A Weekend at the Camp: Cayo Frances Farm & Fly

It’s Labor Day Weekend in the States – a 3 day holiday to put away your seersucker suit and white sandals and mourn the end of summer.  Your last lemon squares, barbecue, corn on the cob and potato salad.  Summer vacation’s last hoorah.

Here in Belize, Labour Day is also called May Day – and is celebrated at the beginning of summer, May 1st.

Summer, by my definition, is only over for the kids right now – high school started last week in San Pedro, all grade schools start today.  The weather is still hot and humid for another few months as the hurricane season is still not at its peak (Sept 11).  We won’t be feeling that chill in the air until at least mid-November/early-December.

I am wrapping up 3 days on Cayo Frances – the large inner lagoon system about halfway up Ambergris Caye.

A world away from the other side of the island and San Pedro town.  As I type, a small bright blue headed snake looked at me thru the screen.

Even the rules are different.

Here are some pictures from my weekend at Cayo Frances Farm & Fly.

The green building with the solar panels and batteries.

Lemon grass growing — nature’s repellent but no match for September’s mosquitoes.

Elsie lounging in her comfort cone.  She’s has a scrape on her leg that she has spent too much time picking at.

A teenaged Little Blue Heron – according to my “Birds of Belize” book, they have pied (mixed) slate and white plumage their first summer.

Some of our weekend eats.  The french bakery in town makes a DELICIOUS olive loaf — so perfect for sandwiches of arugula (grown here — it takes off like a weed), pastrami from the island’s Sausage Factory, cheddar and lots of mustard.

And Jeff’s stewed chicken.  His work trying to perfect rice and beans – a seemingly simple dish – is really paying off.  Just the right amount of coconut.

His model for perfection?  The $10bzd lunch special at Briana’s Deli on Back Street.

Chaya also grows like a weed.

Chaya flowers.

And chaya when it’s cooked with eggs and coconut oil.  With some feta.  Okay.  With a ton of feta.

And then an actual weed that makes a real cool ground cover in areas where no grass grows.  This stuff grows in the salt wetland.

According to my book “The Plants of Caye Caulker”, it’s an edible herb that prevents erosion of the shore line  called seaside purslane.  Here’s an interesting article on how to eat it.

Good to know.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend.  I did.  And now I’m heading back to town.

 

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