Watermelon Pilgrimage

It's officially the dry season in Belize. They call it the dry season because it doesn't rain, but it's far from dry. At 100+ degrees Farenheit and 100% humidity, it basically feels like being in a sauna 24/7. It's been like this for 2 weeks now and I think I'm actually melting. Today it's ONLY 92 degrees so I'm taking the day to get some errands done around town.

Just kidding. I'm still spending every spare second vegging out in front of the fan or sticking my head in the freezer. But I did do one errand. The most important errand:

The Watermelon Pilgrimage.

Every Saturday (and sometimes Tuesdays, and sometimes Thursdays), I walk down to the market and buy a watermelon for the family. This seemed like a reasonable task before the dry season. After all, we only live ten minutes walking from the market. No problem right? It's been going well enough that some of the local folks who work downtown call out "Hey Watermelon Girl!" when I walk by. It's a pretty unusual sight since everyone else who buys watermelons drives their car to the market and therefore doesn't have to carry a watermelon on their shoulders through the center of town.

Let me be the first to tell you that a 20 pound watermelon weighs a lot more when its 100 degrees out and you can barely hold it on your shoulders because you're sweating so much the watermelon gets slippery. Not to mention I'm clumsy as heck. 

The result? Sudden Watermelon Death. 

Yeah. This weekend's watermelon run took two attempts because the first one ended in disaster. There it is a special kind of embarrassment to be the only foreigner in town and then to drop a 21 pound watermelon in the middle of the crowded Saturday market and watch it smash to smithereens. 

To hide my shame, I purchased another watermelon to bring home. My second attempt watermelon was only 17 pounds and made it home safely. I still haven't told my host parents but they'll probably see this at some point and get a good chuckle out of it (Hi mom & dad).