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| From inside the palapa at the local beachfront Mexican 'resort'- Great Huevos Rancheros! |
Once
again we have found Bacalar enchanting, made even more so by our stay at Casita
Carolina.
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| Casa Chica our home here at Casita Carolina |
Last night, Christmas Eve, we fully participated in a great party. Carolyn
provided ham & scalloped potatoes and local ex-pats, most originally from
Canada, brought all sorts of yummy salads, veggies & desserts. When I
offered to help I was put in charge of glazing, cutting & arranging the ham
for dinner. It was a simple job except for the extreme heat in the kitchen. The day
had been unbearably warm with no wind off the lake so the added 10-15 degrees
that the oven added made sweat literally flow from my face into my eyes.
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| Alex, Austin & Keith on-stage at Casita Carolina |
After
some Christmas entertainment provided by a band consisting of a resident
guitarist, mandolin player & bassist, karaoke was open to everyone.
Talented Austin who had performed his one-man Christmas Carol a couple nights
before, got the show rolling. That kid has an amazing memory & has no fear
whatsoever in front of a crowd. In many ways he reminds us of our own Thomas
Hoskins, great enthusiastic energy.
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| Austin in full action; note Keith behind resting & singing. Luckily there were two microphones because he held tight to one nearly all night! |
Keith
soon displayed his singing talents & helped pull in some others who
obviously wanted to join in the fun. By the end of the evening we were all on
our feet dancing & singing until the plug was pulled on the mics & the
party moved to the other patio space for conversation.
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| Helena, our new French Canadian friend with a great dancing partner behind her. As hard as he tried to teach me to swing, I cannot be led. He resorted to expressive dancing with me. |
Keith
stayed up until the wee morning hours talking in Spanish with a friend of
Carolyn who hates Americans. Because of the heated tone of the discussion other
people stepped in to check that there wasn’t a physical altercation coming, the
Mexican gentleman had clearly too much tequila to drink. Keith reported that
the long discussion ended with handshakes & a hug.
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| Our wonderful hostess, Carolyn. It was simply an awesome party thanks to her generosity! |
We
only left Bacalar once during our five days here. We took a taxi ride into
Chetmal to buy our water taxi tickets on to Caye Caulker, Belize on the 26th.
A young German had to return to Bacalar to spend an additional night after
reporting to the pier for a sold-out journey.
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| Part of each day here has been spent in the 'hammock club' reading. |
We
have heard mixed reports about Belize. Some claim it’s very beautiful while
others didn’t completely enjoy their experience. As close as we are and seeing
that it’s the only Central American country that our passport hasn't been stamped
for, we are on our way tomorrow around noon.
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| The conversation area outside the main house We have met interesting people here in Bacalar! |
The weather has varied from very windy to extremely hot & calm. Today it was mostly
cloudy and a bit cooler which was nice for a relaxing Christmas day full of
reading, sunning & napping.
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| The lawn is extensive running down to the lakeside palapa. No person runs, a slow jaunt is well-considered before any movement is made in this humidity! |
We needed to take this break from our regularly
busy ‘go-go-go’ lives. Keith melts right into the do-nothing mode; I have a
more difficult time just letting days go by. That said, Bacalar has certainly
slowed life down & is good practice for the lazy Caribbean lifestyle soon
to come on small Caye Caulker.
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| The noisy geckos help keep the mosquito population under control. The cats keep the gecko population down, the circle of life at play here in Bacalar. |
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| The Fort in Bacalar |
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