The first holiday we really celebrated in Belize since our arrival came on October 31^st for Halloween.  Now, normally this wouldn’t be that big of a deal because Halloween is typically a fun, yet unimportant night for kids to go out and get a sugar high.  This is not the case for me, I love Halloween – it is one of my very favorite holidays.  I always dress up and find something to do and for the last three years my Mom and I have thrown some killer Halloween parties.  I grew up in a house out in the woods in Oregon, it was about a 40 mile drive to Portland and essentially it was in the middle of nowhere.  They still own this house and we utilized it’s spookiness to host Halloween parties.  We went all out too, for a week before the big night we would spend every spare moment to decorate each room (three levels) according to a frightening theme.  It was a big deal for us.  Well, it would be my first Halloween away from my comfort zone and regular party goers.  I didn’t even pack a costume – we had only been in town for a few weeks so I did not expect to be invited to a party for this dark occasion.  To my complete surprise people did have Halloween parties in Corozal and we were promptly invited to one.  As I mentioned in an earlier entry there are a fair amount of expats living in Corozal and they have some networking procedures set up for events such as this.  Often times someone in town will throw a party for this group of people and typically everyone gets and invite.  This would be our first experience with this trend and I have to say my hopes were high because of the occasion.  So my mom and I went out on a mission to find anything in town that could be considered a costume.  It was a last minute effort but it was absolutely necessary because what is Halloween if you don’t dress up?  After scouring the town for a couple days – there aren’t many options here – we found a couple witches hats and temporary tattoos.  We were desperate so it would have to work.  Will was just going to wear some Duke University attire and go as a Duke basketball player. 

All dressed up for Halloween

We really were having a great day besides the fact that it was Halloween, Solo had arrived that day with our new grill and it was a perfect fit.  Nothing fancy but it would do the job.  We had also purchased a fryer from the same little shop in Chet so that was here as well.  Our kitchen was starting to actually resemble a real life kitchen.  Also, after waiting for way too long, the technician from Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) arrived to hook up our internet – finally we were connected to home!  It was a great day; things were really starting to come together.  So we were ready to make a splash at the party and possibly meet some new friends. 

The new grill

The new fryer

Now when I think of a party I typically think music, there should always be music at a party.  It doesn’t have to be loud or crazy but something must be playing in the background to provide a bit of party type atmosphere.  I even brought along my own Halloween play list as a backup in case the hosts had forgotten this very important component of any good party.  So we packed up the CD, some drinks (BYOB) and ourselves in to the car (we had hitched a ride from a couple also headed to the party) and headed out.  I was excited but also a little nervous; I’m not the best in social situations where I don’t know anyone.  I get shy and nervous in those circumstances so I was hopeful that I could successfully overcome that and meet people.  Most people were dressed in a costume so that was a good start but there was no music at all.  My mom handed the hostess my CD – hopefully this isn’t rude but it’s way too late now.  She actually put it on but this must not have been appreciated as much as I would expect because the volume was placed so low that I had to strain to hear any audio at all.  Oh well, so it wasn’t a party with music – I could live with that.  The next observation I quickly made was that everyone is in about the mid-40 and older age range.  I knew that I wouldn’t come across too many expats in my age range but I thought there may be at least one.  There weren’t any at this party.  No problem – in general I can get along with people of any age.  I’m trying to keep a fun and positive attitude about this party. 

The house we were at was beautiful and right on 4 mile lagoon so the moon and stars were shining bright since there was hardly any surrounding light.  The three of us put out our best effort to mingle.  It was sort of easy because no one knew us and everyone wanted to know who we were and what we were doing here.  Each one of us probably told our story about 10 separate times throughout the night, but I’ll always take an easy ice breaker so no problem there.  The strangest thing to me was the number of people we had been meeting from Oregon.  It seemed as if there was a much higher concentration of Oregonians in Belize than any other state or country.  There were about 40 people there in total, everyone was very friendly.  After awhile people tended to go in their little groups of 4 -5 people and chat about whatever was currently relevant in their lives.  Towards the end of the night – still early because this party would not go much past 9pm – the three of us had gravitated to two particular people.  Both from England, these guys seemed to be a ton of fun.  They sat at the table and smoked cigars with my mom; we drank and talked about a range of topics from boxing to good places to get a drink.  Ken and Dave would become fast friends.  Dave was a little gruffer than Ken and talked tough but they both seemed like fun guys.  Dave was headed out to the casino – there are three casinos in the “free zone” right outside of Corozal – to play poker so we decided to head home at that point since the party was winding down by that time anyway. 

Overall it was an interesting night, we learned a few things; 1. A party doesn’t always have music 2. Parties with this group of people would never run too late 3. There were a ton of Oregonians here – seems like someone must have done a lot of Belize marketing my home state 4. I would need to be absolutely okay about hanging with a much older crowd 5. There are teeny tiny bugs that live in the sand and bite you at night – these bites itch very badly.  Compared to my last few Halloweens this was a bit disappointing but it only meant that for Halloween ’09 there would be a killer party thrown at Scotty’s Bar & Grill.  Now, I would have to go to bed nursing my very itchy feet.  I had about 20 bites per foot that itched and burnt like crazy. 

This really wasn’t a big deal until a few weeks in because the problem isn’t just the restaurant’s menu selection, but combined with the fact that that all the grocery stores sell the same items it becomes a bit boring.  My meals all start to look and taste the same.  I suppose this could be a good thing if I was a person who didn’t care much about food, but that is not me – I LOVE food.  Even my cats miss the various treats I used to give them from the take-out food I brought home, so their diet has been dramatically changed as well. 

For the first few weeks of being in Belize we did not have a stove or a grill and no propane to power either so even if we did have them we could not use them.  So we ate out for every meal.  Our first pick was a cute little place called RD’s – a family restaurant on one of the main roads in town.  It was close to our house and easy to walk to which was essential if we wanted to cut down on the blisters that were showing up on our feet from the miles and miles of walking we were getting in due to the lack of a vehicle.  Dinner was the first meal that we had at RD’s when we headed over there it was dark and rainy, on the walk over our legs were being speckled with mud but by now we were getting used to this look so it didn’t bother us too much.  We finally got there, ducked under the overhang to get out of the rain and sat down; it is a very nice, clean and inviting establishment so we were looking forward to dinner.  The owner, Rick came out to greet us and hand us our menus.  We put our umbrellas down and introduced ourselves.  He was very friendly and very willing to give us advice about where to go to get certain supplies, who to call for propane and just gave us some general advice about doing business in the area.  He is a Belizean but not originally from Corozal, he moved to Corozal from Belize City.  As we looked at the menu little did we know that these would be the same 12 food items on every menu so for that particular dining experience we weren’t yet jaded and we enthusiastically picked something off the menu to enjoy. 

I chose the chicken quesadilla, which was absolutely delicious.  Unfortunately another truth about food in Corozal is that you will never get the same taste as the last time you ordered that particular item.  People told me this and I didn’t really believe them at first but it was soon evident when that delicious chicken quesadilla was never ever quite as good again.  So from that moment on I typically don’t even try to find something unique; I take a quick look at the menu just in case, but then go for rice and beans, the dish of Belize.  There are some stars out there in town, but when there’s only two or three even they get old after awhile.  One of the nice places right on the bay, Vamp’s, has a fantastic pan fried fish and chicken fajitas.  If you ever find yourself in Corozal, Belize make sure you stop in there.  So because of the fact that there is no real selection of food in this town we were slightly optimistic that our restaurant would do well – we would be serving something totally different and without the main staples of the typical Belizean diet.  We chose to be optimistic, but in reality this could mean we do really well or completely sink.  This was still to be seen.  We had two main reactions from people when we told them what we planned on serving.  The first was, “You’re not going to serve rice and beans?!?  You have to serve rice and beans!”  The second went something like, “Oh!  That’s fantastic!  We need a good burger place in Corozal.  Something new!”

On the bright side of this whole situation is that the food supplies we need to get for the construction of our hamburgers is all organic, hormone free and totally green.  The produce is all local and pesticide free and the meat is also local beef that is grass fed and hormone free.  It is a little sad that it costs so much more to eat like this at home but here it’s pretty much the only option.  So I have found a bright side to the state of food in Corozal.  In fact, I’ve noticed that due to lack of infrastructure here, green living is a common side effect.  Many people grow their own produce, all coke/beer bottles are glass and recycled, alternate energy in the form of solar and wind are commonly used and buses/bicycles are the main mode of transportation. 

So as we struggle to appreciate a more simple way of eating we also continue to work on getting our restaurant set up.  The walls are freshly painted, the sign is completed, the tables and chairs are polished, the grill is in and it almost resembles an actual restaurant.  Scotty’s Bar and Grill would be up and running in a couple of weeks. 

The Bar - Before Cleaning

The Bar After Cleaning

The Sign is up

We were able to get a lot accomplished in the span of a few weeks.  We essentially had our business ready to go, all the legal tasks were worked out and the three of us had the place looking brand new.  The building we purchased had already been set up to be a restaurant so really we only had clean-up and touch-up work to do.  We did have to find a grill and some other various kitchen items but nothing too daunting.  The house we were now living in is right next door to the business so we have a very short commute to work.  There were only a couple things that were dragging out at this point; the first was our internet access and the second, our liquor license.  Finding a grill had also proven to be a little difficult.  Everyone in town cooks on gas burners – no one really sells a grill top to cook hamburgers on.  This was our first major obstacle.  We started the search by asking around town and we quickly found that this would be a challenge because most people we asked didn’t even know what we were talking about.  The kitchen already had a three burner grill set up but what we needed was a top to stretch over the three burners creating a grill.  We were pointed in a few different directions and so the wild goose chase started; “the woman who owns this hotel is selling one.” “There’s a steel place down the main road that can provide the steel.”  “So and so welds – he lives by the white house down the second street off the bay – he can structure it for you if you provide the steel.”  “There’s a place in Spanish Lookout that can make you one.”  The advice went on and on and we entertained every single option with absolutely no luck.  Needless to say we were disappointed, the grill was essential and it seemed like we may have to cook the burgers on frying pans over a burner.  Then we met Solomon, aka King Solomon. 

Solomon is a border taxi driver.  We were actually referred to him from a man back home in Oregon; it’s such a small world.  This guy who worked with my mom’s best friend’s husband actually owned property in Corozal and had a bunch of extended family there by marriage.  He had met Will before we left for Belize and given him Solomon’s business card – he told us that this guy would help us out if we needed it and was a big teddy bear – just watch out for him when he gets drunk because the religion starts to pour out.  Well, we needed to get to Mexico because that was our last option for a grill.  Chetumal is a Mexican city right outside of the Belize border and about 20 miles from Corozal.  The entire city has approximately the same population as the whole country of Belize so if we need anything then we can go to Chetumal to get it.  The only problem was our lack of reliable transportation.  This is where Solomon comes in to play.  So we tracked him down – everyone knows everyone in this small town and it’s never hard to find anyone around here.  The plan was that Solomon would stop by our house so we could meet him and then we’ll schedule the trip.  It is a complete understatement to say that this guy demands attention.  He is a big guy, which is sort of rare here, he’s loud and he loves to talk.  He comes in to our house and his stories start; for the next few hours they do not stop.  The three of us are just sitting there speechless – because we actually couldn’t get a word in and because none of us had ever met a person quite like him.  As he continued to tell us stories he was drinking beer and eventually we found out that he used to be addicted to crack and his life was on a fast spiral down, he was at the brink of death one night and God spoke to him.  God told him he had to stop with the drugs and from that day forward he has not taken any drugs.  He totally turned his life around and has frequent conversations with God.  He told us that he is not religious because religions are just out to steal money so he is spiritual.  From that moment forward he would not stop talking about God so I just kept my mouth shut and listened to him, at this point I did not think it wise to reveal that I don’t believe in God.  I knew that religion and God were very important here and I didn’t really want to start making enemies already.  It was a fairly comical situation.  He also told us, as he moved on to his 6^th beer, that he didn’t drink anymore either.  Hmm.

After spending a few hours at our house he had decided he liked us and wanted us to go with him to see his property and meet his family.  We were a little tired from all the listening but we decided to go along with him so we piled in to his SUV – we weren’t entirely sure where he was taking us but at this point it was all an adventure.  After about 20 minutes of riding and listening to very loud religious reggae we arrived at a beautiful piece of property in the village of San Antonio.  This was the farm that Solomon spent a lot of his free time maintaining.  It was full of fruit trees and beautiful flowers – he wants to put a little resort there at some point but for now is slowly building a house on the property.  We looked around there for awhile and then headed over to the house he lives in with his wife and small daughter.  Solo’s wife Consuelo is a lovely woman and very friendly.  She welcomed the three of us in to her home and we all sat around talking for awhile.  His daughter is one of the cutest little girls I’ve ever seen, she is named Solome, after her dad. 

At this point we had spent half a day with Solomon and we were exhausted, it was dark so we told him that we needed to get home.  Once we arrived back at the house we had a drink or two to unwind from all the excitement and went to bed watching TV.  We had a trip planned with him to get our grill in Mexico a couple days later.