Belize it or not...Bear & Em in Belize!
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Nervous night with Paisley

11/26/2011

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We had a scare last night with Paisley.  Although we don't know for sure what happened, our best guess is that she got bit by something (spider? ant? scorpion?) last night when I had her out for the last time, though she didn't yelp or show any signs of being bitten at the time.  A little later I put her to bed in her crate (at which point she appeared completely normal), then went to bed myself.  I was already drifting off to sleep when Barry came in holding Paisley and saying that something was wrong.  He had been watching sports on TV and was just about to hit the hay himself when he heard her banging around in her crate.  Turns out she was rubbing her face all over inside trying to scratch her incredibly itchy face, which by this time had swollen up like a balloon.  In addition to a swollen, red face, she had itchy, raised hives on other areas on her body, and a red rash on her chest.  

There is an well-regarded veterinarian here on Ambergris Caye who accepts emergency/after hours calls, so I made sure I had her number handy, but by this time it was 11pm, and I didn't want to have to call her unless absolutely necessary, especially since we had no way of getting Paisley to her (since we don't have a golf cart, and taxis can't cross the bridge after 9pm) and would have to ask her to make a house call.

I immediately went online (what did we ever do before google??) and researched the symptoms, and since Paisley was still breathing okay (indicating her throat was hopefully not swelling, which is when this kind of thing gets really dangerous), we quickly got a Benedryl into her, wrapped in cheese.  She didn't mind that one bit.  We think that Benedryl may have saved our Lhasa Apso Columbus's life when he got into a yellow jacket's nest and received numerous stings when we were camping on property we used to own in the North Carolina mountains years ago -- far from any vet, cell phone signal, and also on a weekend.  Fortunately, the Benedryl also helped Paisley significantly, and quickly.  Within thirty minutes, I could see the swelling going down.  

I sat with her on the sofa for another hour, watching her get calmer and calmer (at first she was frantically itching, drinking a lot of water, shaking her head, etc.), watching the swelling lessen, and when she was finally falling asleep, I put her in her crate.  By this time it was 12:30 am, and with my adrenaline flowing from the episode, I couldn't fall asleep until at least 1 am, then got up a couple of times in the night to check on her.

Today she is much better.  I gave her another Benedryl at 7 am, but even before that all the hives and redness were gone and most of the swelling.  She's still got a "wattle" under her chin (a turkey neck, in keeping with the holiday weekend) where we can feel some swelling, and there's what looks like a small puncture wound on the lower side of her mouth, which is apparently where she got bit or stung.  She's eating normally, playing like crazy, and seems to feel just like herself again, so we are out of the woods now, thankfully.  As the day has gone on, the wattle is shrinking as well, so I suspect it will be mostly, if not all, gone by tomorrow.  Note to self:  ALWAYS keep Benedryl on hand.  
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Last night - swollen cheeks, around eyes, and swollen hives on head and elsewhere on her body
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Feeling miserable and itchy last night
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This morning -- you can see how different her cheeks and eyes look -- only the wattle remains!
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Mid-day -- the wattle is shrinking gradually. It is even smaller tonight.
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Who knew that Paisley was part Portuguese Water Dog?

11/15/2011

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Yesterday during Paisley's late afternoon playtime, she found a small coconut that she quickly became obsessed with.  Barry got the idea to throw it into the ocean water to see if she'd retrieve it.  Um, yes.  Again and again and again.  The tide was out, so the water was even shallower than usual in this area, with a few deeper holes.  It was quite entertaining to watch her walk, then swim when she hit a hole, then walk again, in dogged (pardon the pun) pursuit of her latest obsession.  Once she had to dive fairly deep under water to get the coconut as it had floated into a deeper water area.  After several aborted attempts, she finally got it.  I couldn't believe it!  She even attracted an audience of the security guard and two guys working on the second floor of our building.

Here are a few photos of her retrieval efforts as well as a YouTube video showing the extent to which she'd go for that little coconut (and for the treat from Barry that came after!)  Needless to say, one little Boston Terrier was a very tired girl last night!
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A natural swimmer!
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Paisley on board

10/3/2011

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After the third rainy morning in a row, by lunchtime it was breezy, sunny and absolutely perfect.  High in the low 80s, a perfect day for a paddle.  Barry checked out one of the Grand Caribe kayaks and even persuaded Paisley to come along for the ride.  She's had pretty much experience in boats from our days of owning a sailboat and dinghy, so she managed just fine.  
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Dinner was mystery fish fillets with jerk seasoning and fresh pineapple salsa on a bed of black beans and rice, accompanied by sauteed chayote squash (called "chow chow" here in Belize).  Not bad!  
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Beach Beautification Day

9/28/2011

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This morning after our run, pool-down, and breakfast, we were getting ready to head to town on errands when we heard Bernie roll up in the tractor.  Fortunately, when you're retired and living on an island, dealing with slight changes or delays in plans is much easier than when you're on a tight schedule in the US and have to go to work each day.  So we put our errands on hold until afternoon, and Barry pitched in and helped with the sand moving and raking, while I observed and took photos.  The end result was a nice fluffy beach in front of Chico Caribe instead of hard-packed sand and rocks (ouchie on bare feet) from construction.  A really nice improvement!
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Bernie is an old hand with tractors from his Texas ranch experience
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Barry spreading the sand -- so much for lounging in a hammock! :)
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The finished product (looking north)
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The finished product (looking south)
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Barry is a tireless worker -- even interrupted a brief pool break to help a little more!
After all that excitement, we headed to town on our bikes after lunch.  In addition to buying some fresh veggies and Belikin beer, we picked up our local checks (or "cheques" as they call them here) at the Belize Bank.  We'd ordered these several weeks ago, and they took a bit longer than originally promised, but at least they finally came in.  We also placed an order for some "business" cards at Gecko Graphics.  In our case (since we're not running a business), these are just personal cards with our contact information and this blog's address to share with people we meet here.  We'd spent some time yesterday designing them, which was quite fun, actually.  We added some palm trees and a bicycle with a basket graphic to them, to represent our lifestyle here.  They are supposed to be ready no later than Friday.  Fun!

Finally, we bought Paisley a new red leash at this cute shop as the clasp on the one I'd bought before we even brought her home from the breeder in 2008 had broken a couple of days ago.  Cost was $14.50 BZD ($7.25 US), not bad at all.
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Still decked out in Independence Day regalia, Pampered Paws is THE place for dog gear on the island (and grooming/boarding besides).
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The lime(s) and the coconut!

9/27/2011

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Looks like limes to me
Today we spied what looks to be a lime tree near our pool, on the other side of the concrete wall.  The lot on that side is vacant and beautiful jungle at this point.  Perhaps all the limes aren't so high up as the ones we saw. This will require further investigation!  Also today, Barry learned how to crack open a coconut.  Since he doesn't have a machete, this took a bit of work, but he was rewarded for his efforts at last.  As there are many coconut palms around, this is a great new skill to have.  I drank most of the coconut water, and it was delicious.  He cut out all the coconut meat and grated some of it for our chicken and vegetable curry tonight for dinner.  Mmmmmmm!  Fresh grated coconut on top was truly the perfect touch. 
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Paisley always tries to make herself useful
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Just like on "Survivor"!
Here are a few "cute Paisley" photos.  She is really enjoying the beach here.  She goes into the water to cool off, plays in the sand, and pretty much wants to be outside all the time.  Most afternoons we have a fetch session, and she runs like the wind after her ball, getting herself completely sandy all the while.  We almost always have to dunk her in the water afterwards, and she really seems to enjoy being dried off on the dock.
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Jumping for her ball - her vertical leaping ability is quite impressive!
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Sandy smiling face
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After a rinse-off
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Tuesday Tidbits

9/20/2011

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A Great Egret, we believe
First, a follow-up.  In yesterday's entry (http://bebelize.weebly.com/1/post/2011/09/sunday-cycling-adventure-and-a-stormy-afternoon.html), I blogged about the horrible area of murky water on the road north that Barry rode through and cut his leg on a wire in, but I was too chicken to attempt.  I'm happy to report that his leg seems to be just fine, but he was determined to get back up to the scene of the crime to take some photos so everyone could see just how icky and non-navigable this area was.   So after our errand ride into town today, he continued riding north until he reached the other side of the area that he rode through on Sunday.  And here it is:
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As you can see, with all the debris and swampiness on either side, there's really no way to go around it.  I'm still really glad I didn't attempt it as you can't possibly see either how deep it is or what evils might be lurking in it.  Would you have ridden through it?  

Now to today's activities.  We took Paisley on a nice long walk this morning, and she was accosted by a couple of dogs at El Pescador, a resort up the way a bit.  One brown dog was not very friendly towards her, but this young black one wanted to play.  Still, it intimidated Paisley a bit, so she kept escaping into the water.  She really has learned to love the sea here and goes in to cool down frequently when we walk.  
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She likes lying in water of this depth on her belly -- so refreshing!
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A natural swimmer
After the walk and breakfast, we rode into town for a couple of groceries and to pick up curtains I had hemmed and a window valance I had made.  On our way there, we stopped for a brief chat with our buddy Raphael, a security guard at The Phoenix, where we stayed for our 25th anniversary in May 2010.  Raphael is from El Salvador and doesn't speak a lot of English, so we try our our rudimentary Espanol on him, and he very generously encourages our meager efforts.  I'm currently going through the Pimsleur lessons on the computer, and Barry had already done quite a few of these lesson while in Chapel Hill.
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This was the first time Raphael had seen our "Carros" (cars). Yep, our bikes are our cars here!
After buying bread, OJ, and cereal, we headed over to Sew What to pick up my projects.  Barry decided that the valance would do best strapped across my handlebar basket rather than on his rear rack, so we covered it in trash bags and strapped it on.  I got a few funny looks, but really, you see folks carrying all sorts of stuff on their bikes here, but they are usually locals, and we still look like tourists to most people, I'm sure.
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Going over the bridge north of San Pedro (aka "the cut")
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Fortunately, I got everything back to our place with no problems, though I did have to go through quite a few puddles on the road.  Not disgusting like the mega puddles farther north, though.  Yes, this is Belize in rainy season!
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Negotiating the huge puddles by Reef Village
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This one was deeper than it looked
Finally, here are a couple of other miscellaneous shots from today...
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Paisley's new obsession = hunting crabs under the Chico Caribe dock. She hasn't caught one yet, thankfully.
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Paisley with Van Gogh, Picasso, and a Grand Caribe stray. Van Gogh & Picasso belong to other owners at Grand Caribe.
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A large iguana Barry encountered on his ride up north
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A cute bunch of small bananas we bought at Maria's yesterday. So much more flavorful than the larger ones. The one on the left is a "standard" size banana for comparison.
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A nice breezy day, with a couple of minor mishaps

9/15/2011

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Finally, a nearly all-dry day (just a very brief passing shower during breakfast), and great easterly breeze, whisking the mosquitoes away and giving us a chance to turn off the A/C and open up.  We started the day with a nice walk.  Paisley got to do a bit of swimming to cool off in the hot sun (she's a natural), and discovered coconut meat for the first time.
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Splash! Barry threw Paisley in for a cool-down.
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A natural swimmer...
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Hmmm, what have we here? And do dogs eat it?
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Um, that would be a "yes".
After a quick dip in the pool and breakfast, we rode our bikes into town, as usual.  We had a lot of places to go today, including the bank, GoNature health food store, Maria's fruit stand and Healthy Belize for produce, and Super Buy for a couple of other groceries.  I also dropped off our bedroom curtains to be hemmed (they interfere with the dresser), and commissioned a simple valance for our living room window from Sew What.

Unfortunately, with all those stops, a very long wait at the bank, and getting a late start, we were riding home right at noon, when all the workers up north ride their bikes back into town on their lunch hour.  In a few places, the sandy path along the beach is quite narrow, and I came upon a local going the other way on his bike in one of said places.  I veered a bit into the soft sand to give him room, lost traction and went down on my left side.  Fortunately, in the sand and at slow speed, this was a very minor spill.  My basket and front stem were a little wonky afterwards, but aside from my left side being covered in sand, my body felt okay.  It was only later in the day that my left knee started aching; I must have twisted it a bit or something.  It felt better after the application of ice, so hopefully the injury is superficial and won't prevent me from doing any of the things I want to do here.  

In the afternoon, I did some sweeping (lots of sand gets into the condo) and made a black bean, mango, and corn salad for our dinner.  The mangoes we have been getting lately are huge, juicy, and delicious, and appear to be the same variety my "Papa" grew on his tree in Ft. Myer's, Florida.  Major yum!  I also did a little yoga and Pilates, and some reading.  

Barry kept busy with home improvement projects.  He got a hasp and lock installed on the doors to a storage area where we can keep our bikes, which allowed us to move them (and all the sand they bring in) out of our condo.  This made me very happy!  He then started working on installing a handle and latch for our screen door.  Screen doors here do not come with this very essential part, as I guess they leave it up to the owner to install the hardware they prefer.  

Unfortunately, he dropped a part of the latching mechanism on the tile floor, and it shattered.  It was very poor quality.  It's difficult to get good hardware here, and the selection is quite limited.  There are hardware stores, but nothing like Home Depot or Lowe's back home, with their almost overwhelming array of choices.  Hopefully he can find some small piece of hardware that will complete the installation without re-buying the whole mechanism again.  Barry has got a good bit of McGuyver in him, so I'm betting on it!
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Daily photos

9/4/2011

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Paisley and Lucky the Border Collie making friends
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Lucky, being a herding breed, kept Paisley in her place
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Large iguana on our morning walk
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View back to Chico Caribe (center of photo) on our morning walk
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Paisley really enjoys time on our veranda, but she can only take so much of a sunny spot...
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...before she has to retreat to the shade
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Various photos of the day

9/3/2011

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After a full day, I'm too tired to write much but wanted to share these photos from the day.  
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We took Paisley on a nice morning walk -- here she is drinking some water I brought along.
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White Egret we saw on our walk
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Barry getting some assistance (?) with his crunches
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Walking back from town - this is one of the prettiest neighborhoods we go through
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Paisley the crab hound learned a lesson tonight -- but the little crustacean made a larger sacrifice!
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The claw was still moving a little after we got it out with tweezers. Paisley didn't even bleed!
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    living in Belize

    Emily & Barry

    We're an adventurous couple, married 27 years, who decided to move to Ambergris Caye, Belize from Chapel Hill, North Carolina for retirement.  We built a condo on the beach  north of San Pedro Town and moved in with our Boston Terrier Paisley in August 2011 and lived there until March 2013.  Ultimately, we decided to return to the US, but we have no regrets and MANY good memories of our time in Belize.  We hope our blog might prove helpful to anyone interested in this lovely country.

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