Caye Culker Schools - Ocean Academy

Before I visit a place I like to do a little research to find out about the locals, since it was the holidays I wanted to see if there was something Ben and I could do to volunteer our time or give back to the community. I came across a blog that mentioned how kids in Belize are in need of schools supplies, especially on the island since most things are hard to come by. When I looked more specifically at Caye Caulker I found the Ocean Academy. Before 2009 there was no secondary school on the island, students had to travel to the San Pedro to finish their schooling but that was only if the families could afford the daily commute on the water taxi or if they had relatives the kids could stay with. In 2008 two women got together Heidi Curry (An American with Belizean residency) and Joni Miller (Canadian with Belizean residency) along with some locals to get the land, building and organize the school all within seven months. Caye Caulker Ocean Academy is a non-profit community high school who's "goal is not simply academics, but an overall commitment to appreciating, respecting and preserving our island's heritage so that future generations may know the beauty of Caye Caulker that exists today". This school teaches students the skills they need to maintain future careers on the island, anything from marine biology to salesperson along with the everyday life lessons a young adult would learn in any school. I met a student named Kyra who was in the culinary program and made very delicious blondies. Once I researched the school I sent an email which is how I met Joni, she told me about the Christmas extravaganza fundraiser they were having and invited us to come. She also mentioned a few items we could bring if we were interested to donate to the school and fundraiser. Since we were limited on space I knew I couldn't do much but wanted to bring a something for the kids. We picked up some face paint, a few school supplies, Christmas crafts and other odds and ends to be give as prizes for the games. When Joni mentioned "Dollar store type items" I was all about it. Aside from the school both Joni and Heidi were very helpful in assisting us with finding new places to stay. In fact Heidi and her family own a hotel called Sea Dreams which is beautiful, of course they were mostly booked and despite her tireless efforts it didn't work out for us to stay there but in the future I would love to be her guest at the hotel. We plan to visit the school again before we leave and maybe learn a little more from the students and staff but in the meantime if you want to learn more about what the Ocean Academy does please check out their website and if you are in a giving mood for this holiday season see the various ways you can donate to the school. http://www.cayecaulkerschool.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/Caye-Caulker-Ocean-Academy/108362745899114?ref=br_tf http://www.seadreamsbelize.com https://www.facebook.com/seadreamshotel?ref=br_tf

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem.... Day Five

While traveling in a tropical place you forget how laid back the dress code is. I have a tendency to over pack mainly because I try to prepare for all weather scenarios and I really like my "island" wear which I don't get to bust out as much these days even though I live in California. It never fails, you get here and pretty much wear the same thing over and over either because of comport or that it's durable enough to maintain the sweat, rain, sand and in my case food that gets tossed on me since there are not many restaurants with high chairs. I was proud of myself with the shoes, two pairs of flip flops and my Sketchers Go Walk slip on tennis shoes, which were a great choice by the way. Still most people walk around the island barefoot since it is all sand. Seriously it's all sand, there are no sidewalks which is why the woman who's house we originally rented basically laughed at me (via email) when I asked about bringing a stroller. At this point with our clothes a little dirt never hurt, neither does a little sweat. Pack light and go slow....

First World Problems - Day Four

Eric and I consider ourselves pretty avid travelers, we have backpacked across Central America for four weeks and Southeast Asia for five along with our many other adventures. But what you tend to overlook when you have a child is that the "oh we'll just figure it out" attitude can only get you so far. We rented our house on VRBO and yes we knew some of the issues we were going to encounter and yes when the price is that good you should still ask yourself what is wrong with this place? You know the saying "if it's sounds too good to be true, it probably is" well I am starting to live my life by that. We are going through a mini debacle back at home with our current landlord and this vacation is what was keeping me sane before our crazy move. In the past moving from one place to another wouldn't be an issue but when you have a kid you have to be a little choosier with the place and the location, time is a factor and the amount of crap you have to bring doubles and packing and repacking is never fun. At the end of the day the plus side of staying on a small island is that most people just want to help you, we met some very nice people so far from all over the world, some that live her full time and everyone wants to see visitors enjoy their time here. I will get into where and how I met a couple of our new friends on another post but thanks to them Nick and Slone (our traveling companions) have a place that will get them through the next few days and we have a gorgeous place that may cost s little more than we planned to spend, but who could really put a price on being able to enjoy this beautiful island without the added stress and gold cart rides through the jungle and swamp and millions of mosquito bites, oh and a crocodile in your backyard. I have normally been the one that thinks the worst will happen but in the last couple months I truly believe people are good and things will work out and that the universe owes me big time.

The Island of Caye Caulker - Day Three

There is not much to this island, there is a sign where you arrive that says "Go slow, we have 2 cemeteries and no hospital". It is actually nice to go somewhere and you don't have to so anything, there's not much site seeing unless we take a day trip off the island and you can walk basically from one end (of the civilization filled part) to the other in about 20 minutes. The route consists of restaurants, bars, shops, guest houses/ hotels and dive shops. The split is on one end which is what they call the beach, it's not actually a beach just a designated area to swim. Ben and I went for a dip yesterday and while the water is super clear and warm the area wasn't what i would consider kid friendly. He loves the water so with two of us there next time it should go better. The island is in general very kid friendly it is just hard to let go of our American expectations especially when it comes to safety but then again the kids here seem to function on their own just fine. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Island Time - Day Two

When you enter any island destination you quickly learn about island time, I'm not talking about the zone or actually time just how quickly or in most cases slowly things are done. On island time it's whenever it gets done or whenever we get there. This is very tough for someone with OCD to make the switch to, especially when that person now has a toddler to attend to who pretty much lives his life on island time but it's Ben's island time. Our house is tucked away at the very far end of the island, "off the grid" is the term I believe is the term used to descried it. I specifically asked about walking into town and we were told it was doable but like most things island "doable" is a term loosely used to describe anything. Aside from the jungle alone we have to trek through not to mention the mosquitos, there was a major rain storm and all the paths (sand) are flooded. Last night it was pouring and our golf cart driver could barely make it through. There is also the time factor today Ben and I were suppose to be picked up between 10-10:30 and he got here at 11:45 with another couple who were going clearly out of there way to pick us up. While having a laid back mentality is good and is the point of vacation there still needs to be some kind of guide to follow, especially when we are forced to pay for a service we were totally mislead about. To be continued.....

No Sleep til' Caye Caulker - Day One

Our evening started out like any other evening on Tuesday night at least that is what Ben thought. At about 9:30 pm I woke him up to put him in a car seat in the taxi, I thought maybe he would fall back asleep in the cab but I was wrong. This was a very exciting experience for him, the cab ride, the airport, the plane he was wide awake for all of it. He fall asleep briefly during the 4 1/2 hour first leg of our flight to Miami but of course I did not. He was awake the entire layover but was not happy, he didn't want to eat which is very unusual for him but he wasn't crying so I was fine with that. Luckily the flight from Miami to Belize City was only like 2 hours and we had an entire row this flight. He had a blast looking out the window and was very good on the flight. We arrived at the airport in Belize City, Belize at about 11:35am (Central time zone) considering we already went through Eastern time zone he was very mixed up on time so it really didn't matter. He fell asleep in the taxi on the way to the ferry dock which was great but we had to wake him up for the boat. Needless to say that did not make for a great ride but when we got to Caye Caulker he loved riding on the golf cart to get to out very secluded jungle home. It's not technically a jungle more swampy but a little more off the beaten path than we expected. It's about a 12 minute golf cart tax ride into town, yes there are no cars here only golf carts. We could probably hike it but with all the rain and no hiking shoes (oh and a toddler) it could be tricky, luckily they gave us a personal taxi driver (that charges $5 per person except for Ben). After we got situated and heard back to town for some food and supplies, Ben was his normal happy self. The people here are very friendly and love kids so Ben jumped right into making himself known. He was dancing with the waitresses at dinner and gave a hug to a man sitting in front of his restaurant where we will probably go for dinner tonight. Speaking of dinner, Rosie's was where we went, we visited this place when we were here 5 years ago and I remember the table of fresh caught seafood you got to choose. We got grouper filet and stone crab claws with rice, baked potato and garlic bread along with 2 Belikin beers each for a grand total of $60 American (including tip). Not a bad way to end a travel day.

Day 35- Television Abroad

Since we have been laying low so to speak the last couple weeks we have been watching a bit more television. We have satellite television but mainly watch British channels. Sure there is CNN which we watched a lot during the school shooting but after a while it was more and more depressing so I won't even turn it on now. There is a channel that airs a few shows on what us Americans know as CBS, I can tell you that The Big Bang Theory is on almost all the time. I do love the commercials, especially the ones about drunk driving or rape. They are so in your face, they really make an impact. Leave it to the Brits to figure that out. There are a couple movie channels as well but they show the most random films. One day The Untouchables is on and right after it's Final Destination 3, then Die Hard followed by Jennifer's Body. It's like a game of movie roulette. Tonight Ghost.

Day 34- A quiet day in the neighborhood

It is December 26 the day after Christmas and from what I read about Spain since they celebrate their big holiday January 5th I assumed it would be business as usual. Not so much, there is more closed today than there has been the last two days. It is crazy how quiet it is on the streets and all those who are out and about are tourists. We did our semi-traditional Christmas eve dinner of calcots and romesco sauce, spicy chickpeas, salad and a black sausage and rice dish similar to paella but not really (same, same but different). Dinner overall turned out pretty good but we opted out of joining the people at the bars or attending midnight mass. Yesterday (Christmas Day) we stayed in most of the day, then headed out for dinner early evening. Again mainly tourists at the restaurant but we were happy places were open. Today I looked forward to hitting the shops, in true American fashion I thought maybe there would be some sales but I was wrong. I guess consumerism is not as popular here, taking a break and spending time with the family is. Strange concept.....

Day 33- La Noche Buena

The Good Night as the Spanish call it or Christmas Eve to us. The main Christmas meal in Spain in on December 24. The meal on the eve of the 24th is the most important meal in the Spanish calendar and is always held in the evening, many people won't even start until after midnight (after midnight mass) as the old saying goes, " Esta noche es Noche Buena, y no es de dormir" this night is the Good Night, and is not meant for sleeping" You can expect to see people out in bars drinking with family and friends before and sometimes after the big dinner. Another must do for a true Spanish Christmas is midnight mass which people go to either before or after the meal, depending on the time they eat. Christmas midnight mass in Spain is known as"La Misa del Gallo" or "Rooster Mass" because the rooster was the first to announce the birth of Christ. Once the meal and mass is over, people return home to exchange gifts. Children will often only receive a small gift as 'Papa Noel' is less popular than the Three Kings who arrive on 5th January with presents for all the children. The evening, or morning, usually ends in a bar or disco where whole families gather to party and celebrate once the family festivities are over. This year my plan was to cook a semi-traditional Spanish "La Noche Buena" dinner, but without an oven and minimal cooking tools my choices were limited. Not to mention I waited until fairly late yesterday and by the time I made it to the market most of the stalls were closed. I guess that is where I think like an American, the day before the day before Christmas everything is open and open late in some cases. Not in Spain. I will let you know what my menu consisted of after dinner........

Day 32- A week not being a tourist

So one week has passed and I didn't write, well that's not entirely true I wrote but just not on the blog. After Paris we decided to slow down a bit, to save money but mainly just to live like a local. I wrote a post a while back about being a tourist and for days in all the places we visited we were definitely tourists but this is where that difference between vacation and traveling comes into play. We quite a few things on our list to do and see in Barcelona and the surrounding areas which could keep us busy everyday but that is how you burn out on a trip. You know when people start using the term "I need a vacation from my vacation". We decided to stay in more, eat at home and save the small trips outside the city for next time. This is the key when you are traveling for more than a couple weeks. I keep a journal for everyday of the trip that budgets what we spend, I have done this for all our trips. When you start seeing a spike in your daily spending (Paris) then you know it is time to make up the average for the week by not spending for a few days. Simple math! I also jot down notes about what we packed that is not needed, stuff we can pick up along the way and stuff we also need because you can't find it anywhere. Hitting the grocery store for the week saves a lot of money, not to mention, dare I say it..... Sometimes you just get sick of going out to eat.

Day 25- Love Locks

So I am backtracking a bit but this was something I really wanted to mention. While in Paris we noticed something neither of us had never seen before, a bridge covered with pad locks. Our shuttle driver pointed some out as we drove to our hotel but we really didn't get the full affect until saw the bridge for ourselves. For those of you who haven’t heard of them, here's the story (according to bonjourparis.com). A couple writes their names on a padlock and locks it onto one of the bridges. They then throw the key into the Seine River as a symbol of their undying love. As BonjourParis reported last year, the locks on the Pont des Arts near the Louvre were cut off, reportedly by the government. But romance beats politics in Paris and the locks can now be seen on two Paris bridges: Pont des Arts and Pont de l'Archevêché. However, there is a difference on which bridge you pledge your love. Some say the only way to break the seal of love brought on by this love lock act is to find the key and unlock the padlock. Of course, that is nearly impossible, since the keys lie at the bottom of the river. This reality induces many brokenhearted individuals to return with bolt cutters to try to chop off the padlocks. So, on second thought, maybe it wasn’t the government after all. Eric and I thought it was pretty cool, ever though we did not partake in it we could appreciate the meaning behind it.

Day 24- Learning to Cook Spanish Style

Yes, I am a little behind but this week has been a little slow and I have been a bit under the weather, so I wanted to space it out a bit. So on Saturday I took a cooking class here in Barcelona, I have made it my goal now to take one whenever I travel. If we would have had more time in Paris I would have loved to take one there but I needed to save something for next time. My class consisted of 14 people, a couple from California, a couple from Wisconsin, a couple from New Zealand, a couple from Spain and Germany, a few other people who I am not totally sure where they are from except one of the women lived in Barcelona and knew all about paella (I think her cousin was visiting with a friend), a woman from England and a man from Australia who is a travel writer. Our teacher was named Ignacio, he was great! He took us to the market and showed us all the best people to buy from, he also taught us the 4 things to look for while buying fish, the smell, the scales, the eyes and the blood vessels (I assume) in the gills. That was something I never knew...... He also explained the prices of things and how local is more expensive, the different meats and what they are. The back leg of a black pig is the best; they eat acorns and grass only and "live outside for their entire lives, which is 5 months." Yes and for a mere $1149 you too can have your very own Jamon delivered right to your home from hamlovers.com. You think I'm joking, check out the website....

After the market we went back to the kitchen to begin our recipes. The menu consisted of Calcots (Sweet winter onions) and asparagus with Romesco Sauce (a nut & red pepper based sauce) followed by Trinxat de Cerdanya (potato and cabbage with smoked bacon)Ignacio made a variation of this which I liked but probably won't remember. Next was the main course, Paella de Marisco (seafood paella) the traditional paella although I prefer the meat paella. This was the tricky part, did you know they have a specific pan for the number of people you are making paella for? Basically it's even numbers only 2 and up, ours was 14 so you can imagine how big that pan is or Ben can demonstrate....

This is a very specific recipe, everything is about timing.... He also made sure we knew that we probably won't do it right the first time but keep practicing. I like realists. I also learned how to cut an onion properly which I am stoked about! Lastly was dessert, Minitarta de Moniato (Sweet potato minicake). Delicious! My recommendation if you ever visit Barcelona, Cook & Taste located at Paradis 3 or check out www.cookandtaste.net. My Class

Did I mention we drank a lot if wine????

Day 23- A Moment of Silence

On Friday, December 14 around 4:30pm (Spain time 6 hours ahead of the east coast) we returned from Paris back to our tiny apartment in Barcelona. Like any other afternoon, we went to grab some food and came back to our place so Eric could go out and shoot and I would write my blog and maybe even work on my script, it was like any other day. Until we looked at our computers, an array of news websites were overloaded with horrifying news about a school shooting in Connecticut. The story was still unfolding so we did not know the extent of it until we turned on CNN. I should add Eric is from Connecticut and his family still lives there, his sister and brother-in-law live 2 towns over from there. For the next 6-8 hours we were glued to the TV, sick to our stomachs and filled with disbelief. Especially since we have been discussing starting a family or our own. How could be someone do something like this? What could those sweet and innocent children and adults possibly done to deserve this? That lingering question of if everything happens for a reason, what god forsaken reason could this be? Not only for those children we lost but those who now have to live with this for the rest of their lives. The innocence of these children is gone, I sat up that night trying to remember the first time I learned of the terrible things the happen in the world. The first thing that came to mind was when the Challenger blew up, it was 1986 and I was 8 years old. We watched it in our class (3rd grade I believe)and as soon as it blew up, the teacher immediately turned the television off and our Principal made an announcement over the PA system. It was a terrible accident but not at the hands of someone else. How do you explain to your children that there are people out there that are capable of such things? Simply teaching them not to talk to strangers is not enough anymore. My best handle of this is actually teaching our kids that monsters do exist, not the ones living under their beds or in their closets but the ones that walk among us. The monsters you don't see coming. Maybe this way they will see them coming, they will know they exist and they will know the evil they can bring is real and if at all possible fight back. I don't know if that is the right thing to do but knowledge is powerful unfortunately so is violence. For now let's just take moment of silence to remember those lives lost and try to come together as a nation, as human beings to do the best we can to prevent something of this magnitude from ever happening again.

Day 22- An American living in Barcelona in Paris Part Duex

Paris is a beautiful city, there is no other way to say it. Strolling down the Champs-Elysees, the street decorated for the holidays, Christmas music playing in the background (by the way Christmas music seems to be the same everywhere), sipping on some hot wine you get a very nostalgic feeling. Especially when you are sitting at a semi-outdoor restaurant looking up at the Eiffel Tower, it is so prefect I almost wish it would snow. But you seem to get that feeling everywhere you go, like one of my favorite places Shakespeare and Company bookstore. The original store was originally opened in 1919 and during the 1920's was a gathering place for writers like Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce, this store closed in 1940 when the Germans occupied Paris but in 1951 George Whitman opened a new store at a different location. Paris is known as "one of the world's most important hotbeds of experimentation in art and literature." Historical figures like Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, and the "Lost Generation" of English-speaking writers like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, James Baldwin, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound made Paris their home. Just to sit in a coffee shop and think any number of great pieces of Literature could have started here. It is a very inspirational place to be, especially as an artist or a writer. The French don't normally have to greatest reputation for their hospitality especially toward Americans, aside from the very obvious re-pronunciation of almost every word we say to them people were generally nice. The food was amazing, as I said in the last post we ate as much French food as possible. You always know when the restaurant is authentic by how close the tables are to one another. A side note.... a fun game to play with one another, especially by the Eiffel Tower is guess the Nationality. This marks the half-way point pin our trip!

Days 20-21 An American living in Barcelona in Paris

So maybe this is considered cheating but it has been a long couple days with not much internet and only an iPad to type on but enough complaining, I'm in Paris! We arrived In the afternoon after a short plane ride, our hotel was located in the Latin Quarter right down the street from Notre Dame. This is my second trip to Paris and I have to say I can keep coming back and still won't experience everything and will not get sick of looking at stuff. I mean every time you turn the corner there is a building or church that is at least 200 years old. We really acted like tourists here since we were only in Paris for a few days, a mini holiday if you will. That alone is why I would love to live in Europe, the closest courty I could venture to growing up was Canada, not the nice part either. Now I have Mexico...... No comment. To start we ate like tourists, I mean we had crepes, croque monsieur, onion soup (yes they just call it onion soup), although they do say french fries which we had as well and I must say not their speciality. We ate duck confit, boeuf bourguigon( thank you to Julia Child for me knowing what that was), filet with bearnaise sauce, oysters, creme brûlée and various other French desserts. Word of advice, order off a set menu here you get Moreau least 3 courses and it is cheaper. Not to forget the French wines..... Next we site saw like tourists, Norte Dame, the Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, Arc de Triomphe, we walked along des Champs Élysées, visited Centre Pompidou and of course the Eiffel Tower despite the cold weather we did it all. Well not all but as much as possible in 2 days. The Eiffel Tower is one of those things that I don't care how many times you go there you are still utterly amazed but the sight of it. Especially at night! Every hour on the hour it sparkles, I don't care how old you are, you feel like a little kid seeing the Christmas tree light up for the first time. Eric went to the top, I punked out the last time I was here so this time I said to myself maybe I will give it a try maybe just to the middle...... Nope, it was still as high as I remembered and I am still afraid of heights. There's always next time.......

Day 19- Intra-European travel

Eric and I are going on a mini holiday to Paris for a few days. Everyone kept telling us how cheap it is to fly from country to country in Europe (as long as you book somewhat early) so we gave it a go. We have taken the train from place to place in Spain, our trip from San Sebastian to Barcelona was actually almost as much as our flight to Paris (about $90 roundtrip) and that was just oneway. So naturally we thought we made the right decision, guess again...... Easy Jet is the airline we are flying, while it was cheaper and you do get there quicker which is great for a mini break, the airline regulations here in Europe are much more complicated than in the States. It's a good thing we checked beforehand, we just spent the last 2 hours packing and re-packing our stuff (for only 3 nights). You only get 1 carry-on bag, not a personal item and a carry-on, no carry-on and laptop bag and definitely not a carry-on and a purse. The size regulations are also smaller (at least we think they are) 56x45x25cm and they count deodorant and lip balm as liquids. Basically I can't bring half my make-up. You need to be there 2 hours ahead of time, which makes sense I guess since it is technically International travel but the flight is only like 1 1/2 hours. The price to check a bag is about 25 euro, if you get stopped at the gate with your bag it is 50 euro to check. Wish us luck!

Day 18- Being a Tourist

Whenever you visit a place there are a certain number of touristy things you need to do. So we spent the next two days "being a tourist", we started with visiting the Christopher Columbus monument, then it was off to Museu Maritim (or what I refer to as more boat history). Clearly this was not my choice but once you learn the history of the building and it's surroundings it is pretty cool, what wasn't cool was the fact that they are currently restoring the museum so most of it was closed. We did get to see part of what was the Royal Shipyard that was built in the 13th century. Note to self check museum websites before visiting, also this is free on Sunday after 3pm which we missed as well. The next day we visited Museu Picasso (who I have to admit I thought was Italian), this is the most visited museum in Barcelona. This is also free on Sunday after 3pm which apparently everyone knew, luckily we were not in any rush and the wait was not bad. Either way it was worth it, just to see that big of a collection of Picasso's under one roof. I mean I stood in a room that was all paintings of his blue period. Tomorrow we plan to keep this tourist thing going when we head to Paris for a few days, let's just hope we don't keep the "stupid American" thing going.

Day 17- Finding my way

No matter how much you prepare yourself there are still certain times when you just look like a "stupid American". I couldn't get into my Catalan cooking class until next Saturday which includes a trip to the market to teach you what to buy and how to order it, but I couldn't wait to start cooking. I have been looking for the perfect cookbook and researching certain recipes, while it may not necessarily be all Spanish I came up with a great menu. Rosemary Lamb Chops, Spicy Chickpeas, Salad with homemade Lemon Vinaigrette and Herb Ricotta Bruschetta. Some of this is from the Barefoot Contessa, The Cooking Channel is one of few English speaking channels we get thanks to British television. This menu mainly consisted of ingredients I could pick up from the market, so naturally I studied up on what I needed including all the spices. What I forgot to check is how to say lamb in Spanish. Did you know most meat looks the same in it's raw form? The first place I got up the courage to ask she literally showed me a full lamb, yes just like the one Mary had. I was about to give up, I finally found a butcher that had pictures next to the meat but that just made it worse. The best part of the market is there are a ton of options, so right before I was about to throw in the towel I found a butcher that had what I recognized to be lamb chops. He also spoke English so that helped..... After that we went to the chickpea lady, the olive lady (my personal favorite), the spice lady and the produce man. On our way home we stopped at the bakery and picked up a loaf of freshly made bread. All for under 20 Euro.....

Day 16- To take the lift or to not take the lift....

One of the things that has baffled me since I have been in this country is how the people stay so thin. I mean all this fabulous food, that is extremely fattening I might add, with very little or no vegetables and the unlimited amounts of expresso and wine of course.... Still even with all the walking around people do here, how is it possible to not be at least an American averaged size person (woman at least) which from the last survey done was an American size 14? Well today I answered the question, we are staying at the top level of what New Yorkers would call a fifth floor walk up. All the buildings here are old, even if they are somewhat modernized they still seem to stick to the same architectural make-up; dark mahogany wood with marble floors, all the lights are on timers and there seem to be antique handles on most doors which have antique keys to match. The most important thing to note here are the elevators or lifts as they are called in Europe. Every lift we have been in is the size of a very small closet, the max capacity is 4 (which I do not see possible nor would I stay inside if a third person entered) or 300 Kilos which is roughly 600 pounds for those who are not privy to the metric system. That would mean no more than four 150lb. people or three 200lb. people can ride the lift together at any given time. My point with all this is that this lift is not only small and made of wood and glass being held by a cable you can see but today it got stuck. Thankfully we were not inside but this made us realize that taking the stairs is probably the best idea from here on out, this also made me realize that locals probably do this everyday.