FALCONVIEW BACKPACKERS ADVENTURE HOSTEL new photo April, 2009

Recent photo of Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel.

The breadfruit tree on the right in front got trimmed and so you can now see the three story annex in the background. The top floor is a funky furnished apartment, varnished pine wood paneling inside and at the rear is the first of the two hydroponic nurseries. The second floor of the annex has another one bedroom furnished apartment and a dormitory to the rear, or southern side. This photo was taken after the sun had set in order to get the angle. Unfortunately, my digital camera chose that moment to stop working as the batteries became too weak. I will get another photo another day.

Benque Viejo Town Council photo image

This is the Benque Viejo Town Council along with the two local area representatives from Central Government.

Benque Viejo Town is the place two miles from the Customs and Immigration at the border with Peten, Guatemala. Benque has a very active cultural and community affairs in Cayo District, of Western Belize. Once this used to be the mahogany trade and before that the chicle gum trade from the surrounding jungles. The jungles are pretty much gone now and everything has changed and become more modern.

BELIZE HIGH SCHOOL RAISES MONEY FOR FLOODED PRIMARY SCHOOL

Bank Street in San Ignacio Town, Belize
SACRED HEART JUNION COLLEGE OF SAN IGNACIO RAISES FUNDS TO HELP FLOODED PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN CAYO DISTRICT

Teaching human values of community help was done at Sacred Heart Junior College ( High School ) with the sponsorship of Mr. Luis Puga, Mr. Oscar Puga and Mr. Obed Contreras. A fund raising dance was held at PLANET OKIS in Benque Viejo Town near the border town with Guatemala. The three businessmen mentioned above helped with hosting and advertising the event. Entrance fees for the dance were collected by Mr. Keith Westby, a Math Lecturer at the San Ignacio Sacred Heart Junion College and by Ms. Judy Vasquez.
The DJ LEXUS provided the music. Contests, prizes and surprises were part of the evening. HANNAH’S RESTAURANT favorite of the tourists, for a wide menu and inside décor supplied a prize. The funds were to assist the CALLA CREEK PRIMARY SCHOOL. There was a need to replace books, a very big expense to local people, the materials and school supplies lost during the October Great Flood of 2008. A & R store in Santa Elena Town offered discounted prices for most of the school supplies. Mr. Hugo Salazar a student of the High School, promoted the values and mission of this fund raising community, self help program.
A Canadian visitor, a SNOW BIRD tourist, Mrs. Isabel Osbourne was staying at Martha’s Kitchen and went back to Canada, returning in November with materials and funds collected from the Great White North, to help our primary schools hurt by the October flooding here in the Cayo District. She then donated her time at the Cornerstone Foundation. For a tourist she worked hard, sweltering in the hot kitchens at the Cornerstone preparing meals for their primary school feeding program for poverty children.
The lessons being imparted to the community and students at Sacred Heart, were to be socially responsible citizens, and promote values, excellence, innovation and productivity in our Western District Recreational Area, Cayo District of Belize.

BELIZE HIGH SCHOOL RAISES MONEY FOR FLOODED PRIMARY SCHOOL

SACRED HEART JUNION COLLEGE OF SAN IGNACIO RAISES FUNDS TO HELP FLOODED PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN CAYO DISTRICT

Teaching human values of community help was done at Sacred Heart Junior College ( High School ) with the sponsorship of Mr. Luis Puga, Mr. Oscar Puga and Mr. Obed Contreras. A fund raising dance was held at PLANET OKIS in Benque Viejo Town near the border town with Guatemala. The three businessmen mentioned above helped with hosting and advertising the event. Entrance fees for the dance were collected by Mr. Keith Westby, a Math Lecturer at the San Ignacio Sacred Heart Junion College and by Ms. Judy Vasquez.
The DJ LEXUS provided the music. Contests, prizes and surprises were part of the evening. HANNAH’S RESTAURANT favorite of the tourists, for a wide menu and inside décor supplied a prize. The funds were to assist the CALLA CREEK PRIMARY SCHOOL. There was a need to replace books, a very big expense to local people, the materials and school supplies lost during the October Great Flood of 2008. A & R store in Santa Elena Town offered discounted prices for most of the school supplies. Mr. Hugo Salazar a student of the High School, promoted the values and mission of this fund raising community, self help program.
A Canadian visitor, a SNOW BIRD tourist, Mrs. Isabel Osbourne was staying at Martha’s Kitchen and went back to Canada, returning in November with materials and funds collected from the Great White North, to help our primary schools hurt by the October flooding here in the Cayo District. She then donated her time at the Cornerstone Foundation. For a tourist she worked hard, sweltering in the hot kitchens at the Cornerstone preparing meals for their primary school feeding program for poverty children.
The lessons being imparted to the community and students at Sacred Heart, were to be socially responsible citizens, and promote values, excellence, innovation and productivity in our Western District Recreational Area, Cayo District of Belize.

TAIWAN SCHOLARSHIPS FOR BELIZEANS

Taiwanese flag.


TAIWAN SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE TO BELIZEANS

The Taiwan 2009 scholarship program starts Septermber 2009 and is available to Belize students. You must have finished High School level. There are educational scholarships for Belize students at the UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL as well as at the GRADUATE level.
A Mandarin Language program is offered also, to enrich the Belizean students experience and capability to take the courses. The language course is only offered to first year students. The Undergraduate program is good for four years. The Masters Degree program is good for two years. The PHd program is good for three years. No award to a Belizean student can exceed five years. Applications can be got from the Taiwanese Embassy.
The scholarships include $900 usa, or $1800 Belize a month for accommodations and school books in Taiwan. Round trip economy class airfare.
Programs available are the Agricultural Economics Masters Program, Business Administration undergraduate level. Health Care Administration Masters Degree. Human Resource Development. Masters and PHd in Public Health. Program in Marines Sciences. Masters in Nursing. Masters in Industrial Engineering. Undergraduate Program in International Trade. MBA program. Civil Engineering program. Masters in Technology Management. Information Systems and Science. Masters in Clinical Medicine. Undergraduate program in mechanical engineering. Masters in plastic injection and moulding. Undergraduate program for Central American students in tropical conditions. Masters in Tropical Agriculture. Phd in Tropical Agriculture.

2009 NATIONAL BELIZE AGRICULTURE SHOW IN APRIL

Showing agriculture products


NATIONAL BELIZE AGRICULTURE SHOW TO START APRIL 30TH.

This year’s Agriculture Show will start and run from April 30th, until the 3rd of May in the Belmopan Fair grounds in central and Western Belize. Companies and institutions from Mexico and our Central American neighbors of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are expected to also participate. There is a big market for Belizeans in agriculture, supplying the needs of our neighbors in Central America. The FAIR has the usual midway for the children, with rides and games. This year a continuation of the bronco riding RODEO and the TRAIL BIKE obstacle course and sky jumping on trail bikes will be continued. The latter contests are usually dominated by Mennonite teenagers, with competition fierce between teenagers from the Mennonite farming communities of Blue Creek and Spanish Lookout. The website on the fair is at: www.agriculture.gov.bz click on the NATS webpage.
The show grounds are hot in what is our mid-summer dry season. Bring your own folding chair and sun umbrella. There will be the usual booths to showcase merchandise to enhance agriculture. This year, the big thing is going to be pre-fabricated green houses, if some local entrepreneur gets himself busy. Water spraying systems and plant root drip feeders for hydroponics are another big thing open to an entrepreneur. The local demand is rising for these difficult to find materials and products.

February Belize Agriculture News 2009

One of the green parrots who are carrying tales of news around Cayo District to my window.



AGRICULTURE NEWS AND GOSSIP IN CAYO WEST UNDER THE BREADFRUIT TREE!

Can’t vouch for any of the following, but the rumor mill, in the shape of a few tiny GREEN PARROTS stopped by my house and told me the following, while sitting on the branches outside the living room window.
SPANISH LOOKOUT had TWO BIG OIL SPILLS about ten days ago. None of the media have been alerted, or reported same in newspapers or on television, and the government is to be congratulated on keeping a lid on this environmental disaster. Must be what they call a D notice in the UK?
Genetically modified seeds are sporadically and selectively being banned in Belize, but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it? You can buy genetically modified vegetable seeds of sorts, except like corn and beans. Papaya grown for export are supposed to be genetically modified varieties. We also import all of our genetically modified cereals like Corn Flakes from the USA, which are genetically modified produce sold in cardboard boxes, mostly by the USA and Mexico for human consumption.
The BIO SAFETY committee that makes these decisions does not have a single respectable big farmer on the committee for decision making, so it is said. Farmers over in Spanish Lookout say there is more danger from the massive insecticides they have to apply, than from genetically modified seeds, approved by UK research, or from the USA FDA.
You hear a lot about government agriculture assistance and protections, but one farmer reported that he just had to pay 90% duty on his PVC irrigation pipes for his crops.
Some farmers want a FREE TRADE DEAL with our neighboring Central American countries. The argument is that we can compete, because of the transportation costs, versus bulk production. They allege our GOVERNMENT is saying no! The CABINET of course is run by non-farmers from the port town mostly. Very intelligent people down in that port town on agriculture issues
There is a bureaucratic and political desire for us to export to CARICOM, but the only market that works is for small loads of beans. CARICOM seems to be a loser for economic trade policy. When the bureaucrats are asked to provide foreign export markets, they back off, even though the CABINET keep announcing in press releases, of all the various government departments, that are SUPPOSED to locate export markets, presumably collecting big time salaries to do so? There should be some sort of supervision and report card for bureaucrat market researchers in government departments. We need a scorecard to see how well they are performing. Any chance of getting a list of names and phone numbers? The bureaucrats tell producers they must find their own information, but we farmers have no internet and can’t do so. The government according to farmers is dysfunctional in the export marketing realm.
There was more gossip, but the last parrot had flown away, before I could write all this stuff down, so I tend to forget.

Galen University of Belize hosts 45 International students for the Spring 2009 Program

GALEN UNIVERSITY 2009 SPRING SEMESTER

Galen University is hosting 45 FOREIGN STUDENTS from different lands in their Spring 2009 semester, STUDY ABROAD program. Galen University is located five miles from the town of Santa Elena, going East on the Western Highway, and is next door to the Government of Belize, Central Farm Research Facility and University of Belize, Agriculture College.
Galen University courses are in English and the University has relationships with US Universities for the accreditation of USA Degrees. This attracts students from South America, to practice their English and also to get USA diplomas and certifications. The degrees are done through Galen University ( a private University ) in Belize using DISTANCE LEARNING programs with Universities in the USA. Professors locally supervise and visiting professors come in to do exams and that sort of thing within their academic relationship. The University is an investment by a University system in GREECE.

GUATEMALA DECEIVES BELIZE in new foreign policy gambit!

ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME !
by Ray Auxillou

I think it was Belizean Attorney General introduced that phrase into the discussion of the BRAND NEW GUATEMALAN CLAIM. This phrase continues to resonate negatively in the media and is very damaging to the psyche of the country of Belize, because it is a pure lie. A piece of deceitful fabrication, or disinformation. The media keep using this phrase regarding taking the NEW GUATEMALAN CLAIM to go to the International Court. "ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME" was true enough when the United Nations voted to make us INDEPENDENT, in the UN CHARTER for self determination, but to keep repeating this negative phrase endlessly?
NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! Despite the fact it is foolish to gamble away any territory at the International Court, when you are in possession. Especially when the gamble is YOU, or us, risking everything, and Guatemala risking NOTHING. That is a damned stupid gamble.
What makes my hair stand up on end, and aggravates my bile, is that phrase the media of the port town in Belize keep trotting out. We can settle this ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME! What a bollocks of a lie! If we go to the ICJ.
As long as Guatemala has a paragraph in their Constitution making it treason for anyone to discuss giving up the BELIZE CLAIM, nothing can be ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME. All it means is; if Guatemala goes to court and wins, she gets something for no risk. We lose! If we win the court case, the paragraph in their GUATEMALAN CONSTITUTION makes going to the International Court a big joke, on us. Guatemala will be back again in some other venue, if she loses this no risk gamble for them, and in another generation of politicians will be back just like now, with the CLAIM. Blaming that paragraph in their constitution as an excuse for their actions.
For the International Court and the Referendum to be FAIR, Guatemala would have to show GOOD FAITH and delete that paragraph claiming Belize from their Constitution. As long as the Guatemalan Constitution stands as it is now, Guatemala is not acting in GOOD FAITH. We cannot even discuss this subject with Guatemala, UNTIL they delete that paragraph from their CONSTITUTION, as a pre-requisite to even holding a REFERENDUM. None of this makes any sense otherwise.

Fortis electricity debate in Belize- FORTIS threatens to sell out!

FORTIS ELECTRICITY SUPPLY TV INTERVIEW, WITH STANLEY IN BELIZE

The head of FORTIS made no bones about, he wants to make money in the electricity business. Fair enough. The Belizean tv interviewers and he, went round and round in their questions and answers. FORTIS claim $10 million operating losses last year for BEL the distribution company and Stanley of FORTIS said he will no longer invest in the distribution company BEL under the PUC regime. He wants a return to a sort of guaranteed dividend system and that the Belize Government, present and past have not lived up to their agreement to establish some sort of system that will establish a guaranteed rate of return, or dividend. Belizeans under the new UDP government are trying to understand how big business works and were the money is. We are after all, a bunch of rural country bumpkins.
Stanley I think his name is; head of FORTIS the Canadian Electric Company running the pyramid of electrical companies, said BELIZE only represents 3% of their gross incomes in Canadian Fortis Company electrical supply, worldwide management services. I got the impression that the $3 billion investment in the country was enough now, that he would like to either get his way, or cash in his profits by selling the assets FORTIS now owns in Belize
There was considerable double talk and essentially he is angry that the profit that the companies make, are not being maintained. As Stanley explained it, they cannot keep up with depreciation costs. The cash profit flow is re-invested in expansion assets which are owned by FORTIS.
I listened to the pro and con and I was asking myself, why and what does he want out of Belize and where, if you take his talk at FACE VALUE, is their profit in FORTIS. The only way I could say, is by using an analogy of investing in a 300 apartment complex and how you make money off that. The loss is in the depreciation and the profit is the increase of the value of your property investment over time by appreciation. The cash flow you throw back into maintainance and write offs and you try to take some of the cash flow off, by some dividends and management costs. Long term investment though, you are holding and expanding the value of your assets, to resell some years down the road and that is where the real profit is. The money profit is the re-investment in the apartment complex, which over ten, or twenty years if you have maintained it and covered the depreciation amounts, from your rental cash flow, is your PROFIT, when you re-sell those assets. If done right, the apartment complex loses money over ten years, but since you use the money flow those apartments earn to maintain, while taking off your depreciation, you eventually have an investment that is FREE and CLEAR if you had borrowed loans to start off with, and now worth millions of dollars you can cash out when you sell. The apartment rents put back in the business, make you your profit when you re-sell over a long period of time.
In the case of the pyramid electrical companies in Belize, owned mostly by FORTIS, the value, or assets are now around $3 billion, I understand Stanley of FORTIS said. The thing is BELIZEANS have paid for it ALL. Except the original investment, which by now is covered, or written off, or fully depreciated. FORTIS just manage the overall investment. My understanding is; that he is fighting with the government right now, over the guaranteed rate of return, from which he takes off DIVIDENDS and the management fees? He may already have the management fees in the balance sheets, as an operating cost? I wouldn’t know about that. FORTIS he says are re-investing in the Belize Electricity system most of the BELIZEAN CUSTOMER CASH FLOW they are getting back and maintaining the value of the investment, in dams and distribution lines, or expanding these as re-investment ( which will be years ahead Fortis profit ) from the CASH FLOW supplied by the USERS which are the Belizean consumers, but while Belizean consumers are paying for EVERYTHING, through the Fortis management system, only FORTIS are accumulating ASSET WEALTH, because the electrical system they are expanding and building is the FORTIS profit eventually. If and when FORTIS decide to sell the operation to a world bidder. Stanley indicated he wanted to SELL out now and collect the $3 BILLION for FORTIS, the electrical operation in Belize, is now worth. Belizean consumers don’t own anything. We are just like renters in the apartment complex analogy. The electrical system of Belize, belongs to FORTIS the way it is setup.
Stanley of FORTIS is right in that he wants a properly regulated rate of return system and obviously there should be; a government to FORTIS dialogue. I don’t think either our PUC people, and certainly our CABINET people, understand the way BIG BUSINESS works. The profit for FORTIS, is actually in the building up of the assets value, by using consumers money. Fortis at some time can re-sell those growing valued assets to outside foreign world firms, or take the companies PUBLIC on the stock exchange and make money that way, with the assets they are acquiring by re-investing our consumers money wisely. I liked Stanley’s argument, that he wants to do it right, as to quality and service reliability, or NOT at all. I agree with that.
Belizeans apparently under the UDP and PUC are educating themselves on how this big business works! In the meantime, FORTIS is not covering depreciation cost losses, from Belizean consumers cash flows, which eventually reinvested turn into ASSET VALUE for Fortis. The rate of return and a system, or formula for calculating all this needs to be set in place.

FALCONVIEW ADVENTURE HOSTEL IN WESTERN BELIZE, EXPANDS CAPACITY

FALCONVIEW BACKPACKERS ADVENTURE HOSTEL LAUNCHES EXPANSION OF NEW TOURIST FURNISHED APARTMENT. A funky apartment, built on the third deck of the Hostel annex, next to the hydroponic vegetable experimental nursery. The apartment is built out of pine lumber, with the outside painted in green paint, while the inside apartment walls are done in VARNISH to show the grain of the beautiful lumber. Has a small bathroom, a kitchen, bedroom with a double decker, double bed for families and a verandah with hammocks, benches and chairs, that overlook the Belize River Valley to the Yalback Hills, eight miles away. The apartment also overlooks Green Parrot Valley and is on the steep West slope of the valley in the 100 house, civil service, residential community of Hillview. The hike into Santa Elena Town of which the hostel is a part is about a half mile. To the banking section of San Ignacio town across the river, the walk is about 2 miles and takes 35 minutes.
Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel now has a dormitory with eight beds and three baths in the main building. A living room with chairs, hammocks and Television lounge room and a big long communal kitchen for guests and four table and chairs eating dining area. The HOSTEL is renowned for security and expediting guests with the best deals around the Cayo District for adventures and tours. Ray and Silvia Auxillou a retired couple keep building and expanding the facility. They currently have the lower dormitory in the main building, where they also live in a central house and two furnished tourist overnight rental apartments in the annex. Capacity right now is 12 persons and by April/09 they figure they will have the second second floor dormitory finished with four more beds, giving a capacity of 16 persons. They are still building and hope to accomodate 18 guests by June, 2009.
Being a short way out of town in the expanding, but more rural atmosphere of Santa Elena hill town they usually always have beds available. The service is superb! This is a HACIENDA type facility and compared to the enormous huge HOSTELS of Australia one could say this one in Belize, is more small and folksy. Ray's daughter Tina also has a HOSTEL on the beach at Caye Caulker which is always FULL, due to the Caribbean sea, the barrier reef and the party atmosphere the floating guests enjoy.

Website for the HOSTEL is: http://folkmusicfl.tripod.com/adventuresinbelize/

NEWS ITEMS FROM WESTERN BELIZE, JAN. 5, 2009

NEWS FROM WESTERN BELIZE JAN. 5TH, 2009

Honey has gone up about a 100% in price, from around $8 bz a quart to over $15 Bz a quart. Some people are also complaining that there is price fixing in the Macal River market vegetable stalls. Grumbles heard from housewives, say that the stall holders seem to be agreeing on what prices to charge.

TWIN TOWNS TOWN BOARD has a notice up, that TRADE LICENSES not paid for this week, ( by the 10th ) will be fined an extra late paying fee of $150. Most trade licenses only cost about that anyway, for small businesses, or around $175 in our case.

Got to pay property taxes as well and currently we usually keep ourselves one year pre-paid in good standing.

HILLVIEW hasn't had any garbage pickup for starting six weeks now, from the TOWN BOARD of the TWIN TOWNS. The side road has been graded up just past Eden High School for the second time in the past three months. The grader does not come into our streets up in HILLVIEW though.

HANNAHS RESTAURANT a favorite of TOURISTS in the banking sector of downtown San Ignacio is reporting record setting tourist numbers since Christmas. PACZ TOURS say they are doing good also. We have been getting email reservations, but people have not shown up for the most part. An annual problem we attribute to the bus drivers not letting backpacker tourists for us off at the EDEN HIGH SCHOOL side road, at the entrance for Santa Elena Town. We have a sign on the highway, but when the bus drivers and conducters take our people across the river into San Ignacio, we lose them to the hustlers working for the hotels there. Plus we have difficulty for our business, because we cannot get internet service in HILLVIEW our suburb of Santa Elena Town. Lack of internet is hurting us a lot financially. Caye Caulker is reporting they are swamped with tourists. The Western Belize Recreational Area, Tourist season seems good for January. Though on Sunday we didn't see much tourists at Xununtanich Mayan ruins, other than busloads of CRUISE SHIP tourist groups. Not our local overnighters like usual. Magana Pottery Works in San Jose Succotz was complaining on low sales of pottery items at the tourist stalls by the Xununtanich ferry and said he has not been able to sell any, to CRUISE SHIP concessionaires.
Our new third floor apartment, a funky pine wood siding furnished apartment was ready and got christened by a new couple for a couple of nights, to test it out. Looks cute with all that varnished wood inside. Real homey with their own verandah, kitchen, etc. and couple of hammocks and benches looking over the two valleys we have here for scenery. Weather has been good and dry this January.

FALCONVIEW BACKPACKERS ADVENTURE HOSTEL CHRISTENS NEW FUNKY THIRD FLOOR APARTMENT IN THE ANNEX

NEWS FROM WESTERN BELIZE JAN. 5TH, 2009

Honey has gone up about a 100% in price, from around $8 bz a quart to over $15 Bz a quart. Some people are also complaining that there is price fixing in the Macal River market vegetable stalls. Grumbles heard from housewives, say that the stall holders seem to be agreeing on what prices to charge.

TWIN TOWNS TOWN BOARD has a notice up, that TRADE LICENSES not paid for this week, ( by the 10th ) will be fined an extra late paying fee of $150. Most trade licenses only cost about that anyway, for small businesses, or around $175 in our case.

Got to pay property taxes as well and currently we usually keep ourselves one year pre-paid in good standing.

HILLVIEW hasn't had any garbage pickup for starting six weeks now, from the TOWN BOARD of the TWIN TOWNS. The side road has been graded up just past Eden High School for the second time in the past three months. The grader does not come into our streets up in HILLVIEW though.

HANNAHS RESTAURANT a favorite of TOURISTS in the banking sector of downtown San Ignacio is reporting record setting tourist numbers since Christmas. PACZ TOURS say they are doing good also. We have been getting email reservations, but people have not shown up for the most part. An annual problem we attribute to the bus drivers not letting backpacker tourists for us off at the EDEN HIGH SCHOOL side road, at the entrance for Santa Elena Town. We have a sign on the highway, but when the bus drivers and conducters take our people across the river into San Ignacio, we lose them to the hustlers working for the hotels there. Plus we have difficulty for our business, because we cannot get internet service in HILLVIEW our suburb of Santa Elena Town. Lack of internet is hurting us a lot financially. Caye Caulker is reporting they are swamped with tourists. The Western Belize Recreational Area, Tourist season seems good for January. Though on Sunday we didn't see much tourists at Xununtanich Mayan ruins, other than busloads of CRUISE SHIP tourist groups. Not our local overnighters like usual. Magana Pottery Works in San Jose Succotz was complaining on low sales of pottery items at the tourist stalls by the Xununtanich ferry and said he has not been able to sell any, to CRUISE SHIP concessionaires.
Our new third floor apartment, a funky pine wood siding furnished apartment was ready and got christened by a new couple for a couple of nights, to test it out. Looks cute with all that varnished wood inside. Real homey with their own verandah, kitchen, etc. and couple of hammocks and benches looking over the two valleys we have here for scenery. Weather has been good and dry this January.

Young Belizean couple buying at the Macal River market in Western Belize

Young Belizean couple in the Saturday morning Macal River market of the Twin Towns out in Western Belize Agricultural and Recreational Area. January 3, 2009

WESTERN BELIZE TWIN TOWNS GET FANCY INTERNET CAFE AND STARBUCKS STYLE COFFEE HOUSE!

This is the NEW INTERNET CAFE ( BELIZE DIGITAL EXPRESS ) across the narrow main street of Santa Elena Town in Western Belize, Cayo District, Recreational Area, across from the AGRO PRO feed and fertilizer store. The girl is Maria Jiron, who is 21 years old and has a daughter. The unique thing about this Internet Cafe in Santa Elena Town, a typical dusty Central American agriculture and tourist town, is that it is the first place in the TWIN TOWNS to combine an Internet Cafe with Vivians Coffee House. They serve Frappuccino for $6.50 which has ice cream in it, they also serve frozen coffee for $5.50, hot Cappunicio for $4.50 and hot Latte. There are Nachos to munch on, ice cream, Sundaes and other good stuff. This is the first time the WESTERN BELIZE RECREATIONAL AREA has seen anything modern like this. They seem to be doing good business as well. I was surprised to see teenagers and people in their twenties queing up to buy what for me is a rather expensive delicacy. I myself usually eat at the Hindu Restaurant across the river and $2.50 will buy me a Ginger Lime juice in a big glass and a Somoza, which is a kind of pastry that has inside it various vegetables. $5 for a coffee strains my Scottish frugal genes.

CAVERS VISITING BELIZE HAVE NEW HOME!

We have a NEW additional website for CAVERS coming to Belize. See the following!

http://tropicalhydroponics/tripod.com/forbelizecaversspelunkersspeliologists

If you have a group of cave explorers, then give us a call tel: 663 5580
We can probably serve you as base headquarters. We have a warehouse to store your gear, garden hoses to wash down the equipment, cloths lines to hang up your washed clothes. A recreational room with hammocks and television, dormitory with bunk beds, two furnished apartments with toilet-showers, verandah, bedroom and kitchen. Each apartment sleeps two in one bed, though the newer apartment can sleep two seperately in a queen sized bunk bed. A second dormitory will be ready by March we hope. We have only to do the windows and beds to finish up there. Currently we can accomodate for 2009, twelve persons in the dorm and two apartments. By March we hope to add four more beds, so we can handle groups of sixteen persons.

Our regular website is: http://folkmusicfl.tripod.com/adventuresinbelize/

Our news blog and photos of what is happening around the Western Belize Recreational Area in the Cayo District of Belize is:

http://westernbelizehappenings.blogspot.com

CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS FOR GROUPS ARE MADE THROUGH OUR AGENTS: HOSTELBOOKERS.COM

Hydroponic organic vegetable experiments in Belize

We were trying to an experiment for Central Farm Government Research Station in trying to grow a ball head lettuce in Belize. Nobody yet has succeeded. I've tried about 18 types of lettuce. This particular one, was either Great Lakes #18, or Lechuga Escarola. Either way, you can notice the long twisted stem in my hand, as the lettuce refuses like all the others to form a ball head. My daughter Sharon had brought the seeds for me to experiment with from Miami-Dade County where she has a nursery and landscape business called FLORA TECH LANDSCAPES. First time she has been here to Hillview in eight years or more. The guy holding the lettuce is yours truly running this blog. Ray Auxillou, age 71 years young and still busy and mentally and physically challenged within the limits of old age. We have two small nurseries of our yard at Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel.
http://belizehydroponics.tripod.com/
http://folkmusicfl.tripod.com/adventuresinbelize/

Dutch University Fraternity student backpacker group stay at budget dormitory Falconview Adventure Hostel

Nine DUTCH University Student fraternity backpackers arrive at Falconview Hostel, booked by Hostelbookers.com, UK. They are from somewhere near Rotterdam, Holland.
They got in midday and in a rush we tried to accomodate them with a courtesy afternoon trip to the two Mayan ruins of Xununtanich and Cahel Pech. Today, four of them are off with Pacz Tours to the ATM ( Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave system). This is the XIBALBA, or one of the ancient entrances and sacrificial sites to the underworld planes of existance of the Maya spiritual mythology. About a mile underground using head lamps with a guide, they will arrive at the sacrifical site, where the archeology department of Belize have left skeletons and pottery as it was found. Tourists must walk carefully in stocking feet around the remains. This is an all day trip and you must traverse three underground rivers in the cave system to get here. Have no idea of how terrified captives must have felt back centuries ago. The other five on a cheaper budget were going to share some canoes and paddle the Macal River Gorge exotic jungle scenery. Tomorrow these nine will be off to Caye Caulker by bus for $6 Bz and water taxi for $30 Bz round trip to this fabulous Great Barrier Reef small island, surrounded by sheltered emerald green waters of the inner lagoon, protected by the reef itself. ( exchange rate is $2 bz for $1 us dollar )
These Dutch kids were TALL. Six feet six inches at least. Must be all that milk drinking in Holland? Made my five feet, 11 inches feel like a midget.
http://folkmusicfl.tripod.com/actuntunichilmuknal/
http://folkmusicfl.tripod.com/adventuresinbelize/

Using U Tube for videos of hostels in Belize as a tool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn-TUCwlUm8&feature=related


This is a panaromic view inside and outside of my daughter Tina Auxillou's Hostel, on Caye Caulker right on the beach. I'm going to have to do something like that. This is on U Tube, whatever that is? Guess I'm going to have to get back up to speed with the gadgets and gilhickies of internet again. Seems like I'm cutting edge for a while and then I get behind, like now.

Charlie Trew drops in for visit from Washington D.C.

CHARLIE TREW a friend from our Belize Culture listserve, that has been on the internet about 17 years. Charlie was visiting myself Ray at Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel. That is the hostel community kitchen area in the background. Charlie is drinking Beliken beer, the only beer available in Belize. Sorry the photo got blurred, but since that is all I have? Charlie comes down a couple of times a year, from his job in Washington, D.C. where he works in the Library of Congress as a classified documents person. Charlie also has a vacation home in San Jose Succotz, a small town about 8 miles away from our Green Parrot Valley in Santa Elena Town. This small town of Succotz is at the foot of the hilltop temple Mayan ruins of Xununtanich across the Mopan River by a small barge, hand cranked ferry, then a mile up the hill. Every time Charlie comes, I ask for books for donating to the Santa Elena Town Public Library. I get to read them first. He can get discards from his libraries up there and usually packs a bag for the check in airplane baggage with a dozen or so. Sometimes his taste is gawd awful in reading material. You can't argue with a FREE thing though and our library needs donations badly. Everybody is grateful for his gifts and thoughtfulness. The one thing about this area and Succotz in particular, people have been living around here for the past 14,000 years that we know of. Must be good living hey? I would say so and Charlie says so too!