Land Ho! It has been some time since I returned from my journey down to Central America to visit a sweet island off the northern shore of Belize called Ambergris Caye (pronounced key). My Ojai friends Terry & Teri Mackey had been visiting the island for several years and staying at this really neat bed & breakfast there in San Pedro town, where the majority of business and social stuff goes on. They befriended Cindy & Renita, owners of the B&B called Changes in Latitudes and had given them a copy of my first CD "Lucky Like Me". On a subsequent trip, Terry & Teri came to check in and were delighted to hear my CD playing in the stereo! "We should bring Rachel down here to play some shows", is how it started. How wonderful and very flattering, My friends knew what a traveler I am so, the planning began after an electronic introduction and I was off and runnin!
Meeting my friend Shelly in Cancun, we stayed the night at a cool hostel in Cancun called Hostel Quetzal where they were really good to us. Unfortunately, we didn't stay long as we were off on a 5am bus south to Chetumal, the capital City of the southernmost state in Mexico where we met a driver that Cindy & Renita had arranged to take us through customs and to the air strip in Corozal, Balize which would take us to the island.
Changes in Latitudes, changes in attitudes! The ladies were so wonderful and helped to set up a wonderful New Years Eve Show at Legends the primo burger joint on the island owned by fellow Californias Tyler & Jewels, where I played to a packed, crowded house of party people ready to ring in the New Year! As the community is often on "island time" and I was a completely unknown commodity, this was the only performance I had booked when I arrived on the island. Renita was a life saver, hooking me up with more than enough contacts and venues to play during the two weeks I was there. Cindy and Renita were so generous to me, hosting me at the B&B with a beautiful little sailboat themed room, they made the trip possible for sure! I am hoping I have a chance to take them traveling in my bus sometime.Although I wasn't able to go on some of the more expensive excursions, I had a wonderful time snorkeling with Lil Alphonse a local snorkel guide, who came with Cindy & Renita's high reccemmendation. I found that the gold star from these ladies meant everything as they have been there for 6 years and had a real good idea of who was who around San Pedro town. Alphonse was amazing, having grown up on the island, getting his first boat at 12 years old, he knew every fish and creature that dwelled in the waters off the east shore of the island and the barrier reef that lies under the surface. It was so incredible! I got to hold a shark (couldn't hang on too long), touch a sting ray ( just like a portobello mushroom) and swim with the beautiful green turtles, what a day!
I also played a fundraiser night for SAGA / Friends of the Humane Society at Lime, a small British pub who served up lots of fish & chips and plenty of Belikin, donating a portion of the night to the cause. I donated one of my hemp macrame dog leashes for an upcoming raffle that Sharon B., part of the heart of Saga was organizing. Got pretty wild in there but a really fun and wonderful night!
I played music at the Tacklebox, a palapa bar on the pier in the center of town which, although the performance was sans sound equipment, I sang my heart out and they heard me. One of my favorite nights was at the enchanting restaurant Hidden Treasures that's just south of town. An outdoor , thatched roof dining room filled with people enjoying their meal turned out to be a really great time for me. After the show, enjoyed an incredible fish meal and a drink, compliments of the owner Ruben who was a first-class gentleman. Spent time with locals Jan & Joanne at the bar there that night, a couple of the scores of very friendly Canadians I met that stay there on the island part of the year. Finishing off the schedule of Belize dates, Tammy Peterson, owner of the Hummingbird Cafe, hosted an acoustic night in a special event room adjacent to the cafe, which BTW is the only sushi bar in Belize. I hope she continues to bring the acoustic scene to San Pedro town as there wasn't much on the mellow, acoustic side of things musically. Before ZI left the island, I did get in with the locals, taking part in the jam at Crazy Canuck's, a fun bar towards the south end of San Pedro and met some wonderful musicians! Hosted by the local band "All Cayed Up", I had a great time lettin' in rip with the whole band behind me. The youngster Derrick on the bass is the center of efforts for musicians in the area. They have been raising money to send Derrick to Berklee school of music and are well on their way! What a wonderful group of people there on the island!!
I left the island a day early to try and make it to the Belize Zoo in time before my flight and was pleasantly surprised by the obvious care with which the people involved with the zoo work to preserve all the interesting animals that are such a big part of what makes Belize special..
My trip into Central America was definitely an adventure and I am so glad I had the chance to experience it, although I was not the average tourist as I worked my buns off the entire time. It did give me a real flavor for the island and the culture. I met so many of the locals and was welcomed so warmly, I would love to visit again someday and get the chance to see the ruins and other excursions that I missed on this trip, mostly due to money. This island nation is not inexpensive but there are so many wonderful sights and memories to be had there and the warm breeze of winter suited me just fine, without being too hot. The Changes in Latitudes was a time I will never forget.
Meeting my friend Shelly in Cancun, we stayed the night at a cool hostel in Cancun called Hostel Quetzal where they were really good to us. Unfortunately, we didn't stay long as we were off on a 5am bus south to Chetumal, the capital City of the southernmost state in Mexico where we met a driver that Cindy & Renita had arranged to take us through customs and to the air strip in Corozal, Balize which would take us to the island.
Changes in Latitudes, changes in attitudes! The ladies were so wonderful and helped to set up a wonderful New Years Eve Show at Legends the primo burger joint on the island owned by fellow Californias Tyler & Jewels, where I played to a packed, crowded house of party people ready to ring in the New Year! As the community is often on "island time" and I was a completely unknown commodity, this was the only performance I had booked when I arrived on the island. Renita was a life saver, hooking me up with more than enough contacts and venues to play during the two weeks I was there. Cindy and Renita were so generous to me, hosting me at the B&B with a beautiful little sailboat themed room, they made the trip possible for sure! I am hoping I have a chance to take them traveling in my bus sometime.Although I wasn't able to go on some of the more expensive excursions, I had a wonderful time snorkeling with Lil Alphonse a local snorkel guide, who came with Cindy & Renita's high reccemmendation. I found that the gold star from these ladies meant everything as they have been there for 6 years and had a real good idea of who was who around San Pedro town. Alphonse was amazing, having grown up on the island, getting his first boat at 12 years old, he knew every fish and creature that dwelled in the waters off the east shore of the island and the barrier reef that lies under the surface. It was so incredible! I got to hold a shark (couldn't hang on too long), touch a sting ray ( just like a portobello mushroom) and swim with the beautiful green turtles, what a day!
I also played a fundraiser night for SAGA / Friends of the Humane Society at Lime, a small British pub who served up lots of fish & chips and plenty of Belikin, donating a portion of the night to the cause. I donated one of my hemp macrame dog leashes for an upcoming raffle that Sharon B., part of the heart of Saga was organizing. Got pretty wild in there but a really fun and wonderful night!
I played music at the Tacklebox, a palapa bar on the pier in the center of town which, although the performance was sans sound equipment, I sang my heart out and they heard me. One of my favorite nights was at the enchanting restaurant Hidden Treasures that's just south of town. An outdoor , thatched roof dining room filled with people enjoying their meal turned out to be a really great time for me. After the show, enjoyed an incredible fish meal and a drink, compliments of the owner Ruben who was a first-class gentleman. Spent time with locals Jan & Joanne at the bar there that night, a couple of the scores of very friendly Canadians I met that stay there on the island part of the year. Finishing off the schedule of Belize dates, Tammy Peterson, owner of the Hummingbird Cafe, hosted an acoustic night in a special event room adjacent to the cafe, which BTW is the only sushi bar in Belize. I hope she continues to bring the acoustic scene to San Pedro town as there wasn't much on the mellow, acoustic side of things musically. Before ZI left the island, I did get in with the locals, taking part in the jam at Crazy Canuck's, a fun bar towards the south end of San Pedro and met some wonderful musicians! Hosted by the local band "All Cayed Up", I had a great time lettin' in rip with the whole band behind me. The youngster Derrick on the bass is the center of efforts for musicians in the area. They have been raising money to send Derrick to Berklee school of music and are well on their way! What a wonderful group of people there on the island!!
I left the island a day early to try and make it to the Belize Zoo in time before my flight and was pleasantly surprised by the obvious care with which the people involved with the zoo work to preserve all the interesting animals that are such a big part of what makes Belize special..
My trip into Central America was definitely an adventure and I am so glad I had the chance to experience it, although I was not the average tourist as I worked my buns off the entire time. It did give me a real flavor for the island and the culture. I met so many of the locals and was welcomed so warmly, I would love to visit again someday and get the chance to see the ruins and other excursions that I missed on this trip, mostly due to money. This island nation is not inexpensive but there are so many wonderful sights and memories to be had there and the warm breeze of winter suited me just fine, without being too hot. The Changes in Latitudes was a time I will never forget.