What do you get when you combine Ixcacao Maya Belizian Chocolate and American Cello Chocolate? The best darn chocolate team on the planet! Today was about making chocolate together, celebrating Lucresha's 12 birthday and sharing good times.
Yes, this little Mayan chocolate piece of heaven can at times feel like Grand Central Station. We started out this morning, after one of Abelina's killer breakfasts of fry jack, eggs, sausage, papaya and coffee, working on the chocolate factory. Juan had run into PG for supplies and Ned began working on the new shelving system when a van load of nuns and a priest showed up. Ahh - Maybe it is true that chocolate is food of the Gods! (Sorry, couldn't resist). They were from Poland, Italy, India and from a local Mayan community. They came for a short visit and to have some hot chocolate. No sooner had they left then a mother daughter team from Portland showed up for a tour, then a couple from Germany. Finally, things quieted down and we all started making a big batch of chocolate together, about 17 lbs. or so. It was so fun to roast, crack, winnow and grind cacao beans together before finally getting the heavenly elixir into the melanger. Even tho we both share the same process, the type of equipment used is slightly different. Like Ned, Juan too built a winnower for separating the shells from the nibs. Two completly different designs, but same philosophy. When it came to grinding the nibs into liquor we use a rigged out champion juicer and they use a huge belt driven grinder. What made it especially fun was doing it all together. Occasionally Juan would stop to play a little tune on the merimba, which just encouraged me to sort nibs while shaking my booty. I promise you this batch of chocolate is going to have so much love, laughter and spice in it. I envy the folks who get to buy a couple of these bars! (Food of the Gods indeed!)
It was Lucresha's birthday and we wanted to do something special. Ned and I at first entertained the idea of baking her a special birthday cake, but the electricity was out for quite awhile and we didn't know if the water would stay on. So, we decided instead to take everyone into town for a special birthday celebration dinner. We started off at a fun, loud, and crazy restaurant next to the Caribbean Sea. Juan and Abilena introduced us to "Panty Rippers" a coconut rum and pineapple drink that goes down ohhhh so easily. After several of those, dinner and some fun dancing Juan suggested we mosey on down to another place. (Dinner was interrupted by Ned, Henry, Abelina and I making a run across the street to a store to stock up on stuff to make more Panty Rippers at home on Friday. We thought it would be fun to celebrate our last night together tomorrow night. That's what I call thinking ahead!).
Tonight is the start of the big drumming weekend in town. People from all over the world are descending upon Punta Gorda for the Garifuna drumming festival called "Battle of the Drums". Several cities in Belize will be competing as well as Garifuna people from Guatemala and Honduras. Juan took us to another place and the drumming and dancing was awesome! So fun to watch these amazing dance steps - so fast and rhythmic. Poor Lucresha fell asleep at the table as we were watching the drummers. That's what I call a memorable 12th birthday! Originally, Ned and I were going to officially depart Juan and Abelina's on Saturday morning, but now we've all decided to hang out together on Saturday, help with a large group coming in, and then all go into town Sat. night and watch the place explode with drums and dancing. Seeing that we will be staying in PG, I seriously doubt Ned and I will get a chance to sleep at all that night.
The last thing Abelina said as we stumbled into our room was that we could sleep in tomorrow. Let's hope the rest of the chocolate seekers agree. Good times fellow chocolate makers, good times.
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