Saturday, March 05, 2005

from the "It's a good thing I didn't bring my gun" dept.

Friday was a really lazy day. I wandered around the island enjoying the lack of agenda and “to do” list.

Around noon, I ran into Tina, the woman from LA. She’d just returned from a morning diving trip and was famished. She invited me to lunch and we wandered down to Popeye’s, a large restaurant on – actually over – the water.

The kitchen is built on the beach, but the sitting area is on stilts, over the Caribbean Sea. It’s a great place because it’s covered, but the walls are basically open and that allows a cool sea breeze blew through. Natural air conditioning!

Popeye’s is notable because it is the place where, on New Years Eve 2000, Brent, Steve, John and Lorne, and I celebrated Y2K.

During lunch I learned more about Tina. She’s traveled a lot and currently works as a buyer for a large retail chain. She buys coats. She likes it and finds it interesting. I wonder what it’s like to have a “real” job. Oh yeah: security!

The prices were touristy: a fish burrito was about US$8. Good, but considering you can get chicken and rice and beans on the street for less than half that… it can add up. Of course, I am cooking most meals in my apartment, so the costs are cheap. In fact, I have been keeping track of expenses and at this point, including my accommodation here and airfare, I’ve spent just under C$1400. And I doubt I’ll spend more that C$600 more by the time I leave on March 17.

Back to Popeye’s: they’re scamming people for beer. On March 1, the Government of Belize increased taxes on beer. This was passed on to the manufacturer ( Bowen & Bowen ) who increased the cost 25 cents (BZ). But using that as an excuse, Popeye’s raised the price of beer $1 (BZ). A 75 cent increase of profit per beer. What a scam! But for touristas, a $4 (BZ) beer is just $2 US.

The good news is that beer in the shops is $2.50 (BZ) and you can pack ‘em in to bars and restaurants.

Tina was pooped, and headed off for a nap. I headed to the phone to see if I could finally get confirmation from Continental about changing my flight. The short answer yes, but it would cost. US$230 to return on either the 21 or 22. And as I am scheduled to work that week, it was a petty tight turn around. At the same time, my friends at CTV were offering a couple of days work. So it came down to money. And time.

The main reason for extending the trip was so I could spend more time visiting Guatemala and other countries. Travel anywhere is measured in days, and after I finish with Caulker on the 10th, that doesn’t leave a ton of time to explore.

Still, saving US$230 and making some $ makes more sense. After all, the real exploration trip is the Border Expedition. And the more money I earn between now and then, the more I can enjoy Belgrade, Tirana, and other tourist hotspots. And I can see coming back to Central America later in the year, travel gods willing.

It was blistering hot, so I grabbed a bicycle and went riding around the back roads of the island. Caulker is bigger than I realized. I went all the way to the southern tip of the island where there are all sorts of hidden homes… some nice, some not so nice. On the way back I had to cross the airstrip at the airport – looking left and right for incoming planes.

The sun was beginning to drop, which signaled the procession to the Lazy Lizard bar at the split to watch sunset. Armed with my camera, I shot some really cool shots (to be posted).

I heard a familiar voice beckon – it was Brent who had traveled over and will stay here for a few days. Roh comes this morning.

After sunset we headed back to the apartment, where Heather, the manager of the property joined us for pints on the balcony. We got into trouble when we started mixing rum concoctions in the smoothie maker. Note to self: MEASURE!!

Growling stomachs signaled dinnertime. Heather headed off home and Brent and I wandered down to Wish Wilie’s, the “restaurant” run by Maurice. He’s a trained chef (maybe) and cooks up great food. He also has an honour-system bar. The restaurant is nothing more than a collection of picnic tables in his yard. He cooks inside his house and is very free and easy with payment. We had a drink and chicken kabobs for BZ35 for two.

There’s lots of entertainment at Wish Willie’s. Last night there was a couple of old drunks taking advantage of the honour bar. And then the cops show up.

Now, pot is illegal in Belize. And unlike Vancouver, you don’t see people using it openly. Maurice had recently been busted for smoking a joint (which means a fine, usually direct payment to John Law – wink, wink).

One cop was sort of sheepish and stayed the shadows, while the other went to the bar and poured a couple of stiff drinks. He passed one to his partner and Maurice asked if they were going to get a jag on. The cop laughed, took a swig, and laughed: “It’s a good thing I didn’t bring my gun.”

Brent filled me in on the background: apparently there have been occasions were the local law tend to get a little liquored and shoot off their firearms “accidentally.”

The good thing is that the drunken cops are riding bicycles, not driving 2000 pounds of metal death.

Tummies full, we headed back to the apartment. We cranked the tunes, had a few more rums and – at one point the neighbours complained. I guess the two goofs, their slushy drinks, and cranked bluegrass covers of AC-DC tunes didn’t go over well.

Being a polite Canadian, Brent explained in Spanish to the German woman that we would turn it down.

The night ended shortly thereafter.

SATURDAY:

Roh took a morning water taxi over. Brent and I puttered around, listened to tunes, chewed the fat, and cooked up breakfast. It was raining, and although it has stopped, its now a cool and cloudy day. Which is just fine.

Cheers!

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