2012_12_07 Turtle Inn and Placencia

Slept in a bit today (for me anyway) until around 6:30!  All this week must be catching up with me.  Connie said "Something is going on out there".  Martin has on a suit".  Martin is the general manager of the Turtle Inn.  It seems that Francis Ford Coppola wanted a group image of all the employees from Turtle Inn.  So of course I took one as well!

Martin is over there on the right.  

Steve is off already this morning for tarpon fishing with Mr Eloy.  Kasey just came over to our cabin wondering what was happening out there this morning.  She said she heard the commotion and looked out to see Connie and I.  She thought the breakfast group was really loud this morning!  And then there we were.  Off for breakfast in a few.  

Facebook had a mass friending option last night for a bunch of people that were in an address book of some sort.  I invited a few people and 4 or 5 have already responded.  One of them was Randy the beach attendant that is a big Bulls fan.  I'm going to try and send him a Bulls cap when we get home.  His birthday is the 13th.  22 years old!  I don't even remember that time of my life - maybe a good thing.  So we were chatting on Facebook last night.  He sends messages back in Creole - a sort of shorthand mix of English, Spanish and Caribbean patois.  Interesting!  I just saw him after the photo taking and he's ready for another day of sun.  He's a really good soccer player so we talked about soccer for a while yesterday.  I think our friend Jack Alberts would get on great with this guy!  He's playing semi-professional soccer with the local team here in Placencia and was the MVP last year!

I'm going to show him some video I found of the top 10 goals scored at a national U-15 16 tourney I found on YouTube later today.  He wants me to "put in a word" with the Chicago Fire people to see if he could have a tryout!  I'm sure that will happen!!!!!  I think the Fire has open tryouts once a year.  Maybe someday he could catch a break and make it big.  

Ridiculous breakfast

Walking the beach after breakfast

Crossing gate for cars at the airport!

This will be us tomorrow.  Bummer!

Bye

After breakfast we're going to ride a bike into Placencia for a bit of shopping and sight seeing.  I'm interested to see what the "town" looks like in daylight.  Kasey says it's really way bigger than only 2 years ago!  I also got a Facebook reply to some images of our fishing trip from an old friend Jim Knutson.  He said that he was teaching at Claver College in Punta Gorda, Belize south of here from 1967 to 1970.  Said he would stop in Placencia on a boat on the way to Belize City.  I can't imagine what this must have looked like then!  We talked with a guy who comes here for half a year from Vermont yesterday and he said 10 years ago there were no roads here at all.  Just a sleepy fishing village.  Now the gringos are coming building big old vacation homes.  Progress, I guess. Somehow, it's never the same bt it's probably a good thing for the local people.

Front desk at Turtle Inn

Turtles in pool at hotel

New marina coming at the end of Placencia

Parked and chained up bikes.

In Placencia

Signs gae distances to North Pole, London, Pittsburgh and Friends (Name of restaurant/bar)  Pittsburgh?

Colorful houses and shops

Methodist private elementary school

Mural

Local soccer pitch.  Randy says they're playing here tonight.

Plane ready to take off - viewed from lagoon across the street from hotel.  We're THAT close to airport.

Front entrance to Turtle Inn

One more of the pool bar

Huh?  Outside shower in use

Connie on front porch after shower

Steve is back - his half day fishing trip with Mr Eloy turned into an all day affair.  He caught a 5 foot long tarpon - took 48 minutes to boat.  And then he released it.  Fishermen.......  Seems to be quite happy with the day.

We are being "serenaded" by Garifuna drummers out by the pool area.  Garifuna are descendents' of Africans who have settled mostly in Central America.  Mr. Eloy the fishing guide is of Garifuna  descendent.  Sounds like Caribbean drumming to me!

Off to dinner in Placencia in a bit.  Randy the pool guy is playing soccer tonight right across from where we're eating so we hope to see some of the game.

This was lifted from the internet.  Garifuna ladies - NOT what we had here tonight.  Had to do it!

Another nice dinner at Rumfish.  Stomach bothering me a little before dinner.  Maybe I was hungry?  Watched a bit of the soccer game between Turtle Inn and The Moorings.  Left just after Moorings scored on a p.k. to make score 2-1.  Should have update later tonight.  Randy looked really fast.  The pitch was really pretty uneven and the grass sparse.  These guys were pretty good though.