A lovely bunch of coconuts and seaweed!

I have finally gotten around to dealing with some dried seaweed I purchased from the Placencia Co-operative, in the village. I thought I would start out with an ounce and see how that went.

My first mistake is that I should have soaked it first, which I did not. Next time! However, I boiled the seaweed with 1 litre of water until it was a thick gel.

 I still have little bits of seaweed that did not break down in my finished product but I don't think it will kill me.
The seaweed gel can be used as a thickening agent for soups, stews and smoothies. A Belizean seaweed drink is made with milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and seaweed. I have not tried or made one of those yet but I added my seaweed to my banana, mango smoothie.

                                      

            Love these!

The other day some men working down the lane asked if they could have some of my coconuts. I asked if they could get me one too. The younger fellow climbed their ladder and hacked down a big bunch with his machete. He then chopped  off the end and presented it to me to drink the water from it.

It is so good and refreshing. People drink it daily here as it is said to have cleansing properties. The fellow chopped five coconuts and dumped the water into my container which I now have in my fridge.  I got the low down on which coconuts are best for water and soft flesh, and which ones are best for raw coconut to make coconut milk. My trees are loaded with coconuts and one of the men said it is a cycle. I will have to get a custom stick made to reach them and pull them down; hopefully not on my head.

 

Settling into the Heat

 

It's been a couple of weeks since my last posting and I look around and wonder what I have accomplished. The temperatures have been 32 to 34 degrees with humidity that feels like 43 degrees. By 10:30 things are pretty hot and it is hard to do anything without breaking out in a full dripping sweat. I had a reprieve for a few days as some rain came, which the garden and I were thankful for . Temperatures cooled to 23 degrees at night, but it is getting hot (hotter) again.
I now have a full pressurized water system running to all the cabanas. I have run into a few problems and leaks, but nothing too serious. My laundry room and shed is now cleaned out and rid of the bats and I finally got into the shed under the large cabana. The lock was jammed but my handyman, Victor, got it.

The shed is very dirty and full of..you guessed it.. bats. I am not sure what other creatures are living in there. To my surprise, there are three decent bikes, with at least one child seat on the back. I was going to pull them out but have decided to wait for Victor's assistance cause the whole job is just creepy and yucky. I am not sure what other surprises await in that shed but tomorrow is the day to tackle it.




The dogs are settling in and starting to show their true natures and personalities. I have lost a few things as Veree picks up anything and takes it to Pirate, who then chews and eats it. I got a bit of a surprise picking up dog poo as  it was brilliant green. I didn't figure it out till i saw my head scarf torn to shreds on the deck. I don't think I will be able to train these dogs not to pick up things so I am the one who needs the training to quit leaving stuff lying around. I am going to lose a crock one of these days if I don't re-train. Below is a caricature of my three doggies that I did on the computer one day when it was too hot to do much of anything else.

I have had no luck finding a head cleaner. None to be found in Belize City and the pirated DVD's I purchase don't seem to work half way through the movie. I think I will have to break down and get cable TV. It is actually really good compared with the cable I had access to in Ontario. There are all the major networks from the US, BBC, CNN,  Al Jazeera, HBO, sports channels, local channels, kids channels, movie channels, nature and Discovery Channel, but no Canadian channels unfortunately. Things changed recently and they no longer affiliate with the Canadian network.   Cable costs run about $45 BZE (23 CAD) a month.

Wish me luck with the bat shed! I am so grateful Victor is able and willing to help me. He is also going to put a spring on my chicken gate so that it slaps me in the butt going in, and slams  Pom Pom's face on the way out.

Are there any head cleaners in Belize?

Sifting through the stuff left behind from the previous owner, I came across a VCR along with some good movies that I would like to watch and would make a nice selection for visitors. My next challenge was to hook up the VCR. Problem…the TV is new and has no way of connecting with the obsolete VCR. I searched the cabanas and found a small, old, TV that has the proper hook up. I thought my obstacle was overcome as I settled in for an evening of putting my feet up and escaping into a movie. However, the picture was very snowy and it actually said, I may need to clean the head. Well, that would make sense, as things have been sitting a very long time here.  Where would I get a head cleaner in Placencia? I had not come across one during my exploration of Rubbermaid containers, cupboards and storage bins.

On one of my missions into the village I decided to drop into Leslie Tech Services, located on the main and only street that meanders through Placencia to the end of the point. I spoke with Ycela and told him of my need for a VCR head cleaner. He looked at me and smiled.

“No mame, we don’t have any” and then a shy giggle.

 “I know, obsolete!”

“Yes, yes ,but I will check for you in Belize City as I am going there this weekend.”

 I thanked him and said I would check back in a couple of days. When I came back, he just looked at me, smiled, and shook his head and explained he wasn’t able to get to Belize City, but he checked in Belmopan, the country’s capital, with a cousin, and could not locate one. However, he has a friend who drives the bus to Belize City, and he will check when he is there. 

I can’t believe the service!  He may not find one but they are looking all over the country for one. Ycela says, they will find one with a shy smile. Perhaps it is the challenge.  How cool is that to have people go the extra mile(s) to assist you.

So now I am on a quest.  Are there any head cleaners in Belize?  If any of my Orange Walk Town friends  in northern Belize are reading this, perhaps you could participate in my silly quest.  “How far will I have to go to find a head cleaner?”

I will let you know how it turns out.