Cold wave abates, and The Tooth Fairy to the rescue!

What a cold week it was! I thought it was cold when the temp dropped to the low 70s, but then it descended into the mid to low 60s in the early morning hours. With the skies overcast during the day, the temperature didn’t rise much. First I dug out a thin quilt I had brought with me. Then I located a blanket I had brought along. Next was a thick throw, and then I got a good nights sleep. Ex-pats, especially, were commenting about the low temperatures, which lasted for an unusually long time, according to the locals. I felt bad for the tourists who visited this past week, it was too cold for the beach, and certainly not typical Belize weather. People I talked to, however, who had escaped record cold temps in the US, where even Miami dropped to 32 or below, were enjoying the temperate temps.


I had a pleasant dinner Tuesday evening with some readers of this blog who were visiting from Kansas City. I recall they asked me if I have any regrets about moving here, and I have none. In thinking about it later, there are some things I miss, especially tender, flavorful meat of all types. Movies. Bookstores. But I wouldn’t move back for them.

On Wednesday (I think it was) evening at about 6 we experienced a mild earthquake, which I noticed because I was sitting down, but very few others were aware of it. The epicenter was in the vicinity of the last one we had, near Guatemala. Nothing like the devastation that hit Haiti a few days later.

Thursday I went to Belize City with my friend Bob. Early AM temp was high 60s, with forecast of temps in the 80s. Stopped in Belmopan and got a tire for one of the butane trucks, some parts for my truck, some cabinet handles for the house and a stepladder, and a battery for my watch, which turned out not to need it. Belmopan, the capital city, is easy to get around, at least with a vehicle.

Then on to Belize City, with the goal of getting a file cabinet, a queen size box spring for my ex-wife, Patti, and fabric to use for curtains in my house. Before we made our first stop, I was driving over a speed bump and BANG!, a small cloud of brown dust rose from the front right of my truck. Stopped and checked, and I could still steer, it would go without any rubbing or other noise, so I continued on my way. There doesn’t seem to be an office supply store in Belize (add Staples to the list above), and the only place we found file cabinets only carried them in legal size, and they cost about $600 BZD ($300 USD). So I didn’t get one. We were in downtown Belize City, which was crowded with tourists because 5 cruise ships were in town. Most people who have visited Belize on a cruise ship have an unfavorable impression of the country if they limited their visit to a walk around Belize City. It is not at all attractive; there is nothing quaint about it. The last time Bob and I were there and in the vicinity of the “tourist village”, some kids asked us if we wanted to “support” them. We declined.

Got to the fabric store, which had a selection too big to deal with. But I did, with the help of a pleasant clerk. Because of the dark red wall, I got some off-white fabric for the double doors and the windows. Got some vivid blue to block the view into the off-kitchen pantry/office space which I use for storage. Understand there is a lady in Seine Bight who sews, so the next step is to figure out the exact sizes and go see her.

The clerk was reasonably attractive, and Bob asked her why she wasn’t married. She replied that Belize men weren’t very good prospects, and given the level of gang violence in Belize City, I wasn’t surprised. She admitted she had never been to Placencia, and when I suggested jokingly that she could come to Placencia and be my girlfriend, she responded positively with some seriousness. I told her it wouldn’t work because I was an old guy, and she replied that old men know how to treat a woman. It was a fun exchange, and I think we both felt better from it.

From there on to Dave’s Furniture, where I picked up the box spring, and found some simple chairs that were reasonably comfortable, and very inexpensive at $95 BZD each. They had six, and wouldn’t sell just 4, so I bought them all. Now all I need is a dining table, and I’ll have my furniture needs taken care of.

Because we had time, we then went to the Brodies and SaveU supermarkets to get foods unavailable in Placencia. I saw some ½” thick rib eye steaks, so I took a chance and bought them. Also got canned baked beans, canned tomatoes for tomato sauce, apple sauce, wheat germ, frozen peas, graham cracker crusts, and other items one takes for granted when living in the US.

Then we headed back, stopping for a late lunch along the way. It was dark by the time we got to the end of the beautiful Hummingbird Highway, and had turned south on the Southern Highway toward Placencia. As we approached that turn, I received a call from my dentist’s office in Dangriga to set up an appointment to come in to complete some work she had started. She calls her practice , “The Tooth Fairy”, and she is a very attractive woman. Here’s are a couple of pictures I posted once before:

So I continued a few miles south of the junction, and my truck sputtered to a stop. I power my truck with butane, and had filled the tank before leaving. On my last trip to Belize City I had made it there and back on one tank, so this was a surprise, since I was still 45 miles from home. I confidently switched onto the gasoline, confident because the gauge read ¼ full. My confidence vanished when I discovered it was switched to my rear tank, which I can’t draw fuel from, and the front tank turned out to be empty. I managed to get the truck turned around and headed toward Dangriga with just butane fumes, but only made it a few hundred feet. Tried to call the dentist, but my cell phone could not pick up a tower. Fortunately, Bob is also too old and experienced to get too excited about such things. We sat, enjoying the fireflies and reminiscing about catching them in jars as kids. Decided to flag down a passing car, which one of us could take into town to get gas while the other waited with the truck. A pickup stopped, and in the conversation I discovered that my cell phone could pick up a signal if I was 30 feet up the road, outside my cab.

So I called the Tooth Fairy, who had just finished work for the day, and she was kind enough to bring me a gallon of gas so we could get back to Dangriga to get gas. There are no gas stations between Dangriga and Placencia. Between us, Bob and I had $50, and so were able to buy 5 gallons of gas, barely enough to get us home.

Thanks to the The Tooth Fairy, we got home that night, and when I had our mechanic Andy check the truck in the morning, he discovered that not only had the right front coil spring broken, but it had broken some time in the past as well. So now the front left has 9 coils, and the front right 5. The front right sits somewhat lower than the left, and Andy says I shouldn’t take long trips in it. Bummer.  Will deal with it next week.