The Leaning Ice House of Placencia

The Anachronism apologizes for the recent gap between posts but frankly things have been a bit busy here.

You have heard of the Leaning Tower of Piza? Meet the Leaning Ice House of Placencia.

Aside from finishing two projects, hosting a workshop, running a contest and battling raccoons (a story for another day), we have also had the biggest earthquake in Belize in recent history. The epicenter was in Hounduras (a large bridge I traveled on there recently near Progresso collapsed) and registered a hefty 7.1. We've had aftershocks as big as 6.1 almost every day since then.

For a village accustomed to danger from the sky, this was an unexpected twist. Most of the village was spared. Unfortunately, near the end of the point where the sand has been recently deposited, the shaking liquified the ground. Mud sprang up through the sand everywhere and houses sank. Several luxury concrete homes and condos are leaning and cracked.

One especially notable loss was the Placencia Fisherman's Co-op. The co-op ice house is still operating (if at an angle), but the main building is a complete loss.

Admirably, power and water were restored within a few hours after the quake. The water tower in Independence Village collapsed and crushed the water main, but even they were back up and running the next day.

It will be time to travel back to Illinois soon. Maybe I can slip in one more Belizean fishing trip before I go.