TUESDAY NIGHT AT THE EYE-N-EYE --

OK, talking about the trip last night with Heather and Jaime has inspired me to continue. Onward!

So, the I&I -- that's a reggae/rasta term, if you don't know -- it apparently means me and mine. It was off the main strip, which is why we didn't find it on our first tour around the island -- you have to walk all the way to the southern end of the "main street" then turn right, it's about a "block" down. It's a three story structure, with the bar on the second floor and a roof deck on the third. Lots of buildings in Belize are built on stilts, to protect the main structure from flooding and what-not during hurricanes. I don't know what was on the first floor of the building -- maybe it was where the owners lived? Anyway, out back there was also an elevated deck at approximately the height of the second floor, and a stairway down to ground-level where there were toilets and more hang-out area. Throughout the bar/club there were swings -- mostly simple wood planks and rope. There was a hammock and a hammock chair on the roof deck, as well.

I keep switching between "is" and "was." My experience of the place is past-tense, but the place still exists... so which is correct? Anyway, sorry for the verb tense messiness.

So, arriving at the I&I around 9 or 10 on Tuesday night, there were not many people there. The bar was lit by black light, which made it a little uncomfortable, so we headed straight for the roof. There were only two or three people up there. We starting talking to Mike, from Ohio. Mike seemed young, but at one point mentioned that he was travelling with his 16-year-old son. We found out later that he was 36, and had adopted his wife's infant son when they got married way-back-when. He was a cool guy, but a total pothead. He got into a deep philosophical discussion with James at one point which actually wasn't all that deep -- kinda funny.

I was getting sleepy and not sure about the scene, but I powered through my sleepiness, determined not to be a wet blanket on the evening. When some nice Canadian boys came over and made our acquaintance, my sociability was renewed. A girl from Portland, Lane, also came up around the same time, and we all chatted and joked and flirted while James was off talking with Mike and a local guy whose name was Rambo, I think? The Canadians were three brothers, the oldest of whom was 26 and was taking his two collegiate bros on a trip to broaden their horizons. He definitely seemed the smartest of the three, but the middle brother, we found out on Thursday night, was funny and an Arrested Development fan, and if he hadn't been so wasted might've had a chance with Molly. Ah well. I'm getting ahead of myself.

Around midnight at the old I&I they close the roof deck, to appease the neighbors I am sure. It was a fairly raucous scene at that point, and right in the middle of a bunch of houses, so I'm sure the neighbors hear it every night. We headed downstairs early to snag a good location in the back yard. We bypassed the deck and congregated at ground level. Mike and I were sitting on swings that were attached to the deck when the "near-death incident," according to James, occurred. I didn't think it was quite so serious, but I was a bit wasted when it happened. When the crowd from upstairs finally made their way down, most of them gathered on the deck. Their combined weight, likely aided by my swinging, caused the deck to fall by about six inches to a foot in a sudden crack. The four of us who were below -- me, James, Mike and Rambo -- jumped out from under, but the safety or whatever had halted the collapse. The crowd above also quickly moved off the deck, joining us on ground level. A little later on James mused that someone should talk to the owner about the deck, and Rambo told us he was related to the owner, and that he was aware of the issue.

Out back we were chatting with Rambo and his friend, a very hefty black man who was telling us how much he liked Sally. We agreed that she was a very sweet girl, and very genuine. He seemed rather in love with her. Finally someone decided it was time to go -- perhaps me -- and we headed out. Just outside the bar was the cutest puppy -- I absolutely loved it. It was a little black and white dog, maybe related to that dog on Frazier -- what're those called? James said he thought he was an "old soul" -- a very wise little dog. I picked him up and carried him down the street to show Molly and Sally, and James got a couple of pix. We all laughed and were joking around with the puppy, then I set him down and he trotted back to the I&I to wait for his master. We continued on and were yelled at by a woman who sounded American, she called us "lushes." That was kinda funny. And that was our first night on Caye Caulker.