Yesterday was the ladies sailing club.  I finally had the nerve to bring my phone out on the boat.  Here are some of the ladies:

Julia and Sam have their first sailing lesson today, so praying that will go well.

Whit and I went diving together today for the first time.  Hopefully, we will get our waterproof camera soon, but here are some out of the water pics.  You will see our friends Buzz and Gimer who have guided us on several dives and snorkel adventures.  See the sharks all around the boat!  They are very friendly!

Sharks!

The other morning we experienced our first “brown out.” There was a storm in the night that must have blown out a transformer or something.  All our lights were dim and we had no water!  When we left for school, we saw where all the water was!

Today I met some moms from Iris’s class for lunch. We ate at El Fogon,  a popular place we’ve been meaning to try but haven’t since it’s not on the water, and therefore, HOT. It was, indeed, HOT, but the food was delicious.  I finally saw something on the menu I’d been looking for: Gibnut Stew. For you southerners, I think this is basically mulligan stew. Here is a picture of a Gibnut:

Yep, it’s a rodent. Blech.

No, I did not order it. I had the chicken curry (or so they say???).  At least they do cook basically right in front of you.  This was my view from my seat:

I may do two posts today because I was finally brave (foolish?) enough to take my phone on my sailing outing.

elizabeth, does the Gibnut stew remind you of that restaurant in Vietnam and us wondering what the “special” actually was?

You know you’ve reached an island state of mind when your children fight over who gets to eat the leftover broccoli for their vegetable with dinner.  San Pedro has a lot to offer. Vegetables are not on the list. Basically, you can have all of the onions, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers you want, but beyond that, it’s dicey.  I regularly (daily) go to three markets. Sometimes there will be a carrot or two and I snatch them up. Sometimes there will be lettuce.  On VERY special days, there will be broccoli!!! Today was one of those days!

There was ONE head and I got it!

After that exciting shopping find, I treated myself to lunch at Kevin’s chicken stand.

Amazing jerk chicken, slaw and homemade tortillas.

Or certifiable, not sure.

Yesterday I got certified as a PADI Open Water Diver.  I did five days of online coursework and three days of diving in the pool and ocean.  It was amazing.  I’m only disappointed I didn’t have my waterproof camera (conveniently left back in Atlanta) to take pictures of some of the amazing things I saw down under the sea.  I can’t believe I haven’t done this sooner.  Well, of course I can, when have I had eight days to do a class???

Julia and I started with a “try dive” in the pool to see if we liked the feeling of breathing underwater.  We both loved it, but Julia hasn’t quite gotten motivated to start her online coursework.  She does have school and all…

I started my course on Thursday with a guy named Steve from Boulder, CO.  I wondered how it would go when he got a terrible nosebleed the very first time he put on his mask.  All I could think about was “blood in the water attracts sharks!”

Whit was very patient to look after the children for me while I was off diving.  It was especially nice since the children had an unexpected day off from school on Friday.  We did get to take Friday afternoon and go snorkeling.  It was quite the adventure as we had a very curious green sea turtle that gave Julia a little nip on her leg!  Rats, where was that camera when you needed it???

I’m sorry I’ve gotten a little behind in posting. We do have busy days here in paradise. I’ve been continuing my Wednesday sailing group. I still can’t take my phone out on the little boat, but here is a pic from a safe dry distance!

I have also been working through my open water diving certification. Since I have the same water issue with my phone, here is photo of inside of diving place.

The children got the fun news yesterday afternoon that school would be canceled Friday because the ministry of health is coming to spray for mosquitoes! I guess that’s the Belizean version of a snow day? Anyway, we celebrated by going north on the island to a fun restaurant over the water.

We are continuing our tradition of having lunch out after church.  Don’t you just love it when restaurants have a play area for the kids?

After lunch we did a little grocery shopping…Julia and Sam are sampling the fresh squeezed orange juice.

This morning (Monday), Whit and I had breakfast at a popular local joint.  Apparently, you have to get there very early because they sell out of meat pies.  We now know why! So good!

When we got there at 8:30, they were already out of “Johnny Cake” and “Creole Bread.”  We had the “Stuff Jack” which is sort of a thick flour tortilla (more like naan) filled with egg, cheese, bacon and something like black bean dip.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture…too hungry.  Here Whit waits on our food:

If I were marketing living in Belize, these are the photos I would show for how to spend your Saturday lunchtime:

But, of course, there is always reality…

Pictured here are Olivia and Campbell, our neighbors and new friends from school.

Great news!  The Georgia game is on down here!  Go Dogs!

OK, I know this isn’t supposed to be a cooking or food blog, but those of you who know me know that much of my life revolves around food!

Today, we heard someone calling to us from below the balcony.  At first we didn’t think it was for us, but we finally figured out they must be trying to get our attention.  It was a guy asking if we wanted to buy some lobsters he just caught.  Whit went down to talk to him and after hearing that Charlotte (another resident here) had sent him to ask us, we agreed.  We bought four tails and 2lbs of fresh tuna.  Lobster for lunch anyone?

Here are two of the raw tails before prep:

Believe it or not, I have never cooked lobster, but the handy dandy internet makes all things possible!  Before cooking:

And before eating…

And if you are wondering, “Do they eat beans and rice and mango with everything?”

Yep, we do.  When in Rome…Have a great holiday weekend friends!

So on one of my first days here, I stopped by the Belize Sailing Club (the name belies the simple shack in which this esteemed club is housed) to inquire about sailing lessons for the children.  The children’s instructor was not there (apparently he only shows up on Sundays), but the guy told me that I should come by on Wednesdays at 1:30 and sail with Joy, who runs a ladies sailing group.  So…yesterday, I showed up at 1:30 to meet Joy, Teepee, and Sabrina on a small Hobie Cat.  Joy is a relatively new resident of San Pedro, having moved here from Greenville, SC, three years ago.  She learned how to sail, taught her daughters to sail, and decided it was going to be her hobby to teach other women how to sail.  Whoever shows up on Wednesdays splits the cost of renting the Hobie and Joy teaches them how to sail.  It was fabulous.  I learned all about the diverse and interesting women, while also learning to sail.  By the end of the hour, I was sailing, tacking, and jibing with the best of them.  I have a long way to go, but you can be sure this is where I will be finding myself on Wednesdays at 1:30.  In even more exciting news, she is also going to teach a beginner children’s class!  I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures, but I did not want to have my phone on a tiny Hobie Cat with three beginner sailors!

Here are a few fun random ones!  Iris lost her tooth last night.  Yes, the tooth fairy does know where Belize is.

Carpool line was long today:

Julia’s orthodontic appliance fell out…argh.  I called the orthodontist to ask if we should look for one on the mainland.  His response: “Absolutely not.  We’ll see you in January.”

Great…

We don’t actually see the sunset from our condo because of the side of the building we are on, but here is a cool reflection of the sunset in the eastern sky.

Here is an artsy picture of Julia in the pool, taken from the 2nd floor balcony.

Today was one for the memory book!  Whit and I planned a fishing trip and we had the boat driver pick up the children along with us so that we could drop them at school on our way to fish.  Pretty cool bus stop, huh?

Island Academy has their own dock, so we can just drop them there and they walk right in the gate!  I think we may have to do this at least once a week.  It’s far more pleasant than the golf cart ride.

Now for the fishing!  This was our first chance to get out on the water since we’ve been in Belize.  It was amazing.  We motored over to far south of the island and our guide threw the seine net to catch sardines for bait.  Whit was the spotter and found the schools of fish as the guide tossed the net.  I couldn’t see a thing.  Clearly, fish spotting is not my gift.  HOWEVER, I did catch the first (and biggest) fish!  A 25lb barracuda!

Our guide was kind enough to filet it for us and Whit and I had some of it for supper.  It was amazing, if I do say so myself.  Of course the kids didn’t eat it…

I’ll tell y’all about my sailing lesson tomorrow!