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Armed Robber Holds Up Insurance Office In Northern Belize
One man has been charged for a robbery at a business establishment in Orange Walk Town on Saturday. Reporter Dalila Ical has the story.
DALILA ICAL
"Orange Walk Police has charged one man for the robbery of the Insurance Corporation of Belize, ICB office in Orange Walk Town. The incident played out on Saturday morning around 9. Reports indicate that the man identified as Stanley Tillett of an Orange Walk Town address entered the ICB office and immediately pulled out a .22 pistol and pointed it at the female employee who was alone in the building at the time. Reports are that Tillett ripped out the phone line, tied the woman and placed her behind the counter; he then searched the cash register taking an undisclosed amount of cash but before he could finish his heist, an employee from a nearby business who says he normally check on the woman at the ICB office stopped by to make his routine check."
WITNESS
"That was when my superior told me to go and check and see what happened and what is going on and if everything safe, if everything is alright. When I reached and I looked through the glass I saw a male person standing but I never saw the girl; so, I said maybe she is at the back with the papers; so, I knocked on the door and the man came and opened it. As I was looking to go inside he pulled out the gun and aimed it at me. The man said, 'you come in wrong time now it's you who is going to get it and who sent you; the man says I feel like killing you right now; you have spoiled my day and messed up my move; so, with that in mind the man hit me in my head and then he said I have to tie you."
Plans for September Celebrations Underway
September is less than three months away and that means that the September Celebrations Committee is already gearing up the preparations. Love News today spoke with the President of NICH, Diane Haylock who told us more about what's in the making
DIANE HAYLOCK, President, NICH
"We have recently selected the theme for this year's celebration which is. "Belize in you, Belize in me, land of the free" - short and sweet. We have sent out that information so people can now begin to use that theme in promoting their own events, whether at the national or local levels. I think there were 145 entries; we have a subcommittee of the celebration commission that goes through the entries and then they short list and the commission itself makes the decision. So, we had a short list at our last meeting of 7 entries that was selected and the back and forth among us and you know finally choosing this one, I think it sort of resonated with us; BELIZE IN YOU, a play on BELIEVE IN YOU and it's a play on the word, Belize. "Belize in you, Belize in me, land of the free" - it was short, it was sweet. Sometimes people write these long sentences for themes and then they don't role off the tongue very, very easily and that for us ended up being catchy and as short as it was it had a lot of significance."
The winning theme for this year was contributed by Jeanelle Mencias from the City of Belmopan. Haylock says they hope to encourage young people to devise creative pieces centered on the theme to artistically express what it means to them. And of course one of the highlights of the September Celebrations is the Carnival which Haylock says is getting along despite shortcomings.
Teacher Incriminated In Carnal Knowledge Report
Police are looking for a teacher from the Toledo District. This follows a report by a 14-year-olkd student who told police that on May 29 she went to the teacher's house in Santa Teresa Village where he had sexual intercourse with her. Medical examination was conducted on the minor which revealed that she was carnally known.
Belize Welcomes Russian Ambassador to Belize
This morning, His Excellency Eduard R. Malayan, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Belize, presented his credentials to the Governor General of Belize His Excellency, Sir Colville Young. In his speech, Ambassador Malayan extended warm greetings from His Excellency Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, to the GG and the Belizean people. Ambassador Malayan further expressed the possibility to deepen the relationship between Belize and the Russian Federation in several forms including political, diplomatic, trade, culture, education and technical cooperation. During his visit Ambassador Malayan presented his Letters of Credence to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred Elrington and CEO, Alexis Rosado.
Belize Gets Rains and Wind From Tropical Depression #2
The second Tropical Depression for the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane season slammed into Belize this afternoon at around 13 MPH with wind gusts of up to 41knots. The storm formed at around nine this morning, some 98 miles ENE of Punta Gorda Town and 60 miles E of Monkey River and made landfall somewhere between Dangriga Town and Independence Village at around three this afternoon.
Dennis Gonguez, Chief Meteorologist
"As the system moves across here all this will be swinging in that direction over the northern part because the circulation is counter clock wise so this will be swinging up towards the northern part of the country."
Gonguez said that the roughly two inches of rainfall that inundated some of Belize City streets on Sunday and Sunday night were associated with the Depression. By the time the depression passes over Belize over tonight, it would have dumped another three inches of rainfall over the country, and that is cause for concern.
Dennis Gonguez, Chief Meteorologist
"We're looking at, in the north this afternoon and this evening up to about 3 - 3 � inches up in the north and that could cause some issues then the activities switches to the south tonight where we could be getting 2 - 2 � inches between tonight and tomorrow morning. We are looking at the rains being the bigger threat than the winds."
While the greatest part of the storm has passed, the system will continue to deposit rain over the country and Gonguez advises people in low-lying areas to make the necessary adjustments.
Dennis Gonguez, Chief Meteorologist
"You should take the necessary precautions to safeguard life and property if you see the waters are rising in your vicinity."
Even when the system leaves our area that will not be the last of it.
Dennis Gonguez, Chief Meteorologist
"It appears that when the system goes into the Bay of Campeche, it could regenerate into a depression once it maintains its status across the Yucatan Peninsula."
Incomplete Construction In Southern Belize Causes Revenue Loss
Residents of Dangriga are become uneasy because of the slack an important project in that municipality has taken, since it is a means of revenue for the municipality. Correspondent Harry Arzu has more on the issue.
HARRY ARZU
"The delayed work on the existing Dangriga Market is becoming more of a concern for the residents of this municipality and more so for Mayor Gilbert Swazo."
MAYOR SWAZO
"On Wednesday, June 12, 2013, Representative of the World Bank accompanied by their counterparts from the Belize Social Investment Fund was in Dangriga to conduct their midyear review after the phase one component of the Belize Municipality Development Project which consists of the construction of the extension to and the refurbishment of the existing Dangriga Municipal Market. The review included a meeting and a site visit to the market project. During the meeting, I as the Mayor and on behalf of the people of Dangriga explicitly expressed concern on the snail pace speed of the project and its token employment of the residents of Dangriga. I also, as a consequence demanded forcefully yet respectfully that the contractor increase the number of Dangriga residents on the project and to speed up the construction of the project without compromising the quality. The World Bank Representative also expresses their concern on the present state of the project and their disappointment with the contractor for having completed only about 40% of the project.
Flash Floods Are Likely In Southern Belize
The Stann Creek NEMO met this afternoon to discuss the current weather situation. Correspondent Harry Arzu has more details on the meeting.
HARRY ARZU
"The incessant rains continue to affect the Stann Creek District as a result of the tropical depression that is passing over Belize. A number of primary schools were given permission to close their doors today despite the fact that primary school students were scheduled to start their third term promotional examination here in the municipality. However, NEMO Stann Creek says they are on alert and is monitoring the weather. Mayor Gilbert Swazo is the Chairperson for NEMO Stann Creek."
MAYOR SWAZO
"We continue to monitor the tropical depression and along with the Regional Coordinator and the District Coordinator we continue to issue advisory in relation to the likely impacts of the rainy condition. We are giving advisory to all those flood prone areas within Dangriga and within Stann Creek District to be vigilant and to be on the lookout for flash floods. We continue to monitor and at this time we have given advisory to residents within the Stann Creek District and Dangriga in general."
Belize Joins In UN Public Service Day Observation
Sunday will be observed as the United Nations Public Service Day and Belize will join in on observing the day. But for the entire week starting today, the Ministry of the Public Service will engage in a series of activities to celebrate those public officers who have delivered sterling service over the years. Chairperson of the Public Service National Committee, Freya Parham August, told Love News that the public officers even have a chance to get free check-ups as well.
FREYA PARHAM AUGUST
"What we will be having on Friday in lieu of the 23rd is an award ceremony and the ceremony is going to be held in Punta Gorda. We have been rotating the ceremony in the different municipalities just to interact with the citizens from different parts of the country. On that day we will be recognizing public officers who have done outstanding work, who have committed their lives, so to speak, for the last 25 years, to the government and people of Belize. So, that is what we will be having on Friday that is the highlight in Belize for our Public Service Day. This week we will be having a week of activities across the country; today in Belize City they will be having a Health Day where public officers can come in and get free tests.
Violin Teacher Attends Julliard 2013 Starling Symposium
Belizean Youth Musician Courtenay Gillett a violinist and the principal violinist and coach in the National Youth Orchestra and Choir of Belize, began playing Suzuki violin at the age of ten. Now at the age of 26, she has a vast amount of achievements, especially in music. Gillett has recently returned from Julliard's 2013 Starling De-Lay Symposium for Violin studies, which provided intense music training her. She says she applied for the program as a teacher and became a participant.
COURTENAY GILLETT
"It was to explore how to use violin technique and to help your students get better sound; in this case they focus on the Bach, Partitas and Sonatas and also some other technical studies such as Kreutzer and what it was - it was master classes; so, they had student artists who performed for us and while there, they had professional teachers who came up and they gave their critique on how you can change the sound; it's all about sound production. As musicians, we can't allow ourselves to stay the same; when we perform, if I sing today in one way, I don't expect that ten years down the road for it to sound the same way. It has to evolve even better; so it's how to get your students to produce even better sounds; not to concentrate on playing notes but creating music."
Now Gillett is getting prepared to join the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, YOA, in touring Central America. She told us what she looks forward to in that venture.
PlusTV
Body found in Western Paradise area
Police have confirmed the discovery of the body of a man inside a house at mile 8 on the George Price Highway. Complete details are not known at this time but police have announced that the body showed apparent chop wounds to the head and have classified the incident...
Two Guatemalan xateros arrested in Belize's Forest
Two Guatemalan xateros found in Belize's forest were arrested and charged in San Ignacio. Acording to reports, on Friday the 14th June, the Joint Forces Team on patrol in the Chiquibul base at Tapir Camp detained two male Hispanic persons who were maneuvering to cross the main Caracol Road....
NEMO issues Advisory on Tropical Depression
Belizeans spent a very wet Father's Day weekend as a result of severe rains affecting the country. The National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) this morning confirmed that the rains are a result of Tropical Depression No. 2 which formed several hours ago from an area of disturbed weather right...
Dangriga family's home destroyed by fire
A Dangriga family is tonight asking the public's assistance after their home was completely destroyed by fire. It happened over the weekend and our Dangriga correspondent Harry Arzu spoke to the owner of the home. He filed the following report. Harry Arzu - Dangriga Correspondent: A two-story wooden structure...
University of Belize Fires Professor Patrick Menzies
University of Belize Fires Professor Patrick Menzies. Mr Menzies is well known within the media circle as a social activist and the UB Lecturer, whose students recently conducted a research which shows that the University of Belize is overcharging students for some courses. This afternoon, Menzies showed up to...
PUP gearing up to lead national demonstration
Earlier this year the People's United Party (PUP) had plans for a national demonstration to highlight alleged abuses and inefficiencies of the ruling United Democratic Party (UDP). But there has been nothing heard of it since and members of the press asked Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca about it on...
NTUCB declares support for Government's move to recover registries
Last week we aired the Opposition Leader's response to allegations that he and former Prime Minister Musa signed a secret agreement to extend Management Services Agreement for the International Business Companies Registry and the Shipping Registry for another seven years from 2013 to 2020. In a press release issued...
Life sentences in prison for two men still stand
They were accused of cold-blooded murders in 2002 -after robbing bottling giants Bowen and Bowen, then fleeing the country. First tried and convicted in 2004, the cases of Leslie Pipersburgh and Patrick Robateau have gone as far as London, England and the Privy Council to be decided. But after...
Stabbing and shooting in Belize City
There was both a stabbing and a shooting incident in Belize City over the weekend. On Friday June, 14th, at 9:30pm police visited the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where they saw RUSHELL LOPEZ, Belizean Domestic of a Fabers Road address, suffering from (2) stab wounds to the left side...
Belmopan Police investigates shooting and incidents
Belmopan Police investigates shooting incident. On Sunday June 16th shortly after 1pm. Police visited the emergency ward at that Western Regional Hospital where they observe Edwardo Antonio GARCIA, a Salvadoran Farmer of Valley of Peace Village, suffering from a single gunshot wound to the upper rib cage area. Garcia...
Local Musician returns from two-week training at Juilliard Music School
Burrell Boom native and musician and teacher Courtney Gillett has scored a pair of major accomplishments. She has just returned from a two-week training for music teachers at the world-renowned Juilliard Music School in New York City, and soon leaves for Panama as Belize's first and sole representative in...
Toledo Police investigate Carnal Knowledge accusation
Police in the Toledo District is looking for a teacher after a carnal knowledge report by one of his students. Over the weekend a 14yr, old student visited the Police Station in the company of her father and reported that on May 29th around 7:45pm she went to her...
Police investigate firearms offence and robbery
On Saturday June 15th, Police conducted a searched at the residence of 31yr old Omar CALDERON, of Orange Walk Town. Present at time of the search was CALDERON and a 16year old minor. As a result of the search police recovered a black plastic bag containing (12) rounds of...
Belizean Artists First hosted Father's Day Song Competition and Concert
On Saturday night, the Association for Belizean Artists First (ABAF) hosted its fifth annual Father's Day Song Competition and Concert, which for the first time is being held among high school entrants only. Ahead of the concert, on Friday Promoter Tony Wright told us how his organization collaborated with...
Football legend maintains Hostel Field for 27 years
Last week, we met football legend and community activist Bernard "Dubu" Thomas, a star forward on the Coke Milpros teams of the late 1980's and later on the over-35 Ebony Lake football team. But for the past 27 years, he has been known for something else: a one-man effort...
Caye Caulker Chronicles
Ocean Academy graduates 10!
Ocean Academy High School held it's annual graduation ceremonies on Friday, June 14th.
10 students graduated with their high school diplomas.
Canadian musician, Danny Michel, was the guest speaker.
Congratulations to all the graduates on a job well done! May your future be as bright as the Caye Caulker sun.
Congratulations to the staff, faculty and friends of Ocean Academy high school as well. You are an oasis of hope for the village.
Crazy Weather on Caye Caulker
Tropical Depression 2 which formed over Belize yesterday is blanketing the country with heavy rains and gusty conditions.
Out on Caye Caulker, heavy breakers are rolling in from the reef. Locally, this heavy surf is referred to as "rekaladas", or rolling waves.
The sea is at the level of some of the piers at this point, and there has been some erosion along the seashore.
Thank You from Tracie Young
Tracie Young ran for councilor and won with a total of 315 votes. Chairperson was won by Mr. Wayne Miller, other councilors are Enelda Rosado, Julian Rosado, Ilda Marin, Ralph Humes and Raul Young.
The June 16th, 2013 issue of The STAR (Cayo) is online HERE
This Week's Stories:
- Jarod "Steel Bob" Lamb Finally Captured:
Jarod "Steel Bob" Arthurs Lamb
has been on the San Ignacio police's
most wanted list since the January
2013 home invasion/murder of
Belizean businessman Steven
Valencia in his Loma Luz Boulevard
home in Santa Elena, Cayo.
Lamb, who had managed to evade
the police for over five months while
committing more crimes, was today
caught off guard when Belmopan
police was alerted of his location.
San Ignacio police informed that
Lamb, 25, Belizean laborer of Ontario
village in the Cayo district was
captured in neighboring Camalote
village. He was escorted to the
Belmopan police station where he is
to face charges for crimes he is
accused of committing in that area.
- BECOL Warning
System Failed:
Reliable reports reaching us
indicates that the Tuesday, June 4,
2013, planned testing of BECOL's
early warning system, in the event of
a dam break, failed.
The rather embarrassing incident
reportedly occurred in the presence
of representatives from the National
Emergency Management Organization
and from the Department of the
Environment both legally charged with
overseeing such exercises.
The system at San Ignacio fire
station failed as well as the one
located at Black Rock Resort. The
siren was to have blasted seven times
for three consecutive minutes at three
minute intervals none of which
reportedly occurred.
The failure now begs the question:
Is BECOL really prepared to issue
the relevant warning in the event of a
dam break, or will residences in the
destructive path of the dam feel
before they hear the warning?
- Hon Rene Montero -
Delivering On His Promises:
2013:
In fulfilling his manifesto promise to
support young athletes in Cayo
Central, Minister of Works and
Transport, Hon Rene Montero,
today handed over a thousand dollar
check to the captain of the Georgeville
football team.
The donation explained the coach
could not have come at a better time
as the Georgeville football team is
preparing to play, in Georgeville, a
friendly match against a Guatemalan
team. The coach is asking villagers
from Georgeville and surrounding
communities to come out and support
their team.
As works continue to progress in
the village, with the upgrading of
streets, refurbishing of the community
center and support for the feeding
program in the village primary
school, Minister Montero pledged to
continue supporting the community
and the entire Cayo Central
constituency.
- St. Andrews Excels In PSE:
Bernice York Institute of Learning is
this year's top PSE student, the
management and staff St. Andrews
Anglican Primary School in
San Ignacio are proud to have
produced the next two top students
in the Primary School Examination
(PSE).
St. Andrews Primary School's
Vincent Hulse and Nelson Esteban
tied for 2nd place both receiving
perfect scores in Math and Science
finishing the examinations with an
astounding 386 points out of a
possible 400.
Other top PSE St. Andrews School
students are Alain Morris and
Zahara Zul who both tied in 6th
place.
- Evangelism In Politics:
When televangelist Silas Malafaia
gathered 40,000 followers outside
Brazil's congress this week, it wasn't
just to raise their arms to the sky and
praise the Lord.
The rally was a show of support for
lawmakers who oppose abortion and
same-sex marriage and a message to
other politicians that they should not
ignore Brazil's fast-growing evangelical
churches if they want to stay in
office.
"Gay activism is moral
garbage," Malafaia roared into the
microphone to a cheering crowd on
the grassy esplanade of the Brazilian
capital. "Satan will not destroy our
family values."
- Belizeans In The United States And Abroad Agressively
Demanding Full Citizenship Rights In Their Homeland:
By: Wellington C. Ramos
When the Government of Belize
started the debate to educate
Belizeans throughout the country on
the Referendum Initiative to take the
Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute to
the International Court of Justice
(I.C.J.), many Belizeans in the United
States and Belize became insecure
about their current citizenship status.
Since the 1980's the Government of
Belize has been granting citizenship
status to many Guatemalans who
entered the country illegally. These
citizens now have the right to vote,
run for political office and become the
Prime Minister of Belize. While, the
Belizeans who were born in Belize and
became citizens of the United States
and other countries, are not entitled
to these same fundamental rights
unless they renounce the citizenships
of their new countries.
- Response to Briceno's letter
on behalf of Fortis:
Contributed by: Candy Gonzalez
Mr. Briceno penned a Letter to the
Editor that Fortis, Inc. used in a full
page ad as part of their attempt to
quash any objections to their purchase
of C.H. Energy, in upstate New York.
One of the letters opposing the
takeover was from Robert
Kennedy, Jr., who spoke of Fortis'
record in Belize. Briceno felt
"compelled to correct the errors
in the commentary and present
your readers with an accurate
account of the developments that
took place under my watch".
Unfortunately, his "accurate
account" is about as accurate as his
pronouncements back in 1999-2008.
One has to wonder if Mr. Briceno
even wrote this letter. The reason I
say this is because he refers to the
NEAC as the "National Environmental
Assessment Committee."
The NEAC reviews all Environmental
Impact Assessments. The
Department of Environment was part
of Briceno's portfolio, Wouldn't he
know the NEAC stands for
the "National Environmental
Appraisal Committee"?
- Belize Embassy in Washington Raises
funds for the Inspiration Center:
The Embassy of Belize in Washington
has raised US$60,000 for the
Inspiration Center.
His Excellency, Ambassador
Nestor Mendez, who is visiting
Belize, handed over the cheque to the
Special Envoy for Women and
Children, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow
on Tuesday.
The donation is the proceeds of
several fundraising events hosted in
Washington between October 2011
and May 2013. The majority of the
funds were raised at a hugely
successful gala on February 16th,
2013, which brought in over
US$40,000. Mrs. Barrow is
extremely grateful to Ambassador
Mendez and his team for their hard
work and dedication as well as the
Belizean diaspora in Washington for supporting the important cause of
providing a safe, inclusive environment
for children with disabilitiesto
access much needed services.
- Fuego Bar and Grill- At The New Cayo Welcome Center:
After a barrage of photos and
tempting advertisements promising the
latest and greatest "elevated
Belizean street cuisine" I was
excited to attend the tasting preview
for Fuego Bar and Grill this past
Monday. Fuego made a great first
impression as I stepped up the
sidewalk of the new Welcome
Center into the patio area with simple
clean edges and clever little flairs of
style making their appearance
as drinks we served and dishes
popped out of the kitchen. The
interior of the restaurant continued to
warm the taste buds with oversized
photos of the local market and
glowing lamps dangling over the bar
illuminating Leo Arguelles and his
team of Mixologists as they blended
and twisted to keep up with thirsty
tasters.
Trays of tiny little treats began to
make their way out of the kitchen
window where I could see Chef
Jesse Mas was in his element
constantly smiling and making sure
every morsel was up to his standard.
Each dish that was served was unique and enticing and well prepared. The
tastes were a brilliant mix of local
flavor and international styling.
- National Gender Policy Issue
What's The Fuss? Part 1:
On May 17th, news broke about
the new Revised National Gender
Policy developed by the National
Women's Commission, and the
INCLUSION OF SEXUAL
ORIENTATION into the Gender
Policy. Turns out that Caleb Orozco
and UNIBAM were actively brought
into the process of CREATING the
new Gender Policy, and that this
Policy was already APPROVED BY
CABINET IN MARCH!!
Now hold on a minute!! You trying
to tell us that while Govt was
fighting UNIBAM with one hand
in Court, they had ALREADY
APPROVED a Gender Policy
months before, and UNIBAM
helped draft it and it includes the
homosexual agenda? How can this
be?
- Official Results of the June 9th Village Council Elections:
- Santa Elena Primary School Receives Much Needed Assistance:
The Infant one and two students of
Santa Elena Primary School have
been housed in two trailer home
classrooms for the past ten years. The
classrooms have since deteriorated
considerably, with one of the major
problems being the flooring of the
buildings. We have echoed these
sentiments to our community and
other stakeholders at every opportunity
we get, but to no avail.
The cries of our teachers reached
the ears of Mr. Richard Zul and
Lucille Sosa who visited our school
and saw the urgent need for the
repairs of the floor and immediately
contacted their partner, Mr. Robert
Trausch who has been bringing
teams to Belize for the past years to
do voluntary services in various
communities.
Proactive, retired couple, Gary and
Jerry Dennis, heard about the plans
to renovate the floorings at SEPS and
assisted Mr. Zul with the ground work
before the arrival of the main team.
Hence, the students from Nederland
High School in Colorado have spent
the last week under the guidance of
their teacher Ms. Lorie Kinczel
working on the flooring of three much
needed classrooms.
- STAR Humor
- Your Weekly Horoscope and Lucky Numbers
- Letters to the Editor
- Public Notices
Crazy Wet Weather
The one inch of rain that we got yesterday during Lobstermania pool party felt like 7, we could have had a great wet tee shirt contest The band got rained out and anyone who was not taking shelter under the tents or in the pool bar got drenched as well.
At one point someone offered me a towel and I had to laugh there was no way I was staying dry until the rain stopped. Between floaty toy wrangling and trying to keep the taco cam streaming a good pool party view, I got soaked big time. It was pretty funny, every time I asked someone sitting in the bar if the webcam view looked ok they gave a few directions to reposition it and would say 'it looks great.' Then wen I got back to check it myself on the laptop, it looked all tilted like a drunken monkey had set it up
Why I would like to be an eco-kid
Hi! My name is Lillian Aguirre. I live in hope creek village on the Stann creek valley road. I am attending hope creek Methodist school. I am in the class of standard 4. My favorite sport is volleyball, my father is a diver at Marisol caye, and my mother goes to school at the junior college in Dangriga. She loves nature as well as I do; by the way I am 11years old!
I want to be an eco-kid because I love nature and would like to help to protect the rainforest. When I visit the rainforest, the shade from the canopy of tree refreshes me. The smell of green trees relaxes me and the singing of the birds inspires me. I hope and pray that I might find and fallow a jaguar's paw prints on a trail or I may look up high above and see an owl staring at me. If I am lucky I hope to see soldier ants carrying leave to build their homes wild pigs grunting by howler monkeys hanging on trees branches like thunder.
"I Can't Stand the Rain" in Ambergris Caye, Belize.
I mentioned in the previous edition that it rained for the greater part of Sunday and right through the night. Well, it didn't abate and rained just as hard yesterday morning.
A rainy and blustery view from the veranda around 8.30 am.
I had intended to wash the golf cart because the dusty roads, (and especially on the road north of the Sir Barry Bowen Bridge to our build in Ambergris Caye, Belize) make it look very dirty. And very quickly. I then was going to spend some 'quality time' on the beach with my book. Well the rain put paid to that idea. I can't stand the rain when it stops me from doing things that I want to do.
With my plan in tatters there was only one sensible form of recourse for me. No, not go back to bed, but to Estel's for breakfast. What would you have done in the same circumstances? Exactly.
So. I got the raincoat out of the cupboard (haven't had to wear it for nearly a year) and went for my breakfast and found a nearly empty Estel's . Very unusual. Just as unusual was that I sat inside. It made sense to do do because even though they had the 'rain shades' down the rain was getting through them to hit the tables on the deck.
In the afternoon I made the trip to visit our build in Ambergris Caye, Belize on my own because Rose wasn't feeling the greatest. The best place for her was in the dry at our rented condo.
Raggamuffin Tours Summer Promotions
Raggamuffin Tours offers a unique 2 night/ 3 day sailing, snorkeling and fishing adventure from Caye Caulker to Placencia. The tour is unrivaled in quality and value for money and is a must for all who enjoy the Caribbean and the magic it holds.
The tour is devised to take passengers away from the high tourist traffic and population areas of San Pedro, Caye Caulker and Belize City by traveling South. Customers are offered the chance to access the more remote parts of the inner reef and therefore some of the world's most highly regarded snorkeling and even fishing opportunities.
The Cat Lady of Caye Caulker, Belize
Beyond the sounds of the waves and the beat of the reggae music on Caye Caulker, you might also hear a "meow," or maybe 86 of them.
This side of the island is home to P.A.W.'s, run by Madi Collins. She started the animal sanctuary after returning home from the United States.
One day in 2003, she was on the dock next to her home and saw a bag floating in the ocean. Four kittens were trapped inside. Madi jumped into the ocean to rescue the kittens and nurse them back to health.
"My life changed forever �" Madi told me. "People out here don't want cats. They beat them or they throw them out in the ocean to die."
Ten years have passed since then. As I visited her in November 2012, I saw the toll that working 12 hours every day has left on her. She said she feels pain, but the cats keep her going.
"If I die, who's going to take care of them?" she said. "The culture here in Belize isn't like the United States. People won't think twice about abusing animals."
GMO Products to stay away from
Ensuring that your family is healthy is a huge priority and buying non-GMO foods should be part of that process. If you are health conscious and want to keep GMO's out of your diet, here is a list of products that contain GMO so you can avoid them. The list is not 100% guaranteed to list all GMO containing products but it's a good start. Mainly you should read the ingredients list and research them to see how they may impact you and your family.
Baby Food ~ Genetically Engineered Ingredients
Nabisco (Phillip Morris)
Arrowroot Teething Biscuits
Infant formula Carnation Infant Formulas(Nestle)
AlSoy
Good Start
Follow-Up
Follow-Up Soy
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A 6-Month Escape to Belize
Life was good in the States. We had a big house, two cars, and a community of friends in our Pennsylvania hometown. We had meaningful work and our weeks rushed by in a whirlwind of activity for both us and our children. We espoused the American view of "work hard, play hard."
But something was missing. The lifestyle we were living was too stressful, too busy, too unhealthy, and too expensive. We found ourselves accumulating-and worrying about-unnecessary stuff. We felt we were running on a work-and-spend treadmill that didn't get us anywhere and left us exhausted. In the name of living the good life, we felt we were actually losing ours.
So last winter my husband Kevin and I decided we needed a break-a family escape-from what we knew to be "normal." We realized we couldn't stay where we were with our four kids and find the change we wanted.
We focused on Central and South America because of their proximity to the U.S., their warm tropical climates, and their low cost of living. We spent many hours online researching and talking to expats who lived in the countries we were considering: Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, and Ecuador. We paid flying visits to several places to see in person if we would like it there.
Ultimately, we decided on Belize, nestled between Mexico and Guatemala and facing the morning sunrise over the Caribbean Sea.
A sparsely-populated country of around 300,000 people, Belize is English-speaking. It's also very affordable and would allow our family of six to live comfortably, even without selling off everything we owned in the States.
President Otto P�rez Molina: Guatemala Dry Canal Plan Well Underway
Guatemala's President Otto P�rez Molina, has said that his country's plans for a dry canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are more advanced than a similar project being undertaken by Nicaragua, The president made the statement in Taiwan, where he is on an official visit.
In an article published in Guatemala's Prensa Libre newspaper today, Perez is quoted as saying that "there is a difference" between the Guatemalan dry inter-oceanic canal and Nicaragua's project made official in a concession given on June 13, to the Chinese company HK Nicaragua Canal Development.
"Nicaragua's project is more akin to the Panama canal," while Guatemala's is "a project of 390 km, with oil and gas pipelines, a federal expressway and railway line," said the President.
Tropical depression heads towards Belize
Tropical depression number two formed on Monday in the far western Caribbean Sea and, at 5:00 pm EDT, was 10 miles northeast of Monkey River Town, Belize, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, with higher gusts.
According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the depression was moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph and this general motion, with a decrease in forward speed, is expected over the next couple of days.
On the forecast track, the centre will move over Belize and northern Guatemala on Monday night and early Tuesday, and over eastern Mexico later on Tuesday. The depression could emerge into the southern Bay of Campeche by early Wednesday.
Weakening will occur as the centre moves over land on Monday night and Tuesday. Some strengthening is possible by early Wednesday if the centre emerges into the Bay of Campeche.