Week 3 - Weather break

We've finally had a nice break in the weather.  It was pretty brutal for almost a week.  Wind shifted around to the north and it's a bit cooler and less humid.  Nice breeze most of the day too, and part of the night.  High clouds block sun most of the time so it is quite pleasant.

Went down to the end of the peninsula and fished from the beach last night with a young local guy I know.  It's where the Caribbean Sea meets the Placencia Bay.  A bit windy but nice evening.  We caught several snapper but all too small to eat - other than the largest one he kept for his cousin to make soup.  But it was fun.

Got my fresh fruit and eggs again today.  I go about every 2-3 days. So cheap I almost feel guilty - $3-4US for a basket full.  My biggest chore some days is cleaning the fruit - papaya, pineapples, cantaloupe, mango, banana, coconuts, watermelon, and sometimes things they sell me I've never seen or heard of.  I buy oranges at $1/dozen and squeeze fresh juice daily - although it can be a bit tedious with the cheap juicer I have.  But I have plenty of time.

Most of the dairy, meat, chicken and eggs come from the Mennonite farmers inland.  They also make a lot of the furniture.  They've added a lot to the economy of Belize.  The fruit is grown everywhere.  Bananas and citrus are major exports so they are usually quite cheap.  Several small trucks bring produce in from the outlying areas and set up stands around town.

Oddly there are 5 "grocery" stores in the village of Placencia - and a 6th being built on the north edge of town.   That seems unusual to me since there are only around 700-800 local people in the village - but with visitors and ex-pats up the peninsula they all seem to have a good following.  The oldest store, Wallen's,  was started by an American ex-pat about 25 years ago.  He and his wife live next to where I'm stayting and they have  4 grown kids who help in the businesses.  They have expanded to a pharmacy, a hardware store, and the distributorship for Coke products and the local beers Beliken and Lighthouse.   All using returnable bottles.

The other groceries are owned mostly by Chinese.  No one seems to know why but most of the groceries stores in Belize are owned by Chinese.  They've also started up "Chinese" restaurants in most larger towns which provide a nice change from the local Belizean fare.   Belize is quite the United Nation.