Chicken Cacciatore and Placencia

So the first recipes turned out to be chicken cacciatore and a banana cake from scratch.  It was touch and go with the gas oven and range. Three burners going at once didn’t work -cooking times change drastically! Oh, the oven is also so in Celsius so that’s new for me too. The pressure was even worse with Friday being a worship event for several of the churches here. So I didn’t want to make them late for that! It was a humbling experience, dinner was 45 minutes late but was a success flavor wise! They loved it and still left on time for the event.

Saturday, I made fried eggs and blueberry muffins (box) and we were off to the Caribbean Sea, Placencia. About a 3.5 hour drive through the Mayan Mountains, past the sleeping giant and along a scenic strip of beaches. The drive there creatively inspired me. I started to draw the fruit stands, mountain ranges and the fruit trees I saw.  Once we go to Placencia we got in the water right away.  The water was the warmest natural water I have ever been in! Super salty, teal and just so much fun. Elbia (5) and I rode the waves in between her searching for sea treasure. We walked along the shops and stopped for some gelato; I had a scoop of kiwi and coconut- yummy.

The whole trip was taking in the most beautiful sights I’ve only seen in picture books, simply unbelievable in person.

Thinking of my friends and family back home!