Tag Archives: Punta Gorda

Belize

Another Blog Post!

Hello Every-one, I am actually writing another blog post without procrastinating for another 3 weeks! Look…I even have a picture of the ‘Peini’ sign which is what the Garifuna named Punta Gorda when they first settled in this area as a fishing community around 1823. As you drive into Punta Gorda, you will see this sign. Any-one who is a tourist, will want to stop and get their photo (or selfie) taken next to this sign to show that they have been here. Punta Gorda is the main town in the Toledo district and this is where every-one comes to do shopping for groceries and stuff. It is becoming more developed with lots of fancy brand new cars around town. When we first came here about 16 years ago, there was hardly any traffic and most people got around in bicycles. This is a picture of the sea view next to the sign:

Sea View.

I have noticed that a lot of locals like to sit at the pier at lunch time. It is a prime spot! We usually park our truck by the side of the Peini sign and make a cup of tea (or something)…open the car doors to catch the sea breeze.

By The Sea.

Here is a close up picture of the pier:

Sea View.

For those of you who follow our blog posts, they might know that we have been drawing a bit. So far, we have been copying pictures out of a ‘pen and ink’ art book in order to practice the technique. We are going to try drawing the Peini Sign and the pier picture!! This will be our first attempt at drawing our own pictures. I will post up the pictures once they look decent!

Belize, Saving Money

Shoppin’ in Punta Gorda.

Hello Every-one!!  Hope y’all having a great Saturday.  I ran out of photographs for the Blog posts yesterday and pondered upon what fun farm pictures to take.  It then suddenly dawned on me that I haven’t taken any recent pictures of Punta Gorda.  PG is the main town in Toledo District, Belize and we live about 16 miles outside this town.  This is where we go for our shopping supplies.  For all of our readers who haven’t been to PG before, you’ll be amazed at how “little” it is and the complete lack of shopping malls or centres (ie. there are none).  The population of Punta Gorda is about 5021 (census 2010).

When I was walking through Punta Gorda yesterday thinking of what pictures to take, I realised that I was just “used to the place.”  To many of you out there, you’ll just shudder at the “lack of facilities” and “lack of services” but these are some of the reasons why we are here.  The place certainly does not over-burden you with a sense of consumerism!  You can only buy necessities here.  I think the place is conducive to adopting a healthier approach to living and there is a less of a feeling to “shop just because you want to buy something.”

It saves you a lot of money because there are no “nice things” to buy!!  Gnome describes the items that you don’t need which end up gathering dust and occupying space  in your house “kipple.”

Anyway, here is the centre of the town with the clock-tower.

Punta Gorda Town.

When we first came here about 13 years ago, there were hardly any cars about.  You could actually park you car in the middle of the road, run into a shop for 5 minutes and be back in your car without any car needing to get pass you.  Now  the streets are totally filled up with parked cars.  This is Punta Gorda on a busy Friday morning.  I know…I know…all you guys out there probably think that it looks dead!

Main Street. PG.

This is the new Market Place.  Not sure what to say…it’s just well, there.  I’m a bit of a traditionalist and rather liked the previous market place which was just the road-side.  But times are changing…and even Punta Gorda is changing:

PG Market.

PG Market.

Inside PG Market:

PG Market Stall.

There are also stalls along the side:

PG Market Stalls.

If you don’t want to sell at the market, you can always just park on the side of the road and display your wares:

Pineapples For Sale.

Clothes shopping is a tad dicey here.  There are second hand stalls with clothes from the States.  At least here you can attempt to find something in cotton but finding the right size is difficult (especially when you are wee like me).  Also, the clothes aren’t cheap; cotton t-shirts go for a premium at BZD10 (USD5) and men’s cotton pants can go for BZD30(USD15).

Clothes Mall!

I suppose you can always go to the Guatemalan stall to buy a dress instead…ooooh…I wonder which one of these would go best with my yellow  wellies on the farm…

Dresses.

This is the Farm Supply Centre where we get our hard-ware and farm stuff:

Farm Store.

This is Punta Gorda Post Office.

PG Post Office.

That’s all Folks…that’s Punta Gorda for you.  It grows on you and it’s full of friendly faces!!

Punta Gorda Town.

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Pets

Sulphur and Goosie Trouble!!

Gnome has been boiling up sulphur and lime for our Lime-Sulphur XXX Pet Dip For Mange, Fleas, Ticks and Ringworm.

Boiling Sulphur and Lime together.

Available at the Farmstore in Punta Gorda, Toledo by the way.  Just ask for Presidente…for Pets.  You will know why once you see the bottles because we are recycling old Presidente beer bottles:

Lime-Sulphur Pet Dip.

He’s making it on a kerosene stove on the veranda which has been inadvertently converted into yet another work space…not fit for people…he does it on purpose so that we can’t  invite anyone around:

“errh…sorry folks you can’t come round because I’m boiling sulphur today…sorry about the inconvenience…maybe another day when I’m not boiling sulphur!!”

Today the sulphur concoction boiled over so there was a very strong eggy smell pervading the veranda, the house and our senses.  Gnome loved it and as I have previously mentioned he is a Catholic Gnome so he feels thoroughly cleansed when he plays around with sulphur.  He said to me, in a rather a playful manner,

“Don’t cry over spilled sulphur my dear…this will get rid of the snakes…the evil eye…and bad spirits…I’m giving the house a thorough cleansing!”

Well, what could I say?  One can not go against the word of a Catholic Gnome!

Okay, we also have more goosie trouble.  Our white goosie (we call her January Jones) has been sitting on a clutch of goose eggs.

Sitting Goose.

I’ve mentioned in a previous post that there has been problems with a male goose who keeps on fighting to sit on her eggs (yes, I know…do ganders get broody too??).  After many fights, the eggs were getting smashed and alas she ended up with one egg.  I had been timing her sit and her EDD (Estimated Date of Delivery…Ha-Ha using medical terms…might be Estimated Date of Hatching) was on Wednesday.  Anyway, we gave her a few more extra days and lo and behold, the egg exploded because it was rotten.  Now you would think that she would get off her nest since there were no more eggs plus there was a terrible  stench of exploded egg.  No, she wouldn’t budge an inch.

Since January Jones had no more eggs to sit on and she had lost so much weight over the last month, we made an executive decision to throw her off her nest and out of the coop.  I know it sounds horrible but she was wasting away and we needed to break her broodiness so she would start eating again.

Well, she’s thoroughly pissed off with us!  Every morning she waits outside the house to ambush us.  She runs full throttle at us and tries to leap and thrash at our legs!  What a feisty goose…I hope at some point she will find it in herself to forgive us because these goosie attacks are getting a bit too much.

Anyway, I still want to end on a positive note.  Here are some recent baby pictures!!  We love Oor Goosies despite their evil temperaments!!

Hello Goosie!!!

Goosie Eating.

Amusing, Belize, Our Products, Soap

Chocolate Mint Soap.

With so many funny animal stories coming from our blog, I have neglected to talk about other stuff that we do.  We have a new Chocolate-Mint soap.  It’s chocolatey and has the zing of mint!!  (As I am writing this, Gnome is murmuring under his breath…Munchkin, is this your idea of marketing??).

Ha-Ha…

We just dropped some off at the Chocolate Factory (Cotton Tree Chocolate) in Punta Gorda today:

Cotton Tree Chocolate.

Lovely soap made by Munchkin and Gnome; made from coconut oil and chocolate.  Picture Munchkin and Gnome stirring a metal cauldron in the middle of the bush…

Chocolate Soap Making.

We make this stuff on the farm:

Chocolate Artisan Soaps.

If you are not in Punta Gorda, Belize…check out our Chocolate Artisan Soaps in The Apothecary. 

We have a range of Chocolate Artisan Soaps and four scented chocolate soaps: chocolate-vanilla, chocolate-mango, chocolate-orange and chocolate-mint.

As an interesting aside, we have noticed that having a website does not actually decrease the administrative work involved in running a business.  There are still a gazillion back and forth emails to write.  What we have come to realise is that even although everything can be ordered on a website with the minimum of communication, everyone still wants the personal touch.  So, we are happy to receive email orders and have a personal relationship with you, if you prefer.

Belize

Phew It’s Hot!

walking-in-town-together

Well, we had a town day today (Punta Gorda) to actually escape from the heat.  That doesn’t make sense because it was still hot in town…but at least we weren’t mowing the grass, chopping coconuts down and doing our usual heavy farm stuff.  It feels like a second dry season right now and as I am writing this I realise that most of our overseas readers are probably experiencing winter weather right now.  Our winters can get down to a chilly 18C (64F) but not so this time…it feels like 38C!

Anyway, we had our usual relaxing stop over at the PG sea for a cuppa.  Ahhhh…sometimes it’s just nice to take the day off…when you live on a farm, the work is never ever done…

Horlicks By The Sea.
Horlicks By The Sea.

We had Horlicks this time.  Thank-you British Belize Foods for giving us a bit of British!

Amusing, Belize, Our Products, Pets

Lime Sulphur Pet Dip is Popular!

Presidente.Pet.Sulphur.Lime.Dip

We just delivered a fresh batch of Lime Sulphur XXX Pet Dip For Mange, Fleas, Ticks and Ringworm (wow…what a looooong name).  The guys at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda just call it Presidente (the name of beer from which we have recycled the bottle)…for Pets.  Brian, the manager at the Farm Store tells us that the Pet Dip is very popular.

Mr. Brian Cho at The Farm Store.
Mr. Brian Cho at The Farm Store.

Later on I spoke with Gnome and discussed the possible reasons for the popularity of this particular product.

munchkin-buying-food

Munchkin: “Hmmmm, Maybe it’s because we use recycled bottles.”

or

“Maybe it’s the Triple XXX on the label…makes it look really serious.”

or

“Maybe it’s because people imagine two doctors in the bush, stirring over a cauldron of sulphur pet dip, and think it’s really cool imagery….”

Gnome, of course had a reply:

Glowing.Gnome

“Maybe it’s because it actually does what it says on the label.”

Oh. Selling something that actually works.  What good marketing strategy!

munchkin-amazed

Checkout this product in The Apothecary or check it out at The Farm Store in Punta Gorda, Belize.

Belize, Our Products

Casa Mascia Products At The Pharmacy.

Pharmacy.on.Market.StreetJust writing to let you know that NJV Pharmacy on Front Street, Punta Gorda has stocked up on our Casa Mascia products.  A Big Thank-you to the Vernons for continuing to support locally-made natural products.  You will find our usual goodies including Copal Medicinal Soap, Oil and Ointment, Lemongrass Insect Repellents, a selection of our Massage Oils and lots more!

Massage Oils.
Massage Oils.

Copal Medicinal Oil.
Copal Medicinal Oil.

Lemongrass Insect Repellent Balm.
Lemongrass Insect Repellent Balm.

Belize, Our Products

Allspice And Orange Hair Oil.

 

Allspice And Orange Hair Oil.
Allspice And Orange Hair Oil.

Here’s something for the hair from the House of Mascia!  This is actually a Golden Oldie and was one of our first products; it is now back by popular demand.  It’s just one of those things…as soon as we stopped making the product, we received  emails asking, “…where is this?” and, “I bought this a while ago and I can’t find it anymore.”

And so we have it available in The Apothecary and if you live in Punta Gorda, it is available at Vance Vernon Pharmacy.

Hot.Hair.Oil.Treatment

This is a hot oil treatment that can help re-condition dry and damaged hair:

  • Allspice and Orange Oil helps stimulate circulation and encourages hair growth.
  • The combination of base oils nourishes the hair especially if it is sun-damaged, chemically treated or in general bad condition.
  • The copal resin has natural anti-septic and anti-fungal effects.  The anti-inflammatory property of this ingredient also soothes irritated and sensitive scalps.

Allspice And Orange Hair Oil.
Allspice And Orange Hair Oil.

And this is how you use it:

Warm vial of hair oil in glass of hot water while washing hair.  Dry hair and apply oil to hair.  Wrap in plastic for 20 minutes. Relax. Re-wash with shampoo.

Belize, Our Products, Soap

Copal Products At The Market.

Munchkin.with.SwordIt has been a few months since the new market opened in Punta Gorda, Toledo.  I will take more pictures next time for some of our readers that don’t live in Toledo.  For the town locals, this is to let you know that our Copal Medicinal Oil and Copal Medicinal Soap are available at Mrs. Juanita Bochub’s stall (Stall No.10).

Juanita Bochub.
Juanita Bochub.

Punta Gorda Market is now located centrally so it is within easy walking access.  Juanita has been selling our products for quite a while but I thought it was worth a reminder.  Juanita and I go back a long way; when we first started on the farm, we made coconut oil and she sold this at the market for us.