Mangroves and Howlers
Raymond is slapping his four-foot-long machete on the Cohune Palm then he barks to the tribe of Howler Monkeys racing across the treetops. His command was a husky “AhhRoof!” that he repeated six or seven times over. Imagine our surprise when one of the young males clambered down to within twenty feet of us, easily […]
The Hummingbird Highway to Placencia
Hello Google. How do I say “Which way to the beach in Mayan?” There’s four highways in Belize. No kidding. Four major highways crisscross this country of nine thousand square miles. The Philip Goldson, Western (George Price), Southern, and the Hummingbird Highway. If your destination is off one of those highways by twenty miles there’s […]
The Jaguars and Speed Bumps of Belize
The big cat quietly scrunched up its body, coiling its muscles as a competitive swimmer would on the starting blocks. Her mass was being converted to momentum, she was kinetic energy, clutching claws, and sharp teeth wrapped in a priceless fur coat. At that moment I was unsure that Carlos even realized how close this […]
Parrots & Horchata in the DFC
On our first morning here back in November we were excited by bird call from a host of tropical flyers. Squeaking Kiskadees, trilling hummingbirds, clucking kingfishers, warbling warblers, jabbering Grackles, boo hooing White Wing Doves, oddly quiet mockingbirds and the most provocative were the parrots. The common parrot here on Ambergris Caye is the Olive […]
Salt Water and Sea Turtles
A soft pull or a gentle tug. That’s how to get your snorkeling partner’s attention. Something more dramatic could mean a spinning propeller is bearing down on you. This was a hard yank. I turn to Amy on my left and she’s pointing down and there, twenty feet below us, effortlessly gliding through the blue, […]
Christmas ‘cakes
Sourdough coconut pancakes with fresh coconut and bananas give the taste of the islands to Christmas morning.
Christian
“I was nine years old and the air tank on my back was as tall as I was. I remember how beautiful the water was that day and it was just me and my uncle on his boat, out by the reef. He adjusted my mask and asked me if I could breathe. I took […]
The Best Chocolate in The World
In my hands is a basalt stone, about the size of a small running shoe. I’m rubbing roasted cocoa nibs on a metate, (mah tah tay), a curved tablet of rough-hewn stone, and watching the cocoa bean components melt into that familiar texture of warm, dark chocolate. Chris offers me a small spoon and I […]
Watercolors
The green torpedo burst into the air, exploding the water around it. It hung in the air, shimmering in the sunlight, flapping wildly, temporarily framing itself into its own watercolor. For one brief moment I was the sole admirer of a painting unlike any I’ve previously revered. The glimmering water, the late day Caribbean sun, […]
Sky Juice and Dog Paddles at Secret Beach, Belize
The “beach” here in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye is somewhat illusory. While most of the beach is public, the combination of sea walls, jagged shoreline, construction projects, and scattered bits of rocky terrain create a beach-ish puzzle. A walk on the beach in San Pedro means trotting over various obstacles, some natural and some not. […]