Porch Problems, Power Problems, Secret Beach Updates....

Last Tuesday was the opening of Lobster Season! I journeyed into town to get some content for Live & Invest Overseas, as well as my YouTube Channel: Lobster Season Opens in Belize 2025!

The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day - we had not had rain in a few days, so when I got home, I started doing prep work to coat our patios with the same material we put on our roof. They were an aggregate concrete finish, and were deteriorating - every rain or washing loosened more stones and finish. It also had years of patches, paint splashes, you name it - it was NOT pretty.

Depending on where you look, you could see rust, cracks, patches, peach paint, teal paint (both previous exterior colors), or light blue paint from our recent repainting.

We planned to get up early (before Nathan started work) on Wednesday and lay down the coating, but he had a slow afternoon and we decided to start, with just a few puffy clouds in the distance.

No more than half an hour later, and with about 40% of the patio coated, I felt sprinkles...then bigger sprinkles. Then the skies broke. *&^%$! It didn't rain for that long, but long enough to wash off the gray colorant in low areas and drainage paths, exposing the black rubberized additive....ruining about $200US of coating.

After the rain - any area that is still all gray has a ceiling cover over it.

The skies cleared, and we didn't want a demarcation line if we stopped coating and finished at a later date, so we rolled the side of the home - effectively, trapping us inside the villa until the coating cured.

As (our) luck would have it, we then had torrential rain right after dinner. So now about $4-500US of coating has to be redone. We're supposed to apply 1 thick coat rather than 2 regular coats....we're praying the next coat will bond to what remains....

Adding insult to injury, the rain also splashed the gray colorant onto the base of our villa and the white doors I recently painted...so those will have to be repainted, too. Never a dull moment at our villa...and lots of swearing.

Thursday, we were due for a planned power outage (BEL was chopping back overgrown vegetation from power lines) from 7am to 3pm, so Nathan had to burn a PTO day since he couldn't work without electricity. I froze empty plastic bottles of water and all of our cooler-reusable-ice-pack things to make sure our fridge and freezer stayed cold - a fridge is good for about 4 hours if not opened, so we tried to eat as much out of there or freeze things that were at risk, leaving mostly beverages, condiments, and bread.

With everything north of roughly the roundabout off-grid, we scheduled a meeting with John, whom I met a few months ago, about building our home. He has provided the most detail and care in crafting a quote, and I had asked to cut back and modify some portions. Nathan really enjoyed meeting him - he's a smart, sincere, and hard-working man! We will see what the future holds there.

Friday, we took Brian and Kit out to our lot - we haven't been there in 8 weeks, which is insanity! The weeds are definitely returning with a vengeance, especially with all of the rain. Yet, the weeds don't hold a candle to the mosquitoes! Nathan didn't put on repellent and now looks like a contestant on Naked and Afraid for all of his mosquito bites! The good/shocking news is, STILL NO SEA LICE! Normally, they are all over that side of the island by late May, when the water gets warm. I'm celebrating this small win!

Not a lot of stock photos - ours are more translucent. 

Saturday, we went to BelizeScapes to see if the bamboo had arrived - with mainland flooding, they did not pick them up last week, so hopefully, they will make that journey this week. 

Yesterday was a lazy day until dinner - we got cleaned up and went to Hurricane's - I saw Josh in town over the week and they are slooooow....doing a 20% off Dinner special. 

Cajun Coconut Shrimp with rice and plantains

My photos don't begin to do the food justice - every dish we have had has been outstanding - my father-in-law practically licked his plate clean! (Lobster Alfredo, Oct 2022).

Plus it's a beautiful, overwater setting that is currently beyond the sargasso line. 

We - like every location in the Caribbean - have received a CRUSHING amount of sargasso this year. Belize needs to figure something out before we lose all the tourism...or worse yet, it chokes off the reef!