Belize Navidad Finally got some time - and an air conditioned internet cafe - to blog a little bit.

Been here there and everywhere - via planes, buses, taxis - and settled into Corozal, Belize last night.

Saw Cancun (whatever), Tulum (quite nice), and will be headed to San Pedro. The same on Madonna dreamt of in "La Isla Bonita."

(and admit it, you know the words and you own a Madonna CD. Get over it.)

As promised, I'm doodling away in my trusty sidekick notebook and while the trip has been outstanding, my prose has not. I believe the industry term is "punched up." The Belize blog will need some punching up.

But, as to provide myself with some escape from the heat, I'll detail today so far:

April 21
6:45 a.m. - Got a fine taste of American television last night, flipping back and forth between Sunday Night Baseball and the Celtics. Yeah, pretty much what I'd be doing as a citizen of the U.S. if I were there, but such is. Actually, Matt has better basic cable than most folks back home. And mercifully for me, it's in English. Unlike Mexican television...or pretty much everywhere in Mexico outside of Cancun.

There's also a bootleg channel, with first-run movies. Last night, it was the Al Pacino (hoo-ahh!) movie "88 Days." Trying to plan the rest of the week, which looks like Corozal for two days then the Cayes.

For as much as this trip has been eye-opening - culturally, linguistically, informational, etc. - it's also a vacation. So emphasis on the beach time whenever possible. Probably hitting the Free Zone - a duty free area between Belize and Mexico - just to, I don't know, shop. Another thing I guess I just don't do in the U.S.

7:15 a.m. - Matt exercises. I have a philosophy on exercise: don't.

So while he went down the street for some ocean swimming, I tagged along. And read. But the former Mitch Buchanan in me kept popping up from "Moneyball" to make sure the Loch Ness Monster or a pirate didn't get my friend.

7:19 a.m. - Yeah, I don't see him. And the long I write in this book, means that...hold on, I need to check on him.

7:20 a.m. - Yeah, he's fine. Now, I';m taking the lay of the land at this little park by the dock. There's a guy sitting on a swing, with a rake in his hand. He's swinging to and fro, and the rake is dragging on the ground. Seems a bit counter-productive.

Good to see Rhode Island state employees in the BZE.

7:29 a.m. - He has to be Union. Now he's sitting under the thatched umbrella having a cup of coffee. He also has a weed wacker at his disposal. Even money it doesn't get turned on today.

9:15 a.m. - Made a quick trip into town to stop at the ATM and a, as the local call them, a "Chi-nee Shop."

Here, as in America, some of the local food and fruit stands are run by Asians. (no dry cleaners yet, but I'm sure that they're Asian-owned, too). We got some eggs for es-scrambling and Matt wanted a tomato for his brekkie.

So we stopped by a little farmer's market and got a tomato. I saw some peppers. Seeing as how I like peppers, I bought three.

Yeah, um, they were habanero peppers.

Suffice to say, after cutting and chopping them up, I touched my face. It is now on fire. I have a feeling this will be a major league "bitter omelette."

9:30 a.m. - Perhaps I'm overreacting. I have no major after effects from the peppers, except for a strong feeling of fire on my entire face, lips, both hands, and for some unknown reason, my forearms and elbows. Imagine diving head-first into a tub of Ben Gay that was boiling. Yeah, welcome to breakfast.

Amazingly, my stomach is fine.

12:30 p.m. - Took a little nap after finally finishing the book. SOlid book and I really enjoyed the afterword from Michael Lewis, from the paperback edition. Essentially, it was a giant "shampoo you" to Tracy Ringolsby and Joe Morgan (and after last night's Mets-Phils Sunday night game, I've had just about enough of that shampooing guy). On the habenero front, my face and arms have stopped burning. But my hands have gotten worse.

No joke - as I write (and even type from the book), I am concerned that stuff I touch will spontaneously combust. So, with that in mind, I have come up with the TLBR Hotness Scale, to better describe:

TLBR Hotness Scale
1. The Sun
2. Epicenter of a nuclear blast
3. Habanero peppers at a Corozal Town farmer's market
4. Molten lava
5. Scarlett Johanssen.
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That's it for now. It's 2 p.m. and a few of Matt's co-workers have made it into town.

Off I go. You do you, I'll do me, and we'll meet in the middle.

IIWII  ¶ 3:49 PM