My Five: Independence Day, Sargassum, Dogs on Motorcycles and More

Happy Independence Day Belize! A weekend of parties and parades – following a few weeks of patriotic celebration. It’s also been a week of RAIN – serious rain. Expected this time of year but I am always surprised how it seems to come all at once. When it rains in Belize, it’s not usually gentle showers but like the skies OPENS and we can see a few inches at a time.

And I forgot maybe my biggest life change. WE GOT A NEW DOG! Rosalita Marshmallow Grinchy. She’s got a lot of names for a 13lb mini-dog.

But let me get into a few different topics – big and small. Here’s My Five.

1. It’s Independence Day in Belize!

Last night – rain be damned – San Pedro celebrated Independence Eve. With official ceremony and a 21-gun salute, with fireworks and music, and with a pre-down J’ouvert parade. You can see some GREAT photos and videos on the San Pedro Town Council Facebook page. Here is one of them. But take a look at all – especially the videos.

Today is the parade. And…it looks like so far despite predictions of rain, the sun is coming out. Fingers crossed. Here is the parade route. IF YOU LIVE NORTH be very very very very careful about your parking.

It looks like the last leg of the parade will be on the beach side (rather than the road) so that should…free up the road but be careful! I park north of the bridge and walk into town. If you don’t, you can get caught by the parade and locked in for hours.

The line-up for the parade starts down south by Marina’s Store at 2pm and the parade is scheduled to start at 3pm. It has historically started LATE so it should be in town at…4? Just make yourself comfortable wherever you are situated to watch.

Here are my photos from 2023 – for a bit of what you can expect.

Tomorrow, Monday, is the observed national holiday – banks, govt offices, schools will be closed.

2. HEAVY Rain This Week

August, September, October and November are the heart of the rainy season…the low season…the green season. You’ll see a bunch of terms for it, some more sugar-coated than others. The term “green season” cracks me up. Maybe “Liquid Sunshine Season” because drenched in sweat just wasn’t enough.

Maybe too harsh.

If you visit during these months, it doesn’t mean it rains constantly or every day – it usually means hot hot days and rains in the night or early morning. Or a few days of rain strung in a row.

Instead…we were having a very hot and very dry August and September. No night time rains. Just sun. And there were reports of withering crops on the mainland. But then, this week, we were hit with some tropical waves and it felt like ALL the rain was coming at once.

Roads were flooding…Belize City was flooding. And it is finally feeling like we might be seeing the sun. All of my fingers and toes are crossed for today’s parade.

3. We Got A New Dog!

I spotted this tiny scruffy dog with a terrible underbite a few months ago at our newest gas station, just north of the bridge. She was sleeping next to the pumps and hanging out with the workers and…covered in fleas and ticks. But one of the employees said she hung out with him.

But she really pulled at my heart. I snapped one picture of her to try to find out if she belonged to anyone.

I then was SOOOO pleased to see her at SAGA Humane Society and I called immediately. She was brought in by someone who had met her at the gas station and done the real legwork of asking if she had an owner/following leads around the area – and asking the crew at the gas station if they would surrender her. She finally got this tiny dog help.

I asked about her and then it was working on Jeff – who was sure that one dog and two cats at home PLUS two amazing dogs up at Rocky Point Permit Camp was more than enough. I FINALLY talked him into going to SAGA to meet her and…now she’s ours.

Her name at the gas station was Grinchy -for obvious reasons. Her name at SAGA was Marshmallow – for obvious reasons. And now her name is Rosalita (Rosie) Marshmallow Grinchy Coutant-Spiegel.

4. Sargassum

I first wrote about sargassum in 2012 in a post titled: What Is All Over Our Beaches?

Ahhhh to be so young, naive and innocent.

It came back with a vengeance in 2015 and has been a growing part of life (and tourism) on Ambergris Caye ever since. (With the exception of 2020)

2025 has been the worst and longest season so far. By far. And, though it has lessened (we had a week or two break this month), it has not stopped. It’s still coming in. We had a fresh influx in the last few days.

We can all talk about where it comes from -warming oceans, dumping of fertilizers in our oceans, changing currents. And probably all of those things are true.

And we can talk about what to do with it. Soaps (barf), beer (great logo), fuel, fertilizer…all ideas. But we need to come up with short-term solutions. To get it out of the water before it rots, stinks, and colors the water brown. And we need places to put it once gathered.

Dumping areas that are not our roadsides – and not our lagoons (you can watch a full-grown tree surrounded by piled up sargassum die in a month or two – wither and die)

Yes – if we could find something valuable to do with it – to make out of it – the problem would fix itself. It would be awesome amazing genius. But while you are at it, can you find something to do with ocean plastic? Or just plastic in general? Or old batteries? Finding a way to turn sargassum into gold seems like a “moon shot”.

It’s a problem that is not going away. A bit less out of sight does not mean out of mind.

I definitely need to have that fundraiser so I can travel the east coast of the Yucatan – from Cancun to Tulum – stopping at each beach town for a night to see how they are working on this issue. And write about it. Huge beaches, HUGE tourist industry. I’m sure we can learn a bunch.

I need a jazzy title first and foremost. The Sargassum Chronicles? Operation Brown Tide? El Camino del Sargazo? I like that one. And I’d love to do this and write about each spot…let me get plotting.

5. Shawn and His Side Man Blaze

For months, I’ve wanted to take a picture of this duo. They zip by me at least once a week…I’m left fumbling for my phone as they head off into the distance.

FINALLY I was in town. Crossing Middle Street and I caught them at a stop sign. And to make doubly sure they wouldn’t move, I stood right in front of his cycle and asked to take his picture.

I LOVE THESE TWO! Blaze (I asked for his side man’s name) was even wearing a warm jumper since it was cloudy that day. So so cute.

Look for them when you are out and about! I shared these photos on my SPS Facebook page and got more SHARES and LIKES than any other post ever.

I think fun, cute, sweet Social Media posts are appreciated now more than ever and, additionally, there might be a big fan club that is getting even bigger for Shawn. For his looks and his sweetness with his dog.

I get it!

And JUST noticing this now…I wonder if Blaze is related to Rosie…

Have a GREAT holiday Belize – and let the sun shine for the parade!