Tag Archives: Punta Gorda

Town Day.

September 8, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!! It is so difficult finding a time slot to write a post; right now, the Internet is reliable from 4am to about 8am…this is however, our outside farm time and business emailing. After 8am, the Internet is virtually non-existent with a few minutes, now and then, of Internet activity to download emails. Not enough to quickly write a post for a Blog. At about 5pm, the Internet starts back up in spits and spurts…this is when I dive in and take my opportunity. After 6pm, Gnome uses the computer/ Internet to do Linux stuff. Oh and by the way, we share the one computer so that also limits usage.

Sometimes, because of all these complications, there is simply no opportunity to write a post. Hence, the reason why you might get short periods of silence.

Anyway, it was town day today. Instead of waking up at 4am, we made a compromise and woke up at 6am. This is still really early because nothing really starts opening in Punta Gorda until about 9am. The Government offices start at 8am but they aren’t really getting down to business until a later in the morning. If you ask me…the best time to go a Government Office is at 11.30am which is just before lunch. Don’t go at 11.45am because they will already be enroute to their favourite Rice and Beans joint. Supermarkets (the majority are Chinese owned) open after 9am…the Chinese can be a tad tardy and if you drive pass one of this places, you usually see the Belizean workers loitering outside waiting for their Chinese bosses to open shop. It is all very slow and everyone takes their own sweet time to start up.

So, at 6am, we were up and jumping about like hyperactive frogs waiting for the faithful opening hour. Gnome was laughing at the fact that we had to wait three hours for everyone else to start. It is extraordinary how farm life works on a completely different time line from town life! Anyway, we mixed up a batch of chocolate soap in the interim:

We are making Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and White Cocao Butter soap for the new tourist season in November. This is the Milk Chocolate Soap:

Oooooh…looks like you could eat them!!

Anyway, we managed to get into town…trundling along slowly. Here are some pictures of places that we frequent in Punta Gorda.

We usually pick up the “chocolate trash” from The Cotton Tree Chocolate Factory. We use the trash for mulch around our trees:

And this is Tropic Air; we deliver all our orders nation-wide with Tropic Air because they are reliable, very friendly and they have a flight everyday so orders can be dispatched on the same day (yes…you can get 24 hour delivery in Belize).

The staff are absolutely lovely:

After town, we went to visit our friend Isabel at Cotton Tree Lodge.

It was really muddy and wet driving up to the lodge. At one point, our wheels nearly got stuck…we had to go on 4-wheel drive for the whole time. Boy, what a drive…the heavy rains have really made these back roads difficult to travel in.

Belize, Our Products, Soap

Neem and Jackass Bitters Soap is Ready!!

September 5, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!! Our Neem and Jackass Bitters Soap is now ready and available for purchase in The Apothecary.

The neem leaves are dried in the shade and then infused in coconut oil which is used in the making of the soap.

Neem is known for its anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-helminthic and anti-viral properties. In Aryuvedic medicine, neem has been used to treat skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis.

The jackass bitters plant is a well-known herb of Belize which is used in treating ulcers and cold-sores.

A perfect combination for a gentle soap with soothing properties for problem skin. It is also a wonderful “everyday” anti-bacterial coconut oil soap.

If you live in Punta Gorda or in the Toledo region of Belize, you can buy this soap at Vance Vernon Pharmacy on Front Street.

This is what the packaged soap looks like:

If you look at the packaging closely, you will notice that it only states “Neem Face and Body Soap.” This is because we are still using our old labels…we are being eco-friendly and do not want to throw out perfectly good labels!! So, I would like to assure you, despite the use of these labels, the soap is made from neem and jackass bitters!

Have a good night!!

Belize, Our Products, Pets, Saving Money, Soap

Our Pet Dip and Pet Soap.

July 8, 2015 Munchkin

Today we were in Punta Gorda doing our delivering, “hailing” and the usual town stuff. In Punta Gorda, everyone knows you so you have to go through the custom of “hailing.” Ignore this at your peril! Basically, you need to say “Hello, how are you?” to everyone that you know…who happens to be crossing the street, sitting in their shop, driving in their car or standing in the queue in front of you. If you can handle a bit of small talk then that is an added bonus because every-one loves to stop and chat. If you ignore anyone who knows you, you are considered an “ignorant outsider” or just plain rude. These are the unspoken rules of a small community.

We delivered our Pet Products to The Farm Store in Punta Gorda. This particular shop is owned by Mennonites (Anabaptist Christian Group who emigrated originally from Germany and now settled in Belize) and run by local Mayans who have converted into this particular faith. The Farm Store sells anything to do with farming, hardware and pet supplies, basically, anything that is useful to man or beast! We delivered the following:

This is not the same as our same-name soap for people. This one has a higher percentage of active ingredients so that it is extra strong for the treatment of fleas, ticks and mites in pets (usually dogs and cats). Gentle but effective, without the use of strong chemicals.

We also took this opportunity to launch our new pet product: Lime Sulphur Pet Dip for Mange, Fleas, Ticks and Ringworm.

This is the label with the instructions. We used recycled beer bottles for this product because they are the cheapest thing to use so that we could sell the product at a rock-bottom price. Gnome created a tag to go with the product with regards to the philosophy of recycling; unfortunately, the network connection to the printer wouldn’t work so we didn’t get this part printed in time. So, this tag will be on the next order:

…Gnome Philosophy stuff in small writing for anyone who cares to read Gnome humour.

We use all our stuff on our own pets; they are very healthy and have the reassuring smell of sulphur to them:

This is a picture of the very friendly bossie of the Farm Store. He is a lovely young man:

So, you can now get our pet stuff at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda. The products will be posted up in the Apothecary soon for those of you living outside Toledo or outside of Belize.

Belize, Medical Related, Philosophy

Only in Belize…!

June 15, 2015 Munchkin

I have a nice story to share with you today. It is a heart-warming story that makes me feel connected with the community of Punta Gorda and at large, humanity.

About a week ago, I received an early morning phone call from the daughter one of our many patients. She was naturally distressed because her elderly father had fallen on the floor. Unfortunately, we were in Belize City at that time so we were unable to come to her aid. However, I did tell her that it was imperative that she take her father to hospital (in Punta Gorda) urgently. I detected some hesitancy from her because she was unsure as to whether she and her husband could physically carry him out of the house and into their truck. I understood her concerns and I stated that there was simply no ambulance service available but nevertheless, it was of utmost importance that he be seen by a medical doctor.

On the same day, the daughter phoned to give me an update and said that her father was stable and improving in hospital.

I didn’t hear anything more until a couple of days ago. The father had been discharged from hospital and we came out to do a check-up. When we arrived at the house, we were met by the daughter. She was very pleased with her father’s progress and said to us mysteriously, “I will let my dad tell you about the ride in the pick-up truck…”

When we saw the father, he was lying down and it was clear that he had been through a very difficult and trying week. Despite all this, he smiled and beamed with relief when he saw us. The first thing he said to us, as he chuckled to himself, was “Oh, I need to tell you about my first ride on the back of a pick-up truck…”

So this is the “pick-up story”: The daughter had run out to her neighbour and asked them for help in getting her dad into her truck. The neighbour shouted an incomprehensible list of commands in Creole over her shoulder and the next thing she knew there were six young men, armed with blankets, standing by her side. The six men (I imagine in my head, six very strong burly men) ran like soldiers to the house and swooped the father up effortlessly and carried him in a blanket onto the back of the pick-up truck. As they drove the bumpy ride to the hospital, the men acted as a human cushion to stop the father from rolling about on the truck.

The neighbour had also called ahead to the hospital to inform them of the imminent arrival. And so, everything was done in a timely, co-ordinated manner as soon as they reached hospital.

I smiled when I heard this story. This shows community spirit and compassion. In times of crisis, they rally together and give support to one another. This is truly priceless and no amount of facilities and public services can replace the warmth and humility that is necessary in times of need.

Belize, Food

Shopping in Punta Gorda.

May 27, 2015 Munchkin

We often get used to our surroundings so that we do not even consider that normal, everyday things can be viewed as a unique experience or an opportunity for creativity. I often talk about my Wednesdays in Punta Gorda but I have not realised until now that it is a perfect opportunity to show you our world of Toledo, Belize.

The town market is busiest on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The market stalls are located all the way down Front Street. Most stalls contain the usual stuff like onions, carrots, sweet peppers, cilantro and tomatoes. The usual fruits are papayas, pineapples, limes and whatever is in season. Mamey sapote are in season right now; these two specimens have not ripened yet but I will be sure to post a tasting once they are ready to eat.

There is actually not a whole lot of variety from stall to stall but if you take some time to look, there are some interesting things.

If you care to walk all the way to the end of the stalls, which is about 100 yards, you will come across the smaller vendors. These are usually Mayans from far away villages who bring a couple of pig tail buckets to sell of anything that they can find in their backyard, forest or village. This is where you find more unusual foods.

Here, I found a lady selling young pumpkins. These can be cooked and eaten like zucchini (or courgettes, if you are European).

I also found a jar of ground, toasted pumpkin seeds:

And, this is what we had for lunch. Steamed young pumpkin seasoned with the pumpkin seed condiment. This is an example for taking some very simple ingredients to make something delicious and fresh.

Steamed Pumpkin with Pumpkin Seed Condiment.

Oh, last but not least. A visit to the ubiquitous Chinese store affords some opportunity for giggles if you take the time to peruse over flayed meat. This is what I found next to the Dak…looking for a Bra?!!!

Bra’s Luncheon Meat comes in Chicken and Pork flavours from Brazil, of course. Check out the serving suggestions…don’t they make you salivate with anticipation?

Casa Mascia Apothecary

Tag Archives: Punta Gorda

Town Day.

Neem and Jackass Bitters Soap is Ready!!

Our Pet Dip and Pet Soap.

Shopping in Punta Gorda.

Everything Handmade in Belize.