 |
|
25 YEARS AGO ON AMBERGRIS CAYE BY ANGEL NUÑEZ
Last week we took you beachcombing in the 1960’s, and we found interesting objects that had floated to the beaches along the coast of San Pedro. Very few people walked the beaches up north, but the beach from the town core towards the south was frequently combed by children, men and even families. It was like a hobby and at times one just woke up and decided to walk the beach to see what he would find. And here are a few more things we used to find.
*Pen tops and ball point pens- these fascinated us because we only used to use pencils.
*Doll heads: only rarely did we find whole dolls. These were taken home for the children to play.
*Gloves- Working gloves were kept and were used in handling lobsters.
*Asthma Inhalers- were picked up and pressed to hear the hissing sound.
*Workers’ helmets- these made your day. Kids played with them forever.
*Footballs (punctured) always picked up and kicked away with disgust.
*Syringe- picked up, smelled, and thrown away.
*Truck tires- men cut pieces and used them to make sandals.
*Plastic hangers- picked up and kept if intact.
*Plastic foot mats- examined and if not too bad, were taken home and placed at the foot of the main stair.
*Small gas cylinders- flung against a coconut tree just to hear the clatter.
*Tea strainers- they were kept if in good condition.
*Toy soldier or plastic animals- collected for the children.
*Bamboo- these were collected for building lobster traps.
*Belts- collected for use or to tie bundles.
*Lumber- always welcomed and used to build fences, garages, fowl and pig pens, etc.
*Entangled fishing lines and hooks- we always tried to disentangle them for possible use. Most of the time one ended with 100 to 200 feet of nylon line, a prize to any kid.
So what is considered debris or trash was not trash 25 years ago. A lot of it was collected for use. And have you wondered where most of these items came from. People used to say that they were discarded by ships and yachts that sailed the Caribbean. Actually beachcombing can get you rich. Can’t we collect all the seaweed and convert it into fertilizer for export? So folks, let’s all go beachcombing. It is a lot of fun, trust me.
| |
Commons 