Seven Wonders - Fleetwood Mac - Part II

 Continuing our Central American Odyssey, without forgetting the 2-Tone connection, we clambered aboard the rickety local bus at Chetamul, on the Mexican / Belize border, which was heading south. Lucky to get a seat of any description, overborn with locals transporting there wares to market, it was only when asking to be dropped at Crooked Tree that we got an ovation of laughter which would have outshone Morecome and Wise. Why this should have been was not known as we had reseached the place, considering it suitable for our needs, but there was a 5 miles long

recently built bund, connecting what had previously been an island to the mainland, to transit on foot before reaching our next temporary home. The searingly high temperature didn't help either while our attempts to 'thumb a lift' brought no joy until the local School Bus hove into view. Driven by ex-pat Englishman George Guest carrying his cargo of tiny black faces sharply contrasting with iridescent white uniform shirts. During that short drive we also discovered that he had served in the Grenadier Guards with one of our shipmates back on the rig, Kenny Taylor, half way around the World to find such a coincidence, which made a great start to our new temporary home.

An intriguing sign and something of a learning curve as a lover of nuts, had always wondered why Cashew's were twice the price of Peanuts? Transpired that mankind has never been able to invent a machine to shuck these beauties, hence having to be done by hand at twice the cost!

 

 Home cum Hospitality Centre

and hub of the area we met owners Rudy and Grace Crawford who afforded us a right royal welcome and introduced us to just some of the 14 children (not to mention 'numerous' Grandchildren) while checking us in before leading us down the

PATHWAY
to what was to be

our home for the next 5 days,

our first Bird species of the stay with

Billy Settling in Quite Nicely.

LIMPKIN
Little need to walk far to see a host of Birds, other Animals and Wonderous sights along with a most welcome

BOAT TRIP

where among many others we were introduced to the most amazing

LESSER YELLOW-HEADED VULTURE

along with

JABIRU
the tallest flying bird of the Southern Americas and

AMERICAN CROCODILE
(which may have been Morelet's - ?)

Lagoon View

BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER

Looked a little Off the Level to me - HIC!

ROSY THRUSH-TANAGER

BOATHOUSE

WHITE-NOSED COATI

POLICE STATION

TRICOLORED HERON
If there was but a single thing that was amiss across the whole of this all to short visit, it was not having taken or having lost some of our images especially of our final day! A Sunday, which coincided with the Annual Fish Festival and where the 3 of us were not only invited but also asked to be Guest's of Honour along with

Mr John Briceo the Deputy Prime Minister of Belize  (left)

who on meeting immediately invited us to take a drink with him.

JIM 

RUFOUS-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD

FESTIVE

PAINTED BUNTING

Everything was totally informal as well as colourful and noisy, with little doubt we were very warmly welcome. I don’t remember ever having been anywhere quite so pro-British, it was of course once known a British Honduras, as locals thrust glasses of their home made wine at us, each vying for position to gain our opinion on their vintage.

THE SKINNY KID

AZTEC PARAKEET

Along with Mr Briceo, as Guests of Honour, we were also afforded the speciality dish of ‘pregnant’ Green Iguana, complete with eggs still in place, known locally as Bamboo Chicken.

BILLY

SPOT-BREASTED WREN
These are sustainably hunted from the wild by the young boys of the community, with catapults, and are unlike the description probably suggests - DELICIOUS!

George Guest and wife Barbra between the 2 Skinny Kids.

BOAT-BILLED HERON

At the End of the Day - Michael Rutherford, get a listen to that without shedding a tear!!

AND PLEASE DON'T LET YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS MISS THIS!