A Delightful Family



From the first day on the Caye Caulker this family befriended Linda and I in a special way.  Alaric, Tanisha and Jamar welcomed us with open arms.  In addition to Tanisha operating a breakfast, lunch and supper stand she is a full time Mom to Jamar, a four year old boy with much vim and vigor.  Alaric helps out with the food stand as well as a maintenance worker at another restaurant not far from the Hand 2 Mouth Fast Food stand.



Tanisha



Jamar

When Linda and I first got off the water taxi our first order of business was to find a room for the night and as we got here in the late afternoon on a Saturday it was rather time consuming finding a right fit for the prize we wanted to pay.  Alaric was very helpful in his suggestions.

As you can see by the pictures Jamar has this twinkle in his eyes that tells you he is boy through and through. 

I stopped by yesterday and took this snapshots as well as Jamar helping me with the Flat Stanely Project.  He was very interested in the camera and in turn wanted to take some pictures of me, which I thought for a four year old turned out pretty darn good.  He definitely has an eye for photography.

Flat Stanley on Caye Caulker, Belize, Central America



Flat Stanley with friend, Jamar on Caye Caulker



It was a pretty warm day today and after picking up a few groceries decided to take a dip before doing my blogging.  I met up with Jamar once again and talked me into taking him along for a swim. 

Tomorrow I head to San Pedro and will be getting my extension on my visa and Saturday and Sunday will be spent filming and celebrating the Bob Marley Tribute Festival.  Lots of people call it the Bob Marley Birthday Party as his birthday is on Sunday.  I am looking forward to this event.

As a result of the filming I won’t be blogging for a few days but I hope to provide some good excerpts from this festival.

An Earth Day



I spent a good portion of the day walking from one end of the island to the other with Mandy’s (my Australian friend) camera in hand taking various scenic shots.  So, I’ve got a few more stills I’d like to take today and will be returning her camera. 

I started out my walk on the lagoon side of the island (west side).  There was a floating dock that I sat on for a while and various forms of wild life approached me.  I could see fish swimming and birds perched on poles and many mangrove trees all around.

The day was hotter than some past days and there isn’t as much breeze on that west side but all one has to do is head to the east side and there is almost always a breeze off the ocean.  As I walk along the beach, birds are seen along the shore and looking out on the ocean horizon you see the waves breaking over the reef.  Multitude of coconut trees dot the edges of beaches that provide wonderful shade at most anytime of the day.

I got a kick out of Raggamuffin’s sign indicating their hours open and when they take their lunch.  Now that’s a nice lunch brake!

Continuing my walk I have to stress the island motto… “go slow”.

Of course the flowers on the island are amazing!

And as my walk came to an end I found myself right back at where I started, on the floating dock and was able to capture this sunset.



It was a great interview with artist, Nelson Young

I will try my best to sum up a two and a half hour interview with highly recognized Belizean artist, Nelson Young.

As I walked up to Young's home there were many writings grouped in front of his house.  I was welcomed into his home and we sat on his back deck where the shade and breeze created a most lovely setting to conduct this interview.  He is a very easy individual to speak with and his passion in life and his art is evident in the words he spoke to me.

Nelson was born on Caye Caulker and later went to school in Belize City.  After being in Mexico for a time he went to New York City.  Originally starting in wood carving he went on to create designs on t-shirts.  He stayed there for about 5 years where he met his wife and moved to Sweden.  His first international exhibit was held in Stockholm.  He moved back to Caye Caulker in 1987 and began establishing Belize art all around the country.

As I looked at his portfolio I could see the evolution of his paintings.

At the end of the interview he offered me fresh coconut milk straight from the fruit, cut with his machete.

While I have reviewed the raw footage there is much more I’d like to include and so in the mean time if you would like to know more about Nelson Young I found a few sites via just googling Belizean artist, Nelson Young.

On Caye Caulker the various art galleries display his work for sale.  Nelson Young's work is quite distinctive.  It definately stands out.

I found one site that displays his work for sale.

http://www.cybercayecaulker.com/nelsonyoung.htm

More to look forward to….

After I posted my last blog entry I checked my email to find from my neighbor, Margaret, a picture she took a couple days ago and sent me.  I was on my way back to my room after an afternoon of filming this or that.  She asked if she could take my picture as I looked so colorful.  Being the ham that I am I struck a few poses for her and this is the one she sent me.

I was on a mission yesterday afternoon.  I was bound and determined to find Nelson Young, the famous painter of the island.  I knew from what his uncle told me the general direction and so I walked and walked.  Just as I was about ready to give it up I came to Young’s Ciber Café.  “Hmmmm,” I said to myself.  “Could this be another relative?”  I went inside to inquire and found out it was another relative, cousin to be exact.  He pointed me in the right direction.  Upon entering Mr. Young’s residence the writings labeled throughout his front yard indicate Rastafarian.  As I walked up his steps I was pretty sure no one was home.  After knocking a couple times on the door my suspicions were correct.  But I left a post it note and my business card before departing his lush and tropical paradise.

By the time I got home my stomach was growling and had tuna on hand.  I also had cucumbers, tomato, onion, green pepper that I had picked up at a fresh produce vender the day before.  So my meal for the night consisted of a tuna fish sandwich with onions, mayonnaise and a cucumber salad with the remaining veggies.

As I was preparing my meal I saw from across the street the soccer team was warming up.  Caye Caulker was to play the San Pedro team.  So that was fun to watch in the evening.  Now I did get footage of the game as well as a pan shot of the spectators but it was a very challenging and tedious filming as you never know where the ball was going to go.  Before posting some of that footage I’d like to interview the coach from the team.  I will say for the mean time that this sport is quite popular here and you could tell by the onlookers.  The sidelines were crowded and the people (ranging from babies to seniors) were exchanging social interaction with each other.  Laughter, cheers and talking (in multiple languages) could be heard within the surrounding area.  The game ended in a draw as both teams were very good. 

Before the game began I got a call from Nelson Young who appeared excited at the prospect of an interview and so early this afternoon I will be visiting with him and hopefully lend insight into art.

A beautiful day on Caye Caulker!

I was feeling a little under the weather late yesterday afternoon and rested instead of blogging.

Thursday evening was the chilliest night so far since I’ve been in Belize.  But don’t worry folks back home, I still only needed a sheet to cover myself with.  

Yesterday my day started with the usual coffee and tiding up around the room and popped over to Marie’s Laundry as I had a dress I wanted pressed and she had an iron.  This was an excellent time to get to know this woman a bit better.  Marie is a delightful woman, 56 years of age, mother of 10 children and been in business since before her youngest (now 13 years old) was born.  Marie charges by the pound and is very reasonable in price.  As I ironed my dress we began to talk mostly of her affinity toward the game of darts.  They have a league on the island and their team has won the championship for three years in a row.

I took some snapshots of a few different subject matter in the afternoon starting with Go Slow Art Gallery.  Alfred, the shop proprietor explained that artist all over Belize commission him to sell their art.  By far the most popular paintings come from native islander, Nelson Young.  I wanted to speak with the artist but wasn’t exactly sure by Alfred’s directions where he lived.  However, I walked past a home with the name, Peter Young and asked him if he was any relation and indeed he was Nelson’s uncle.  Peter told me where he lived and today I’m hopeful to get an interview and perhaps a featured story.

On my way back ran into OJ Holden and his cousin sitting peacefully in the golf cart.  His cousin Joe is visiting him from Florida.  OJ stated that Oceanside was having a live band there in the evening. 

Afterward, I went up to I & I for my ritual quite time.  Once again the upstairs was completely empty.  I did get a panoramic view on video and will attempt to post that as well.

 

I should note that it is interesting just walking around the island and I did find some statistics concerning the size.  According to an internet site Caye Caulker is 5 miles long and 1.2 miles wide with a population of 1300.  There’s 57 hotels here with 887 rooms.  Just a little trivia I wanted to share.

After resting and having some supper Mr. Chaplin took me over to Oceanside to hear the band.  They were most excellent and at one point sang a Bob Marley medley that was superb!

Well, the sun is shinning today and I’m anxious to explore more and find another story to tell!!



Visual Expressions

As I sit here at Oceanside looking out at the people passing with the Coconut trees gently swaying with the breeze and the ocean cast in the background with its beautiful turquoise hue, it is a very nice place to work.

Last night my friend Dylan and I had supper at Syd’s.  We had fried chicken, coleslaw and of course rice and beans.  This is a very nice place and quite atmospheric.  On the back wall are dozens of various masks and in the back is also sitting room.  They serve good portions and are reasonably priced.

It’s becoming a ritual of going to the I & I for my quite time.  Sometimes I’m able to be alone and even if I’m unable for that alone time there’s always a good mix of people there.

This morning I walked to the school and spoke with their principal, Mrs. Anelda Rosado.  I explained what I was doing while here in Belize and would enjoy talking to the classes about where I come from and what it’s like in Minnesota.  It sounds like sometime within the next couple weeks I’ll be giving some talks to the various classes.  If it’s anything like Placencia, I can’t wait to get together with the kids.

On my way back to my room I enjoy the many, many varieties of flowers all around.



ET Center

ET Center is a 15 year old family business on Caye Caulker.  I spoke with ET who told me about his business in the art of hand wood carvings.  As we talked I was surrounded with other family members each doing their part dusting off the many pieces, polishing pieces, attaching final mounting platforms, or making a new piece.



ET



 Some of the most popular pieces are the sharks, rays and bowls.  ET indicated they produce some 40 pieces a week.  Rosewood, zericote, mahogany, and granadero are the four main woods they work with to produce an array of many art pieces.

I would definitely recommend stopping by to view these unique and distinctive art items!

And just a few steps away is the Art Gallery with many wonderful displays of paintings.  I’ll save that story for another day….

It rained very early in the morning and left the island feeling fresh and renewed and a bit cooler but still warm enough for shorts and sleeveless shirt.  It should be a good day for the para-sailors or sailing in general.

Well, I’m off for now and onto the next story I come across.  PR signing off for now.