Even from the moment I woke I could hear the rain falling softly in the palm trees outside my window. The usual pattern for rain here, as in most tropical places, is to be intermittent with periods of sun. I got up and fixed my hot tea and spent time on our screened in patio. I had to go back inside to get the quilt to wrap up against the cool morning air. When it had not stopped raining by 9:00 we decided we’d just go out in it since we had no food in the house. We put on our jackets and took our bikes out. The sandy streets were covered with puddles. They’re not exactly mud but a slimy wet sand. Our first stop was at Erolyn’s house of fry jacks. We have been here many times and know it’s delicious. A fry jack is like the best tasting fried dough you’ve ever had. Other places they serve them whole and they are fluffy but hollow. Erolyn opens it and stuffs it with countless combinations of eggs, beans, cheese, and meats. It is like a huge fluffy, crispy quesadilla with slightly sweeter dough. I’m kind of at a loss for how to describe them, except for “scrumptious”! (And only $1.50 each)

The rain was light now so we took the time to ride all through town to re-familiarize ourselves with the location of everything on front, middle, and back streets. We stopped at the bakery before it closed around lunchtime and got a fresh baked loaf of bread and some homemade tortillas. As the rain got harder we decided to complete our errands. We stopped at the fruit stand and got a liter bottle of the best tasting orange juice in the world. The son of the owner stands in the back and juices the fresh picked oranges to go in our bottle. I don’t like OJ is the states since having it here. And we also got a pineapple,a mango, bananas, and limes. Next stop was the supermarket. Our bike baskets were already getting full with fruit and bread but we thought we could cram a few more things in. We bought some basics- butter, jelly, eggs, and bacon among a few others. I had to rearrange a few times to make everything fit and we headed home. We were soaked as we pulled out bikes in and unloaded the groceries. John was working on the hot water heater so Christian went out to help him while I unpacked the baskets.

The rain was unusually relentless (not following the normal pattern for rain here), so we spent the remainder of the afternoon going over GoPro video footage we had taken and doing some editing. We even showed John how to use the editing app so we all got in on the fun. John’s adopted dog, Buddy, stayed close always looking for an ear rub. He’s so sweet and well-behaved and he somehow seems to be thankful John gave him a home after his owner abandoned him.

The rain was still falling at dinner time, but we decided we’d just have to get wet and set out in search of a spot for dinner. The first first few places we tried were closed, presumably because of the rain. Not many people were out so businesses here will close when they are slow. We finally found an open restaurant near the beach. It was totally enclosed but still had sand floors. I had the best grilled fish I’ve had in a very long time, while Christian and John had pasta (which is not available everyone on the island). The service was of course slow (Belizean style it seems), but it’s just not a big deal when you are in this atmosphere having fun and enjoying the company.

I can already feel myself relaxing and breathing deeper, and that is really what we are here for.