Perfecting Pibil

El, you really must try this.  It’s puerco pibil.  It’s a slow-roasted pork - nothing fancy - just happens to be my favorite.  

– Sands (Johnny Depp), Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Anyone that has followed this blog knows that I have a fondness for Belizean foods.  As with all places I've lived, I have been drawn to certain dishes over and over again, searching out perfection - sampling frites (the proper name for french fries) all over Belgium and France, traveling to Beirut, Lebanon in search of the perfect shawarma, and closer to home, scouring the mid-west for the best burger (the Fun-Guy at T-bock's in Decorah, Iowa).

In Belize, the local favorite that I have had over and over again and just can't get enough of is pork pibil.  Chan Chich lodge has a fantastic pibil...I think it's the first place I ever had it.  I'm still conflicted every time I stray away from it on the menu.  Orange Walk Town, the capital of Orange Walk District, is known throughout Belize for having the best pibil tacos, which can be purchased 3 for a dollar (that's 3 for $0.50 US), and served exclusively for breakfast.  The tacos are served with habanaro pepper sauce and diced onion & cilantro on the side.  They can only be ordered by the dollar amount.  If you ask for 6 tacos you will end up with 18, a mistake that will leave you with a stomachache and sense of accomplishment.

Going on 3 years now in Belize, I'm beginning to gain some local knowledge, and when it comes to pibil, there is nowhere that does it better than August Pine Ridge, a village that is a little past the half way mark between Gallon Jug and Orange Walk Town.  August Pine Ridge boasts a fine public school, bustling church scene, beautiful women, and the best pibil cooks in Belize (and quite possibly the world).

I recently had the honor of traveling to August Pine Ridge and participating in a traditional pibil cook.

Pibil is of Mayan origin and means 'cooked underground', which is the big trick.  Recipes for preparing and marinating the pork very, but all of the best cooks start with [PROPRIETARY INFORMATION REMOVED] and lastly wire lid securely on to cast-iron pot.

Now the fun begins!  About an hour before sunset start digging a hole large enough to bury a medium to large sized pig.  After digging the hole, as the sun is setting, start a large fire in the hole, this will be used for creating the charcoal base needed for cooking.  Sapodilla is the preferred wood.

When the wood has burned down to a uniform charcoal base it is time to pop in the pibil.

With the cast iron cooking containers in place, cover the containers, charcoal and hole with palmetto palm fronds.

Next lock in the heat and smoke with a piece of sheet metal and again add palmetto fronds around the edge of the sheet metal to lock in the heat and flavor.

Completely cover the sheet metal and palm fronds with dirt, making sure that no smoke is allowed to escape.

Not ready for the bonfire to be over????  Light one on top of the dirt mound and marvel into the early morning hours on the magic happening below.

In the morning it's time to behold what miracles have taken place...

...what went into the ground as mere pig, emerges as pork pibil.



A wonder to behold.

I'm a bit embarrassed that I only got a picture of one of the 4 meals of pibil I ate over the 2 days of my stay, but when it comes to pibil you don't mess with knifes and forks, you just get it in you.

Clean fingers and hands for taking photos are simply not a priority.

Belize Independence Celebrations 2014

It all began with a trailer...

For the third consecutive year the students had the opportunity to decorate a float for our Independence Day parade.  It was a hot afternoon by the time we started decorating, but all of the kids and teachers chipped in.

This year's September celebrations theme is:
Industrious Hands, Intelligent Minds, Together for Belize

With that in mind, classes also created banners to carry in the parade and display at the Independence Day BBQ.

We held our parade after school on Friday as a kickoff to the holiday weekend.

In addition to banners and our float we had an additional half dozen vehicles that joined our procession around the village and to the field, where the students led the gathered in the singing of Belize's national anthem.

On September 21st all Gallon Jug residents were invited to a BBQ in the village.  A group of boys volunteered to start the festivities with a bike parade.

Then it was all about the BBQ!!!

With three grills going there was no shortage of delicious food.

It was a wonderful day of feasting, fun, and celebrating this great nation.

Happy 33rd birthday Belize!!












Back by Popular Demand....The Critter of the Day

The Rhinoceros Beetle!!!

I saw several of these buggers around the village today....

 to put it in perspective, they are HUGE!

Jaunts with Jaguars

Junior Buddy, one of the biggest draws at the Belize Zoo.

This has been a slow school year for big cat sightings, at least compared to last school year.  I would need two hands and a foot to count the number of wild jaguars and pumas that I saw from the beginning of last school year until I headed home for the summer in June of 2013.  This year I am yet to see a puma, and though I saw my first jaguar, while driving, shortly after I returned to Gallon Jug in August, I had a sightings drought, that coincided with this year's never ending wet season.
In recent weeks things have changed.  On Friday we had our Casey Community School end of year field trip to the Belize Zoo and Bacab Eco-park.  The Belize Zoo is touted as the best little zoo in the world.  In my experience this is hard to argue.  The zoo is home to only animals that can be found in Belize.  The animal inhabitants are all rescue animals, nuisance animals (that were relocate to avoid being killed), or animals that have been born in captivity.  The zoo is located on a jungle acreage between Belize City and the capital city of Belmopan.  All of the animal enclosures are built into the natural jungle of the location.
Seeing the jaguars, and other big cats, is quite the experience at the zoo.  In each of my trips to the zoo I have been absolutely astonished at how well camouflaged these felines are.  Staring into an enclosure,  it can take minutes to locate the cat that is invariably staring right at you just a few yards away- leaving me to wonder how many jaguars and pumas see me in my travels in and around Gallon Jug that I am oblivious to.
 Today luck was on my side.  This afternoon I biked the 6 miles from my home in Gallon Jug proper to Chan Chich Lodge to meet up with a friend and from there bike to Sylvester Village (about a 20 mile ride all told). There are a few land marks on the way to Chan Chich, a small bridge that is about 2 miles from my house, and then a junction where the road splits into a scenic loop about 2 miles further up the road, that is about 2 miles from the lodge.  When I was at the half way point between the bridge and the loop I had the good fortune to bike up on a medium sized jaguar casually strolling down the road in the direction of the lodge.  I stopped my bike about 75 meters from the jaguar and watched it for about 30 seconds as it made its way around a curve in the road.  When I biked around the curve it had 'disappeared' into the jungle.
Arriving at the lodge, I made a beeline for the sightings board to record my encounter, and then headed off to meet up with my friend and continue the ride.  It just so happened that my friend had recently confided that she'd not seen a jaguar in years.  I told her of my excitement in seeing the cat, and also of my disappointment that the cat had not waited an hour so that we could both have seen it.  Jaguar sightings are rare enough that it's good to have a witness to corroborate the sighting.
On the way back towards Gallon Jug we saw a new born baby deer and a clutch of baby turkeys (aka poults), two fun sightings for this time of year.  I was just about to pass a remark about how close I thought we were to the spot I'd seen the jaguar when we rounded a curve on the road and there it was, the same jaguar, continuing its jaunt towards the lodge - and just 30 yards away!   



Today's bike ride was part of a fitness kick that I have been on for about the past 2 months.  With lobsterfest only a few weeks away, it's a good time to be getting in shape, but my impetus for getting back into daily exercise was another carnivore encounter.

Towards the end of March I had a meeting to attend in Orange Walk (2+ hours drive from Gallon Jug).  I took a few others with my that needed to visit Orange Walk that day, including a young man from the village that had a cut on his foot that needed attending to.  Everything went great with the meeting, assorted errands, and getting the foot fixed.  We headed back to Gallon Jug with an eye on making it home before dark.  Between Orange Walk and Gallon Jug there are about 40 miles of road through 'civilization' and 20 miles of jungle road.  We got to the stretch of jungle road at about 5pm, plenty of time to navigate the road before dark. 

At about 5:20, and what turned out to be 4 miles from the Gallon Jug gate, my Jeep sheared a pin and broke an axle.  Belize’s location in Central America is far enough South that the sun doesn’t stay up much later than 6pm.  The odometer on my Jeep is not particularly accurate, but all of us in the vehicle discussed where we thought we were, and come to the consensus that the gate couldn’t be much farther that 2 miles away…wishful thinking perhaps.  There’s no cellphone coverage in the jungle, so with the prospects of getting stranded over night, or making a 'run' for the gate, I volunteered to jog for it.  Lucky for me the kid that had his foot stitched up and I have the same shoe size, so I was able to trade my flip flops for his crocs. 

The first 2 miles of the run passed pretty slowly, I was dejected around every turn when I didn’t see the sign reading 1 mile to Gallon Jug gate that I was hoping for, then I came around a curve and saw a BIG jaguar coming down the center of the jungle road about 50 yards ahead of me.  Now let me say that this was pretty cool, as I had only seen jaguars from my car prior to this, and also got my adrenaline pumping a bit because it was getting dark, I had no real idea how close to the gate I was, and there was a freaking jaguar on the road in front of me. 

I clapped my hands to get the big cats attention and he decided to hop into the jungle, which was fine with me as I am not a great tree climber.  I quickened my pace, made frequent looks over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't being followed, and made really good time the final 2 miles to the gate.
The gate guard was able to radio ahead to Gallon Jug for a ride home.  By the time dark set in we were safely headed back, and I had made two resolutions that I’ve done a pretty good job sticking with 1) always bring running shoes on trips into the jungle and 2) get more cardio exercise.  

So, it's not looking like I will make it to double digits for cat sightings this school year, but I'll take quality over quantity and be plenty happy with whatever my final count ends up.

Favorite Things...Gallon Jug Edition

I've been meaning to do this sort of post for awhile.  A conversation with a friend recently brought to mind many of my favorites from my time in Belgium and the U.A.E.  The places, foods, drinks, etc that I find myself reminiscing about and longing for.
Gallon Jug is no different, so here is at least a preliminary list:

Favorite Food:
Empanadas

These are seriously amazing...right up there with frites from Brussels and Shawarma in Dubai.


Favorite Drink:
Bubble Tea (or tapioca tea here in Belize)

Okay, this one was a brutally tough call, but as I am drinking bubble tea while working on this post, it won out.
Seriously, I get excited when I can find this stuff in MN.  Learning that it can be bought on Orange Walk - and easily transported back to Gallon Jug by the cooler full - puts Bubble Tea barely over the top.

Runner Up:
Mojotos made by Alison and Liz (don't bother with any other mojitos in Belize, they are awful).

Favorite thing to do:
Afternoon walks with Belikin

When I returned after being away for a month in the summer, Belikin developed a serious attachment disorder.  To get her to settle in and get back to normal the vet recommended creating a predictable routine of 'puppy time' each day.  Since then we've been going for walks late every afternoon.  It's always one of the highlights of the day to get in some quality puppy time.

Runner Up:
Jungle Mountain Biking

Photo credit to Vanessa

Favorite bird to see:
Vermillion Flycatcher 

Photo credit to Thomas the turkey researcher

 This little guy is a fixture around the school, yet always exciting to see.  He is such a vibrant red, though the size of a sparrow, you can spot him in a tree from 1 hundred yards away. 

Runners up (in no particular order):
Toucans, ocellated turkeys, and ornate hawk-eagles

Favorite Place to Visit:
La Cascada

Cascading, not cascading, makes no difference.  Always the place to be - when you can get there.





Runner Up:
Chan Chich Lodge

Favorite Picture:
Standards 5 & 6 from Spirit Week 2014

 I just love this picture of my class this year.  I think it really captures 10 distinct personalities.  Outside of setting the 10 second timer, I can't claim any of the brilliance of this photo.  Just got lucky and captured a really cool moment.

Runner Up:
Smiling Belikin

This was an example of patience paying off.  Belikin is ridiculously unphotogenic, but every once in a while I get lucky.

Favorite thing to read:

The Creative Writing of My Students

These are holdouts from Valentine's Day and just a few examples.  I never cease to be amazed by the creativity and humor of kids.



Okay, that's it for now.  This list is neither exhaustive, nor complete, but it is a starting place.