Today is day #23 -Caye Caulker-Belize. This morning we were riding our bikes around the island and stopped when we saw a little sign that read "Kenny the Cat Man" and one below it saying "Animal Rescue and Adoption". We stood at the gate talking to the dogs and cats who greeted us and waited until Kenny came out, we introduced ourselves and asked about the possibility of helping out. Kenny explained that he has been rescuing dogs and cats for over ten years here on the island. Kenny has no funding and has been feeding and caring for the animals with the money he makes from a small bicycle repair shop run out of the same yard. Kenny told us he has 28 cats and 5 dogs, he said to come back in two hours, that we could help with washing dogs. When we arrived Kenny had prepared a place for us to wash the dogs on an old board spread across the sand, he filled 2 five gallon buckets up with water. He handed us a bar of medicated soap, a small brown comb and a pair of tweezers. Our first dog to wash was a little shaggy haired dog named Vicious. She was one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met however the poor thing was covered in fleas when we applied the medicated soap, it instantly killed the fleas and eggs on her body. We washed at least 150 fleas from her and hand picked 50 with the pair of tweezers. When we were done, she was so happy! The next dog was "Brownie". She looked like she was in heaven as Ava and I dumped water on her and my mom lathered soap. While we bathed her, she squeezed her head in between moms legs with her eyes closed like she was in paradise. Then we washed "Chida"she was a small white dog that loved to be pet. She was the easiest to wash because her hair was coarse and not matted. Dog #4 was "Roxy" and she has fur like no other dog I've ever encountered, when washing her, the water would roll off of her like a duck. Our last dog to wash was "Maya" and she is DEATHLY afraid of water. She took about 30 minutes to wash because as soon as we put a single drop of water on her she would try to dart. Because she is so hard to wash she was extra infested with fleas and we had to do some serious scrubbing. The way the medicated soap works, is it explodes fleas and their eggs on contact so washing Maya was a little gross because it turned the suds red from the blood of the exploded bugs. When we finished all the dogs seemed very happy and layed on a cement slab in the sun. We told Kenny we would be his helpers for the days we are here on the island, he invited us to bathe them again next week and to stop by anytime as there is always something to do:-) Tommarow we will stop by with some treats. -Eli

Day #20 I can't believe 20 days have past. Our family has done soooo much! One of the many things I have learned these past weeks, is that not to judge based on the outside appearence of things. For instance some of the juiciest limes are brown and bruised on the outside but a beautiful surprise on the inside, some of the places we've seen on the outside look horrible and run down but are pretty and cozy and clean on the inside. We were recently invited to our hosts Harry and Fern's birthday party( in Placencia) there were lots of local Belizians invited as well and All were so nice but from the outside some looked like pirates and had no teeth, I was a little uncomfortable at first but it didn't take long for me to realize they were just mormal guys with no teeth :-)Everyone was so nice and friendly. It was a potluck so we brought a traditional american dish of peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches and potato chips. On Sunday we made our way from Placencia to Caye Caulker, it was a wild ride! First we rode on a school bus which is Belize's most popular local transportation. On The bus, people were snoring, listening to rasta music real loud, selling cakes for a dollar a piece, there was a yipping puppy sealed in a brown box and I also saw a few cockroaches crawing on the floor. At each stop the bus became more crowded. At one point I was looking down and what I saw as my head popped up was an elder man's toushie right in my face! I wasn't very happy at the time but after it was all over, I thought to my self "this was a great experience!" We took a taxi from the bus station to the water taxi, The taxi was a super beat up old mercedes and our driver had big dreads. The seats bounced you up so high that often my head hit the celing, it was like bouncing on a trampoline. On the water Taxi, we scored the "up top" seats by the captain! Eli and I were leaning in the wind and it held us up!! After 5 hours of traveling we finally made it to Caye Caulker. There are no cars on the island, just bikes and golf carts. We all smooshed ourselves into the back of a golf cart taxi to our new place at "Colindas Cabanas .It had been a long day so we quickly unpacked and headed to town to feed our hungry bellies. We will be on the island of Caye Caulker for 16 days. We hope to see what lives under the sea at the barrier reef, explore island life and possibly help out at the humane society. -Ava Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

IN! Dang thang!

Considering I've been un the indystry for over 20 years, the food in Belize is a curiosity for me...not to mention it's my love language, anyone who is close to me knows that to win my heart, all you have to do is feed me... Actually wine and dine me...it's no wonder I have fallen in love with a chef:-) The food in Belize is plentiful, the way the zoning works is that it appears there is none. Anyone can just put up a sign and open their doors OR you can stop anywhere on the street put up a umbrella, fire up the BBQ or open the cooler and sell ANYTHING! Fresh fish and Conch are sold right off the docks or inland found at the market under a umbrella in a fastly melting cooler of ice, tortillas are found from a open window of the tortilla makers kitchen, tamales, empanadas or tacos are found in a open door in just about every neighborhood...three doors down. In Placencia the kids and I have explored much of the fair... We tasted quesidillas and fish Tacos at the "shack" YUM! We tried a roadside stand ran by the towns miss congeniality, "Brenda" it was delicious but after we ate we were warned not to...oops! Our stomachs managed just fine:-) we dined at the beachside cozy corner and Pizza at the Pickled Parrot on the junction of "PampAss" and "DaggTeet" street...( no joke thats the name of the streets) but our favorite so far was our afternoon in our own cozy Cabana dining on grill cheese sandwiches we made on our coffee makers burner.. Meals here run between $4-$26 belizan.. Depending on the time osf day:-) Tonight we will try a place called the "Thatch" a beach side cafe claiming the best Seafood in Placencia:-) Soon we will report on the "gibnut" it is a rat/rabbit/ giant gerbil type thing that lives in the wooded areas of Belize apparently is delicious...if we muster up the guts to try it, we'll let you know:-) Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Yesterday we went to ate at a place called brenda's. It's this little hut on the side of the road thats always packed. So we decided to try it, and we lived it. And she brought us some chocolate cake also and that was so good. And by her booth, there is this cage on top of a wall and it's like a 6 foot tAll wall, and the cage is probably 3 feet tall,6 feet wide, and 20 feet long. And inside are about 15 parrots. The kind that talk to you. Its really cool. People will just walk up and sat "hello!" an the parrots will scream "HELLO, HELLO!!" and whistle at you. It's pretty funny. Then after that, we went to a place called the tipsy tuna. The waves there were like 4 feet tall, so I went in the water and body surfed them. Then some 6 copters came and one knocked me over, and I submerged from the water, and an 8 foot wave smashed into me. It was hilarious.and u came out COVERED in seaweed. It was awesome. Except for the fact that it smacked my sunburn. Then we were walking back and my mom wanted some biking spandex shorts and she found some that read "HotLove" across the waistband. She still hasn't taken them off. -Eli

The first leg of our trip is over. Our time in Belmopan ended with a humble dinner atop a hill at Al Rustico's, as we left and were on our way back to basecamp we werre greeted at the bottom of the hill by 4 of 8 kids fathered by Irwin. Irwin helps out at the base camp and is also a eager student at the tutoring center:-) the little girls were so cute and full of every question imaginable we delighted in their curiosity until it was time for bed. The next morning Mona and Diane gave the kids and I a ride through the beautiful Belizian Jungled highway down to the Village, Placencia. Here we are nestled among palm and fruit trees 50 feet from the Sea. Our Cabana is adorable made with varnished wood upon stilts, we sit just high enough to have a view of the sea from our beds. Its small and clean and we have the most excellent screened in porch overlooking the beach. I have found myself there often taking cover from the hot sun while feeling the breeze, cranking the Grateful Dead sipping on something cold:-) Sunday we ventured into the village to check things out...our mission was to attend the community church, after some winding paths and asking for directions FIVE times ( much to my childrens shigrin);we found it already in service with the doors closed, so we took a picture on the steps instead...we ended up at the tip of the penisula where there was a beautiful sandy beach, we stayed and snorkeled around a bit until our skin turned pink. It was MY first real swim in the Caribbean and it was Awesome!! The sun here is intense so we retreated to our cabana for some reading and homework, as the afternoon of quiet moved on, it was apperant, as our skin grew brighter in color, it was a good thing we headed back when we did:-) The evenings come quick in Belize as the sun sets around 5:30...we ventured over to the cozy corner for some shrimp and free wifi, Eli attracted 4 little boys mesmorized by his kindle...they were sweet boys and were excited at the prospect of " hanging " with Eli in the coming days:-) The wind picked up overnight and blew in a cloud system that was most welcomed when we woke. It appears we might have a little storm on the horizion as it appears as the morning is wearing on the wind is getting stronger and more rambunkous. the kids and I decided after our morning exercise (directed by our tiny drill seargent Ava) that today would be a full day of quiet ( except for the raging winds) reading and catching up on homework. The basecamp asked me to paint a sign for the tutoring center so I plan on filling half the day with a long lost passion of mine. ... .and I will paint:-) We are all very happy and healthy. We are seizing every opportunity to share Gods love with the Belizian people and are constantly in awe of the simplicity of their lifestyle. I/We are convinced without a doubt the the simpler our lives are, their in lies more room for PEACE and happiness. Our thoughts have been with our friends back home as this last weekend they honored the lives lost in the avalanche and laid them to rest... Love to you all Caroline

Day #10 posted by Ava

These were the last days of the Wilkersons, they left on Friday :( On wednesday we went to an awesome place called BaCab, which was a really amazing pool with a little shelf in the water with chairs where you can lounge in the water and tan! And there's a nice water fall with a rock slide that takes under the water fall that splashes you face right before you plunge into the water.Also,we went on a horse back ride,while we were on the horses we saw howler monkeys!!!It was feeding time so they weren't howling:(.On Thursday was a working day,we were all busy mixing and pouring cement!Jealous??On Friday we wet sad to say our goodbyes to the Wilkersons as they ventured there way onto the plane an home.Yesterday we made it to our first away from "home" (the base camp( and made our way with Mona and Diane over to Placencia and unpacked our luggage in to our temporary abode.All is well and everything is great!!Except for the Pb and J sandwiches!! P.s The gelato here is amazing!!!! -Ava:p Placencia is a 16 mile long peninsula in southern Belize and is the home to three communities-Maya Beach,Seine Bight,and Placencia Village.The village itself is home to the narrowest main street in the world according to Guinness World Books of Records.