Ragga King

2006-11-23T14:19:00.000-08:00

I Was sent to get more lemons for lemonade

When I noticed the evil goat had escaped. So we grabbed it by the horns and threw it back over the fence, problem solved.

Back at the house...

Kristin and Pop, made cheese cake, mmmmm...

we got a little bigger

Saar thought it was funny.

Thanksgiving Prep

2006-11-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

In the morning we went to farming class...

we learned about legumes, the winged bean actually. Among others.

I got tired and went out for some warm air.

This is a view from the mountain (I will explain more later about the "mountain")

After the seminar, we started to cook for thanksgiving.

I apologize for not getting pictures of the bunny/turkey/chicken slaughter. But I did get a few snapshots of the squash slaughter.

we had to make sure we had plenty of room for thanksgiving, so we regulated our weight for the past week. I sure lost a lot of weight.

Imagine my surprise when I saw all the great organic, home grown food, to give you a little hint of the grandeur before my eyes...

we all looked like this afterwards.

Better Nate than Lever!

2006-11-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have eaten more starfruit in 2 days to feed the Russian army.

But we are far from Russia!

This is Kate's experiment, Semi-arid climates.

This is her garden

This is a weird fruit I found. Peanut Butter Fruit. Bunchosia Argentea Malpighiaceae.

DANGER!

2006-11-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

Upon arriving in Florida, one of the first things I noticed was this.

Panthers! self explainatory

This seemingly innocent looking tree is actually a cross between a venus-fly trap and a banana tree! Just like in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Watchout, she could take off your head and eat it for lunch.

And the most feared of all...
Goats! With there sharp demonic horns and hooves, and sinister gotee. These hells-angels are not worth trifling with [Im sorry, 'with' is a preposition]. Also, according to Kate, there aim is almost professional, walk within 5 feet of one of those goats, and they will surely wet your ankles.

Not to mention Herm eating tomatoes with experimental pesticides on them.

Interesting Plants

2006-11-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

Welcome to ECHO
http://www.echonet.org/ (for more info)

I was surprised at the abundance of different species. I gave up my mission of taking pictures of and catogorizing every single one. It would take me all year. these are just a few that I managed learn their Genus and species.

Red Lady Papaya

Pummelo

Edward Mango

Okron Mango

Geffner Atemoya

Sapodilla

Star Fruit

The Star Fruit, afor thought only to be found in Supermario Brothers land, is my favorite fruit. The yellower the better.

Ragga King Returns (and he is cold again)

2006-11-21T17:33:00.000-08:00

Here we go again, the Barlows try it again. This time, destination: ECHO, Ft. Meyers FL, USA. Indoor plumbing this time.

Day 1: Cold...

Well, at least we have jackets this time.

and Cookies!

And come on, we can't complain, its not even raining!

and there is plenty of food...

But this is the reason we are in Fort Meyers...

The Epilogue

2005-03-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

I learned something I could not have learned anywhere else ( well actually, I think that i could have learned this in any sub/tropical clime): That it is one thing to want to live in a tropical paradise, but it is another once you actually get/live there. Though I barely spent a week, i can't imagine living in a place without great maples, rolling fields and nice old victorian houses.
Destination the next...The City...maybe i will like it there. Tree's and buildings are pretty much the same. They pretty much have the same function. the produce many wonderful things, like shade. Well here are 8 reasons I returned to northeastern Connecticut.

The lovely lakes.

I repeat, the lovely lakes, or ponds rather.
Actually they are partly man made but i don't want to ruin the moment.

my house .

counts for 2 reasons

the well paved roads

ponds where the niced frogs you ever seen live

the not so paved roads, but stil nice in its own sense

and lastly, one of the nicest looking flags in the world. (honestly some other countries flags are pretty boring like poland... and japan, com'n a red dot?. Some are really tacky, have you ever seen the flag of Grenada?

I am just kidding about that. I actually like the Japanese flag, it's simplistic, very much a buddhist attribute, not that i am endorsing Zen, but i do admire it for aescetic reasons.

"this concludes my presentation"
Nathan {Ed} Barlow, signing out with a word from kurt vonnegut:
"To be or not to be" (you known who)
"To be is to do" Socrates
"To do is to be" Jean-Paul Sarte
"do be do be do" Frank Sinatra

Final conclusion

2005-03-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

Finally, after a long time of exile from cyberspace (due to computer trouble) I have returned to conclude this blog.

and one more nice picture for good measure!

Good now that I have that out of my system.

Now here is near where I left off before.

Here we are at paradise.

We even get our own little cottage-like-building.
Though. It is one large tin box, and anything remotely sizable that falls on it makes quite a noise. When a coconut fell on the roof I thought that the bed (with fleas) had collapsed.

The little guy to the left of me is our guide who saved us from the perils of Belize City.
Well to make a long story short, when we arrived on the central American mainland, I was a little happier.

NO MORE OF THIS

I even appreciated the garbage filled streets.

Hey, we have a shower, you cannot snub your nose at that, just ask the “shower frog”!

Well here is one more nice picture of Belize

Ragga King Adventure. Chapter 2: Morale, Okay.

2005-02-10T16:32:00.001-08:00

Here we are as we pull the sails down for a lunch break, Ham Sandwiches with even lettice and tomatoes, the first time I have eaten vegetables in Belize. I have a suspicion that most Belizians don't like vegetables. If I were 5 years younger I probably wouldn't have blamed them.

Meet Ken: a social worker from Yokohama. He was an interesting fellow. He only spoke Japanese and Spanish, So I would teach him English through Spanish and he would teach me Japanese through Spanish. We had some very interesting conversations in Spanish.

Meet Jerry, shipmate # 1 under captain Joe. He told us all about his life as a swash-buckling sailor.

This is a random Island in the middle of the caribbean.

Meet the island we slept on, which consisted of 8 palm trees, a few peices of coral, and a flock of Pelicans. We were handed sleeping bags and a few blankets and were thrown overboard. Where we waded to shore and set up camp.

I am sure it would have been much more enjoyable if it wasn't for the wind and the rain all night long.

We slept on this poor crab all night.

Back on the boat, my sister commented on the sorry state of my hair-do. But since I am a secure man, I took little notice.
Here at the next Island, the situation was a little bit brighter, at least there were people on this one.

Ragga King Adventure. Chapter 1: Pirates Ahoy!

2005-02-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

The morning

...seemingly beautiful day

Here we are about to embark on the journey of our lives.

And here is the vessel that was to take us on our pleasure/adventure cruise. I was told that it was a 40ft boat, but I belize that they made a mistake. I had to have been only 30ft at best.

here we are making a few last minute adjustments before take-off.

Duct Tape can do wonders.

AND WE'RE OFF!

All right. Now what do we do?

Snorkeling sounds like fun.

Oh wait. It's raining. All well. At least we get to see Captain Joe in his spiffy sailor storm/jump suit.

Though we don't look it, we are all freezing at 60 degrees F.

Finally, A little excitement!

I was hoping that we would see some pirates. But Jerry said that his ancestors were pirates. So I think that I really did get as close as I was going to get to a real live "shiver-me-timbers".

Rondevu Point

2005-01-26T06:58:00.000-08:00

Time for Some Tropical Relaxation
After finishing our "Discovery Channel Vacation" we moved on to our "Economy Vacation"

Here are my sisters feeling the wind through their hair and the sun in their faces while riding on the water taxi to Rondevu Point.

The first thing that we noticed about Rondevu Point was that it was a very small island.

I figured that this house was on stilts to protect it from the rushing water of huricanes. But I found out that it is up high so it can catch the wind and cool off its owners on hot days and nights. If a big hurricane comes along, no matter how it is built just about everything will be destroyed. Our guide on later adventures said that he is planning on building himself a shack, but mark each 2x4 and sheet of plywood with his initial and number, so after a hurricane, he can go into his neighbors yard and pick the peices up of his rightful house and put it back together on his property.

Here is a view from the first and last restaurant we ate at: "Rasta Pasta".

Here is a picture of the interior: Sand floors and lawn furniture.

It's a "dog's life" here on Rondevu point.

Here is my sister taking some advice from the local canine population and having a nap in the soft, sea-shell sand.

The Magestic Pelican. There are more Pelicans off the coast of Belize than any other species of water foul as I saw it, I'm not sure if that is actually a fact. They're pretty ugly looking birds if you ask me, but I was sure to never say it loud enough for them to hear me.

Here is a picture from the roof of our friend's rented apartment just before we left on our "cruise".

Notice the fair weather and blueish sky.

Next morning.
We should have taken notice of the threatening clouds forming over our heads. It would turn to be our/my undoing.

Altun Ha & the Belize Zoo

2005-01-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

We decided to take our leave from Baboon Sanctuary and check out the other local attractions. After a large hurricane in the 60s, all the imported cars which had steering wheels the right (ostensibly driven on the left side of the road) were swept to sea or destroyed. Cars were then brought in from the States, but since American autos have steering wheels on the left, (and are at least to my knowledge) hitherto driven on the right side of the road. This dilemma was solved by the Belizian authorities who decided to officially switch over to the right side of the road. But now everyone is confused. Some just drive on both sides, depending on what direction the turn is going, that is the side that you drive on (cutting corners really isn't disreguarding safety it is promoting fuel efficiency). I think most of the taxi drivers we met practiced this idealogy of fuel efficiency (remember the price of gas is much higher in Belize, even with the 1:2 ratio of US to Belize currency). I appluad you Belizian taxi drivers!

Anyway, back to Altun Ha.
This is one of many Mayan ruins in central America, Altun Ha.

We were the first tourists to arrive here, so we had the whole place to ourselves for a half of an hour. Supposedly, anthropologists and archeaologists will periodically visit the sight, dig up a few "new artifacts"(oxymoron) and then bury the site again so nobody will attempt to play Indiana Jones.

Here is Sister Kate standing at the edge of a sheer drop, about 12 meters to the nearest rock below, then another couple meters to the hard tropical grass.
It is interesting how large the steps are leading up to the top of the temple, especially since the Mayans are a very short people. But I suppose since the primary use of these infrastructures were human sacrifices, you had bigger problems to worry about than dealing with inconvienient stairways.
Belize Zoo

After our adventures in the Mayan ruins, we hopped back in our taxi headed for the famous Belize Zoo.

Here in the Belize Zoo, there are no concrete cages, all there that keeps the wildlife at bay inside the park are a few chain link fences (so the jaguars can nibble on little childrens' fingers). Actually it is quite safe for visitors and inhabitance. The animals are essentially in their natural habitat. The zoo was built around an already existing forest. The animals that were brought in were contracted for life: to settle down and raise a family (enforced by sturdy steal chain link fences)

The ant eater was particularly interestest in my father, he must have thought he was some long lost relative or something [this is a joke about my fathers nose, sorry dad]

I was hoping to see a spider monkey like this in the wild, but they are only found in primary rain forests (like the Amazon). In the secondary rainforests that we explored only had trees about 10 meters high (rough estimate). This is not nearly high enough for spider monkeys who live up 30 meters into the canopy of the hardcore primary rainforests.

Croc Hunter

2005-01-20T09:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of us (minus my mother who rode in front) sitting in the back of Collin's truck. We were in for another night of adventures. It is easier to see Crocs at night, if you pan your flashlight across the water you will see numerous sets of shiney red eyeballs. You can tell how big a croc is by the distance between the two dots. We frightened most of the big ones away, but the young and ignorant ones were curious, and wanted to investigate the canoes and their contents.

This little guy was snatched up by our guide, he just dipped his hand in the water and pulled out a baby croc. The little guy made a funny little squeek, but I doubt that the other crocs thought it was funny, I was worried the mother come swimming in at any moment and save the day (for the baby at least).

Here is my dad and I holding him or her (I never found out)

Secondary Rainforest: Bamboo Chicken

2005-01-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

This is just another typical roadsign in Belize, almost as interesting as the ones mutilated from "Pedestrian Bump" to "Pedestrian Pimp" (I forgot to get a picture of that one). Speed limits in Belize are enforced by speed bumbs and check points.

Getting away from the road, we entered the foggy mists ofthe secondary rainforests. Where animals rule the floor to the canopy.

All the forests we visisted were formerly primary rainforests, one you might see along the Amazon River, which is a little more of a "hard core" adventure that I am ready for. But due to slash and burn tactics, the wild has been tamed slightly. We didn't see any giant Anacondas or pygmies, which was what I was looking for.

We did go on a canoe ride. This trip we were supposed to see millions of Iguanas and birds, and if we are lucky a monkey or three. We say lots of birds, and even startled some bats. At first we didn't see any such iguanas. Do You?

Aparently there are numerous Iquanas of all shapes, sizes and demeanors in that clump of trees.
It took my eyes a while to adjust but eventually I saw one.

This big guy (probably about 4ft long) was interesting, while my sisters and I went ahead in our canoe, my parents stayed behind to take pictures of this one. All of the sudden I hear a very wild splash and my mother laughing. Uh oh, my dad fell in the water with the very expensive camera. Well as I turned around, I saw my father still standing in the boat, if my dad wasn't in the water, than what was?. Confused, I shouted back my inquiry. The Iguana had jumped in, obviously! He was probably scared we were trying to catch him for Christmas Dinner, "Bamboo Chicken" is supposedly very good eating.

later we saw leaf cutter ants, very interesting little guys. They have no eyes, so they have to smell there way around while carrying loads 30x their own body weight. They were lots of fun to play with. If you wiped away the scent trail, they would get lost and stagger around awkwardly. But we felt bad, they were working so hard on Christmas morning, we decided to lay off them a bit.

Howler Monkey!

2005-01-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

The local dining establishment for tourists in Bermuda landing consists of a wounderfull little old ladies home. Ms Edna. If you have ever seen the movie the "Lady Killers", you will have a pretty good idea as to her personality.

Here inside her house (notice the Christmas decor) we were treated to local foods of Rice and Beans, and Beans and Rice (very big dif between the two) and even Creol Bread. Ingrediens: 2 sticks of butter, cup of Coconut Oil, 1 cup of bleached flour and some yeast. Just add Marie Sharps Habenero Sauce and you have yourself a Belizian meal.

Here at Ms Ednas house we had our first encounter with the Howler Monkeys who live in her back yard. The first thing that struck me was the obnoxious howl that they make, hence the name Howler Monkey. But the noise doesn't bother Ms. Edna, if fact, the Monkeys have come to love Ms Edna, showing their affection by kicking mangos onto her head, while she returns the favor with a sling shot.

Here is my mother feeding one of the more adventerous primates some foilage.

This bridge was built for the monkeys to traverse the gaps between forests and roads/paths. Since much of the Primary rainforests have been "Slash and Burned" to secondary rainforest, a lot more land is without trees. Now the monkeys have been stranded on Islands of forest canopies. And any decent, self-respecting Howler Monkey wouldn't be caught dead on solid ground, they were stuck, until the bridges were strung. I believe i experienced what the monkeys felt later on in travels, being stranded on an Island with man-eating barricudas all around. (I will try to find pictures of the monkeys on the bridge if I can). You may notice in my right hand (second to the right) I am holding "manual bug repellent", a device which Colin (our Friend and guide) made for us. It made from the fiberous part of the fruit of a palm tree and is really quite useful for swatting irritating things like mosquitos, ants and my sisters (the two on the left).

I met this fellow on a near by tree, he seemed rather pleasent, but he must have overheard my comment about his goofy looking facial hair and turned his back on me in resentment (I learned to be careful when more sensetive animals were in earshot).

As we trecked futher, Colin pointed out a large mahogany tree worth over $600 American. It sounds like a good investment to me, If I plant only 1667 Mahogany trees now, in 80 years I will be a millionaire!

420 = Population

2005-01-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

Placed out of the usual tourists grasp, lays the village of Bermuda Landing (population 420, no connection to April 20th). Here in Bermuda landing the main attraction (only attraction, besides crocodiles) are the magestic Black Howler Monkey's who reside: "The Baboon Sanctuary". (note that in Belize, all monkeys are called baboons, there are no real baboons in that area, at least I never met any, I will get to the Howler Monkeys later on)

Apart from the police station, which is obviously suffering from lack of use. (there is one police officer per 9 towns in Belize, but this part of Belize apparently is not completely suffering from criminal activity)...

And the Taiwanese general store...

There is not much activity in Bermuda Landing, especially since most of the youth population is now living in Belize City, expect during Holidays (boxing day, Christmas and Newyears) when everyone returns from working and danicng in Belize city to fill the the lush secondary rainforests air with the thumping of stereo bass and the twangs of Jamaican rhymes and rhythms. But it is never really gets quiet even when all this hooplah is over, The 5-6 troops of Howler Monkeys see to that. (I will get to the monkeys later...they play a key role in this area of Belize).

Before I get ahead of myself, i should probably start at the beginning and go in chronological order, just to keep things organized.
Entry 1: the Reason We Went to Belize
-Number One: So dang tired of New England's COLD SNOW!

-Number Two: Extreme Jealously of anybody within Tropical longitudes.
(I don't really have a good photo for this)
-Number Three: Desires based on feelings manifested in contemporary sensational romantics

-Number Last: Sea food to satisfy the Sea-food-lovers pallet.

And I swear the travel agency said it was NOT rainy season.
That is my story, and I am sticking to it!

Just For Starters...

2005-01-08T16:56:00.000-08:00

If you're one who has always dreamed of going to a tropical paradise but have not seemed to get around to it for some, most likely valid reason, be patient: your day will come (probably your week will come). It came for me, of all people, I'm sure it can happen to anybody, just the means and place may vary. If you are smart, you will know to virtually and electronically explore the region you are about to embark, and since you have found this blog chances are good you may be planning a trip to Belize, just like I did during the Christmas of 2004. Hopefully by reading this you will know what places NOT to go, and things NOT to do while in the country just right of Guatamala. I will be posting video and pictures of my "adventure" as the tour called it ASAP. (I happen to be a busy student and have essays to write and books to read) so you will have to be patient.