Here is another Munchkin and Gnome Game which might become famous once we are minor celebrities. So, even although it seems like we are the only ones that find this game humourous, it is our hope that this might catch on at some point…”go viral” so-to-speak. However, I would like to give a Big Thank-you to Ginja Bwai for playing this game with us once.
Last week, we spotted a Fridge On A Pickup at Tommy’s Superstore in Bella Vista.
Gnome:
“Quick, quick, get a picture before you miss it!”
Munchkin:
“Yeah but…how can I miss it? It’s not moving!”
Fridge On A Pickup.
Gnome:
“Sorry Babes, but you do have a habit of missing them!”
Spotting a Fridge On A Pickup means 1000 points!!
And we have had close calls in the past as I fumbled around for the camera as the truck and fridge came whizzing by. Look! It’s speeding away!! There have been a few fast and furious car chases in Belize with Munchkin and Gnome!
White Goods On A Pickup.
Anyway here are the Point Allocations for the spotting of Goods (and assorted paraphernilia) on a Pickup (with a picture):
Fridge 1000pts.
Washing Machine 900pts.
Freezer 850pts.
Estufa (Spanish for Stove) 800pts.
Boca (Central American Chip Packets) 750pts.
Pig 500pts.
Tractor Wheels 500pts.
Large Ruminant 350pts.
Small Ruminants 250pts each.
When you spot the Fridge on a Pickup, the rule is to jiggle your bottom on the car seat and shout out,
“Fridge On A Pickup!!”
with whistles, loud expressive whooping and hand gesticulating.
Add up all your points and come to the sober realisation that none of this means anything and try to have More Fun!!
The Tao of Belize: Car Hailing was first introduced as a concept which encompassed the philosophy of symbolic communication on the roads of Belize. Last week we traveled on the mean roads of the country and opted to use the following hails:
Pointing Snake; Projection of Inner Knowledge.
Pointing Snake.
With intermittent Jaguar Paw; Respect To The Power of The Predator.
Jaguar Paw.
You could consider this as “Tai Chi On The Road”; powerful symbolism to soothe the souls of travellers. C’mon everyone…start with the Fundamental Five (Rabbit Ears, Double Gibnut, Pointing Snake, Jaguar Paw and Upward Facing Dog) and keep the Car Hailing Revolution going!
Last week, we had to go up to Belize City so we decided to do some Christmas shopping. We passed by the Santa Claus Garden Models and Gnome said rather warily,
“They are not that useful on a farm.”
Christmas Decorations.
Then we circled around the Jesus decorations wondering what to do with them. There was a large one and a small one to choose from.
Gnome squinted his eyes, moved his head around and gave me a perplexed and doubtful look,
“What do we do with them…mmm…everywhere I look, their eyes keep following me!”
And I piped up in response,
“Oh really! The tall one or the short one?”
I think Gnome was secretly peeved because there were no Garden Gnomes!
Christmas Gnome.
Anyway, we both agreed that it was not in our best interest to buy a Festive Garden Decoration. We then proceeded to the footwear section and something caught our eye. It was a “Must Have” and we both took off our shoes with glee to try these beauties on.
Definitely Munchkin and Gnome.
New boots for Christmas…more Munchkin and Gnome paraphernalia. When we become famous minor celebrities, these boots will be much sought after so now is the time to buy shares in yellow wellies!
Whenever we leave the farm, I always carry our trusty Duckie Bag with us. It has a silver Mallard Symbol and has an upside down (?) duckie pattern.
Duckie Bag!
This is our travel food bag and I never leave home without it. We never like to “feel caught out” in town (or on the highway traveling) having to procure water or a hot drink. On a minimal shopping day out in Punta Gorda, I will bring two litres of water, 1 litre flask of hot water, coffee and tea. Oh, and of course, a packet of Digestive biscuits! So, whenever we feel like a break, we will pull over in the truck and make a nice hot drink together and dip our biscuits in the hot beverage. Awwwhhh…so romantic!! I have even bought special drinking cups for the occasion! His and Hers; Munchkin and Gnome Paraphernalia.
Travel Cups For Munchkin and Gnome.
Right now, we have been bringing our special Teh Tarik tea from Singapore to have “on-the-go.”
Teh Tarik.
It’s all in the name having fun, doing something different and saving money. What a Triple Combo!!
A few weeks back when we were travelling on the highway from Belize City to Belmopan, this is what happened:
Sharp Eyes.
Gnome: Oooooh look…broom corn!
This picture makes it look deceptively big but when you are travelling in a vehicle at 110kph, everything looks green and blurry. Gnome managed to spot a wild edible with his sharp eyes! This is also funny because he has recently complained of eyesight problems and thinks that he requires a new prescription for his spectacles. Anyway, he screeched to a halt and then did a U-turn to bring us back round to the corn. I didn’t get a chance to say anything, because it all happened so quickly.
He jumped out of the car to grab a specimen for seeds.
Broom Corn.
In the usual Gnome style, he attemped to procure a plant to take back to the farm. You can just imagine what all the drivers were thinking as they zoomed by on the highway, catching a glimpse of Gnome on his hands and knees, digging a plant out from the ground!
Pulling Up Broom Corn.
Broom corn is Sorghum bicolor and is also commonly known as sorghum. It is a grass species which is cultivated for its grain. The grain can be used to make breads and can be popped like “pop-corn.” In large scale cultivation, it can be a source of ethanol fuel and sorghum syrup. Also, you can make brooms out of them hence the popular name. It can be used to feed animals and guinea pigs are rather fond of this type of grass.
Well, in our usual Munchkin and Gnome Style, we were both rather chuffed with ourselves for finding such a useful plant on the highway in Belize. It just goes to show that you need to be on the look out all the time if you are a serious forager!! Just drive safely while you do it!
Hi Everyone!! We are back. The truck has brand new universal joints so it no longer makes that funny creaking noise at the back. We feel so much better for not hearing the truck groan and complain! We had a much nicer time once we started on the road again, driving down the Southern Highway, away from Belize City.
We stopped at the Taiwanese Store, outside of Belize City. Everytime, I go there, I always point at things in a curious way and ask the owners what they are and how to cook them. This is because a lot of food is not labelled or labelled in Chinese only. This time, the owners were having lunch and offered to share some of it with us.
Our Taiwanese Friends.
We were most honoured by their generosity, and as we ate, the lady pointed to the various food packets and condiments to explain to me the ingredients which she had used. In typical Chinese teaching fashion (this is how I learned to cook from my mum), they told me to taste the dishes so that I could mimic the flavours through memory.
The Taiwanese couple are vegetarian so most of their food is soya-based (bean curd mostly) with plenty of fresh greens and vegetables and rice as the staple, of course. In this instance, they used dehydrated beancurd as a main protein source, in different sizes, to give various textures and consistency. The greens that they were eating were sweet potato greens. They also cooked some of their own fresh bamboo shoots. The food was delicious and had the taste of home-cooked Chinese fare. The couple was also rather impressed by Gnome’s use of chopsticks and general Chinese etiquette (Gnome, the Chinese Wannabee).
Taiwanese Food For Lunch.
Here are the various types of dehydrated tofu. I will write more about these in another post. The different shapes and sizes give the appearances of different cuts of meat. For instance, the small stringy ones mimic the consistency of minced (ground) meat. I never considered being a vegetarian before this but I could definitely handle eating this food everyday.
Different Types of Dried Tofu.
I spotted some dried Lion’s Mane Mushrooms, Hericium erinaceus; also known as Monkey Heads. This one will have a future post, I promise you!
Monkey Head Mushroom.
Anyway, back on the road, there were road works on the Highway from Belize City to Belmopan. There was even road congestion and a small traffic jam in Belmopan (wow…never seen before…the country is developing).
Road Works in Belmopan.
There were numerous police stops presumably because the country is on nationwide alert for the wanted man, El Chapo (the “notorious Kingpin”), who recently escaped from a Mexican prison by digging a one mile tunnel out to escape. Sounds like something out of a movie, doesn’t it?
We used “Rabbit Ears” mostly as our hailing signal on the road. Protection to All!
Rabbit Ears. Hailing In Belize.
Homeward bound, we saw a veritable bounty of white goods on a pick-up truck. One Fridge, One Freezer, 2 Mattresses and an Amoire. What an auspicious find.
Super Bonus Pick-up.
Once we hit the Toledo, the road was definitely quieter with no police stops within the district. Definitely the “Forgotten District.”
I am writing this post at 10am today and I have scheduled this to come up later this evening. We are waiting for our car service (that part was done over-night) and now the replacing of an array of ball-joints and universal joints. If you can recall a previous post from two weeks ago, we had complained of all sorts of funny creaking and screeching noises emitting from the rear of the truck. We did come to the conclusion, in our professional opinion, that it was a “God-Knows-Watsit-Joint-Problem.” So here we are, stuck in Belize with really slooow Internet. We also stayed over-night at a hotel in Belize City with virtually no Internet (although they boasted Free WiFi). I now feel better about our really bad Internet access; I always thought it was due to the fact that we lived in the middle of nowhere. No, it actually appears that the problem is across the whole country, regardless of location.
Anyway, I am not that bothered about the Internet being slow. It is not as if my life depends upon it and that I will fade into nothingness without the distractions of a computer screen in front of me. Although, I have seen some people react in such an irrational way…I am not sure what emergency emails they are basing their whole existence upon.
I am hoping that we can get out soon. The waiting is really tedious with bad television (we haven’t watched television for 20 years). The adverts get really ridiculous; seems like everything is marketed to the hilt and sensationalised. Also, the law firm adverts are really scary…makes it sound like you can get sued at any moment. Boy, I am so glad that I live in Belize with no television. It is a simpler life out here.
Let’s hope we can get out of Big City soon so that we can get on with our schedule. So far, no schedule has been fulfilled!!
We did see a fridge on a pick-up yesterday. Didn’t get a picture because it zoomed straight pass us I fumbled about looking for the camera!
This is intended as an introduction to the unspoken customs of Belize. Car Hailing is a particular idiosyncrasy pertaining to the Toledo district, the southernmost part of Belize. If you ever go outside of the district, you will find that you can “car hail” amongst fellow Toledo people so it becomes even more esoteric and meaningful. Nevertheless, this is just a simple and friendly way of “saying Hello” to drivers on the road and it is of particular importance in such a small community where everybody knows each other.
Symbolism is a means of communication without words and so we have ascribed a name to each of the hailing types in order to give meaning to the gesture. Above all, it is just about having fun. So here are the Fundamental Five:
Rabbit Ears: Gentle but kind. Offers Protection to All on the Road.
Car Hailing in Belize: Rabbit Ears.
Double Gibnut: Double Luck. Gibnut are solitary creatures and are rarely found in pairs.
Car Hailing in Belize: Double Gibnut.
Pointing Snake: Projection of Inner Knowledge.
Car Hailing in Belize: Pointing Snake.
Jaguar Paw: Respect to the Power of the Predator.
Car Hailing in Belize: Jaguar Paw.
Upward Facing Dog: Companionship.
Car Hailing in Belize: Upward Facing Dog.
Ok, everybody, let’s start the car hailing revolution. Actions speak louder than words.
When we drive out of our farm, we usually turn right towards the Southern Highway to Punta Gorda. The road to the left is “the road less travelled” which is called Barranco Road. Here are some pictures as we drive down this road.
Roberts’ Ranch Gate.
This is the nearest property…It is called “Roberts’ Ranch.” We believe that “Roberts” lives in the States because over the course of the ten years that we have been here, there have been a series of farm “managers”/ caretakers for the place. This farm is huge…a mile squared so they say and it has chain-link all around the property. This used to be a cattle ranch but as years went by, the cattle slowly disappeared one by one until there was nothing left. There were rumours of cattle rustlers and talk of caretakers trying to settle bills with cattle…who knows? There was a time when everyone was feverish over all the gossip at this ranch so it is difficult to say which stories are true. All we know now is that this place is empty with no cattle or people living on it. Also, the only bit of chain-link fence left is the strip at the front, so we have been told.
About 200 yards down the road, you will reach San Felipe Village. Population is between 200 to 300 and I think that this village was established sometime in the 1970’s. As you can see, most people live in the wooden houses with thatch roofing. There are significant signs of change with more cement house construction and cable satellite dishes in some of the yards.
San Felipe Village.Cement House in San Felipe Village.
This is the road as you drive out of San Felipe Village. It is really quite a view (we get so used to it that we don’t even think about it).
Dirt Road.
There are magnificent Mayan mountains all around as you trundle down the dirt road.
Oh, I can not believe that I forgot to mention that we had found a puffball mushroom whilst on our travels the last few days. We had just driven up to the Taiwanese shop and the next thing I knew, Gnome had scrambled out quickly and was on his hands and knees in the grassy field beside the car-park.
He was so excited because he had spotted a puff-ball mushroom. These are edible and some of them can get to the size of footballs. We have never had the pleasure of eating one but apparently you can slice them and cook them like steaks.
Ripe Puffball.
We took this specimen back to the farm and Gnome stomped all over it on the grass to disperse the spores. Hope to have puffball steak sometime soon!!
