June 30, 2009
They call it "green season" down here but that's just a polite way to say wet and moldy season. Of course, part of the reason that I am so in touch with the weather is that we still basically live in the weather. The house we live in here is one big room with a large screened in porch attached to it. It's definitely cooler out there but when it rains, anything out there gets damp, including us. And, we've found out the hard way that damp is not a good thing. It seems like anything - bugs, damp, sun, food - messes with my skin. I've lived in Belize 18 years but this is a different Belize.
Of course, there's the up side. All this damp does make for the greenest green seen in nature and there are so many things on our to-do list. Next thing to do is the Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary. You drive out to Laguna Village which is only about 5 miles from the lodge. Then, going out into the bush with no end in sight is this raised boardwalk. Friends of ours have been out there and say the boardwalk goes on for at least a 45 minute hike and takes you to one of the most beautiful spots in Belize. It's a great birding spot so we are really looking forward to doing it soon.
OK, bird of the day is the Collared Trogon. He's our 3rd on property trogon and we've been hearing his loud call for days and finally spotted him. We can't get enough of these birds! More than makes up for the damp...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
It's really hot down here
June 14, 2009
We thought we knew hot in San Pedro, but it's a different kind of hot in southern Belize. It's so much more humid and, I guess, the fact that we work hard every day renovating makes it even hotter.
We have had a chance to see some things though. We went to Lubaantun and the Rio Blanco Falls last Sunday. Really nice ruin. We've been at most of the northern ruins and worked by Lamanai so we know what to expect. But, Lubaantun is such a nice setting and I like that it's not so reconstructed. It seems more real and you can get a feel of what it was like once upon a time.
We also got to visit two of the other lodges. First we went to Sun Creek. The cabanas are nice and it has a good feel, but we came away very satisfied with our property.
Same when we went to Cotton Tree Lodge. That's a much more pricy place than Tranquility Lodge, but so much harder to get to and I think the proximity to nature might be a problem for many guests there. All the cabanas are thatched and when the rainy season gets started the river floods the property so you have to stay on the boardwalks that connect the rooms to the dining room. Again, so satisfied with our place. Jealous of their money and marketing capabilities but not of the place itself.
I think our next tour will be to go out to Laguna and walk the boardwalk out to the Aguacaliente Wildlife Preserve. We were out in the village this week and hadn't realized how accessible the boardwalk is. So, now we know and off we go.
Bird of the week is the golden hooded tanager who has its nest in the travellers palm behind the lodge. Such a pretty little bird and a new one for the lodge list.
We had drive-in guests this weekend, too. Nice family from Tennessee - for us the perfect kind of guests. I wish we could keep the lodge full of families like them all the time.
Off to bed for me so I can get up and work on my tiling project tomorrow. Night...
We thought we knew hot in San Pedro, but it's a different kind of hot in southern Belize. It's so much more humid and, I guess, the fact that we work hard every day renovating makes it even hotter.
We have had a chance to see some things though. We went to Lubaantun and the Rio Blanco Falls last Sunday. Really nice ruin. We've been at most of the northern ruins and worked by Lamanai so we know what to expect. But, Lubaantun is such a nice setting and I like that it's not so reconstructed. It seems more real and you can get a feel of what it was like once upon a time.
We also got to visit two of the other lodges. First we went to Sun Creek. The cabanas are nice and it has a good feel, but we came away very satisfied with our property.
Same when we went to Cotton Tree Lodge. That's a much more pricy place than Tranquility Lodge, but so much harder to get to and I think the proximity to nature might be a problem for many guests there. All the cabanas are thatched and when the rainy season gets started the river floods the property so you have to stay on the boardwalks that connect the rooms to the dining room. Again, so satisfied with our place. Jealous of their money and marketing capabilities but not of the place itself.
I think our next tour will be to go out to Laguna and walk the boardwalk out to the Aguacaliente Wildlife Preserve. We were out in the village this week and hadn't realized how accessible the boardwalk is. So, now we know and off we go.
Bird of the week is the golden hooded tanager who has its nest in the travellers palm behind the lodge. Such a pretty little bird and a new one for the lodge list.
We had drive-in guests this weekend, too. Nice family from Tennessee - for us the perfect kind of guests. I wish we could keep the lodge full of families like them all the time.
Off to bed for me so I can get up and work on my tiling project tomorrow. Night...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
10 plagues
May 27, 2009
Well, I think we've had 4 or 5 plagues already anyway. First, we had to get the bats out of the house so we could live there. Bats are good to have around to keep down the mosquitoes, but when you have several colonies living in your attic and the bat poo is raining down in your house as black dust...well, that's just too much. So, the whole roof had to come off piece by piece and the attic cleaned out. Three wheelbarrows full later, we were able to move in. And, the bat poo is now fertilizer for our new coffee plants. Another grand experiment.
After the bats, the scorpions started. It's dry season and when it's hot and dry in Belize, you have scorpions. But, I've been stung before and it's no big deal. A couple hours of ice and it's history.
The spiders are different. Now, I'm not talking about tarantulas - those I love and have great respect for. They don't harm you and a female can live 35 years. That you have to respect.
No, I'm talking about the small spiders that put a serious and horrible bite on you. I now have the remnants of a necrotizing spider bite. It's been almost a month since the bite and the hole is still healing from the inside out. And, I have had an easy time due to ten days of the strongest antibiotics known to man and antihistamines to dry it up. I guess I have to be more careful when I garden.
Which leads us to doctor flies - I guess they call them that because you feel like you need a doctor if you get a couple of bites. The one good thing is that eventually it seems like they don't do as much damage. We must get hardened to it or something.
So, despite the plagues, we are surviving and actually thriving I think. It's a beautiful place and everyday has at least one nice surprise.
Well, I think we've had 4 or 5 plagues already anyway. First, we had to get the bats out of the house so we could live there. Bats are good to have around to keep down the mosquitoes, but when you have several colonies living in your attic and the bat poo is raining down in your house as black dust...well, that's just too much. So, the whole roof had to come off piece by piece and the attic cleaned out. Three wheelbarrows full later, we were able to move in. And, the bat poo is now fertilizer for our new coffee plants. Another grand experiment.
After the bats, the scorpions started. It's dry season and when it's hot and dry in Belize, you have scorpions. But, I've been stung before and it's no big deal. A couple hours of ice and it's history.
The spiders are different. Now, I'm not talking about tarantulas - those I love and have great respect for. They don't harm you and a female can live 35 years. That you have to respect.
No, I'm talking about the small spiders that put a serious and horrible bite on you. I now have the remnants of a necrotizing spider bite. It's been almost a month since the bite and the hole is still healing from the inside out. And, I have had an easy time due to ten days of the strongest antibiotics known to man and antihistamines to dry it up. I guess I have to be more careful when I garden.
Which leads us to doctor flies - I guess they call them that because you feel like you need a doctor if you get a couple of bites. The one good thing is that eventually it seems like they don't do as much damage. We must get hardened to it or something.
So, despite the plagues, we are surviving and actually thriving I think. It's a beautiful place and everyday has at least one nice surprise.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Belize jungle lodge
May 5, 2009
So, here's the latest...our phone finally works. I have to whisper that so the modem doesn't hear me and start to give trouble again. Rusty cut an even bigger bamboo pole and between the stability of the thicker pole and the added height, it seems like we got it this time.
And, the cable seems to get better all the time. The cable guy is opening a hardware store and it seems like the more we buy from him, the better the cable gets. Whatever works, right?
The dish is also doing its thing so we have internet and wireless. I will say we can use a bigger antenna for that so next trip to Belize City will include a bigger router antenna.
But, all in all, it's pretty good. Here we are in the jungle on the internet with the cable going in the background waiting for a phone call. Technology comes to the jungle. I love it.
We're seeing great birds these days - the trogons just sit asking us to watch them. And, every day a new flower blooms and I have to figure out what they all are. One totally cool one is the torch ginger. Not only is it a flashy flower but the flower comes up on its own leafless stalk and it's bright red from the ground up. The leaves are on a different stalk all together.
On our own house we have started the fight with the bats. The former owner had let bats take over the roof of her house. We like bats because they eat mosqitoes but we don't want them living with us. So, Rusty is removing the roof piece by piece, cleaning out all the bat poo, putting in moth balls and then we will seal the inside off from the roof so when(not if) they come back they still are not near us. The roof will have to be replaced next year anyway, so at that time we can take more permanent measures. Now, it's just a matter of needing to move in our house.
Everyday we learn something new and that we really like.
So, here's the latest...our phone finally works. I have to whisper that so the modem doesn't hear me and start to give trouble again. Rusty cut an even bigger bamboo pole and between the stability of the thicker pole and the added height, it seems like we got it this time.
And, the cable seems to get better all the time. The cable guy is opening a hardware store and it seems like the more we buy from him, the better the cable gets. Whatever works, right?
The dish is also doing its thing so we have internet and wireless. I will say we can use a bigger antenna for that so next trip to Belize City will include a bigger router antenna.
But, all in all, it's pretty good. Here we are in the jungle on the internet with the cable going in the background waiting for a phone call. Technology comes to the jungle. I love it.
We're seeing great birds these days - the trogons just sit asking us to watch them. And, every day a new flower blooms and I have to figure out what they all are. One totally cool one is the torch ginger. Not only is it a flashy flower but the flower comes up on its own leafless stalk and it's bright red from the ground up. The leaves are on a different stalk all together.
On our own house we have started the fight with the bats. The former owner had let bats take over the roof of her house. We like bats because they eat mosqitoes but we don't want them living with us. So, Rusty is removing the roof piece by piece, cleaning out all the bat poo, putting in moth balls and then we will seal the inside off from the roof so when(not if) they come back they still are not near us. The roof will have to be replaced next year anyway, so at that time we can take more permanent measures. Now, it's just a matter of needing to move in our house.
Everyday we learn something new and that we really like.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Dog tired
I have never been this tired each and every day as am these days. But, everyday sees something accomplished and that's a really good feeling.
We finished our first month this week and actually made money - very little - but at least we didn't lose. We had nice guests and best of all, they liked my food. That was a real worry - whether I could pull off the cooking in a fashion I am happy with.
My current project is tiling the bathrooms in the lodge. I have one shower tiled and ready to grout so I'm feeling good about that too.
In the spirit of recycling, the Slaty Tailed trogon pair took over the abandoned termite nest hanging on the lodge. Really cool.
And we had a couple from the Jaguar Project stay with us this week and they foudn ocelot scat in the garden. So, we have small wild cats roaming near the rooms at night. We really like that.
The dogs, Onyx and Tiger, have decided they love it here. Only problem is they think the entire place belongs only to them and want to roam free and keep everyone else out. So, they have to be fenced some of the time by the house now. Big punishment.
The eyes are closing. I'll be better about posting.
We finished our first month this week and actually made money - very little - but at least we didn't lose. We had nice guests and best of all, they liked my food. That was a real worry - whether I could pull off the cooking in a fashion I am happy with.
My current project is tiling the bathrooms in the lodge. I have one shower tiled and ready to grout so I'm feeling good about that too.
In the spirit of recycling, the Slaty Tailed trogon pair took over the abandoned termite nest hanging on the lodge. Really cool.
And we had a couple from the Jaguar Project stay with us this week and they foudn ocelot scat in the garden. So, we have small wild cats roaming near the rooms at night. We really like that.
The dogs, Onyx and Tiger, have decided they love it here. Only problem is they think the entire place belongs only to them and want to roam free and keep everyone else out. So, they have to be fenced some of the time by the house now. Big punishment.
The eyes are closing. I'll be better about posting.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Still kicking in the jungle
April 9, 2009
I know I haven't updated in awhile - but you guessed it - I just got internet! So, how long has this been - three weeks? Yes, it took that long to get internet and phone. We waited and waited and finally all in one day we were back on line. We even got the cable TV going. I can't say it is reliable - sometimes it's great and sometimes it's not, but it's cable and it's still unbelievable to me that I can sit in the jungle and watch CNN.
We officially took over the lodge on April 1st and on April 2nd we had our first guests arrive. We were so lucky with the guests we had this past week. They were all so nice and encouraging. We had worked like mad to get the rooms in order. And, then I was worried about the food. But, they were complimentary of everything and were happy to work with us in our transitional stage.
So, life goes on and we're getting settled. Best of all, we proved to ourselves that we can do this.
I know I haven't updated in awhile - but you guessed it - I just got internet! So, how long has this been - three weeks? Yes, it took that long to get internet and phone. We waited and waited and finally all in one day we were back on line. We even got the cable TV going. I can't say it is reliable - sometimes it's great and sometimes it's not, but it's cable and it's still unbelievable to me that I can sit in the jungle and watch CNN.
We officially took over the lodge on April 1st and on April 2nd we had our first guests arrive. We were so lucky with the guests we had this past week. They were all so nice and encouraging. We had worked like mad to get the rooms in order. And, then I was worried about the food. But, they were complimentary of everything and were happy to work with us in our transitional stage.
So, life goes on and we're getting settled. Best of all, we proved to ourselves that we can do this.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Progress - slow but steady
March 15, 2009
We spent last week at the lodge. No internet or phone yet but the loaner modum for the fixed cell does work so this week we buy an antenna and I guess we're in business. The satellite dish should be installed on Wednesday but since the tech has yet to uninstall it from its present location, I have my doubts. And complaining does nothing, so why bother to complain? The cable should have been installed today - I wonder. We have yet for one thing to be done at the appointed time. But, progress was made. We found the Mayan guy who cuts trees for fence posts and think we have him lined up to deliver this week. The cable guy was lined up as well. The electrician showed up and did most of his finish work. At least there's light now. And, Rusty installed the doors and I painted them so we can now lock up the bottom level of our house. So, this week we plan to pick up our order from the States and get going on the rooms in addition to fencing our yard for the dogs, cleaning more floor tile(we're recycling) and painting. Maybe by the end of the week, I can post from the lodge...
We spent last week at the lodge. No internet or phone yet but the loaner modum for the fixed cell does work so this week we buy an antenna and I guess we're in business. The satellite dish should be installed on Wednesday but since the tech has yet to uninstall it from its present location, I have my doubts. And complaining does nothing, so why bother to complain? The cable should have been installed today - I wonder. We have yet for one thing to be done at the appointed time. But, progress was made. We found the Mayan guy who cuts trees for fence posts and think we have him lined up to deliver this week. The cable guy was lined up as well. The electrician showed up and did most of his finish work. At least there's light now. And, Rusty installed the doors and I painted them so we can now lock up the bottom level of our house. So, this week we plan to pick up our order from the States and get going on the rooms in addition to fencing our yard for the dogs, cleaning more floor tile(we're recycling) and painting. Maybe by the end of the week, I can post from the lodge...
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Brain overload!
March 7, 2009
Too much in my head these days. In the next three weeks, we have to move ourselves, my dad(yes, he is moving to the lodge with us), our two dogs and all our earthly possessions off an island and 150 miles miles south into the jungle. And, what do you think is the thing that worries me most? You guessed it - the dogs. They will have to fly at least the first part of the trip over to Belize City. One at a time since the small planes can carry only one large dog carrier with passengers. Then, we have to pick them up for the trip south - 4 hours by road. Mind you, these are dogs that have never ridden in a car before, much less an airplane. The younger dog is a one year old half American bull/half Pitbull mix who is gentle and well behaved normally. When nervous he tends to chew things though, so we may have nothing left behind the front two seats by the time we reach the lodge.
Too much in my head these days. In the next three weeks, we have to move ourselves, my dad(yes, he is moving to the lodge with us), our two dogs and all our earthly possessions off an island and 150 miles miles south into the jungle. And, what do you think is the thing that worries me most? You guessed it - the dogs. They will have to fly at least the first part of the trip over to Belize City. One at a time since the small planes can carry only one large dog carrier with passengers. Then, we have to pick them up for the trip south - 4 hours by road. Mind you, these are dogs that have never ridden in a car before, much less an airplane. The younger dog is a one year old half American bull/half Pitbull mix who is gentle and well behaved normally. When nervous he tends to chew things though, so we may have nothing left behind the front two seats by the time we reach the lodge.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Long day
March 6, 2009
Two steps forward and one step back. It's the Belizean way. The internet may happen with the hand me down dish - at least I have positive info from the dish guy after waiting all of yesterday for him to finally show this morning. The phone is a whole other story. Bamboo pole or no - looks like it's a crap shoot on whether we can get a signal. So, next week we carry a trial model down to see what if anything we can get. Keep your fingers crossed!
On a very positive note, I took our first booking for the lodge under our ownership. Talk about panic! I know how to take care of guests - that's not the issue. The issue is the thousand things I would like to have done before they put one foot on the property. I've got to get into that "manana" frame of mind.
Two steps forward and one step back. It's the Belizean way. The internet may happen with the hand me down dish - at least I have positive info from the dish guy after waiting all of yesterday for him to finally show this morning. The phone is a whole other story. Bamboo pole or no - looks like it's a crap shoot on whether we can get a signal. So, next week we carry a trial model down to see what if anything we can get. Keep your fingers crossed!
On a very positive note, I took our first booking for the lodge under our ownership. Talk about panic! I know how to take care of guests - that's not the issue. The issue is the thousand things I would like to have done before they put one foot on the property. I've got to get into that "manana" frame of mind.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
It's an uphill battle...
March 4, 2009
So, you would think that simple things like phone and internet service are a given, right? Well, not if you live in the jungle of Belize. I seem to be moving to the Bermuda Triangle of Belize where no signal survives and no one "can hear me now". Tomorrow, I will find out if internet satellite service is a possibility. If so, I can get my hands on a used dish and we'll be set to go. I know, I know - a used dish - but in this economy, even my satellite dish is a hand-me-down. That will take care of internet but there's still the phone problem. So, for that we have to buy a fixed cell and an antenna which will go on a bamboo pole to get high enough to catch the elusive signal. I still don't know if that bamboo pole is tall enough to beat out the ceiba tree, but we'll see...
So, you would think that simple things like phone and internet service are a given, right? Well, not if you live in the jungle of Belize. I seem to be moving to the Bermuda Triangle of Belize where no signal survives and no one "can hear me now". Tomorrow, I will find out if internet satellite service is a possibility. If so, I can get my hands on a used dish and we'll be set to go. I know, I know - a used dish - but in this economy, even my satellite dish is a hand-me-down. That will take care of internet but there's still the phone problem. So, for that we have to buy a fixed cell and an antenna which will go on a bamboo pole to get high enough to catch the elusive signal. I still don't know if that bamboo pole is tall enough to beat out the ceiba tree, but we'll see...
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
It begins.
March 3, 2009
It all started 13 years ago with our first job in tourism in Belize at a jungle lodge. From there we moved on to the Mayan Princess on Ambergris Caye for 12 years and now we are ready to head back to the jungle to live at our own little place called Tranquility Lodge. One day excited, the next terrified - that's the emotional roller coaster we have created for ourselves.
I will write about the ups and downs, the battles and the beauty, the frustration at getting nothing when I want it, the getting it and it not being what I wanted anyway, and the most-of-the-time joys of living in Belize. Welcome to the jungle!
It all started 13 years ago with our first job in tourism in Belize at a jungle lodge. From there we moved on to the Mayan Princess on Ambergris Caye for 12 years and now we are ready to head back to the jungle to live at our own little place called Tranquility Lodge. One day excited, the next terrified - that's the emotional roller coaster we have created for ourselves.
I will write about the ups and downs, the battles and the beauty, the frustration at getting nothing when I want it, the getting it and it not being what I wanted anyway, and the most-of-the-time joys of living in Belize. Welcome to the jungle!
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