Michael Keaton

I met Michael Keaton at the airport in Belize City!

Nursery

The farm I am working for is expanding its banana acreage. Land has been cleared of trees and plowed. Drainage ditches have been dug and markers have been set to indicate plant placement. There is a nursery on the farm with little banana plants that are now ready to go into the ground.

These plants are the Galil 12 variety. The plants currently on the farm are Grand Naines and Williams.

These plants are loaded into crates and hauled to the field where they will be planted.

Here I am sitting amongst the beautiful banana plants.

Crop Dusters

I woke up at 3:45 am to see the planes take off to dust the banana plants. They spray between 5 am and 6 am because winds are typically calmer at this time of day. First the chemicals are mixed in a large tank then pumped from the tank into the planes. The route the pilots take is programmed into a GPS system. It figures how many gallons are applied per acre.

I tried to get silhouette pictures of the planes and the workers just like Top Gun. My intent was to Take Your Breath Away, but I fell short and only got these blurry pictures.

This hose was really heavy and I had to have help lifting it.

Take off.

Stranded

What was supposed to be a day-long fishing trip to Ranguana Caye turned into an overnight stay when our boat broke down. That's right, we were stranded on a very small island. This is not a bad thing. We had essentials such as food and rum punch. Plus, Ranguana has some cabins to stay in and a cooking area. There is a guy who stays out on the island to manage everything.

It was difficult to pass the time, but I managed.

This was my first nap of the day.

There were hermit crabs everywhere and they were fun to play with. They are called soldier crabs in Belize.

Grilling the food we hunted....out of the cooler.

There were many pelicans around this caye.

Some of the cute little cabins.

I hooked a HUGE fish. This thing was strong. I spent at least thirty minutes trying to reel it in. It was woman versus nature. I fought the fish. He fought back. It was a pretty intense battle. Neither party wanted to give in. I was sweating profusely as I do every day here. I was so excited the entire time I was reeling in this fish. I kept thinking about the awesome story I would have to tell everybody and the pictures I would get with my prize catch. Until finally... I ran out of line. The fish took all of the line on my reel. Devastation was stamped across my face. Fish-1 Evin-0. Luckily, there was rum punch to console me.

I am smiling because I thought I was winning the battle. Little did I know the fish had other plans.

Help came early the next morning. Not a bad place to be stranded.

Random Pictures

This was at the market in Belmopan. It is a very exciting place full of fresh fruits and vegetables that I had never seen before.

This is the view from a dock in Dangriga. It has a covered area with a thatch roof.

Lovely limes!

Look. I have a fish.

Hammocks

I just love hammocks! Most homes in Belize have them and they are the perfect spot for a siesta. I bought three today at the market in Dangriga. I fully intend to nap in them back in Oklahoma.

Lounging in Placencia.

Ok, so this really isn't a picture of a hammock, but it was my view from a hammock.

On a covered dock in Dangriga.

Belize Zoo

I visited the Belize Zoo and saw some amazing animals. It was un-Belize-able! Here are some of my favorites:

This is a tapir or mountain cow. It is the national animal of Belize. The one pictured above just laid there like a slug and wasn't too exciting.

Did you know a puma, cougar, mountain lion and panther are all the same animal?

You "toucan" see this animal at your local zoo.

This is a harpy eagle and was my favorite animal. It is bizarre. It looked like something out of a Star Wars movie. I stared at this bird for a good ten minutes.

A very pretty jaguar. There is actually a jaguar sanctuary in Belize, but I have not been.

The magnificent scarlet macaw.

And lets not forget this stunning creature.

Plant Maintenance

During the time between harvesting, the banana plant must be maintained to ensure the quality of the plant itself and the bananas it produces. It requires many steps and is very labor intensive.

Deflowering

In early stages of development, each finger has flowers on the end that must be picked off by hand. This is usually done when special bags are put over each bunch that act as insecticide, protection and ripening agent.

When the flowers are picked off a banana sap, or latex, oozes out of the end of the banana. It got my hands sticky.

Pruning

The banana plant grows forward with a new stalk or sometimes several stalks springing up. The stump on the right is a plant that has been cut off as it deteriorates. The stalk in the middle is where the fruit is growing. The stalk on the left will start producing fruit after the middle stalk has been harvested.

Sometimes more than one of the baby stalks spring up. Only one should be kept so there is no competition for nutrients. The one that is kept is chosen based on its size and location on the plant.

I'm still struggling with the machete, and I think some of the workers become terrified when I am wielding one.

De-Leafing

The process of de-leafing involves the removal of the droopy, unhealthy leaves.

The tool used for this is a long stick with a blade at the end.

After the leaf is removed it is added to one of the piles of leaves and stalks that have been removed. This adds organic matter back into the soil and acts as ground cover to prevent grass from growing.

These steps are actually the most important part of growing bananas. A well-maintained plant tends to produce higher yields and a better quality fruit.

Mayan Ruins

There are Mayan ruins all over Belize. These are near San Ignacio. The size of these structures is breathtaking....so is the climb to the top of them.

Shrimp Farm

I got to visit a shrimp farm and take a look into the world of aquaculture. A very well-spoken lab technician named Diego showed me around the shrimp farm. First we visited the breeding tanks, then the maturation tanks. After the shrimp reach a certain age, they are put into large ponds. These ponds are like a feedlot for shrimp. Once they reach the desired size, the water is drained and and the shrimp are filtered out into a tank that is stocked with ice. From there, they go the processing plant, or they are sold whole.

They have to grow algae to feed the shrimp in the maturation tanks and to stock in the ponds.

Don't let my smile fool you. I didn't like touching that icky shrimp. That's Diego in the background.

I had to wear rubber boots, a lab coat, a mask and a hairnet inside the processing plant.

This was taken in the freezer where the shrimp are stored after processing.

Observing a shrimp harvest.