Caye Casa Seasons Greetings

 

Happy Holidays

Creole

     English is the official language of Belize; but, in truth, for 95% of all Belizeans, English is their second language.  Many speak Spanish or Garifuna or one of 5 Maya languages or German or Chinese or, my favorite  - Creole. 

     Here, in no special order, are three of my favorite sayings in Creole.  First, imagine the sun beating down, the salty smell of the sea, the lazy island time we all appreciate and a group of good friends gathered under the shade of a few palm trees.

"Da how?"

"Don't study her."

"From ever since."

             Said in greeting, given as advice, and placed in history, these, to me, need no translation.

Cultural Differences

Here, if you hear: "I give you my word; I'll be there before the weekend."  You should have asked:  "Which weekend?"  It's important to pin down the speaker. Not only could it be the next weekend, it could be months from then. However, the person will appear.

Here, if you hear: "I'll be there shortly."  You might have to wait a few weeks and maybe then it won't happen. It depends on how many other things appear before your interests become a priority.

Here, if you hear: "I'll be there directly." Chances are you'll see that person by the end of the day. Maybe. At least, he won't make any side trips first – unless they are directly on the way. 

Here, time is not specific.  This evening could be anytime after lunch but before midnight. 

"Come for dinner." You invite your neighbor.

"Oh, we'd love to come." 

"Good. Come over after work. Around 6:30."

You work for hours preparing something delicious.  The appointed hour arrives and no one comes.  The next day you ask your neighbor if everything is okay.  Since they didn't come to dinner, you can't conceive of anything short of an illness keeping them away or from at least sending a message.

"Oh, we didn't think we'd come last night, maybe tonight?"

It's not being rude. It's just a different understanding of time, of eating habits, of meal preparation.  Why would anyone make a special meal for neighbors?

"We'll come tonight."

And they do. Around 9 pm. After you've given up, put everything away again and helped yourself to the rum.  They arrive with their three children and a Spanish speaking cousin from Honduras.  And they're hungry.

The word is good; the timing is a little off.  

Fishing Tournament

While captains hauled their catches from the boats, islanders gathered on the wooden wharf to glimpse the biggest fish to win the annual tournament.

Relatives and neighbors of the fishermen greeted each other in English – occasionally joking in Creole or calling out in Spanish as fish were carefully hauled to the weighing station.

Everyone ogled the Kingfish and Wahoo displayed at the end of the pier.

Tourists stood on tiptoes - their voices penetrating: "I wonder how it works? What kind of fish is that? Do you think this is the last day?" They squinted in the dusk and asked each other those questions in English as if they were the only ones watching. They appeared unaware of all others – staring past the islanders at the fish and the fishermen in the same way they eyed Angelfish while snorkeling. "Do you think they do this annually?"

A small boy made white by sun block separated from his tourist parents; knelt beside a pile of thick slimy fish. "Those are Barracudas." An equally small boy with naturally brown skin said. "I caught this one. Today's the last day; but, next year I'm going to do better."

Basking in Glory

The first post of the New Year should be about singing the praises of Caye Casa. Instead I'm going to exclaim with great pride about The Phoenix Resort in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize which was just named the TripAdvisor's 2012 Number One Hotel in the World.

In the world.

Not just on Ambergris Caye, or in Belize, or in Latin America or in the Caribbean, or this hemisphere – the world – and it's just down the beach from here.

I'm so proud of the owners, the managers, and the staff.

We all can bask in their glory.

post hurricane pre high season break

Hello,
Many would think I'm crazy to take a vacation from this:







But I get to see this:




I'll be gone for around a month

Beat the Clock

I love the drama of politics – particularly when I'm not running for office.

This week our island has convulsed around a proposed town clock. Our mayor, inspired by an early American style clock in a town square in North Carolina, decided we should have one too.

Without consulting anyone, she decided to put the tower (approximately 10 feet square and 30 feet high) in the middle of the main road near our empty town park - over major water and sewer lines, and blocking access for emergency vehicles. As if that weren't enough, since the town has no money for such things, she sought the financing of a well known local resort. In return for the construction money, the resort plans on installing two electronic billboards promoting that resort's tours, restaurant, and God's word – similar to a number of other electronic billboards they have on the island.

The mayor stopped construction after being surprised by the objections of those of us who run other businesses on the island. A "beat the clock" rally was organized. On the morning of the protest rally, the mayor visited a local talk show and said she didn't care what people think. She is not running for reelection and wants the clock.

The sponsoring resort has been bombarded with negative reviews on trip advisor and was forced to take down its facebook page.

Here are a couple of photographs of the gathering. I'm going to suggest that if the clock is built, it will be set an hour behind schedule – Belize time.

Hurricane Rina

Taken this morning in the rain. We pulled the boats in yesterday. Took the sailboat to the back. Hauled in all the plants and chairs. We're prepared but I think we'll only get rain and tropical force winds.