Wednesday Racket (OT)

It's winter vacation season, so I'm kicking this OT thread off with a quick report on my trip to Belize. We had a wonderful time because this small Central American nation is slightly off the beaten path, and so we didn't have to deal with some of the unpleasant baggage we carry the moment we actually become tourists - as opposed to, say, anglers or hunters going somewhere for a specific purpose.

How can you not love a country that has only three traffic lights (we went through two of them as we left our port of arrival, Belize City)? On a more personal note, seeinng  that every other vehicle was a pick-up truck of uncertain vintage with a cracked windshield, a clothes hanger antenna, and dented fenders made me feel right at home. Belize is a poor, sparsely populated country loaded with fine people representing a dazzling mix of blood lines - Portugese, Mayan, African, Mexican, Guatemalan, Mestizo, Chinese, Creole, to name (very loosely) a few.

That probably explains why they're so relaxed about issues like race and ethnicity; they just can't be bothered splitting the hairs. Hail, they're even nice to all those grim, righteous eco-tourists who descend on their land!

Cowboy Luke was a little wound up on the flight, but as we approached Belize City I told him that it was one of those Mayan ruins mommy wanted to see. "See that big, flat building?" I asked, pointing to some sort of warehouse. "That's the famous Sacrificial Altar of Naughty Little Boys." That settled him down pretty good.

We spent three days in the jungle at *Banana Bank Lodge*  in the the interior. It was built by an expatriated Montanan, John Carr. Belize is part of the empire of the horse - a culture that slowly drifted down from Texas and Mexico as the Spanish introduced the horse to the New World; eventually, it traveled all the way down to the Pampas of Argentina. Luke too his first solo ride on a horse named Misty, whose foal Hobo tagged along, nursing whenever he had the opportunity.

Tune in on Friday for the exciting conclusion of the Bodo family Belize Vacation! Excitement! Adventure! Horses! Snakes! Planes! Sunscreen! Mayan ruins! Giant maneating bugs! Hot babes on a tropical beach!