September Musings – Independence Day Carnival, Idyllic Weather and Farewell to a Friend

I love September in Placencia. The days are idyllic – the sea is very calm and crystal clear, the sky is azure blue with lots of sunshine during the day, and a beautiful breeze (the all-important breeze). It makes for a very pleasant time for a swim at the beach.

However, it is the rainy season here, but it rains mostly at night with quite few storms and spectacular thunder and lightening shows. There’s not much of a drainage system, so flooding can become a problem. My lane became a river after a heavy rainstorm. You get used to taking off your flip flops and sloshing your way to the main road. Last week I found hundreds of tiny tadpoles swimming around in it.

We got a new foster puppy. She looks exactly like Abby and is very cute (aren’t all puppies?). She gets along very well with my other dogs and cats and loves her walks on the beach and a swim. She’s now been spayed and is ready for her furever home.

Despite it being Belize’s low tourism season, September is the most anticipated month of the year. September in Belize comes alive in the form of Independence Parades, colourful carnivals and a patriotic vibe that sweeps throughout the country for it’s birthday month. This year, we got to decorate our store!

This September marked the 42nd anniversary of Belize gaining it’s independence from Britain and what spectacular show the residents of Placencia put on for us.

Everybody came out for the event and Strange Brew Bar & Grill is the perfect spot to watch the parade.

This month we had to take another trip to Dangriga. The highlight of these trips for me, is to stop in at Dis Da Fi Wi Chikin to stock up on their amazing barbecue chicken (we buy wings and breasts) to take home, and to sit down for lunch at their restaurant The Chicken Express.

Dis da fi wi chikin is the slogan for the chicken company here and means “this is our chicken.” It’s the best barbecue chicken I’ve ever had and we make sure to eat at the restaurant and stock up on barbecue chicken every time we go there, which is about once a month.

I’ve been experimenting with Poptails (popsicles with alcohol in them) which we’ll be selling in our store in the next few weeks, but will also be available for events, which I’m excited about. So far I have Mojitos, Margaritas, Tequila Sunrises and Moscow Mules and they are delicious (too delicious sometimes!)

Mid September a party was held at a friend’s house to bid farewell to one of our friends and singer at most of the local bars, Captain Ron.

It’s almost a way of life here where you find people come and go for various reasons – mostly because they find out that Belize is not for them, or for health reasons. A lot more stay. Captain Ron is off to Mexico to broaden his horizons and begin a new adventure.

The party was held at a beautiful home with a pool. There was, of course, many musicians who came out to sing.

It was a hot day and many of us spent it in the pool

or in the shade

That day also happened to be my birthday and it was lovely to spend it with good friends.