Belize in You, Belize in Me!

Above, the Bayman officially begins the Battle of St. George's Caye Day parade!  The day, September 10, was a Bank Holiday, so I was able to take in the festivities--and Dave had no emergency calls!  We had great fun!

In 1798, I believe, the Baymen of St. George's Caye defended themselves from a larger, more well-equipped Spanish contingent.  I just read a book, which somehow I found in the digital library of the University of Florida, that was written by a Bayman who was there (old book!!).  The book, "The Baymen of Belize and how they wrested British Honduras from the Spaniards," was wonderfully written.  I learned about the early settlers of Belize and laughed that they, too, were annoyed by the mosquitos and sandflies!  The Baymen knew the waters around Belize city and in the Cayes, so the Spaniards made errors of judgement and floated onto low-lying reefs and sandbars, giving the Baymen the advantage.

St. George's Caye Day began at Memorial Park with ceremonies attended by the government leaders.  Dave and I actually arrived there rather late, but heard some of the music and saw the Queen of the Bay and her Entourage on stage before the parade began.  The parade is called the Citizens' Parade, so citizens just joined in the march.  Here are a few pictures from the event:

 The ambulance brings up the end of the parade!

"Belize in You, Belize in Me, Land of the Free" is this year's September theme for the holidays.   I realize that the major events of history happened in the month of September here, but the weather must have been challenging each step of the way!  Here is a picture of the rain band that I saw on the way back to the house!

We have a new lizard living at our kitchen window.  This lizard is a bit too big to sneak into the house, but Izzie is most interested in it!  She's been great fun to watch!

Next celebration is Carnival!  A blog for that separately!