A Lovely Small Population
I would like you to imagine a little San Pedro village with a population of about 5 hundred. One hundred of these were boys and girls age 5 to 14 and attending the one and only primary school, the San Pedro R.C. School. The other one hundred were housewives. The other one hundred were fishermen. […]
The Coming of Electricity
So there was a time when there was no electricity and to beat up an egg you used the hand beater. And when you wanted to get to some spot down or up the coast, you walked the beach or hoisted the little sail in your dory. And when it was too hot to sleep […]
No Electricity in San Pedro
Imagine a San Pedro without electricity. What would life be like without? No power for the refrigerators, no power for the electric fans or air conditioners. There would be no power to charge the golf cars or power to use the blenders at the bar. There would be no ice to refresh us or power […]
The Microwave Oven of Yesteryear
Some of the best journey cakes (or Johnny cakes) sweet bread, Creole buns, or even salt bread used to be baked in a special oven that was actually made right here in San Pedro. As a matter of fact I have a neighbor who still uses it today. This oven never had any electronic faults […]
Delicious Coco Plum with Security Guards
Welcome to Coco Plum Land. This seems like the invitation from those areas where the coco plums abound. However, wherever the coco plums abound, there also seems to be a warning sign that says, “Keep Off”, for wherever the plums abound, there is also an abundance of that wretched poison tree known locally as “Chechem”. […]
Pretty Brides
Today it costs fifteen to twenty thousand dollars to put on a fairly small wedding. A big one with some eight hundred invited guests and two bands costs forty thousand. I am talking about the wedding reception. If you talk about the wedding dress, you are talking about one thousand dollars and it can get […]
Our Island’s “National Tree”
I did something last week that made me say, “Gosh! Things have really changed!” First I bought a gallon of coconut water and paid ten dollars for it and secondly I purchased a can of coconut water imported from some Caribbean country and paid $2.50 for it. Now that would never have happened 25 years […]
The Village’s Biggest Event
What would you say is the town’s biggest event today in San Pedro? Could it be the graduation of a particular school or Independence Day Celebration? Could it be Mother’s Day or Dia de San Pedro? Which is the event that the entire town prepares for and awaits with eager anticipation? Could it be the […]
Socializing & Visiting A Girl
Twenty five years ago the manner of dating and socializing were very much different from today. The younger generation will probably laugh at this but here it goes anyway. Besides sports like softball and baseball and swimming, what did young people do in their spare time to socialize? Boys and girls would walk around the […]
Those Darn Mosquitoes
It is hard to believe that those darn mosquitoes that existed 25 and even 50 years ago, still live on and pester us today. Their annoyance, it seems will never end. Today some people react like this, “ The town council is doing nothing about the mosquitoes and wait too long to spray.” Others will […]
The Egg I Want but Can’t Have
I love eggs for breakfast and so do a lot of people. It is the most convenient thing to prepare a quick and delicious breakfast. You can simply fry your sunny side up or scramble your eggs. You can prepare an omelet with ham or bacon or sausage or any left over meats or poultry. […]
Customs & Traditions Change
For June 29, Dia de San Pedro, there has always been the “Misa de Mañanitas”, or the early morning mass for men only. Twenty five years ago we used to fill up the church and had some standing room only. I recon there used to be about 250 men at mass. Just a few years […]
“Lobster Licking Good”
You would think that the front page of a newspaper is the one page that attracts first attention, but it is not always the case. When I talk to a lot of locals, they claim that the first thing they check is “Pepito” by Perlita, and a whole lot of other residents claim they first […]
Lobster Like Sand
How wonderful if this would be the situation today. If lobsters would exist in abundance today like twenty five years ago, all fishermen would be millionaires. And how come they are not millionaires if lobsters were in such abundance back then? Very simple, because the price was very low. Fishermen will recall when whole lobsters […]
Mangoes – 3 for 5 Cents
At this time of the year all over Belize we are enjoying one of the most delectable of all tropical fruits- the mangoes. They come in all sizes, colors and tones of sweetness, but all of them with that unique mango flavor. The mango has always been a seasonal fruit and people await for its […]
“Tanquero” is Not a War Tank
My uncle Ramon of Ramon’s Village has reminded me to write about these boats called “tanqueros”, and it is because he used to work in one of these along with his father and his brothers. Yes, Ramon was a village fisherman and made his humble living working in a “tanquero”. He made hundreds of journeys […]
Playboys or Just Style?
Did you know that 25 years ago seeing a naked boy walking the streets of San Pedro was a common occurrence? Boys walked the streets naked up until about seven or eight years of age. There was one particular family from Belize City, the father was a boat builder, and those children walked naked until […]
Let’s Build a “Fogon”
A “fogon” or fire hearth is an apparatus used for cooking outdoors using some type of firewood as fuel. Of course you will not want to have one of these inside your tiled kitchen, but having one outdoors is a fun way of cooking many things and with advantages. Your neighbors might complain that the […]
All Day Smoke in the Air
The other day, some teacher lit up some leaves to burn them in the schoolyard, and it bothered an entire neighborhood and in a few minutes, the fire engine and the fireman were there to order the teacher to put out the small fire. What if these persons were living in the small fishing village […]
Naughty Boys & Their Things
Children are naughty because they are children. They will do naughty things, but the naughty things done 25 years ago are indeed light to the things we hear today. Just for you to know that they were no saints either, here are some naughty things of the past. During the fishing season, when the snapper […]
A Typical Evening in the Village
Well, you know how a typical evening is spent in San Pedro nowadays. If you are not stuck to the T.V., then you are probably driving around with a golf car or at the Casino or some entertainment center. Do you wonder how a typical evening and night was spent in village of San Pedro […]
Famous Markers, Funny Markers
When you live at the mercy of Mother Nature, you need natural markers to know where you are, or what time it is, or where to go or not to go. Forty years ago, in the absence of television, radios, clocks, telephone, and other gadgets, there was the need of special markers to assist in […]
Lent And Easter
Lent is Lent and Easter is Easter and I don’t think they can be different today than 25 years ago. You observe the passion, death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ with prayers and traditions. Perhaps there lies the difference-in the traditions. Traditionally, 25 years ago meat was not eaten any at all during […]
More on Beach Combing
A few weeks ago I touched on some popular items that we intentionally went out to look for on our beach combing walks along the beach. Items collected ranged from glass bottles to Styrofoam buoys, glass buoys, rope, sandals, crates, light bulbs, etc. Now there were other items you did not look for, but found […]
“God Save The Queen”
As I watched and listened to the National Anthem of Great Britain being played as British soldiers who have died in the war with Iraq were taken out of a plane, I could not help but feel sadness not only as a human being, but also as one who still feels “British”. You see, twenty […]