In Havana, Cuba there is a very popular bar and restaurant named “La Bodeguita”. Ours are different. Fishermen and tourist guides have always found it fascinating and a convenience to build small ‘bodegas’ or storage space on the pier and very close to their operating stations. Most fishermen would build these ‘bodeguitas’ over the lagoon on the west side of Ambergris Caye. There they would store fishing lines, hooks, sinkers, rod and reels, nets, hook sticks, and even diving masks and fins. The next day it is very convenient to pick up the equipment and put it into the boat for another day at sea.
The tourist guides, on the other hand, would build their ‘bodeguitas’ on the east or front side of Ambergris Caye. There they would store, let me see, masks and fins, snorkels, sun block, and perhaps a dive tank or two. Like children who love play houses, the fishermen and tourist guides would build them like little real houses and even give them names like Gonzalez Hut, Casa de Amor, Paradise or even the name Hotel. These decorate the beach and give our home a touch of simplicity and Island life and an invitation to fishing.
