Today we had the pleasure of attending a very special celebration for Jana and CJ, who are visiting San Pedro from Texas for a month of vacation.  They both recently celebrated a milestone birthday (we won't say which one!) and invited a group of folks to join them for a day on the Lady Leslie catamaran to snorkel and sail to Caye Caulker.  We were lucky enough to be included, and we had a blast!  

After all the rain we've been getting lately on the island, it was touch-and-go up until the last minute, and Jana had warned us they might have to postpone the trip.  When I woke up just before 6 am to a heavy downpour, I feared the worst, but it passed over quickly, and Jana informed us on Facebook that the sail was on.  Fortunately, no more rain fell, and the day turned out to be just right -- mostly sunny but with enough shade to keep us from getting completely fried.

Since there was no water taxi at the appropriate time this morning, Barry and I loaded up our backpacks with towels, sunscreen, and other necessary items, and hiked into town after our breakfast.  We'd worked up a good sweat by the time we made it to the dock near Wet Willy's, but with all the food we ended up eating during the day, we were very glad we'd gotten our exercise in early.

After leaving San Pedro, our first stop was Hol Chan Marine Reserve.  Snorkeling was optional, but I wouldn't have missed it.  There were a ton of fish of all sizes, a couple of sea turtles, a moray eel, and much beautiful coral.  It was the best snorkeling experience I've ever had, in part because my mask stayed on and didn't keep filling with water as I've had problems with in the past.  It was a nice long snorkel as well, with Ricky as the guide for our part of the group, and we got to see so much.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite a few foot cramps and turning into a prune by the end!  Barry is not as crazy about snorkeling as I am so stayed behind along with some of the others to take some photos and just enjoy hanging out on the deck of the Lady Leslie.  I do wish he'd joined me, but he has problems with foot cramps as well, so he might not have enjoyed himself too much.

When we got back to the boat, we were swimming among a school of large horse-eye jacks, and a couple of HUGE groupers were right in there too.  You can see the dark gray forms of the fish in this photo.  It was surreal!

I wish I had taken my waterproof camera along for some underwater shots, but I was too afraid of dropping it.  I am hoping that Debra (Taking Belize blog) got some good shots of the many sights we saw as she was snapping away under water.

After drying off, we enjoyed fresh pineapple slices Jody brought around.  Nothing like snorkeling to help you work up an appetite.  A bit more sunscreen was in order as well.

Finally it was full-steam ahead to Caye Caulker.

A few of us misunderstood and thought our lunch was at the Lazy Lizard at the Split, so we headed down there. 

About this time, Laurie got a text that we were supposed to be at Wish Willy's!  Not sure how we got confused, but perhaps it was the rum punches and panty rippas we had after snorkeling....  Fortunately, it was only a short walk back down the road.

It was right across the way from the Humane Society, where this sweet pooch took a liking to Barry.  Wish we could have played with him and his bone!

Our meal was wonderful -- a lobster tail (my first of the newly opened season), shrimp skewer, chicken, veggies, rice and beans.  Yum!

After the fine lunch, we had a bit of extra time before we had to be back on the boat, so we wandered around, and I bought a beaded ankle bracelet from a lady Debra liked.  Debra had one on one ankle already but bought another for her second ankle!

At last we had to board the boat again and make our way back to Ambergris Caye.  But not without a bit more food.  The crew made us fresh sushi, which was absolutely delicious, and we had melt-in-your-mouth orange cake (aka "crack cake" said Jana) made by Casa Pan Dulce.  Could we possible eat any more today!?  

Sadly, all too soon we were pulling into the dock and saying goodbye to everyone.  What a wonderful day it was, though. Many thanks to Jana and CJ for their generosity in arranging such a memorable event and for inviting us along!

Because the sun rises early over the lagoon, the birds start singing, and the dogs start barking, it is easy to get up early at Crooked Tree Lodge.  We rolled out of bed at exactly 5:42 am, having just missed the sunrise by a few lazy minutes.  This is at least an hour or more earlier than we usually rise.  We were excited to start what we expected would be an excellent full day of birding.

After grabbing a cup of coffee in the lodge, we took a morning walk before breakfast and checked out the birds along the road. Of course we saw many, as birds are most active in the morning and again at dusk.  It was a beautiful morning, and the sun was already getting hot -- it gets hot early in Belize.   

Breakfast was served at 7, and what a spread it was -- scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit, johnny cakes, toast, homemade jam, and freshly squeezed orange juice.  The perfect way to start a big day.  

After breakfast, we took the two touring kayaks out on the lagoon to try to find some Jabiru Storks.  We had seen them on the far side of the lagoon through our binoculars in the late afternoon of the day before, but they were too far off to photograph.  It was a gorgeous day for paddling, and so much fun to be out on the water again.  We used to own touring kayaks but sold them on Craigslist before we sold our house in 2010, and hadn't paddled for a long time.  The water was very shallow in the lagoon.  By the end of May, it might be dried up totally until the rains come again.  We were glad we made it here while we could still enjoy a paddle.

Paddling towards the far bank of the lagoon, we spotted many Snail Kites in bushes and on tree branches.  We'd first seen one of these large birds on our trip to Lamanai Maya site back in January, but there were so many here on the lagoon bank it was astonishing.  There were also some large bulls along the banks checking us out.  I was hoping they wouldn't come charging into the shallow water to get a closer look, but of course, they did not.  I do have an active imagination!

As we traveled farther up the lagoon, we eventually came upon a bank of large shorebirds in HUGE numbers.  Huge!  It took quite awhile to paddle closer to the "bird convention", but on the way there, we were rewarded by seeing a couple of Jabirus in flight, so we knew there were likely more along the bank, mixed in among the many egrets, herons, terns, and others.   

Much to our delight, our suspicions were confirmed as we drew closer to the bank of birds.  There were Jabiru Storks here and there, just a few, mixed in with the many Wood Storks and other shorebirds.  We couldn't have been more delighted at seeing these massive, odd-looking birds so close.  Some of the other guests at the lodge had paid a guide to take them out in a motorboat earlier that morning, but we were hoping that we could see the same birds for free under kayak power.  And we did!

The White Pelican is very rare for Belize, so we were excited to see this flock here.

After we'd satisfied our birding urges on the lagoon, we headed back to the lodge so that we'd be back in time for lunch.  We definitely didn't want to miss one of the wonderful meals here! 

Not long after pulling the kayaks back up on shore, it was time for lunch.  Angie served us a delicious baked tilapia with fresh vegetables, a green salad, wheat rolls, a banana (which we saved for an afternoon snack), and the leftover bread pudding from the night before.  It was as delicious as it looked!

After lunch we spent some time relaxing on our cabana's veranda.  I mentioned before that there were a lot of dogs on the property.  A lovely Doberman belonged to a young couple from the UK vacationing at the lodge (after adopting the dog in Louisiana and driving from Texas through Mexico to Belize -- now that's adventurous!), and many other dogs apparently belonging to Mick and Angie.  All the dogs were sweet and friendly, and we had fun watching them romp and play on the grounds.  One even had puppies under the lodge stairs.  They were 2.5 weeks old and just adorable!  Check out all these cute pooches (and this isn't even all of 'em)....

In the afternoon we took another walk up the road.  The original reason for the walk was to determine how long it would take us to walk to the bus stop the next morning, but we were having so much fun we walked all the way into the village (which is tiny, consisting of only a fruit stand and a couple of other small buildings).  Barry was interested in this hurricane shelter because the Occupancy level hadn't even been filled in.  He surmised that in Belize, the right answer is "as many as can be packed in"...

We saw quite a few loose cattle along the way...

And more cashew trees....

When we returned to the lodge, we continued bird-watching around in the back.  We discovered couple of pigs in a pen and some additional short trails we hadn't known were back there.  Turns out our friend David, who lives just up the beach from us on Ambergris Caye, stayed here with the cast and crew while filming a movie he was in, and the movie was mostly filmed right in this part of the lodge's property!  We had no idea until after we returned home and Barry told David about our stay.  Pretty incredible!

After the mosquitoes drove us from the trails, we retreated back to the lodge.  We discovered this cache of drying cashew nuts in back.  Very cool!

I decided a cold Belikin would taste really good, so we hit the honor bar, then watched the beautiful sunset from the lodge deck.

Dinner was once again delicious and bountiful.  On the menu was tomato soup, shepherd's pie, sauteed fruits and vegetables, salad, beans and rice, and cheese bread.  Dessert was coconut turnovers and mini chocolate cakes.  Needless to say, we ate until we were stuffed.  Good thing we got so much exercise during the day!

Last night we rode our bikes into town and met our friend David for taco night and half-price margarita night at Caliente.  We got a great table on the deck and enjoyed the breezes, company, fantastic food, and potent margaritas.  

On our ride into town, we passed a few golf carts.  Some friendly folks on one of them yelled out "We read your blog!"  They also said that they really liked our food photos, so we've made sure to include plenty in this posting.

Just when we were wondering if David missed the Coastal Express water taxi to town, he showed up.  Turns out they did almost miss stopping at the dock near his house north of the bridge and had to double back around to pick him up, as he furiously waved his arms!

I got my favorite dish here -- fish tacos.  These are only available at lunchtime normally, but also on Friday nights.  Barry and David both got chicken dishes.  Everything looked really nice and tasted great too!

David decided to splurge with some dessert -- he tried the flan, which looked really good.  I am definitely getting it next time.  Barry and I split a bowl of coconut ice cream that was delicious.  So good we forgot to take a photo -- or was that the margaritas talking?  

We sipped margaritas and chatted it up until about 9:15, much to my surprise as this is quite late for us, but David has a lot of funny stories to tell.  He then had to skedaddle to catch the 9:30 water taxi, so Barry and I hit the road on our bikes.

Once we got north of the bridge, we fired up our headlamps.  The headlamp I brought to Belize had died on me, so I recently got a new one and was trying it out for the first time.  The new one (Black Diamond Sprinter) is really cool as it has a red blinky light in back, and the front LED is seriously bright.  No one will miss seeing us when I'm using it!

It was a nice quiet ride back to our condo on a dark, starry night.  We are happy that the "high season" here on Ambergris Caye is now behind us.  It makes going into town so much more pleasant! 

I started making these Veggie Bean Soft Tacos when we were visiting Belize prior to moving here, because they are healthy, easy to whip up, and use many fresh ingredients easily found at the fruit and vegetable stands around town.  We also ate a lot of these when we first moved into our new condo last August before we'd finished stocking up our pantry, since we didn't have a lot of dinner options until we got the "larder" filled up with basics like condiments, spices, baking essentials, and so on.  I don't make them quite as often now since we have more options, but they are still one of my favorite easy things to make, taking only about 30 minutes from start to finish, and we both enjoy them, so I thought I'd share them with our friends and families.

There are a lot of different vegetable options for these, but I always use onions, bell peppers (any color, 1-2 peppers total depending on size), beans, tomato, and chipotle chile in adobo sauce, which gives them a nice smoky flavor (plus some heat!)  If I have a zucchini, which I often do, I add that, and normally I'll add grated cheddar or jack cheese, but neither are required. The cheese does help the other ingredients meld together so they don't fall out of the tortilla, though; plus, cheese just plain tastes good; but if you're avoiding dairy, feel free to leave it out. Cilantro is an optional ingredient as well.

For the beans, you can use canned, but since Barry cooks dried beans for us in the crockpot, a small Tupperware container's worth works for this recipe. I'd guesstimate that this is equivalent to a typical (15.5 oz?) can of beans.  Any beans will work -- black, pinto, kidney, or a blend.  This is the ultimate in made-up, flexible recipe!

I use whole wheat tortillas, but you can use regular flour ones if whole wheat are not available.  We usually eat two of these apiece.  If you have the plate-sized tortillas typically found in the US, one per person will suffice, but the tortillas here in Belize are typically smaller.  We've been buying these in large batches from Domingo's Popular Tortilla on Back Street, but I've recently seen them in Marina's and Casa Pan Dulce up on the front counter as well, if you only want a four-pack.

This recipe serves two people generously, with some of the filling left over.  If you're serving more than two, you'll need to adjust the quantities accordingly.

I usually start with these veggies, chopped fairly fine. 

First, I saute onion in 2 T. olive oil over medium heat until it is fairly soft and translucent, then I add the peppers and zucchini to the pan and turn the heat down a bit, to medium-low.  The veggies will only need occasional stirring at this temperature.  You can use higher heat, but keep a much closer eye on the pan and stir frequently.

While those are cooking (about 5-7 minutes), I chop the next group of veggies.  I always use one tomato, and this time I used two small chipotle chiles from an original can, plus just a little of the adobo sauce that comes in the can with the chiles.  This stuff is hot, so don't go overboard unless you really like to sweat!  If you don't have chipotle chiles or don't want any heat, add maybe 1/4 c. of mild salsa instead.  And if you like things super hot, feel free to add a minced habanero pepper, or whatever makes you -- and your dinner companion -- happy!

I had lovely fresh cilantro this time, so chopped up about 1/4 c. of it -- but I didn't add it until the very end.

Give everything a good stir and continue sauteeing for another five minutes or so.  You can put a lid on the pan now and check/stir every couple of minutes until the veggies are the way you like 'em -- from fairly crisp to quite soft.  I like mine kind of in the middle -- not mushy, but definitely cooked.

Once the vegetables are done to your liking, add the already cooked beans, salt to taste, and give everything in the pan a stir.  This time I had pinto beans on hand so used those.  Put the lid on the pan on again for a couple of minutes, just to heat the beans through.

Once the beans have heated through, I sprinkle the cheese over top of the entire pan.  I usually use about 1/2 c. grated cheese here, but since I only had about 1 T. this time, that had to suffice.  I then sprinkle the cilantro, when I'm using it, over the cheese.

I then replace the lid over the pan for about another minute or two, just until the cheese gets nice and gooey.  While that's happening, I get the tortillas ready to go.  I use a damp paper towel on top of them and microwave 'em for 30 seconds.   

Once the cheese has melted, fill half of each tortilla with a goodly amount of the bean-veggie mix, fold over, and chow down.  These are meant to be eaten with the hands, but you'll probably need a fork as well to catch any fallout! Oh, and these go really well with an ice-cold Belikin (the national beer of Belize), chips, and salsa.  Enjoy!