it's clear to me that most folks have not had the delightful experience of arriving at a destination in a third world country aboard a Cessna Caravan 12 seat plane. Very quickly you realize that you are in the hands of an experienced "bush pilot" and the runway isn't quite as short and narrow as you thought! These pilots are good.

The stories abound. None of the airstrips in Belize (that I know of) are lighted for after dark landings... even PGIA (Philip Goldson International Airport in Belize City)... although I suspect some remote locations have had "after dark landings."

One late afternoon, Karen and I went to our airport just a couple of miles from us (PLZ - Placencia) to pick up our arriving family (my sister and husband) and it became obvious that the last flight of the day was later than usual. Pretty soon we heard the plane... doing a "touch and go" approach. It was darker than usual... and this was confirmed by the airline employees rushing out to light the runway with handheld flashlights... after it had kissed the runway and lifted off to come around again. Although we could see the plane clearly, it was a bit tense as we watched it circle the Peninsula. Coming in for the next try, we watched as the plane made a "picture perfect" landing in the dim twilight... without incident or difficulty.

The picture of the departing plane and sign at the Placencia Airport (PLZ) was taken just a few days ago by Ron Spilman... an extremely talented photographer of Belize and the Placencia Peninsula. Some of his work is on display in this Picasa album. You need to view the photo larger (click it) to read the sign.

A Study In Contrasts...

The amenities are different, but the planes and pilots aren't

Belize... the International Airport Experience

When I first landed in Belize in the early 1980s, the airport, in the (then) capital of Belize City, was little more than a single small building and airstrip lined with a bunch of British Harrier jump jets. One of those jets remains as a reminder in front of the terminal building of (BZE) Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport (PGIA). Thanks to Darren's Page - KG Imagery LLC for the great photo. Does anyone have any older photos of the airport terminal and the jump jets?

Daily flight arrivals and departures for BZE can be tracked here. Wikipedia article on BZE here.  The Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport (PGIA) was originally constructed in 1943, when a 5,000 feet asphalt runway, a taxiway and small apron were constructed.  In 1944, a terminal building was constructed and inaugurated on January 15, 1945.  Today, the PGIA boasts a 7,100 feet runway and 615,800 sq. ft. of parking apron... Expansion of the runway and apron to accommodate wide body, longer haul aircraft is in progress.

Barely two years after airport construction in 1945, this ad appeared in a major US newspaper (? NY Times)... still British Honduras and the capital is called Belize... not Belize City. Formerly known as British Honduras, until the name was changed in 1973.  Belize gained its independence September 1st, 1981 and was then admitted to the United Nations. The capitol city of Belize is now Belmopan... fifty miles inland.

TACA Airways System’s Central America – "Now, Taca offers daily, scheduled flights to Central America" (1947)


Those of us who fly in and out of PGIA with any regularity, get to know "Jet" at his famous Jet's Bar and hot dog stand... for a humorous bit of "flavor" of the departure waiting area at PGIA, have a look at this. Thanks to nachounderpants.com for the great blog. There must be a ton of other stories out there... send them in! And then there's this blog from the "Travel Boomer."

Haiti...

I suspect that lots of folks our age have made comparisons between last night's "Hope For Haiti Now" telethon musical extravaganza and "We Are The World" from many years ago.  I have to admit... Justin Timberlake's name didn't come rolling out of my brain easily. Soap Opera star maybe? If you haven't listened to "Hallelujah" then set yourself up for a treat.  If that doesn't get you set up for a donation... then listen to Bruce Springsteen. And if that doesn't get you... listen to this.

Airfares to Belize...

For those of you thinking about or already planning a trip to Belize... here is a web site that shows fares from many US cities. It's automatically updated after doing searches for you. Pretty slick...

Check for better airfares --- Flights to Belize from selected US cities.

Belize... early morning

Early morning shots at the very east end of the Placencia Airstrip.

saltydogtales

Be sure to have a look at Carl's saltydogtales today... it's a great re-telling, with photos, of some of the history of Belize, the Garifuna and the New Year's celebration.

Christmas Dinner with Eldon and Mary Ann

Our wonderful friends from Arkansas, Eldon and Mary Ann Mead came for Christmas Dinner. Eldon is a great cook!

Great Fishing in Belize...

Our friends, Kristen, Alison and Tater went fishing with Kevin Modera on New Year's Eve... have a look at these photos in Kristen's Facebook album.