Today we planned a day out to a plant nursery in Stann Creek and set out about 9am for our two hour leisurely cruise.  Gnome laughed at me when I packed our “food bag” which consisted of a thermos flask of milky tea and some digestive biscuits.  I just shrugged and said that there was simply no place to stop for refreshments (except for supermarkets and bars) on the way to Stann Creek.  I didn’t want a beer, I wanted a cuppa tea!

Anyway, as we trundled along in our pick-up truck, we couldn’t help but notice that it kept on making a screechy, high pitched noise every-time he went over 100kph.  So, Gnome spent the whole drive trying to keep the noise at bay. The sound was aggravating and we spent the entire drive worrying about ball joints and universal joints and God-knows-what-joints!  Gnome is not skilled in fixing mechanised vehicles so if the truck happened to break down, we would be stuck in the middle of nowhere!

After an hour’s drive up the Southern Highway, we finally reached the first civilisation stop: “Tommy’s Superstore” in Bella Vista. This Chinese supermarket is the size of a K-mart and looks like a regular supermarket (this is a big deal in Belize because most of them don’t…not that I care).

We stopped at the car-park and I suggested having a cup of tea with a biscuit.  If in doubt…bring out the hot beverage to calm the nerves!  We romantically sipped our tea in front of the Chinese supermarket laughing and making light of our harrowing journey.  We both agreed that it was best to turn back home in case anything happened.  Before we left the car-park, a local farmer on a bike laden with pineapples approached us.  You should have seen him…he strung the pineapples in lots of three and hung them from the handle-bars of the bike.  He must have had at least thirty of them hanging like Christmas bobble decoration.  We bought 15 pineapples just because we were so impressed by his superior co-ordination with the bike-load!  And, they looked so sweet and tasty.  Gnome was thinking about fermentation whilst I was thinking about dessert!

On the way back home, we saw a fridge on a pick-up…1000 points!!  Here are two views of our auspicious find.

Munchkin: Slam on the breaks Gnome.  I think we got us one here!

Munchkin: Slowly…slowly….

Gnome:  Hurry, hurry before you miss it!

For anyone out there who has the vaguest interest in this crazy game that we play, we like to spot “white goods” and various paraphernalia on the back of trucks and we award a points system according to the item.  This is our idea of fun (I like to write about it in the vain hope that other people would consider playing the game with us…but alas, nobody seems to get the “fun” part).  Anyway, a fridge is awarded the highest score hence the reason why I make Gnome sloooowww down to get a drive-by picture for the blog.  Very auspicious!

We got home in one piece, thankfully…

Most of the pineapples have been pared, cut into pieces and frozen.  Weather permitting, I will try to dehydrate the rest.  I made pineapple cobbler today..I am going to pour some of our wonderful elixir (liqueur) onto it before serving!

Have a Good Night!!

0