4-18 to 4-22-2019 Easter Celebrations

Thursday, 18 April - Fundraiser Concert at Swinging Armadillo

We knew there was a concert to raise money for a surgery for DJ Boss' mother. We went and enjoyed the live music. We also then realized that we knew DJ Boss from when we gave him a ride away from the beach on a night a couple of years ago when there was a threat of a tsunami in Belize. (The tsunami never materialized, thankfully.)

Saturday, 20 April - Ella's Cool Spot Easter Bash & DJ Boss B-Day Party

Ella's Cool Spot was the place to be on Easter Weekend. There was live music, DJs, raffles, various contests and more.

They tried to raffle tickets to another concert in Seine Bight and called about four numbers, but nobody there had the
winning tickets, so they turned it into a punta dance competition.

There were also bounce houses and trampolines for the kids to enjoy.

That night at the basketball court was the annual DJ Boss Birthday Party concert. It started at 10 pm and went until 5 am.
We met several friends there and made it until about 3:30 or 4 am.

This concert was also a fundraiser for DJ Boss' mother.

Sunday, 21 April - Beach Walk, Sweet Making & Ella's Cool Spot Easter Bash

We started our day with a little beach walk. There were loads of visitors from all over Belize, and it seemed that everyone
was at the beach enjoying the shade or a swim.

We stopped for lunch at Queen Bean - this is Eric's stuffed fry jack. After lunch Eric took a nap and Cara joined friends at 
Pam's mother's house to help makes some sweets to sell at the Sittee River Fair the next day.

All kinds of good stuff was growing at Pam's mother's place. See the pineapples hiding in here?

Molly apple - delicious, fresh from the tree.

It's a beautiful place, right on the river, and the breeze was good that day. 

Early dinner: onion sauce, cabbage dumplings, and "boil up" (potatoes, yams, plantains, etc. boiled with some kind of meat -
pigtail in this case, which hadn't been put in the pan yet).

Left pot: freshly grated coconut, fresh coconut water, ginger, milk and sugar boiling to make a fudge of sorts called "tableta".
Middle pot: boil up.
Right pot: coconut water, sugar and lime juice boiling down for the "stretch mi guts" sweet that is like a Belizean taffy.

When the liquid for the "stretch mi guts" seemed thick enough Pam, Shelly and Cara started stretching and stretching it. You butter your hand so you don't burn yourself, then start with a little hard bit and stretch it, then add a little more to it and keep stretching, add more and keep stretching until it's a light caramel color and very smooth. Cara had a nice piece going, but then a Pam added a little bit that ruined it by turning it lumpy. The rest of the stuff in the pan started to get lumpy as well. Pam's mother, Orlanda, determined that there wasn't enough lime juice. So, we put everything back in the pot, added more lime juice and put it back on the fire to remelt it. Unfortunately, at this time Orlanda was busy inside making other food to sell at her stall at the Sittee River Fair. So, Pam, Cara and Shelly were charged with watching and stirring the pot on the fire. There were also beans on the fire, and while Pam was adding water so they didn't burn, the "stretch mi guts" liquid burned.  :(  Cara and Shelly were blamed by Pam for burning it (since they were the newbies), lol. However, Cara was still invited back to try it again next year - yay!

Neighbor, Horace, passed by in his party boat - he had taken some people out for a ride.

Eric checked out the party at Ella's Cool Spot while Cara was in Sittee River. When Cara returned to Hopkins Eric met up
with her, Pam, Oli, Shelly and Jonathan. We enjoyed the live music at Ella's, then wandered around or hung out at
Windschief when the DJs played.

Monday, 22 April - Sittee River Fair

The Sittee River Fair is always a nice, family-friendly event. There is a nice shady area by the river with lots of trampolines
and bounce houses for the children.

This is also the area where Orlanda had her booth. There was a nice breeze, and we hung out here much of the time.

There was a canoe race, but you only get to see a little bit as the canoes fly by.

There were football (soccer to us) games going on all day long.

There was live music under one tent.

One of the beautiful wooden canoes from the race.

Pam sat in the shade watching her niece much of the afternoon while her sister worked the booth.

Pam's mother, Orlanda, took her turn watching Sophia when she took a break from the booth.

Oli trying to get a smile from his niece.

Success! A rare smile from Sophia!

We stayed until just before dark, then drove back to Hopkins and crashed early. It was a fun, but long weekend because Easter in Belize is huge! Kids get a full two weeks off school, and for the adults it's a main party weekend.