This past couple of weeks have been dedicated to sprucing the place up, with a fresh coat of paint on the outside of both buildings. Chris has been busy laying tiles in the top cabana, I have been doing miles of sewing, and we've both been busy with village matters - looking into the possibility of a solar power micro grid amongst other things.

One important job which we have had to do is cut down some coconut palms, including the very tall one next to the cabanas. Unfortunately like much of the tropics, Belize suffers from Yellowing Disease which is spread by large and naughty beetles with elephant trunk proboscis. The only cure is to cut down and burn the trees to stop the spread. That, and planting new trees, which we do all the time. So Rambo has been busy, and with the help of Chris and the chain saw and our painting crew and their machete, the big tree came down.

You can see in the first picture the characteristic browning leaves, including the centre leaves, and the real tell tale sign is that all the coconuts drop off. A great pity to lose this tree, which survived Hurricane Iris, but we have lots of sprouties growing around its feet.