Home is Where we Hook-up

That’s what I’m calling this Christmas 2007. The only thing greater than the day we had yesterday would have been if each one of our loved ones spread throughout the world could have been there with us – and since that’s hardly going to happen in any location, let alone here in Central America we just have to hold them in our hearts and share our love via internet.

What else was missing from our Christmas? Hassle, stress, and over-consumption (of gifts and food).

We sat on the island beach at a wooden table waiting for our breakfast of huevos rancheros, listening to Eddie Money, the Cars and even Axle Rose…Welcoming Us To The Jungle over Sirrius radio at the Canadian Sports Bar on Caye Caulker. Eventually they did serenade with a few rocken’ Christmas tunes. I took in a big deep breath and tried to find the words for how I felt. There was something very ironic about what was going on. I can not remember a time that I was so relaxed and at peace – yet both in such abundance I thought I would burst! Was it this island, whose slogan is “Go Slow”, or was it the simplicity of this Christmas day, a gift exchange of little more than pure love, and the prospect of spending the day snorkeling around the 2nd largest barrier reef, again, that had me in such a state of bliss.

After our snorkeling trip we headed back to the sports bar…by the looks of things it was the only eatery in town open. While some folks were going all out and having the full Christmas turkey dinner with all the trimmings, Keith and I had plans to eat back at the Marina in Old Belize – so we ordered shrimp ceviche and a couple beers. We intended to be on the 3 pm water taxi back to the mainland, but when our food hadn’t yet arrived we laughed and said “Ok, we’ll give them ONE MORE HOUR to get that ceviche here…and that’s IT!” Ceviche – a seafood salsa type thing served with chips – shouldn’t be to hard to serve up, but, all blissed out and in no hurry we waited. When we finally did return to the Marina, we found that the restaurant had closed at 3, and we were out of luck. Didn’t matter, it was still the perfect day, I did scrounge up some corned beef sandwiches later in the evening, ha!

What will you call your Christmas 2007 – and why?

Well, it’s finally here, ready or not, believe it or not…tomorrow is Christmas. I am ready, but I don’t know if I believe it. Yesterday Keith and I took a water taxi to Caye Caulker for the day and did a bit of snorkeling along the reef. A little band of storm clouds rolled across the island, dropped a tiny bit of rain, and kept on moving. We laughed with the other snorkeler in our party, a woman from Missouri, about the insignificance of the threatening clouds – and shudder to think about some of our friends and family enduring the cold, wet and snowy winter.

I am ready for tomorrow, because it is going to be one of the more simple Christmas’s we’ve had. I baked the other day – well, to be more exact I “no-baked” something about running the oven when the a/c is already having trouble keeping up with the heat didn’t seem very fun. I followed four no-bake-em cookie recipes, and have been handing out plates of cookies to all the people here at the Marina – the guys in the office, the guy who opens and closes the gate, the real-estate guy who helps us with our paperwork, a couple of other campers here, and Keith took a plate for the armed security guy at the Police check-point on his way to work. I’ve put a smile on these faces and that has been so totally gratifying. Keith and I will likely spend the day tomorrow snorkeling again, we could both spend all day swimming the reef, it’s been fantastic.

I think I’d like to spend a Christmas sometime doing the traditional “White Christmas” thing – meaning we will have to take a vacation from the tropics and go to a ski resort or something. We’ll see.

For now, you have our Tropical Merry Christmas wishes. We hope you have a fantastic day, we will be thinking of you.