Morning harvest

Spicy food for spicy weather. Also check out one of Megan's new mugs. Her work just gets better and better.

Belize: Heading Home

I find myself with a couple of free hours in the Belize City airport before I head back to the real world. Like everything in Belize, the airport has its own laid back qualities. No lines. Just six gates. And, at Jet's Bar, perhaps the best rum punch around. Not a bad place to begin the arduous process of adjusting my mind for the return.

My return trip caps off six awesome days in Placencia with Megan's family. I hope to get pictures up soon, but the highlights included a trip to the Monkey River, where we found ourselves surrounded by trees bearing screaming howler monkeys. As impressive as the howlers were the many crocodiles we spotted up and down the river. Yesterday we took a snorkel trip to Laughing Bird Caye, a small strip of beach surrounded by gorgeous reefs teeming with fish.

Perhaps the best part of the trip was the food. The food quality was greatly improved at every meal by the availability of Marie Sharp's hot sauces. The company is apparently a national treasure, and I am convinced that Marie Sharp should receive a Nobel nomination for her contribution to the science of salsa. Her habanero sauces turned the Belizean staple of chicken, beans, and rice into some of the best food around. Our own culinary experiments turned out delicious (with the prize going to Megan for a mango salsa she added to chicken marinaded in Belizean spice rub . . . another amazing product), but my trip was capped off with a meal cooked by Natasha, manager of Los Porticos Villas. She steamed grouper on the grill, and I can't remember better tasting fish. Of course, the One Barrel rum was a great accompaniment to every meal.

Megan and the crew get a few more days down here. I'm told they will be taking a sunset sailing trip this evening before enjoying the first day of lobster season. I'm a bit jealous.

Made it to Belize

From the front porch. I think we could get used to this.

Belize in 30 Hours

Not that I am counting or anything, but Megan and I will be in Belize in about 30 hours. We are joining Megan's family for some beachy delight in celebration of her brother's high school graduation (and not just graduation, he closed it all out with a truly stellar academic performance).

Our destination is Placencia, which is apparently a small community where most everything is accessible by bicycle. The plans include snorkeling, sitting on a beach, seeing monkeys, sitting on a beach, tropical cocktails, and sitting on a beach. I'm a bit excited.

We have some new, high tech gizmos that should allow us to update the blog occasionally with photos and stories. For now, an epically long day of work ahead to try to make this break happen.

Asian Cajun

Just fulfilled a two-year-old wish to eat at Asian Cajun, an icehouse on highway 105 between Brenham and Navasota. The name is descriptive--a nod to the unique menu. I sampled pork dumplings, Asian fried shrimp, crawfish etouffe, and fried crawfish. All delicious. Hopefully the first of many visits.

Ecuador: Quick Update

I got a call from Megan this evening through some sort of Google-based phone program. Despite the horrible connection, I was able to learn that she arrived in Quito safely, is having a great time, is living with a family, plans to visit the markets tomorrow, and has not yet eaten guinea pig.

Off to Ecuador

Megan began an epic journey very, very early this morning. For her first spring break on the faculty side of things, Megan was asked to be the faculty sponsor for a service-learning trip to Quito, Ecuador. Once in Ecuador, Megan and the 14 students on the trip will volunteer with an excellent organization called Ubelong. Anyone interested in following Megan's trip--or any of the other SMU service programs--can visit the SMU Adventures Blog (note: Knapp Adventure Blog predates the SMU Adventures Blog . . . I'm sure our lawyers will work out the rights at some point).

So far, the getting to Ecuador part has been the main adventure. To save limited funds, Megan and the student travelers were forced into an arduous journey. They gathered at our house for pizza and hilariously bad 70s movies dubbed in Spanish before leaving by car for Houston just before 2 AM. Of course, the hour of 2 AM did not exist last night, so they arrived in Houston shortly after 6 this morning. They are now en route to Miami for a refreshing six-hour layover before flying to Quito. Harper (world's best dog) and I are still recovering from the late night with the students, so I cannot imagine how tired they are. Fortunately, they will have some great sleep in the Andes fairly soon.