RAIN!  In all of my winters here this is most definitely the wettest.  The streets have been constantly flooded.  Sandbags lining some of the streets allow walkers to make their way along the edges without wading. .  Bicycles plow through the puddles, their riders in constant jeopardy of falling into a teeth jarring hole.  It has been a different kind of adventure!
Fortunately our neighbors, Tim and Gail, are the best sports.  Our enthusiastic descriptions of sun and snorkeling have fallen short of the mark this year.  And that's putting it mildly! But they have managed to swim, snorkel and sail with Ragamuffin between cloudbursts.  And have spent many an hour reading and relaxing on their porch in between. We have made the rounds of all the best eateries on the island, although we had to settle for home cooked meals whenever the heavens opened up right at dinner time.
As always, The Wish Willy has been our favorite.  For those of you who have never experienced Maurice's fine foods served in a rustic outdoor environment this is the ultimate in Caye Caulker dining.  Granted, there are places more upscale, but none with better food.  It has become our habit of letting him choose our meal.  We just say, "Whatever you have please!" and he brings a platter of various meats and seafood (usually lobster, shrimp kabobs, fish, pork chops or steak, etc) and we each get a plate of rice and vegetables to go with that.  Dinner and a couple of rum and cokes to wash it down usually runs about $10.
Almost immediately upon arriving we learned that this will be our last year in this sweet little house as the property is being sold to the big fancy hotel next door.  This is sad in a way as we have (or I should say, Lester has..)  made many improvements to the place and it has become, in our hearts and minds, our second home.  We have enjoyed the perfect sunsets from the back yard and made friends with the owners and neighbors.  The downstairs storage was perfect and having the boat right out back, as well as a great kayak launching area, was an additional convenience.  But life is change.  And sometimes it is good for us to be prodded into action by change!  So I began the search for a new home and found a sweet little beach house on the front side of the island which we have already  reserved for next year.  Before we leave this year I will be transferring small appliances, and other items that have been brought down over the years to the new place.  No storage there but will just leave it all to be enjoyed by other renters who are here while we are gone.
An interesting coincidence concerning our new landlady.  It turns out that I remember her from our first visit to Caye Caulker approximately 20 years ago.  That was in a time before the regularly scheduled water taxis.  In those days you went to the Texaco station on the river in Belize City and asked for Chocolate's boat.  There was no particular departure schedule. The boat just left when it was full.  While waiting we noticed a woman and her small son, who it turned out to be, was a fellow Californian, marine biologist, graduated from Humbolt, living on Caye Caulker.  We visited the little souvenir shop in her home, Frank (Rosa) and I each purchasing a matamosquito, which, as the name implies, is a tool (long natural broom made from native bush) used to kill mosquitoes.  I still have mine hanging by the wall in the living room, ready for duty!  The lady  is still here,and is our new landlady!  Her son is now in his 20's.
I had better quit for now as I am feeling uneasy about this suddenly disappearing.  It has been known to do just that on excruciatingly painful  occasions!  Back soon with tales from our Guatemala adventure with Tim and Gail!        .