Over the past couple of weeks there has been a steady improvement in weather. Though barely noticeable from day to day, we have finally arrived at what I would venture to refer to as 'Fall' weather here in Gallon Jug. I will also go as far as to blame my lack of blogging productivity in recent weeks on my being able to spend more time outdoors and active.
Part of the blame also resides with the newest member of my household, my recently acquired puppy, Belikin or - as the students at the school have come to know her - Bel.
Belikin is what the Belizeans refer to as a pot licker, by US standards a mutt. The Gallon Jug general manager's dog had a litter of puppies the first week that I was here. I'd had several opportunities to see and play with the puppies, and Bel was my favorite from the get-go, though it took the decision of a fellow teacher, and my neighbor at the loft, to get a puppy to spur me into action. We jointly decided that having two dogs at the loft would be prudent so that they could entertain each other during the day. We also got the green light from our housekeeper Miara, who we learned had previously worked for a family with 15 dogs. She assured us she wouldn't mind keeping an eye on our two during the day when we were at school.
Halloween is not a big event here in the Jug. The school phased out costume parties and anything resembling an official observance several years ago. Though just to our north Dia De Los Muertos is a big deal, Halloween here is unfortunately not. We began the process of phasing Halloween back in at the school this year by having a dress down day on Wednesday that included the kinder class doing some reverse trick or treating, delivering treats to all of the classes at the end of the day.
Belikin and I observed Halloween by carving our 'jungle jack o'lantern' out of a coconut and decorating it with the peel of an orange.
My first Halloween fright occurred while Belikin and I were busy whittling away at our coconut down by the stables. One of the cowboys stopped over to see what we were doing, and while petting Belikin, saw fit to mention that a boa constrictor had taken up residence in the stables recently. My sphere of influence does not extend much past the school, so even though I live above the stables, I don't have much say about what is allowed to live in them. Luckily Belikin has some pull with the Gallon Jug general manager. There is now a standing order that the boa is to be apprehended and relocated to a different site on the property.
The only official Halloween event in Gallon Jug was a twilight BBQ and costume party at Laguna Verde, put on by Chan Chich. Owing to the inability of a certain college football team to defeat an inferior opponent in a timely fashion, I ended up getting to the festivities a little bit past fashionably late, and without a camera. There is a long standing tradition that expat go to Chan Chich on Friday evenings for dinner, drinks, and swimming. While at Chan Chich on Friday I met a couple visiting from Portland who inspired my costume. I've been wanting to do a Portlandia costume for the past two Halloweens, and thanks to these new friends I got the chance.
Thanks to Notre Dame's football team this is the only picture I have relating to my costume, but it should be enough for Portlandia enthusiasts.
For the Halloween party, the staff at Chan Chich erected a palapa of freshly cut palm leaves decorated with all kinds of Halloween splendor. The party included music, a bonfire, and a delicious meal highlighted by pumpkin pie and 'bloody' rum punch.
In an attempt to capture a few pictures of the party set up I headed to the lake shortly after 7am this morning. Unfortunately I was beaten there by two dedicated Chan Chich staffers who were well into the process of dismantling the palapa.
It was while taking the picture of the fire pit that I had my second Halloween fright. Laguna Verde is a beautiful lake that I frequent for canoeing, fishing, and swimming. There is another lake on the Gallon Jug estate, Laguna Seca, that is preferred for bird watching. Occasionally crocodiles are seen there as well. Laguna Verde is much deeper, and therefore less suitable for crocodiles. At least this is an assumption that I've been working under. The dock at Laguna verde is in 10+ feet of water and perfect for diving off of. While taking the picture of the fire pit I noticed a disturbance in the water just past the dock and about where we swim.
When I looked more closely it become clear that a rather large crocodile was swimming across the lake. This was confirmed by the Chan Chich demolition crew.
If you ignore the 'Loch Ness monster' quality of my zoomed in photo you will clearly see a crocodile.
I will be limiting my swimming to the pool at Chan Chich for the foreseeable future.
Lastly, this weeks spot light critter is:
The Ocellated Turkey.
While these turkeys are no stranger to this blog, in recent days I have been seeing the male turkeys strutting their stuff quite a bit.
I saw this guy checking out the view from the of the stables while I was eating breakfast on the deck.
It's not been uncommon for people newly arrived in Gallon Jug to comment on the colorful peacocks that they have seen.
I continue to enjoy my close encounters with these beautiful birds.
