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The latest Tia Chocolate column is ready for reading!!! Opposites, Part IV
After her punishing Saturday, Andrea fought a fever from the wounds that night in bed, every so often wincing in bed as she turned trying to find a position that wouldn't re-open the welts, making it ooze and stick to the sheets, ripping and re-angering the wound. She finally lay on her belly, refusing to cover herself - already her sleep shirt stuck to her aching back.

She snuffled, trying hard not to cry, but the tears fell unchecked on her lumpy pillow. The rest of the day had been pretty much the same. When her father tired of hitting her, he would scream profanities at her - a completely different man from the one who swung her to sleep the night before. He told her she was stupid, useless, careless (that she agreed on), didn't deserve to have nice things. He already took away her gold necklace, and hid her earrings.


Last night's TV news on Channel 7 and Channel 5
Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and the Dickie Bradley Specials

The San Pedro Sun

Two Day Event marks 7th Meeting of the Belize-Mexico Bi-National Commission
The Governments of Belize and Mexico held the 7th Meeting of the Belize-Mexico Bi-National Commission on 30th and 31st August, 2012 at the Princess Hotel, Free Zone. During the meeting the delegations discussed advances made in a number of areas important to the bilateral agenda, including the Belize Civic Centre, the new northern border crossing, immigration, security, education, trade & investment, tourism, transportation, agriculture and others. The delegations noted that a great deal of progress has been made since the 6th Bi-National Meeting held in 2010 in Chetumal Quintana Roo. The delegations also noted that the success of this two-day meeting is a reflection of the growing strength of bilateral relations that exist between Belize and Mexico. They renewed their commitment to work together to continue engaging in efforts that will contribute to achieving social and economic development for Belizeans and Mexicans alike.

Wolfe's Woofers - "Neighbors"
"How you like your new rooms?" Jose asked. "I like them good," Mario said. "It's better than when I used to live across the street next to you. The rooms is a lot bigger. You ought to get rooms over there, too." I was eating my salbutes and garnaches at the picnic table of my favorite local restaurant with Jose and Mario sitting at the other end of the table. "I think I'm gonna stay where it's cheap," Jose said. "I bet your landlord asks a lot for the rent at your place." "He sure does," Mario told him. "He asks me for it nearly every week."

Doctor Love - Still Evolving
Dear Doctor Love, I have had a guy friend for a long time, all the way through high school. He had a crush on me back then for a long time but he finally got over it. Over the years, we hung out and celebrated everything from our birthdays to new relationships together. I have never been attracted to him, even though he is very handsome. I think it is because we have always been such close friends. Recently, he got engaged and no one could have been any happier for him than me. Then the girl he was engaged to, suddenly disappeared with a guy she had met only the week before. She didn't even bother to break up with him or give his ring back. She just took off to the U.S. without even calling him. My friend was heartbroken.

Bungee Trampoline Jumping comes to San Pedro!
Looking for something fun and different to do? Are you ready to add a new element of entertainment to your next party or fund raiser? Then look no further�.guests will be jumping for joy once they have tried the new-to-San Pedro Toucan Bungee Trampoline! Kids of all ages who fall within the 30 - 180 pound weight restriction can bounce to heights up to 24 feet and spin around in one of the two swivel harnesses Toucan has to assure a perfect fit and safety.

A Few of my Favorite Things
by Tamara Sniffin, Editor, The San Pedro Sun. Life on La Isla Bonita is full of unique and colorful encounters that we often experience each day. Sometimes it's the little things that can make my day, like spotting a new bloom on the hibiscus plant in my yard or marveling at the coconuts that are collecting on my tree. Other times I can be genuinely moved, like after weeks of watching a pair of osprey tend to their massive nest on my daily commute to work I notice for the first time a gray fluff-ball of a baby bird poking his head out of the nest. It's not just the flora and fauna that can delight me but the people, places and food as well. There are some folks who I see on the street that I have been waving to for eight years and even though I know not their name I know their smile. And there are favorite swimming holes, restaurants and beachside bars that I gravitate to, each offering something that I have grown to like immensely. We all have favorite places to go, be it the best stretch of beach for a BBQ, to the restaurant that dishes up the best ceviche or the bar that has the best happy hour. So, what is the next best thing to having a favorite? Sharing it with friends! Allow me to share with you just a few of my favorite things�who knows, maybe we have something in common! Wet Willy's Seafood Saturdays, Bougainvillea, Estel's Dine by the Sea, Hermit Crabs, Happy Hour at Caprice Bar and Grill.

Misc Belizean Sources

Benque's September Celebrations pictures
The Benque House of Culture has some good pictures of their September Celebrations. Let the festivites begin. Happy 31st, Belize!

September Celebrations in Benque
The Benque House of Culture is doing quite a few events for the September Celebrations. They'll have their Educational Exhibition about the story of resistance in Belize on the 6th, followed by a Thanks Giving Service at Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the 7th. On the 19th, They'll have a tribute to George Price. They'll have an Art Fiesta and a Full Moon concert on the 29th. Have a safe and fun September.

Megan's Peach Cobbler
MMMmmmmmmm

Belizean Curried Rice
In this video, I use long grained white rice to make curried rice. although this recipe is simple, it is very spicy and tasty. It uses very few ingredients, but its very colourful and goes well with any type of meat and vegetables.

Caye Caulker Chronicles

Caye Caulker Baller's 4 Life Basketball Tournament is underway
The Caye Caulker Ballers 4 Life Basketball Tournament held its sixth week of games over the weekend and is gearing up for the playoffs. The tournament has seven teams from Belize City, San Pedro Town and Caye Caulker village in a 12-week tournament. With the sponsorship of the Belize Tourism Board and the San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi, the tournament is a huge success, attracting many people for the regular Saturday night games being held at the Caye Caulker Basketball Court. Speaking to The San Pedro Sun, organizer Charles Young Jr. explained that, "the tournament is geared at engaging at risk youth of both islands in some sort of sports. It is also an opportunity for me (Charles) to give back to the communities." The teams competing are: Hot Skull, Lazy Lizard Black Neighborhood, Bun Fire and Hard Time Hustlers from Caye Caulker; ET Center/ Jolly Rogers from Belize City and Tuff E Nuff from San Pedro On Saturday, August 25th Tuff E Nuff, led by Rico Black, played Lazy Lizard and managed to win by a comfortable margin of 78 to 69 points. So far Tuff E Nuff has won three out of four games played and has two more games before the play off.

Blogs

The worst bug bites in Belize (so far...)
Since arriving in Belize, we've gotten our share of insect bites: mosquitoes, sand flies, and various biting ants are fairly ubiquitous, at least when there is no wind or it's blowing from the right direction. We've been lucky enough not to be stung by any yellow jackets or hornets to date. However, on our recent trip to the mainland, we experienced a biting insect we knew nothing about. We're now properly educated! There we were, innocently walking from our cabana over to breakfast through the grass at Mama Noots Eco-Resort in Mayflower Bocawina National Park in the Stann Creek District of Belize. We hadn't bothered to put on any insect repellent for such a short walk, though of course we'd planned on slathering ourselves with it before our hike in the jungle after breakfast. All of a sudden, we noticed that we were attracting little black, gnat-like bugs, especially on our lower legs. It felt like they were biting us, though their bites didn't hurt or sting badly like a fire ant bite; it was just a passing annoyance, kind of like a no-see-um bite. After slapping at them awhile, we realized that where each one bit us, there was a small drop of blood. As we arrived at the dining room, we ran into Liz, the proprietor, with one of the zip-line workers. We asked them about the bites, and they immediately recognized that they were made by some sort of fly. I could never understand exactly what they were saying; it sounded like "bottle fly", but maybe they'd called it "blood fly"? The latter was certainly fitting! Here's how the bites looked the day I got bit. Not too bad yet. ... They are not bottle nor blood flies, nor are they (thank the gods) bot flies, the awful creatures whose larvae burrow under the skin of humans. They are sometimes referred to as bot-less flies because of this fact; but the correct name is BOTLASS Fly (Diptera: Simuliidae; blackflies, bloodsucking insects). They are a local type of blackfly and are apparently found primarily in the Silk Grass Creek area of Belize [ref: http://biological-diversity.info/Downloads/Mayflower_REA_s.pdf, search for botlass], which is very close to Mayflower Bocawina Park and Mama Noots. We found several mentions of them in blogs and forums solely in this area, but no mention of them elsewhere in Belize, nor have we encountered them anywhere else in the country where we have traveled fairly extensively.

Night Photography Tips
We were all set to do the last poker run of the season and hanging out with the other 'poker players' at Roadkill Bar waiting to be signed in when Leisa realized just how late the poker run was going to last and decided to take a pass. Since I am also an early riser and was feeling in pumpkin mode, I thought it was not a bad idea. As we were driving back up north we caught sight of the blue moon, it was even bigger and better than last night, very exciting and a good confirmation that we had made the right decision. When we got back to Grand Caribe I grabbed my camera and went snap happy at the beach. I was playing around with different all the settings and ended liking the pictures I was getting with indoor which I thought was pretty funny. Leave it to a dyslexic to be taking outdoor night time photography on the indoor setting. Anyone have any thoughts on why indoor mode worked better nighttime one? In yesterday's night time photography post I asked if anyone had any insight on better night photography and woke up with an the following email from Joseph with a few great photo tips. I am going to try the flashlight one for sure.

Scuba Diving in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye
This is a journal of my experience when getting open water certified in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. The Scuba diving course allowed me to visit the Belize Barrier Reef, the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. The PADI Open Water Diver course can be done in 3 days. You can arrange this with your hotel or check with any dive shop that you come across. My personal recommendation is Amigos del Mar - ask for instructor Eddie, he rocks! The first day is the academic part and it involves watching a five chapter introduction video. How long it takes will depend on an individual's learning capacity and since I'm a fast learner, it took me three hours. Chapter 1 introduces the student to the underwater world, the dive equipment, scuba systems and preface to the Buddy System. Chapter 2 continues by elaborates on the Buddy System, adapting to the underwater world, and respiration. Chapter 3 involves dive planning, problem management and general open water skills. Chapter 4 is all about knowing the dive accessories, your necessary health, breathing air at depth and introduction to dive tables/ computers. And finally, Chapter 5 is an entire overview which finalizes with a PADI course evaluation. It's not difficult, it just sounds like it is. ambergris caye boats The second day is always much better! After finishing off with the academic stuff, get ready for fun by experiencing your first dive.

International Sources

Two regional fisheries bodies for historic Belize meeting
wenty-five countries from two regional fisheries organizations, with the task of promoting cooperation and policy coordination in addressing trans-boundary fisheries matters, will meet in Belize for a historic, high-level ministerial meeting today and tomorrow. The joint meeting in Belize City will bring together 17 CARICOM member and associated member states of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), and seven members of the Organization for Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Central American Isthmus (OSPESCA), joined by the Dominican Republic as an associate member, said a press release from the Ministry of Forestry,�..

Belize, Mexico Hold Talks
The governments of Belize and Mexico met for a two-day summit in Belmopan this week. The seventh meeting of the Belize-Mexico Bi-National Commission, which was held at the Prince Hotel in Free Zone, included discussions on tourism, trade, immigration and the new northern border crossing between the two countries, among other issues. In a statement, Belize and Mexico said a "great deal of progress" since their previous bi-national commission in Chetumal, Quintana Roo in 2010. The two sides "renewed their commitment to work together to continue engaging in efforts that will contribute to achieving social and economic development for Belizeans and Mexicans alike," Belize's government said in the statement. Belize's delegation was led by Alexis Rosado, chief executive officer in Belize's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Leading Mexico's delegation was Norma Pensado, Under-Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean in Mexico's Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. Mexico has been working to increase its cooperation with the Caribbean. At the CARICOM-Mexico Summit in Barbados in May, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said the Caribbean region was Mexico's "third border." Mexico is a "proudly Caribbean country," he said at the time.

Belize Review and Pictures
Great photos from around Belize can be seen on this review. Where exactly they stayed, we're not sure, but they loved it, and it is beautiful. "The first two days we stayed in the jungle near San Ignacio in the most darling little cabin and the second part of the trip we took a water taxi to Ambergris Caye and lounged on the little island. It was a lovely trip. We spent hours laying in hammocks, and took afternoon naps during the most delirious of rainstorms. We went jungle hiking, and climbed old mayan ruins from civilizations hundreds and hundreds of years old. We saw monkeys and wandered islands, holding hands like newlyweds."


Last edited by Marty; 11/17/12 09:49 AM.