The Vulture

When I was standing outside of Winsom's house that day, I watched a vulture flying onto a tree right across from me, just looking down at me. I loved the way it came flying with those huge wings, completely soundless. He just sat down on a branch and looked over, and after a while I called the others out to see him, too. And then the show began, he started opening his wings and posing beautifully. I had never seen a vulture do that before. And they usually come in groups, not alone, so this was something special. Robbie got some really good shots of it. I looked up some information on it, too and thought it quite interesting.

The Vulture as Totem.
The scientific name for the Turkey Vulture is CATHARTES AURA which means GOLDEN PURIFIER because as it goes about it's lifetime business it purifies the landscape and environment in it's own natural way, ensuring the continued health and life of other living things. The Vulture is a promise that all hardship was temporary and necessary for a higher purpose. Once a Vulture enters your life as a totem or guide, it will remain with you for life.

Vultures live and work together, both in cooperation and friendliness. They communicate with friends and neighbors when they find something to eat. They let the others know where the food is. And when there is a big feast they communicate with neighboring flocks in distant roosts. Also, Turkey Vultures that range within California Condor habitat areas, when they find food they will go to the Condors and lead them to it. More here:

The last paragraph was something to think about as well:
Unlike the needs of nearly all other living creatures, vultures do not kill.
Their prey either dies or something else kills it.

More Beach Time ...

Just some more impressions from the 2 day journey to Placencia. Two pictures taken at the lagoon and the rest from the ocean side of this peninsula.

After Robbie and I left, Gezz, Rosaura and Victoria stayed another few days with a friend that had flewn down from New York to meet them, and then took a small plane to Belize City to fly back home to NY.

We miss them a LOT!

Pampered in Placencia

What a pleasant ride down to Placencia! Beautiful weather, nice chats, a couple of breaks, and then, around 1 pm, the arrival at The Inn at Roberts Grove, an absolutely georgous place to stay. The whole hotel complex is well kept and has lots of amenities, including a nice bar, two restaurants, three pools, very nice rooms with beach/ocean view, nicely landscaped grounds and an extremely helpful and accomodating crew.

Search Picture!

Can you all find the orange iguana in the tree? He was huge ...

The Blue Hole!

We took two days off for a nice ride down to Placencia, and first we stopped at the the inland Blue Hole. We had an informative chat with the guard and ticket seller, who pointed out all sorts of birds to us that were in the area!

Xunantunich Revisited

The only ruin here I really like to go to is Xunantunich, and our visitors' wish to see a ruin was the perfect chance for me to go up there again. I love to go there in the early morning, try to catch the first ferry and then you can walk the grounds totally undisturbed, without tour groups and noise. Just to feel that special atmosphere ... and it is really special. I didn't go all the way up, but did make it high enough to get the far far view panoramic view all over the country and into Guatemala. Absolutely beautiful! Again!

David and the Lawn Mower!

David's favorite toy, the riding lawnmover! When it gets too hot, he takes the umbrella with him to protect himself from the sun - and it is just an incredible view!!

Party Time at the Whistling Ducks Farm!

What a great party we had, lots of fun, wonderful food (everybody brought a salad or side dish or a dessert and I grilled the chicken, pork and sausages on the grill), pool time for all the children, and Karli's first yummy lime sherbet with rum for the grown-ups. Robbie's red bathing suit was perfect for all the ladies, who didn't bring their own :-), it hardly had time to dry out! The mix of people was wonderful, all the German speaking friends and acquaintances we have here in Belize came to the party: Max, Elly, Joe with Teresa and Narda, Karli, Eva and Tobbi, and Anne and Mathias. Then we had our dear neighbour Emilia with her soon to be husband Lupe, Janet with her girls Naomi, Janina, Avril and son Josh, Winsom and Marlene from Cristo Rey, Alexia with her two children, and of course our dear friend Macarena and our visitors and friends from the US, Gezz, Rosaura and Victoria. David came late after his football game, but at least got the last piece of cake!

Butterfly Farm and DuPlooys

Unfortunately, I had to work some days, so Robbie took Gezz, Rosaura and Tory out for rides, for example to the Butterfly Farm, where Tory had a great time pushing all the buttons in the visitor center, or at DuPlooys Jungle Resort, where the feeding of the Tucans and the hammocks were the greatest attraction!

BBBRRRR Cold Pool!

Most of the time during our visitors stay it was nice and pleasant, seldom too hot, but after a day of running around they were usually glad to go and relax in the pool for a while. And although she wouldn't admit it, little Victoria sure was cold ...

Visitors from Staten Island!

Finally!! They have arrived! Gezz, Rosaura and little Victoria from New York came to visit for about 10 days! We picked them up at the airport and stayed at the Biltmore Plaza for 1 night and then dawdled home to the farm, with a nice stop at Cheers restaurant.

Inside the Art Studio

Almost everything is finished now in the little art studio/guest house, the furniture is in, I even had a table built by a guy in the village, who did a beautiful job. The bathroom has the sawdust toilet installed and the walls are made from bamboo with a bamboo curtain. Karli and Joe, together with the help of David, put in electricity and water, so it has some comfort.

Orchids

All three orchids are blooming at the moment and I am really happy, considering that I don't know very much about their care. They look just beautiful and very healthy. Of course, I know nothing about any names, etc., but they are orange, white and violet - and I talk to them every now and then :-)

Smooth Running Again

Usually, people have nails in their tires, maybe a piece of glass, but I had to top it with a real bolt, 3 inches long (ca. 8 cm). The guys at Caribbean Tires in Spanish Lookout charged me 10 BZ Dollars (ca. 4 Euro) to remove the bolt and to fix the tire. It's running real good now, and no odd knocking sound either...