I don’t know what is says for a kid when his first school bus experience is a chicken bus in Belize; nonetheless, this is Ezra’s experience.

He got a lot of joy out of hearing Dad’s stories of riding the bus with Mrs. Haram and thinking about the “fun” of riding the bus everyday. Some of the novelty had worn off by the third hour of the bumpy, half paved road that runs the length of the southern coast of Belize between Punta Gorda and Dangriga.

We made the early bus and were on the sweltering coast in time for lunch at the Riverside Cafe.

There is something comforting about returning to a place, knowing where you’re going and having a sense of which boatman on the wharf is not going to take you for a ride… or at least, the one who’s only going to take you for the ride you’re hoping for!

Arriving on Tobacco Caye felt like coming home. We were sorely disappointed to find Lana and Pops conspicuously missing.

Pops is diabetic, he fell earlier this year and injured his leg and it’s not healed well. The hospital in Belize couldn’t help him and wanted to amputate. Instead, Miss Lana loaded him up and flew him to LA where he’s recovering. Carmen and David are minding the guest house, but it’s not quite the same.

It took the boys just long enough to find their swimsuits before they were in the ocean with their masks and snorkels.

It made for a quiet afternoon, sitting in a hammock, reading my book, occasionally approving of whatever the boys brought for me to see.

The evening was spent sipping Cuba Libres at the beach side bar and talking with the eight fellows who sailed in on a rented catamaran, sans wives for a week of male bonding. I was reminded of how LOUD Americans are and what a bad combination excessive testosterone and alcohol make.

A cold front blew in overnight, meaning that it’s now only about 80F and breezy. The boys wolfed down the eggs, bacon and beans that Carmen so kindly cooked for us and ran full tilt for the bay.

As I’m writing this they’re working with David on cleaning the conch they found, some to eat later, some to fish with. Ezra tracked down AC this morning and begged him for a hand line to fish off of the dock with. It’s a good lesson in conch anatomy to go with their marine biology course last year.

I walked the circumference of the island this morning picking up urchin shells and little treasures while Tony shot the breeze with David. I enjoy the quiet here.

The only sound to break the morning silence is the sound of the frigate birds vying with the osprey for a fish he’d just pulled from the sea, and the generators running to charge the batteries that run the island for the day.

Today will be spent swinging in a hammock, working on my book. Perhaps I’ll wander by and visit Julie, AC’s girl, and their new baby, Leoni, who was born in our absence. It’s too windy to snorkel, but there are plenty of shells to collect and lots of space for quiet rumination.