I will start with the good stuff:

- I made the best apple fritters EVER. They were simple and didn't take very long. RIP to our waistlines. 

I haven't seen apple fritters in the local bakeries, but they are my favorite "donut-adjacent" food. Even Nathan liked them!

- We have some good things coming up in the hopper, but I'm not at liberty to discuss them just yet...but something that has been a long time coming is finally coming to fruition!

On the sadder side, Friday, while Nathan and I were at Happy Hour, Kit texted me to ask what our neighbors' dogs look like - the two puppies that Nathan is enamored with. One of their workers videoed a "black dog with brown on it, and a red collar" in the mouth of a crocodile in our lagoon. That sounds like the larger of the two; he was (best guess) 40ish pounds now, not a small dog, and the other one is more of a "low rider" style, brown with some black on top, like German Shepherd coloring, but corgi-lab body and ears.

When we got home, neither dog was on their porch, and the two are always together. 

The sun was setting, so we took flashlights and went to see if we could find either dog. They can easily escape their yard (and do), and the owners don't seem to care much for them. We found no trace of either dog, and ran into Kit and Brian - they said they couldn't watch the video, but the worker said the dog is definitely gone. They don't know if the croc got it on the land, or if the dog waded into the water and was grabbed. Our assumption was that both were gone, and the larger was probably trying to defend the smaller dog.  

Then, the dilemma of, "who tells the neighbor?". 

No one wanted to knock on their door, especially if their 6-year-old boy was in earshot. We aren't friends with them, but wave and say "hi" in passing. I found the husband on FB and sent a message, and got a reply that they were in Corozal but would message the brother who was at the house. 

Late Saturday morning, I heard the familiar, "bark bark" on their patio - the smaller, brown dog came home! 

Nathan was working in the yard when the 6-year-old stopped on his bike, and asked Nathan if he had seen his dog...ugh...he was out looking for him - but was told that a crocodile had eaten him.

Super, super sad - it's a risk you take when you let your animals roam, never bring them inside...have no yard for two dogs...and we can't be mad at the croc, he's just surviving.

Kit accidentally saw the video posted on FB and said the croc was HUGE. We will not be kayaking in the lagoon any time soon.

Sunday was Independence Day, but after getting stuck in town for hours last year, we weren't willing to brave crossing the bridge. And, the sun came out! We went with Kit and Brian to Moon Bar - had some great pizza and drinks, great company, great view!

The sargasso is definitely lessening...we need it to just go away!

Getting back on the "bummer train", yesterday morning it was announced that Shaggy Lisbey had passed away. Shaggy is an island legend, a huge, gregarious character who personified San Pedro hospitality and welcomed all. 

I met Shaggy on my first visit to San Pedro in 2002 - he was bartending at Fido's. I stayed at Hotel Del Rio for $15/night in a private room, walked everywhere, and traveled by myself. I walked into Fido's, and he lit up the bar - he knew everyone by name, was adored by all. I stopped in Fido's a few times that trip, and one night, he said a bunch of people were going to Jaguar's (the now-shuttered nightclub) and asked if I wanted to go, too. He introduced me around, made sure I was okay, and didn't try anything fishy - he genuinely wanted everyone to have a good time and enjoy the island.

It was pure luck that when I brought our family to San Pedro, we found him at Pirate's Treasure - the boys fell in love with him! Then, he opened his own bar last year. I won't even feign that we were close; I share this news in case you also knew Shaggy, maybe you knew he was not doing well. The tributes are pouring in, and the island is reeling. A true legend.

We'll see what this week brings...hopefully it's a little more status quo and less dramatic...

I believe it has rained at some point every day since my last posting. Our ground is saturated, our walkway has standing water, and we can't get anything done outside. I have been trying to paint our "rust-resistant coach lights" that immediately rusted to shit, but I have not been able to get all 4 in the same sitting without the rain restarting. If I can shore them up, they will look 1,000% better. 

The silver lining in all of this rain now is that the King Tide is not currently in. My photo memories showed me that last Sept 15th, our front yard was underwater between rain and the King Tide. It's next due in on October 6-12, so we'll see how our new, much-raised yard fares. 

As for things in the US...regardless of your position, I would hope that we all can agree that the mood is combative, negative, and not improving. I was shocked to learn that some of my acquaintances are unapologetic bigots, and in some cases, ones I never would have imagined based on how strong their faith is. I don't want or need that kind of negativity in my world, and it was definitely wearing me down, so it seems more healthy to "unfriend" people who are full of hate and vitriol. 

We are glad we are here, and not in the thick of it.

At the same time, two of our four parents have recently been in the hospital, which makes it tough being so far away. 

In better news, it seems my Sourdough CPR worked! I saw a note in a sourdough group to add double the flour vs water when feeding, and that kicked my starter into gear! Plus, my cousin Olivia sent me some tips - thanks, Liv! While my loaf "shape" is still laughable, at least I turned out an edible loaf this time:

Amoba-shaped loaves - a new trend...?

Tuesday, The Alibi (which is now delivery-only until their new location is ready) delivered to me an AMAZING chimole soup - they posted a special for it the night before. We also pre-ordered fried chicken for Friday. They are such a great family who ended up with a bad landlord, we're going to support them with weekly orders.

Yesterday, I had to pick up a Belizean Queen order for the "meat freezer" neighbors, and asked Kit if she wanted to go along. Her answer was a resounding YES, we are all going stir-crazy with this weather! We dodged showers, running a few errands, and made it home before the thick of the storms. She took me to brunch for my birthday - to Green Espresso. Before we dialed back our spending, it was on my regular lunch rotation. I had perhaps the best non-alcoholic drink ever, their strawberry-lime juice.

Other than that, not much exciting to share. It looks like a lot of rain in the forecast, we could really use a clear day this weekend to get out of the house! 

We thought we had raccoons on our porch at 3 am; we heard aggressive scratching on our window. Maybe they were trying to get in, to get to our cats...? Nathan ventured outside to find...a gecko orgy. Six of them, on our spare bedroom window, at 3-4 am. The aggressive scratching was Roxy, who was doing her best to claw through the glass to get to them. They were unfazed. Nathan had to get right up on them to get them to disperse.

After gagging my way through emptying a hot freezer full of meats at my neighbors' house last week, they then asked me to please clean everything out, scrub it down, and disinfect it. If they weren't the NICEST folks ever, and stuck in the US for medical reasons, I would have hard passed on this. The thought of them coming back to a few more weeks of rotted meat smells in their freezer....I get why they asked! I let it mostly re-freeze before I even attempted opening the freezer again. Their water is shut off, so I carried down a 5 gal bottle, trash bags, vinegar, baking soda, Clorox wipes...took the shelves out, brought them to our yard to hose them down...the meat juices and goo were EVERYWHERE. It was so, so disgusting.

It's clean now:

PRO TIP: If you are replacing a fridge on an island, get one with the freezer on the BOTTOM. I cannot even imagine the carnage if they had had a top-mount freezer, or a side-by-side - all that meat sludge would have poured out as soon as the doors were opened! 

I texted my sister-in-law afterwards with photos - she is a retired homicide detective - to ask: How similar is weeks-old rotten meat in a hot environment to the smell of a dead body? Her answer: "LMAO IDENTICAL!!!" I didn't barf, and now I know I can withstand the smell of a rotting corpse, and also, if I ever smell that smell again, to go the opposite direction!

We have experienced our first friends moving off of the island - the couple that gave us the plumeria tree has returned to the US. They made it here for seven years, but decided they miss their adult children/grandkids, and want to travel the US in an RV. Their home sold, and they left on Friday. I can't even fathom moving internationally again, it is so much work! Not that we plan on ever leaving. 

I also formed a US LLC so we can operate a business here, but be able to have bank accounts and be paid/make payments in the US. All online, super easy; I registered in Wyoming, paid for expedited filing, and had it the next day. Slowly chipping away at being able to operate!

Friday night, we had a date night at Hurricane's - top 3 lobster dinners I have had! Garlic butter lime grilled. They now offer a stamp card - buy 8 entrees, get a free ceviche. Don't sleep on Hurricane's - consistently great food, and the nicest family.

Saturday, we went to Kit and Brian's and borrowed some kayaks from Lina Point - the four of us set off to Akasha, across the western lagoon. It was cool to take that route and see new perspectives on our neighborhood and the sea! Upon pulling up, we found out that they had recently closed for renovations...reopening in October. Dammit! We had planned to lunch there and enjoy their pool.

Sunday was FOOTBALL! All day. I think every game was available on Coral Cable EXCEPT the Arizona Cardinals, which Nathan wanted to watch. We grazed on food and he made some killer wings! I dominated our family Fantasy Football League, so we'll see if that was a fluke, or if I can sustain it.

This week so far, I have spent more time driving to Pelican Internet Cafe than anything else. I had, what I believed to be, all of the documents needed for my work permit, and sent them over for some to be printed. Then my advisor said my letter wasn't right, and I had an application to fill out that he hadn't previously told me about. Back to PIC. My cloud was acting up, and it turns out, my re-written letter didn't send yesterday afternoon, so I had to go home and re-send it this morning. The family that owns the shop is so sweet; I joked that I was going to be their best customer, and maybe I would see them tomorrow, joking. She said, "nah, later today".

After running some errands and shopping with Kit, sure as shit, the company in the US filing our S-Corp for our US LLC sent me...2 pages to be printed and wet-signed. 

...And so I returned to Pelican for the 4th time in 2 days.

In other news, the lot that was for sale immediately south of ours is now UNDER CONTRACT! Only took a few weeks, but still, I'm surprised it took that long at the list price - it was a lot of oceanfront land for a very reasonable list price. Hopefully, our new neighbors are wealthy and will immediately put in a road, ha!

I believe I have killed my sourdough starter, ugh - I have been giving it daily feedings/CPR to try to revive it, to no avail - it's still not doubling in volume. If anyone knows of someone willing to sell some active starter, please message me!

The first was a Murder-Mystery night at The Nauti Crab - the theme was a high school homecoming dance. Nathan and I were assigned characters that were each other's dates, and pulled together pretty decent costumes, if I do say so! Especially for island limitations. I was the "rich snobby girl" and luckily, had a $9.99 dress from Amazon already inbound that fit the bill perfectly! I was able to pull together some costume jewelry, a crown, and a bedazzled purse, all on clearance at PINK Boutique, for around $21US. I bought sparkly ribbon to craft Nathan a tie that matched my dress, and cut down a stem of stargazer lily silk flowers to make us a corsage and boutonniere. 

I KILLED it on accessories at PINK! Their San Pedro store doesn't seem to have a FB Page

We took our island BFFs, Kit and Brian, with us.

I would have benefited from more expectations at the beginning (i.e. how many rounds of cards we would have, time allotted per round, etc), but that's just me - a socially awkward, over-planner. Overall, Rob and Krista did a great job with their first time hosting a murder mystery! We thought for certain we were shoo-ins for "best dressed," but as it turns out, the entire cast took this event VERY seriously! Which made it even more fun. Apologies to the random customers that walked in, not having any idea what was going on - seeing middle-aged women in evening gowns, screaming at each other (as our cue cards directed).

Man down! Our "murder victim" on the sand

We saw Joe from The Alibi post that they would be closed for a bit (as many restaurants do during slow season), so Friday, we made sure to go get the best fried chicken on the island! Unfortunately, during their downtime, they will have to relocate again, which certainly makes it tough to gain traction as a small business. 

Sunday, we (plus Kit and Brian) joined Xsite Belize for "Cruise for a Cause" - $100BZ per person, a six-hour catamaran trip, to benefit a local family's funeral expenses. I did misunderstand - I thought we would be moving for 6 hours; instead, we boated about 30 minutes to the south end of the island, parked, and stayed there for five hours, then sailed back. At any rate, $50US per person to be on the water for 6 hours was a value price in my eyes, and the crew was phenomenal - Rose constantly checked on us, Denroy, the first mate, sat with us for close to an hour talking about the island, and Captain Jerry did a flawless job navigating some decent waves. 

Not a bad view for five hours on a Sunday!

I have some video snips pieced together if you'd like more scenery/not much narration: Xsite Belize catamaran trip San Pedro Belize

We had to get something out of our neighbors' home, which we have been house-sitting for 2 months now, to give to another neighbor, and found that their power was out. For an indeterminate amount of time. With a freezer full of meat. We let them know their power was off on Saturday, but as of today, it still has not been restored. Fearful of meat-drippings coating their floor and sitting in an un-air-conditioned atmosphere, I manned up today and tossed out all of their meat. PRO TIP: If leaving the island for more than a week - and ESPECIALLY during Hurricane Season - do NOT stock up on meat! The things I touched, saw, and smelled will never leave my mind. Gagging sounds

I did take a picture, but I won't subject my readers to it. You're welcome ;)

Courtesy of a photo, I realized that my eyebrows were incongruent. It's amazing how your brain sees what it wants to see in a mirror, (i.e. 15 years younger, balanced features, etc) but photos tell the real story! I tweeze them regularly, but over time, they get off-balance. 

I love Alice at Polished by Capri for waxing BUT she is hesitant to do eyebrows since they make your face! Fair enough. 

Turns out, apparently many estheticians on the island feel the same - I asked at 4-5 different salons, and no one does brows. 

I reached out to Carrie at Sol Spa at The Phoenix, as she did list brows on her menu - but she's off-island for a bit. Thankfully, she pointed me to Jessie, who has a little salon south of town. She had an opening on Friday that I gratefully scooped up! $15BZ, even better!

Jessie's salon is new; after being in town for over a decade, she built a separate building in front of her home that is super-cute, exceptionally chilled, and spotlessly clean! She also does haircuts and colors, manis-pedis (no fake nails), waxing and......THREADING!!! I figured with all of the Lebanese women here, someone had to be a threader! It's Jessie. She's super-quick at it, so no discomfort at all. She had me make different expressions and looked at my brows from a few different angles to ensure they were as good of sisters (not twins - the best you can hope for is really, really similar!) as possible. Still only $15BZ. She's delightful - I am going to start getting my hair cut there, too!

I don't know the name of her salon, but feel free to whatsapp her at 604-7028.

Threading is commonly performed by Indian ladies (at least it was in Phoenix), where they use two threads, tensioned, to remove hair. No wax residue, so no skin reactions if you have sensitive skin. It's less painful, too, and no chance of being burned by too-hot wax. 

Saturday, we stopped into The Palm Casino and were able to leave with a little more money than we arrived with, so that's always a bonus!

Sunday, we drove out to our land and floated in the water for a few hours; it was delightful. Still no sea lice, which both astounds me and makes me incredibly happy! 

On the way home, we drove down the back road to check the progress, and the road a little south of us that is heading west has made noticeable progress! Fingers crossed it keeps motoring at a decent clip.

Nathan surveying the progress from up high...

On our way home, we stopped at Big Taste 2, their second location by Tipsy Lobster - and someone was there! We stopped when Ethan and Lilly were in town, and while their sign said "Open", no one ever appeared. May as well bomb our guts after 3 days of fruits and vegetables! Their birria is the best I've ever had - put it in quesadilla form. I ordered a lime juice and holy shit, it's also the best I've ever had! Like crack! I ordered a second, and considered getting one to go! My only critique is that they didn't give us a condiment-squeeze-bottle of the chimichurri, like at the OG Big Taste - but to be fair, giving us unfettered access to their most delectible condiment probably does wreak havoc on their food costs!

Yesterday was my 48th birthday - God, that sounds so old! My friend Kit brought me a delicious hunk of chocolate cake from Casa Pan Dulce! What a nice surprise! 

It's so rich, I am only half-way through it!

It looks as though they are constructing a new location on the back of the same block - the identical teal-and-orchid, very-specific paint scheme - I'm unsure if this is to replace, or is in addition to, the current building. I went to the current one back in 2002, on my very first visit to San Pedro!

After Nathan finished work, we dodged some intense lightning and drove down to Palmilla, at Victoria House. VH is a very fancy resort south of town - lots of weddings, honeymoons there, but we had not visited yet. 

Even in the dark, as soon as we pulled onto the grounds, we could tell we were somewhere special! Pristine landscaping, raked-sand paths, everything was perfectly manicured and luxurious!

The dining room had rich wood floors and crisp white paint; linen tablecloths and napkins - fancy for the island. Our server, Estevan, was on the ball for the entire meal, we never wanted for anything...other than Prosecco. I had my heart set on some bubbles, and their bottle price was fair, $100BZ, but they were out, so we shifted to Porto de Piedra red blend - smooth, silky, if you see it on a menu, it's well worth ordering! 

We split an obscenely large Caesar salad, and each had their surf-and-turf - I subbed the Parmesan truffle oil mashed for the included bacon mash, and I could've had only those potatoes and been thrilled with dinner. Steaks were cooked to medium-rare perfection, and the split lobster tails were tender, top-notch all the way! And we felt the pricing was very fair, especially for the setting!

All-in-all, a pretty good week!

My main focus has been on compiling ALLLLL of the documents to apply for my work permit and both of our Permanent Residencies. The list of documents online is only a starting point - and individual results may vary! I am working with a local to help with the work permit, as suggested by the Labour Department.

One item that is giving us a lot of trouble obtaining is a Police Clearance Letter from the US. I paid Intelius for our background checks, but both of our reports were full of errors, inaccuracies, extra addresses....they had a photo of "Nathan" that wasn't Nathan at all, and listed his career as a job that he has never had in IT. There's no way we could use those, so we are asking family back home to visit the police department on our behalf and PRAYING they can get us a letter to FedEx down. This isn't something we could have brought with us, as they want a recent letter - not one that's 1+ year old. And Arizona is a "closed state", meaning they will not supply my background information online.

I've been trying to round up absurd documents for someone in their late 40s to be expected to have - HS diploma (original, or certified copy), certificates for any education or licensure, proof of future SS income, you name it. On a total fluke, we brought Nathan's ASU diploma with us - he didn't have it for 20+ years, his ex-wife held onto it in her odd "Nathan shrine" and fortunately, one of his sons smuggled it out for us!

Pre-COVID, you just paid the $2,000US for Permanent Residency - no hoops to jump through. I'm struggling to grasp why Belize has decided to make it so difficult to apply - they get the $2,000US eventually, why add the extra, discouraging steps? I understand they want to admit upstanding citizens who can financially support themselves, but proving I completed elementary school seems a bit of overkill.

In lighter news, all of the "cardboard gecko hunting training" has paid off for Roxy - mosquitoes have been sneaking in, and I have now seen her eat them out of the air on multiple occasions! She is earning her keep! Naturally, I then panic-googled, "Can cats get heartworm from eating mosquitoes?" and I am pleased to report, the answer is no.

Roxy likes the top of the cat tree - closer to ceiling geckos and mosquitoes

Wednesday morning, we experienced torrential rain - my best guess based on a bucket in the yard was 3-4" in the pre-dawn hours, leading to septic smells in our hall bath. This tends to happen in heavy rains, and a quick google search said this could be a blockage, our tank is full, or a pipe is cracked and water is entering the line and pushing gas upwards. Septic truly is the gift that keeps on giving. (Sarcasm mode)

Our friends referred us to Juan, who came over Friday - he believes we have an uncapped pipe or broken pipe under our home, but needs for the ground to dry up before he sends someone under to investigate. 

...it has rained since his visit, so we'll see when he can access under the house.

Saturday for dinner, we visited Gypsy with our friends Kit and Brian. It was a still, HOT night, but a trendy dinner locale was an excuse for us to dress up a bit! Kit and Brian are Vegan, and Gypsy has multiple items that suit their diet and are willing to modify others, so I highly suggest Gypsy for vegetarians and vegans.

Shrimp Chimmichurri was excellent! And their $8BZ sangria packs a punch!

Most of their plates are "tapas style" so it's easy to try a lot of different dishes, and share with friends!

This week will be more of the same - trying to round up items for the seemingly infinite lists to apply for a work permit and permanent residency...and I think we are going to try a smoothie/juice cleanse, provided I can find enough ingredients to piece together a menu. If you see me out and about, there are two reasons that I will be extra-crabby - heh!

We did an overnight at The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center again - we cannot say enough about this experience! We stayed in a (non-AC'ed) Pond House this time, as the AC rooms were all booked. They had plenty of fans, and it was a HUGE, free-standing cabin with four beds - two on either side of a bathroom and kitchenette. Edgar and Martin, two of the jaguars at the zoo, are both mourning the loss of their friend Lindo, who passed away about six weeks ago - we did a "Meet and Greet" with Edgar, but he was not willing to come over to visit. We saw them both on the night tour when they were more active. We would go back to the zoo any time, it's a wonderful place and you can feel the love the keepers have for their residents - it's not "just a job" for them, like many others in Belize that are seemingly going through the motions. 

A Ceiba tree at the zoo - planted in 1991

We also took them to snorkel at Bacalar Chico - I took my GoPro this time and have a handful of somewhat-useable photos and videos. I am not an "Apple" person, but their GoPros are waterproof and small, although I struggle to operate it, especially under the surface - it's hard to see the display through a mask! Ethan found a large lionfish (the first I have spotted in the wild!), and a puffer fish. Lots of tropical fish and beautiful coral. 

The puffer was under this coral - I wasn't able to properly capture him on camera!

August 5th was our first anniversary of living in Belize. It feels like it was yesterday that we moved, and at the same time, like it was eons ago. Time hits differently down here. We thought our beach house would be built - or, at least, nearly complete - around now. Instead, it hasn't even broken ground. That is hands-down our biggest disappointment. It's partially our fault, we took a long time to start working with an architect and finalize blueprints. Everything is ready to go, we have a building permit in-hand, but we no longer have road access. (If you are new here, the AirBnB 2 lots over had illegally cut a road in across someone else's property, who has, since we moved, blocked access.) We also haven't found a builder that can build within our budget. So we wait...a road will come into the back side of our lot, solving one of two problems.

I do have a sense of dread for the island, too. The rapid destruction of the environment is alarming - from dredging in Marine Reserves, filling in every lagoon to create more land, the lack of infrastructure improvements, talk of expanding the Tren Maya to our tiny island...it's a lot. It's too much. All of this is going on while politicians become multi-millionaires....it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how these projects are getting approved. It's disheartening. I am certain it happens the world over, but the Pollyanna in me was hoping Belize might be different. Or, at least, recognize what drives tourism and protect those aspects, yet they are doing the opposite. 

We can now apply for Permanent Residency, and while I thought we would be in the Immigration Office to apply first-thing August 5th, instead, I am still gathering docs. The requirement list is long, and it could take years for approval to be granted, which is a huge emotional deterrent to completing the tasks. The upside once approved is, we will no longer have to get tourist visa extensions each month, saving $100US per person. There are "expediters" that, for a hefty fee, can get your approval faster, but even then, it's 6-8 months. Again, nothing is easy (or free) in Belize. 

I think I am going to focus instead on getting a work permit, so I can get a job (hopefully!) and start making some money, and get to PR when I get to it.

1 year as Belize residents - all we have to show for it is tanner skin

Ethan and Lilly left on Saturday, and knowing it would hit Nathan hard, I looked for a distraction - and found it at The Sandbar's Rooftop Pool. Their new hotel features a negative-edge pool overlooking the Caribbean Sea - it is breathtaking! See a video here: Sandbar San Pedro - Negative-Edge, Oceanfront Rooftop Pool and Bar   Non-guests can use the pool with a reservation on Saturdays and Sundays!

Sunday, it was a day to rest and recouperate - after a "go-go-go" ten days, I needed a day to not have to leave the villa or see people. We started catching up on laundry, and getting back into a routine of cooking our own meals/not living like we're on vacation anymore, which is marginally better for the pocketbook. 

Since we have essentially condensed two homes (our goods from Phoenix plus the items from when the villa was a rental) into one, we live in constant clutter. Plus, we have had a lot of projects going on, like coating the patios, and I painted some of our railings, too. We had some debris left over from when the crew performed the big maintenance on the villa last fall, so I went down to the dump to drop off the items that could not be reused. It seems like garbage isn't leaving the island, which is problematic - when I first journeyed down to the dump, I put refuse in the shed. When Nathan and I went in April or so, we dropped it in a pile outside. This trip, I dropped into a new pile, and the previous one was still there - and massive. It looks as though they are running out of land for piles - and garbage is rotting in the open.

The backhoe was unmanned/not in operation.

We've started gathering alllllll of the documents required to apply for Permanent Residency - I expect it will run me $50US or more in printing/copying - and we did our medical portion at San Pedro Urgent Care. $101US per person for general health questions answered on the form by a doctor, plus blood tests for HIV/AIDS, syphyllis, and TB. We had our negative results via email the next day! I continue to be impressed with that facility - it's affordable, clean, and they are always on time if not early! That's important, as we booked first-thing in the morning so Nathan could go before his work day started. 

The lots immediately south of our beach lot have hit the market! We were both expecting the list price to be higher - it's not that much more than the list price for 70' x 140' or so lots north of the bars, when these lots total 2.4 acres AND offer 200' of beachfront! My father-in-law was trying to convince us to buy them...ha! Then we truly would never be able to build our home. Here is the listing, if you are interested: Beachfront 2.4 acres for sale - Secret Beach Of note, the listing agent took some liberties - it is 0% reachable by golf cart currently, and the northern outline of the lot is easily 25' too far into our land - the fish trap plus another 10-15' beyond it are ours. 

Saturday was rainy, so we focused on catching up on laundry, cleaning the house, decluttering...Roxy was in the way, so we made "geckos" out of paper bags and stuck them to the walls. Suddenly, she was zero percent interested in what we were doing!

Sunday, the weather cleared, so we headed out to Secret Beach. The water isn't as hot as I expected, and still no sea lice! Hoping that cooler water temps mean fewer hurricanes this season, and no sea lice, ever. We walked way far south of our land, almost to Casa Brisas, which is being subdivided and sold. 

Our free tree (plumeria) dropped quite a few of her leaves, which we expected - but the ones that remain look healthy, and the flower bunches do, too! They don't like having wet feet, so with all of the rain, I was worried - but she seems to be doing well. I made a rooting agent concoction from water, brown sugar, and yeast to give her a lil boost.

Go, baby, go!

Tomorrow, we'll get up early to get our photos taken for the permanent residency applications before Nathan starts work. We were advised to turn our applications in at the Belmopan office, and have to weigh that out - turning them in at the capital makes it less likely (not impossible, just less likely) they are lost. But there isn't an airport in Belmopan, so we would have to travel by land and Nathan would miss another day of work....ugh. Nothing is easy here....

Meanwhile, we are both stoked to have Ethan and Lilly inbound - it means hemorrhaging cash, but on the flip side, Nathan will take off of work and we can actually get some enjoyment out of living in Belize! We're planning an overnight at the TEC/Belize Zoo, driving up past Tranquility Bay to snorkel (provided the sargasso isn't unbearable), and show them some of the cool things we have found in our time here.

We had a few dry days and rolled the dice, looking to the skies the whole time, and were able to fix our patio coating! Here is a before and after shot - it's so much nicer now, the aggregate is coated enough that it no longer hurts to walk on it! And it's one, uniform color. However, we coated it really thick, and there's a seam on the vertical walls when we pulled the tape that we fear water could intrude and get under - so tomorrow, 0% chance of rain, I am going to have to run a line of the coating and seal 'er up.

Maybe 3 months ago, I saw a Facebook message chain about butter tasting like soap - and responses stated it's because store owners spray the whole container with Fabuloso so it smells better. (If you have never opened a container, let me tell you...it is RIPE! We used to import containers of furniture from India. The stench would knock you over.) That cleaner permeates everything - and most of our butter here is only in the paper wrapper. I thought I was lucky - I had not yet experienced bunk butter. Until I did - within two weeks, I got a soapy butter. Here, it comes in a 1-pound slab, no markers for measurements, and is $7.50-10US per pound, so it's not a cheap thing to have to toss out!

I then switched to more expensive, but in a sealed container, Mennonite butter. 

Then I forgot to go to the Mennonites' markets for a few of their trips, and had to buy "local" butter. I smelled every block in Home Tan Market like a psychopath; no hint of Fabuloso. Made some garlic bread with it, and BOOM. Fabuloso. Thank God it wasn't something more expensive/delicious like a batch of brownies ruined...

"Safe" butter up top; soapy butter on the bottom

Publics sells Cocos Lagoon butter, shown above, and is a good substitute when I'm too lazy to make an additional stop to see the Mennonites.

Regarding our default judgment against the Canadian real estate agent who stole our stamp tax money, it's mostly on us to recover our judgment. We had a Marshal come over from Belize City to mark his goods for sale, but he doesn't have much. Our attorney sent over another document that I needed to sign in front of a Commissioner of the High Court ASAP - I went back to Mr. Abel's, and he was not in. I asked at Town Council if anyone else on the island was a High Court Commissioner, and they told me to ask at the Police Station - they sent me upstairs to speak with a court clerk. She said Mr. Baldemar in the yellow house by Caye Supplies is my only other option - and you just go to their home, knock on the door, to get your docs witnessed. I headed to his home, and he was in the City but due back after lunch. 

After lunch, I returned, and he was still not back, expected after 4. Mr. Abel, still not available, maybe after 5. 

My doc was dated, and the attorney wanted it back the same day - egads. 

Around 4:30, I was able to find Mr. Baldemar at home, and he graciously witnessed my documents. At 75, he's the younger of the two Commissioners (Mr. Abel is 88 or 89), so I wonder what will happen when they pass...? Will everyone who needs something witnessed have to travel to the City?

We're in the week of some "downer" memories - yesterday was the 4th anniversary of losing our favorite cat, Lola, shortly after her 9th birthday due to kidney failure. Tomorrow is the 1-year anniversary of the closing of our home in Phoenix. We both miss that house, and thought we would be moving into our new beach home around this time - instead, it hasn't even started, and we're in this villa we keep putting lipstick on to try to make it less crappy.

Packing this trailer in 118f for three days was also not a good memory!

Saturday, we rather spur-of-the-moment decided to take the water taxi to Caye Caulker for their Lobsterfest celebration! We haven't been to CC in...ten years...? It's also growing by leaps and bounds, but it still doesn't have paved roads or many vehicles. It's certainly a slower pace and has more of a "hippie" vibe. Here's a video: Caye Caulker Lobsterfest 2025

One of many "unique personalities" we saw on CC - note the socks!

I liked CC's Lobsterfest better - it's set up more like a galley, and a lot of the vendors had tables in the shade to eat your purchases - in San Pedro, we were stuck trying to stand, hold a drink, and eat simultaneously once the small area of folding chairs (no tables) filled up.

On Sunday, one of our neighbors brought over a plumeria tree he was removing from his yard - I was not expecting a six-foot-plus one! But what an awesome free tree! Plumerias are the flowers that Hawaiian leis are made. I had a few cuttings I was growing at our Phoenix home, but they never really took off. He grew this one from a cutting, and I hope it takes! We love free trees!

It's in a little bit of shock, so we'll baby it.

We're eleven days out from Ethan and Lilly's visit, so I have a laundry list of things I'd like to get done before they arrive - and they'll be here over our 1-year in Belize mark, when we can apply for Permanent Residency, so I'm also working to get all of our docs and certificates ready for that!

Aside from the regular errands and house maintenance, Lobsterfest was in full gear! This is the first year that we were "on island" for the Block Party - I picked up a Passport (you earn a stamp at each lunch and dinner location you attend while they host Lobsterfest IF you order lobster, to be entered into a drawing) at the Belikin Store on Coconut Drive on Wednesday - mostly I went to support Fresh n Go - they wisely cross-promoted lobster snacks since Belikin makes....beer. Not lobster. And Fresh n Go is right next door! In the end, I earned my first (and only) passport stamp off of an $8BZ draft beer. 

Friday, I was invited by our neighbor/friend Diana to Paint n Splash at Mesa Cantina again - formerly known as Mesa Bistro. Kit picked me up and we met three new ladies. While my "artwork" is not quite at the "internet shareable" level, the view sure was!

Getting ready to paint another "masterpiece"....

Nathan was ready to get out of our villa after a long week at work, so we asked Kit and Brian if they wanted to try Jyoto Downtown with us. I had ordered some rolls "to take" a few months ago when they had a lunch special, and they were fantastic! Yet we hadn't dined in before. Their spicy beef dumplings are AMAZING, we could have made a meal out of 4 orders of those and been very pleased! Every item ordered was exceptional, the only negative to report is that prices were a few dollars ($3-5BZ per item) higher than posted on their menus they shared October 31, 2024. It's not inexpensive, but if you are craving legitimate sushi and Japanese dishes...Jyoto is a can't miss!

Over the weekend, we attended our first Lobsterfest Block Party - it started at 5 pm Saturday at Saca Chispas Field on Back Street - we walked so we could enjoy cocktails and not have to mess with parking. I am glad we arrived shortly after they opened, the lines were tolerable - and some booths ran out of food by 9:30, when the event ran until midnight! We had a lobster torta (a rare miss from one of our favorite spots, but they seemed "off" that night...), lobster-stuffed jalapeno poppers, a lobster mac and cheese ball, and lobster bisque - all of those last three were dynomite! We left before the sun went down - and I was reminded of how much I dislike crowds and large events.

We also traveled further north on the island than ever before! Almost to Mexico - when I dropped this blue pin, we were already on our way back south when the mosquitoes became unbearable. 

Nathan didn't Picaridin-up above his legs, and he was swarmed to the point we had to turn back - we turned around inside a construction site, I don't know how those workers stand the mossies! You definitely feel like you are in the jungle up there - the trees are dense and there are hardly any signs of humans. 

The sargasso north of town varies widely - some stretches, it was quite light:

This photo was taken not far from El Norte bar

While others were seemingly creating new land out of sargasso so thick, you couldn't see any water. Like Margaritaville.  That link will take you to a video of their current situation - by far, the worst I have seen, anywhere, ever. I'm not just saying that because we loathe Jimmy Buffett. 

I did take a photo of the giant flip flop in the bar to send to some of our dear friends (despite their love for yacht rock, we are still friends).

I think we have driven past Margaritaville four times now...? And it's always a ghost town. I'm not sure how they manage to stay open.

Sunday afternoon, rain came out of nowhere and the rest of the day was wet. We celebrated Roxy's third birthday, time is flying by with her...last weekend we shaved down some of her fluff as her belly was getting some mats. She just lies there...not a care in the world...the heat doesn't seem to bother her, we were worried as we don't see fluffy cats here.

We allegedly (and I take weather forecasts with a grain of salt here) will have dry weather the next three days, so ideally, the patios dry out and we can re-coat them. We shall see....!

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!

Friday night, we were watching a show when power cut out. It was really windy all day, with brief periods of heavy rain, so it wasn't a big surprise to us when it went out. Time to turn on the USB fans and hope the outage didn't last too long...we eventually gave up and went to (sweaty) bed. Power kicked back on a few minutes before 1 am, and just under the four-hour mark, where fridge items start spoiling. We have no idea why power was out; BEL never reported anything.

Saturday was Selene's 13th Birthday; she seems to really like living here, she is much more active, but still not putting weight back on after her dental cleaning and tooth extraction. She's about 3 pounds lighter than when we moved here.

She looks pissy....but she's not actually.

Kit and Brian told us BelizeScapes had bamboo, so we went down to see and it turns out, it's araca palm that is 15ish years old, not bamboo - but Tomasita said she is expecting some timber bamboo this week, so we'll be heading back this weekend! I also broke down and bought a one-piece swimsuit at a paca on Back Street - I have been eyeing it for a week, maybe 10 days, on a manequin out front...we were killing time in town and seeing it was brand new, and $20BZ, I took the plunge! I think I last owned a one-piece in...1987...? 1988...?

Saturday was overcast all day, but I believe it was the first day in weeks that we had NO rain, so hopefully things dry out a bit.

Sunday, we woke to a mix of clouds and sunshine, hooray! Nathan's previous weekend was rained out, so I was glad he saw some sunshine on his days off.

We joined the South Ambergris Caye Neighborhood Watch Poker Run that afternoon - it was our first time doing one, and we talked Kit and Brian into going, too. It starts at Someplace South, which feels like the other side of the world to us, but in reality, is less than 4 miles south. Google Maps says that's a 25-minute drive from our villa. I think it took us a bit longer on account of the puddles! They are a bit south of the end of the paved road.

If you are unaware, Someplace South does 2-for-1 mimosas all day, every day - and they have a ton of different options! (Including just champagne, if you prefer not to have extra vitamins added to your beverage.)

I need for a restaurant in Tres Cocos to do this, so I can walk home!

If you are also new to a Poker Run, you earn a card at each bar you go to, and whoever has the best hand of their collected cards at the end, wins! Sadly, no one in our group won, but we all had a great time, and it was only $25BZ to join!

Today we also have partially sunny skies! YES! Our roof has NO water on it, for the first time since we coated it. I'm hopeful that the soft spots will harden up and cure if they get a chance to dry out. 

BEL, our electric company, has warned us that power will be off Thursday from 7 am to 3 pm - EIGHT HOURS. Based on that, I'm not buying any new groceries; we need to eat through what is in our refrigerator. Their message was vague, so I'm unsure if power will be out everywhere for that full duration, or power could be out for a span of time within that range. I'm on the fence if I should freeze anything left in our fridge - again, 4 hours of no power, and your fridge items enter the danger zone. A full freezer can maintain safe temps for up to 48 hours. 

As a little kick to the crotch, I had to log into my old electric company account today and saw this proud reminder: 

Yes, it has been almost THREE YEARS since there was a power outage at our last home in Phoenix. I'm unsure if we have gone more than 3 weeks since we moved here, without at least a brief outage. Island life...!

Nathan will have July 4th off of work, a nice long weekend for us! We're going to try to go to Secret Beach, we haven't been to our lot since May 18th. I'm sure the weeds are out of control, and the sea lice are likely back. I'm getting close to punting my blueprints and asking a builder to design something that meets our criteria that would be in our budget...ugh. Although that doesn't fix our lack of road access. Tom Petty was right - the waiting IS the hardest part.

For reference, we normally vacationed here in June or July, as the boys were out of school, allowing us to stay for 10-12 days (the max my employer would allow per year.) We never had nearly this much rain in a week!

When I did brave the elements, I found the old San Pedro Express Water Taxi Terminal in Central Park is gone! It had been posted for sale on Facebook for something very low, $10k or $20k. I don’t know if they found a buyer, or just demolished it. I’m not sure what will happen with that pier, although I did see our two new “Sargasso Scooper” boats docked there this weekend, already heavy with rust – how the hell does a boat rust in a matter of weeks…?! They allegedly cost $3.1M. It’s a not-so-funny joke that Hol Chan paid $100k for the boats, and someone there or in the government pocketed $3M. I have not seen them operate once, and as you can see in that photo, the sargasso is definitely making it to shore.

Friday after work, Nathan was itching to get out of the villa, so we headed to the Caribi Bleu Casino, which opens at 6. We arrived around 6:15 and they were still setting up and doing maintenance (“island time”), and I think we were the only customers until at least 8. Regardless, we had a fabulous time and even came home up a few hundred, always a bonus!

Saturday, I had a killer headache, most likely caused by free local rum and vodka drinks at the casino. It poured buckets most of the day, so we were absolute slugs on the sofa, binged garbage shows on Hulu, and tried to stop the rainwater flowing through our front door.

Sunday, we awoke to peeks of sunshine and opted to brave the elements – Nathan needed a haircut, then we went to lunch. We stopped at the same barber shop as his last cut, but found a different barber on duty – who spoke no English. Before long, a translator came in. When finished, Nathan’s haircut was $20US, not $20BZ like last time – our mistake for not clarifying before cutting. Upon closer review at home, one side of his head is blended and looks great – the other side, as he so accurately put it, is “more like Peaky Blinders”. My assumption is the barber just immigrated from Lebanon and is learing how to cut hair. And perhaps $10US went to the translator/trainer, and $10 to the barber.

We opted to lunch at Estel’s since they were on the water and had good rain coverage just in case. Breakfast is great there, as is dinner, but lunch was underwhelming. I should have ordered a breakfast entrée, they serve breakfast until 3, at least on the weekends. We watched another cell roll in, and when we saw a break, we drove home before the next front hit – and it sure did.

This bucket is partially sheltered by our villa, and it measured at 9” of rain this morning, just from Saturday/Sunday! I immediately dumped it over; the mosquitoes have plenty of spots to lay new heathens without our help! And they are fierce right now!

In better news, our septic pump breaker has not tripped, so Antonio found the problem and solved it!

Overall, a pretty boring week with the rain, I will try to find more excitement this week!

Antonio, the electrician, found an uncapped, live wire in our septic pump's circuit, floating around in wet dirt - he removed it, and not to jinx anything, but so far, the new breaker has not tripped. 

Tuesday, I found that something had chewed holes in several one-gallon-sized ziplock bags of Kitten Food in our pantry. A quick Google search reported back Nathan's favorite: COCKROACHES. They seek out pet food for its fat content and strong smell, and can easily breach pet food bags - thus contaminating the food, so it's best to throw it out so your pets don't get ill. 

Adding insult to injury, I also had to toss about eight pounds of Iams Senior kibble; our cats had lost interest, and I thought they just preferred the new RX Kidney diet food I had added to their diet. When the outside, stray, and hungry cats wouldn't touch it, I knew something was up. Google again taught me that kibble has a shelf life of only 4-6 weeks once the container is open, and less time in humidity, before it starts to turn. Fantastic. We have two automatic feeders that were full of kibble.

Roaches chewed circular holes in multiple bags of kitten food I brought from the US

I then disinfected EVERYTHING in our pantry, Kitchen, and the floors....gross.

Mosquitoes have also returned; we had grown complacent and enjoyed the months-long reprieve from the mossies. With just a touch of rain, they are back with a vengeance. May as well have the trifecta - the rains seem to have reactivated the ants, too.

We saw a few-day dry spell and pounced at the opportunity to try out our new roof sealant - I coated the stairs to our roof on Wednesday, and then on Thursday we were both on the roof by 5:45 am to tape off the sides and coat the roof. It took about three hours, then Nathan cleaned up and started his work day. The coating is fabulous - elastomeric, so it flexes like rubber - and takes 3-5 hours to dry to the touch, and 24 hours to fully cure. Clear skies at dawn gave way to a lunchtime downpour, soaking the surface of our roof. I put on socks and went upstairs - it wasn't tacky, so I squeegeed the roof deck to remove puddles and hand-mopped with towels to remove as much rain as possible. It's lighter in some areas, and we aren't supposed to apply a second coat; just one, thick coat - but we're going to have to reinforce some areas and hope for the best.

 
We didn't even have time to pull the tape before rain fell and pooled on the fresh coating :( 

Thursday afternoon, I took my cat trap down to Kit's house - she bought one at Castillo's so we had two - but know that they are $160US+ down here! She was involved with TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) in Maryland and was on a board for a rescue for 35 years, she knows what she's doing and I was afraid to try trapping on my own. She baited the traps with beef chunks and within minutes, we captured two of the kittens! No sign of the mom cat, though. We took them to SAGA to be spayed/neutered that day, recover, and be picked up on Saturday. 

Kit decided to try her luck when she got back home and re-baited the traps, catching the other two kittens in one trap! Mom was back and she was ANGRY, but we took her kittens to join the others. 

Kit was finally able to trap the mom cat on Friday - she kept going around the trap's trigger, Kit had to "Wile E. Coyote" trap-door-on-a-string to finally get her. I'm so grateful to have Kit here, my TNR Mentor!

The spiciest of kittens - a tortie, of course!

Saturday, the kittens were ready for pickup so we could "R" (Release) them - Kit and I picked them up and brought them back to her and Brian's house. Here is a video on that: TNRing kittens in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize

The skies broke on our way home, but there was a Farmer's Market at The Truck Stop and we wanted to go, so we grabbed our husbands, umbrellas, and headed that way. Unfortunately, the reason for my visit, a lady who sells plants, didn't attend as planned, but we did see our friends Mandy and Kevin from Fresh N Go, and Mandy introduced me to my writing mentor, Rebecca from SanPedroScoop.com!

I nervously giggled for most of our conversation, but I was so excited to meet someone instrumental in teaching us about the island, what to expect, how to survive, and kept us updated on goings-on before we could move down. Rebecca is an island legend!

With unstable skies, we opted to go to Kit and Brian's pool and have food delivered - I need to buy stock in SandBar, I'm keeping them busy!

Sunday/Father's Day was much like Mother's Day - intermittently rainy. Nathan had all of his calls and received some great news - his dad has penciled in a trip to come down! His dad is his BFF and will bring Zach back with him so he doesn't have to travel alone.

We went to Vibez for their Pink Lemonade Buckets (strongly suggest! $15BZ frozen pink lemonade cocktails in a bucket) and snacks, then walked to Hurricane's. Before long, the skies broke again, and we met a lovely family that had just purchased a diving company and was learning how to navigate life here. 

The Patty Flipper was open on our way home! We placed a to-go order, gorged on the best burgers on the island, and went to bed early.

My slumber was disturbed a little after one; there was some commotion outside, I thought maybe the wind had picked up. The noises continued, so I grabbed a flashlight and found....TWO raccoons on the patio outside our room, wrestling like they were in WWF. Not mating - wrestling, biting, but not growling. One was close to 30 pounds, the biggest raccoon I have personally seen, and dominating the smaller one, so I flashed his eyes and he walked down the side of our home. The smaller one was flat on the ground, splooted out, looking dazed - and I realized she was IN LABOR. On our patio. For the next 3 hours, she was delivering, and the male came back to check on her, jump on our patio furniture, groom himself...so no sleep was had. 

When I peeked outside at daybreak, the raccoons and their kits were gone - but they left behind a ton of afterbirth and mess. Fantastic.

Google said to bleach it all - I checked with ACES Wildlife Rescue and they confirmed - raccoons carry many nasty diseases and parasites, we have to protect ourselves and bleach everything, even adjacent to the lagoon. Sigh....

Kit picked up the mom cat this morning and said they are all happily reunited. SAGA runs solely on donations, so while they offer free TNR surgery, please make a donation to help them out! They are always looking for dog walkers, cat cuddlers, help with fundraising, and education...if you have time, money, or both, they can always use your assistance!

I feared I would never find the correct lightbulb on the island and would have to ship it down (which takes 3-4 weeks), but believe it or not, Castillo's had a two-pack and it was only $25BZ! We only suffered in the darkness for two days. 

Wednesday, "rainy season" decided to kick it into high gear, bringing us needed - but almost too much - rain! Some weather stations on the island reported 7-11" of water in 24 hours - it rained from mid-afternoon and all night. Rainy season is June to November. I'm delighted that all our "black gold" dirt didn't wash down the street, but in less-desirable yet somehow predictable news, our septic pump breaker began tripping again. We presume all the rain flooded the pump since it is underground. We're mad again at Angel, who installed the pump and wanted to raise it out of the ground, for backtracking and just putting it back where he found the defunct one. Antonio came by today, and the circuits are all firing wiring-wise, so it's something with the pump itself. Nathan will dig it out of the ground tonight, then Antonio will be back tomorrow to troubleshoot. UGH. 

As the rain started...before it became torrential. The "drip line" is from our roof.

It rained so hard and we had intense wind, resulting in the rain driving right at our front door for about 10 minutes, and of course, flooding our foyer. At least it temporarily slowed down the ants from coming in!

I warned my friend, Kit, to keep an eye on their sliding doors as they often leak here. She thought with all of their covered patios, they'd be okay. Later that night, she found some puddles - the rain here is pretty unstoppable when it's strong!

Naturally, all this rain is thwarting our plan to reseal our roof - it rained a few more times during the week, to where we couldn't coat this weekend. Then again, it was crazy-hot and humid, just stifling! Even if it were dry, I'm not sure we would have survived that task. 

Friday, Nathan worked a half-day, and we went to The Doghouse at 2 to join their Cribbage tournament for the first time! With slow season upon us, there were only 9 players. It's a double-elimination format, and I had a bye, lost to Nathan, beat two ladies, then lost to Keith - who faced Nathan in the finals. Nathan had beaten Keith earlier that day and was undefeated, meaning Keith would have to win two in a row to win - which he did. The players were all super friendly and welcoming, it's a shame we can't go every week!

The sargasso floated back in with all of its might; I have yet to see one of the "sargasso scooper" boats working. One seems to be permanently docked at the old water taxi depot. If you look past it, the sea is still beautiful!

We ran a lot of errands this weekend, including hardware store trips, planting plants, getting plant cuttings to make more plants for free, fixing our planter that runs the length of our villa (one of the rain downspouts drains into it and collapsed some dirt). And we binge-watched season 2 of Tires - great if you need something mindless to zone out on. 

Saturday night, Marv and Tanya had us (plus Kit and Brian) over for dinner and laughs - they are going back to the States until September, we'll miss having them around!

Today I started patching our porches and stairs with a fiberous concrete mix so we can seal them when we do the roof....it has now started sprinkling. At this rate, it may be January before we get three dry days in a row, and we have a solid half-day of prep work to tape off the rooftop, stairs, and patios. It would have been a full day had Brian not offered to lend us his laser level!

Wednesday, Kit and I are going to try to TNR some cats in the community - one of the original seven from Lina Point dodged the traps last fall and turned up pregnant. She had four or five kittens, we're going to attempt to round them all up to go to SAGA for snips before the cycle starts again. Kit has done this before, so I'm grateful to have her here to show me the ropes!

Tuesday, I drove one of my neighbors, Tanya, to Publics, the grocery store by the water taxi. Their pricing on almost all items is the best on the island, so it's worth the drive - but Tanya is apprehensive to drive through town, so I offered to take her with me. She still shops like I did in North America; "FORO - Fear Of Running Out", gotta keep that pantry packed! In all fairness, I have loaded mine up over the past few months, but not in one grocery trip. I mentioned to her that our septic pump breaker keeps tripping, and she shared with me a LICENSED electrician they have used, who does fabulous work. She said he charges more, but when you're talking about electrical...worth it. I took his number and made plans to call.

Wednesday morning, I was in the kitchen doing dishes around 9, still in pajamas, when there was a knock at our door. Not expecting anyone, I opened the door cautiously to find Antonio, the electrician! He was headed north and stopped at Marv and Tanya's, and Marv sent him over to look at our breaker. He thought the amperage might be too low for the pump (15 amp), and either way, it wouldn't hurt to replace it with a 20 amp. He quoted us $150BZ and was off to get the breaker - and back, installed, within the hour! The old one was sparking and had melted a bit, so there's our issue. Even more surprisingly, he said NOT to pay him until a few days later, to make sure that solved the problem! WHAT...?!? Antonio is my new best friend! By contrast, we had paid Nick $300BZ to replace an outdoor GFI. The breaker has not tripped, our pump is working, and for under $100US when we feared we were potentially looking at considerably more - WIN!

Thursday, we drove to The Alibi for their amazing fried chicken and cocktails - Joe made me a stellar tequila drink when I told him I don't like tequila, change my mind, and he sure did. I could have had 7, but I was driving, so one had to do.

Friday night, neither of us felt like cooking, so we decided to roll the dice and see if The Patty Flipper was open - their hours have been sporadic, maybe they are selling out of burgers...? Sadly, I haven't seen it very busy, despite the chorus of fans on Facebook. We were delighted to find the truck staffed! We placed our orders and took them home - while presentation is a 4/10, the taste was 10/10, everything I remembered! These burgers aren't just good "for the island", I would put them in my top 3 anywhere for a classic, messy, beefy burger! WIN!

Many napkins perished during this meal - they also may make the best fries on the island!

Saturday hit and we had a lot of errands to run - including a stop at SUR for a roof coating. Before the rains come, we want to seal our concrete walkways and redo our roof, we don't feel a quality job was done last fall. 

Sunday morning and until about 2, we spent powerwashing our roof and walkways, which required me to remove all of my plant pots from our porch and walkways. It was HOT - it's been in the mid-80s and very humid, but no rain yet. Our neighbor to the east's constant construction has been blowing sawdust onto our roof and patios, clogging up our downspouts and sticking to our roof, so it took way longer than it should have. Once we were finished, we went to town to get some paint rollers (the roof needs to dry for a few days) and to Hurricane's for a few cocktails and a late lunch. Their food is always fantastic! And it seems we have a small reprieve in the sargasso, here is a video from that day: June 1 2025 Sargasso update - San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize

Less sargasso? WIN!

Always a great view at Hurricane's - and they have rotating drink specials!

Monday, I received notice that my Belizean Queen order was on the island - they now have a location south of town to pick up, instead of sending via water taxi, that should get packages here a little sooner. I took my neighbor Kit, as her first order will arrive next week and we may as well figure it out together! The cost was a bit more than I believe it would have been via water taxi, so I am on the fence about the new service. It also isn't open every day, so for those with set responsibilities, it may be tougher to retrieve your loot! I will consider this a DRAW.

On the "job" front, it's seeming like we may be better served for me to start a company, although it will take a lot of time, a lot of effort, and not result in much income in the immediate future, compared to acquiring an existing business. We'll see how motivated I can get!

Our neighbors to the west have two puppies now, so guess who has puppy fever...? 

THIS guy! They frequently escape the neighbor's yard, and Nathan is more than happy to go wrangle them.

I went to do some baking last week and opened a 5lb bag of bread flour I picked up at Brodie's the last time I was on the mainland. It was $3BZ cheaper than on the island! I thought I had scored...but instead, this bag also had "free extra protein" and is a total loss. Here's a video if you like watching gross things. 

And a still photo if you prefer them non-moving:

These guys had 2 months to incubate and GROW in my pantry - ugh!

Tuesday afternoon, after weeks of no updates from The Patty Flipper, I saw two guys in the truck! I enthusiastically cut another cart off and RAN over to ask when they were reopening...? They were aiming for Thursday. I instantly shared this to Facebook as many people have been asking and excited about the food truck with the best burgers in the island re-opening...and it seems they had a ton of people start showing up Thursday, since they had to do a Facebook post themselves that they would announce their official reopening when they were ready. Ooops...sorry! (That post came on Saturday).

They have since put up a shade sail! This photo is from last Tuesday.

Friday, I went to Paint N Splash with three ladies from our neighborhood at Mesa Bistro - we had a lovely time and turned out some not-quite-fridge-worthy art, but the instructors do make it pretty foolproof! Three of us had never done this before, but I'm sure with practice, our art skills can only improve! 

That evening, we went to dinner with the other "newbies" in our neighborhood, Kit and Brian, who graciously invited us for a pool day on Sunday!

Saturday, Nathan was excited to have a long weekend on account of Memorial Day back in the States, and wanted to get out of the house, so we did a bar crawl, starting at Xoti's by the bridge, making stops along the way, until we hit the soft opening of Gypsy.

At a stop at Vibez, we saw a barge stuck on the sea bed, just tearing it up, trying to break loose. A bartender said the same thing happened the day before. As delighted as I am to have the trucks gone from town core, the barges can't be making things worse by destroying the reef! UGH! Here is a video: Barge Stuck on Seabed, San Pedro Belize

Vibez did raise the price on their rum punch buckets, from $30BZ to $40BZ, but it's still a good value and with fresh strawberries and blueberries as a garnish...?! Hell, that's half the cost!

Sunday we had a fabulous time at our neighbors'; we went from having zero social life to suddenly having friends! It's a lot for an introvert like me - I love staying home, but occasionally, it's delightful to talk to people outside my household. Or my cats. 

Yesterday, Nathan and I went to brunch at The Dog House - we regularly go for dinner, this was our first time with the breakfast menu. It was okay, but can't hold a candle to their lunch/dinner options! Then we ordered more black dirt at Caribbean Depot, with plans to split it 50/25/25 with two other neighbors. The truck came that afternoon, and...it did not go well. I feel terrible! It seems like about 75% was dumped in our yard, skimping the others. The best-laid plans...

After moving dirt, we didn't feel like cooking, so I journeyed over to The Patty Flipper to find them...CLOSED. Nooooooooo.....! This was around 5:30, and shortly after, they made a FB posting that they were closed for the day. While I don't miss eating garbage fast food, I would have given my left foot for a drive-thru anything at that moment! Nathan didn't respond to my message, so I made the executive decision to go to Sandbar and order takeout - their prices are fair and the food is consistently good. 

While sitting at the bar waiting for my order, I had a rum and club soda. When I was finished, a server helped me out of my chair. My order wasn't ready, so I returned to the bar - and a refill appeared. The kind server told the bartender to get me a drink on his tab. The server, who couldn't be more than 30, bought me a drink when I was essentially in pajamas, with wet hair, and hardly any makeup. Awwww....made my day! He chatted politely with me a bit before asking for my number - I didn't have my wedding ring on, as I intended to simply run across the street and get burgers to go after cleaning up. I felt so bad telling him I have a husband! But I most definitely do, and intend to keep him. 

We don't have anything urgent on our calendar this week, so it will be nice to get caught up on some general maintenance and other things I've been putting off.

Thursday morning, Nathan saw an osteopath in our community - he's been experiencing chronic headaches, plus lingering calf pain. He's been to a chiropractor in Arizona, had x-rays, injections...nothing has helped, so he was open to something more holistic. Facebook groups suggested an osteopath, and conveniently enough, she's walking distance from our home. She thinks he will only need three treatments, one week apart. At $100BZ per treatment, it's the most affordable option we've attempted, so it's worth a try!

That night, we took our first neighborhood friends, Marv and Tanya, to dinner - I'm embarrassed it took us so long to do this. They had us over months ago for dinner, but with us not having a dining table and having bins stacked everywhere, it's difficult to host. They're such a nice couple, and we enjoyed catching up with them - they will be back in CA for a few months starting in June.

All of our neighborhood friends are retired; I'm planning to go with Kit, Diana, and maybe a few more on Friday to Paint-and-Splash. I'm so grateful that Nathan continues to work his ass off so we can live here. I mistakenly thought he could retire when we moved, and I'm glad he didn't buy in, as much as he would love to be done working. I know it bums him out when we get invited to things Monday-Friday during his work times. The business we had a verbal agreement to purchase has seemingly fallen apart; the seller, upon seeing our written offer requiring tax returns, blew up the deal - while she was willing to accept a six-figure offer, she's not at all willing to provide proof of the numbers she provided on her Profit-and-Loss excel. Good luck to her - there are a lot of idiots in this world, but the ones that can pay that amount of cash for a business are certainly going to want proof it's as profitable as the seller says...!

Friday, I had 8 cubic yards of black dirt, or as I call it, "Black Gold", delivered - the native island dirt won't allow much of anything to grow, besides local weeds. It's not terribly expensive - 8 cu yds is a full dump truck load, at $720BZ/$360US. Nathan built a flower garden on one side of our home that we have been filling with clean cardboard (natural weed barrier, decomposes and provides nutrients for plants), which needed probably 6 cu yds. We filled our front planter boxes first, as the soil level was low and had lost most of its nutrients. While I was waiting for the delivery - because while Caribbean Depot will say they'll call before they arrive, they are 0-for-4 with us - I slapped another coat of paint on some of our fence. It's more paint than wood at this point.

8 cubic yards of "Black Gold"

We put down tarps and cardboard to try to keep the rich soil out of our white rocks, but the driver exceeded our spread slightly in the front/didn't back up far enough. I suspect we'll have a healthy band of weeds there momentarily! I moved about a dozen buckets of dirt into our planters and saved the rest for Nathan on Saturday.

Of course, Saturday was incredibly humid and awful for working in. I went on a cardboard hunt while Nathan went to work on scooping dirt, then I helped him when I returned. We made it roughly halfway through the pile before determining our efforts were better spent doing other things and hiring Vandam, our landscaper/handyman extrodinaire, to move the balance.

A contractor drove by and stopped to talk to Nathan - he said that about three years ago, he installed concrete pads under our home. Many of our neighbors have experienced failing piles under their homes, which we expected to be our next huge bill. He said the previous owner heard about the others and preemptively had the work completed. WHEW. In trade, because homeownership is never "everything's awesome!" here, the breaker for our septic pump keeps tripping....fantastic. I'll need to find an electrician soon.

I had a pedicure on Thursday, and perhaps I should've waited on that...

White fence paint AND black dirt! Is there an "OnlyFans" category for this..?

Sunday morning, we went to Estel's for breakfast, then headed out to our land. We haven't been there since the Saturday before Easter, for four weeks! It seems some sort of battle(s) is/are brewing:
-There are now strands of barbed wire along Mistico's property line and fence to deter passing;
-The lot between us and the AirBnB has HUGE, high-vis signs posted on it; 
-Not a soul was at the Airbnb - not their boat, no vehicles, ghost town. 

Between I believe 2018 and 2019, the lot between us put up a small structure's frame, like a lean-to over a countertop; other than that, we've never seen any activity there. This lot is entirely land-locked, even when the new roads behind go in, and from some basic research, it seems the owner lives on the mainland.

The weeds on our property are aggessively regrowing - at least some of them are flowering, so they aren't just razorgrass. It's depressing to know we won't be living there any time soon...it was our dream since we bought it in 2017.

The water was incredibly clear and noticeably warmer since our last dip! We feared the sea lice would have returned by now, but so far, so good! We have had them in late May on previous trips, so any delay in their hatching or migrating or however they arrive is fine by us! The baracuda were acting oddly, however - almost aggressively. They were following us when we snorkeled and getting uncomfortably close. Nathan wanted to snorkel in the fish trap, but there were four or more LARGE barracuda staring him down.

We have a call tomorrow afternoon with our lawyer on "next steps" - even though we have a court-ordered settlement, there are now additional docs to file, fees to pay, and effort on our part to try to recover the funds due to us. Just when I think it's over...