Gorgeous Day on Ambergris Caye, Night Time Shakes & Tsunami Watch

How’s that for a hodgepodge of a title?  Last night, I felt my first earthquake on Ambergris Caye.  After 9pm, as I was reading, the windows started shaking.  Like a large truck was driving by or a sudden STRONG wind was blowing.  And it lasted a bit too long…earthquake.

Closest land, Honduras…about 150 miles away but almost DIRECTLY east of Belize.  It was felt up to Cancun and out to the Cayman Islands.As I was falling asleep, a tsunami alert was issued in a few countries – NOAA, Belize issued an alert.  A wave up to one meter was possible.   I called in our cat…and fell asleep.  For more information, for the actions taken in town, PLEASE check the San Pedro Sun Facebook page.

Wee Willie Winkie here is not a good source of information.  This morning, the sea is incredibly calm.  An employee at the neighboring resort did tell me that the water did recede more than usual – 15 to 20 feet he reckons.  Tsunami or low tide?  But no wave followed.  The alert was called off at 10:52pm.

This morning’s seas.

Now back to my regularly scheduled programming.  Yesterday was absolutely fantastically gloriously beautiful.  It was also the last full day of filming and photography for the Bote Board crew that is visiting Cayo Frances Farm & Fly.

Yesterday we all met up on Back of Back Street – possibly my very favorite spot on the entire island, definitely my favorite strip in San Pedro town – for some photos and interviews.

While it is fantastic to shoot on the fishing flats, in the mangroves and channels and out by the reef, Belize is lots more than fishing.

Backa Back Street is a great place to get a sense of the town.

I took the Coastal Xpress water taxi to town.

Clouds were just moving out.

I spent the rest of the afternoon picking up golf carts, running errands, buying beers, coordinating a tattoo (or two)…

And mostly hanging out by the dock.  It all leads up to the sunset back there…so pretty last night.  Here are my pics.

This is Joker’s dock.  Every piece of wood, cinder block, every bag of sand was carried up to the camp in one of his boats.

A working dock for sure.

He usually has a crew of guys out there – there are always a handful of them – and yesterday they were BBQing.

A quick run to the other side of the island to unload our boat.

Pretty.  But for the REAL sunset view, the back side is where it’s at.  We scooted back over to the docks.

The Sunset Market just across the way.

And around 5pm…it’s just too pretty.

Silly beautiful, right?

I got a comment on my Facebook post yesterday morning.  Here it is:

“Now, if you just picked up all the trash along the road sides and beaches.

The Resorts are gorgeous the rest of the place is a shit hole”

I value this opinion, everyone has a right to their own opinion but here’s mine.

The rest of this place is what makes Ambergris Caye SO ridiculously special.  Yes, we have a trash problem in certain spots.  Along the beach, it comes and goes – much a sad testament to what is going on throughout the world’s oceans.  Trash washing out from rivers in our country and neighboring countries, from cruise ships and yes, some local trash.

There is garbage along certain roads and THIS TOWN IS WORKING ON IT.  I’d like it to disappear tomorrow – I wrote this in April 2017 – Trash on North Ambergris Caye, When Do We Say Enough is Enough.  Over the last year, we’ve had awareness campaigns, signs going up, neighborhood clean-ups, Eco-Rangers painting and distributing Trash Minions.

Take a look at this week’s headline:  “As Trump opens more waters for oil exploration, the tiny nation of Belize shows a better way”

It’s a process.  (It was in the United States – I wrote about it here.  We Can Totally Do It:  Cleaning Up Belize – crying Native American/Sicilian and all)

But what this comment fails to see is Belize.  The people, the fact that this is an island working and living, celebrating, going to school and raising families and NOT Disney World or an all-inclusive mega-resort.

Belize is SO Different and Here’s Why…

It’s the people and this community that keep foreigners returning year after year for vacations.  And what made me make the nutty decision to move here at 33 by myself.

And it’s hanging out for a few hours on Back a Back Street in the late afternoon and talking to my neighbors and friends that makes me love this place more and more all the time.  I got choked up watching the kids playing basketball as the sun set.

Ambergris Caye is flawed for sure.  All people, places and things have flaws.  This island is not one bit what I thought it was when I moved here almost 11 years ago.

It’s better.