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Bikers Meet in the Middle and Fall in Love with Placencia rock band, "Surpassing Silence" at 8 p.m. into the late hours of the night. More rock followed on Saturday with an energetic performance by "Abraxas." By JOLIE POLLARD Editor in Chief The Placencia Breeze pollard.jolie@gmail.com
On Friday, May 3, over 200 bikers roared into the Tipsy Tuna Seaside and Sports Bar for the fifth anniversary of the Black Pearl Motorcycle Club (MC) "Meet in the Middle Rally." Bikers travelled from as far as Canada for the event of camaraderie. Others came from the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and from various corners of Belize. This was Black Pearl MC’s first “Meet in the Middle Rally” in Placencia Village and according to the Club, it most definitely won’t be their last. The bikers quickly made themselves at home under the beach front deck canopy at the Tipsy Tuna, and curious Placencians and visitors were happy to join in on the fun. Blues and classic rock band of Placencia, “The Unemployables,” played from 4 to 7 p.m. followed by visiting
“Placencia is so beautiful. I like the vibe, the people, the weather … the girls,” said Norman Santiago of Nicaragua with a hearty laugh. He had a bump in his journey to Placencia and had to finish the trip on a plane. Fjord Botten was lucky to make it all the way from Alberta, Canada along with his friend Sue during the course of 11 days without much of a hitch. “There were some long days riding through Mexico, but it was really good,” Botten said. “I’ve been following the promotions for this rally for the past four years, and this is the first time I finally made the arrangements to make it.”
planning another “Meet in the Middle Rally” in Placencia at the Tipsy Tuna. “We just love everything about this place,” he said. It took a lot for the bikers to make the trip. Many talked about the sacrifices they made with work, their families and personal resources to meet with fellow bikers and celebrate the Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! culture with their North and Central American brothers and sisters.
Tipsy Tuna thanks their staff, Big Beck’s BBQ, Dulce Fabro, Merl’s Cafe, Tiffanie Westby, Em’s Fast Food, Placencia BTIA, Laura Godfrey, Denise’s Originals, Lloydia Westby, Jeanna Casey, L&R Liquors, Elite Security, Placencia Village Council and Bowen & Bowen for helping to make the Founding member of Black event a fun success. Pearl MC, Bill Dominguez, said he thought Placencia Black Pearl MC was born in would be a convenient place Belize in 2010 as the first exfor all the bikers to meet clusive distributor of Harley considering the availability Davidson motorcycles and of accommodations, restau- birthed the country's new rants and just the general biker culture. Co-founder beach attractions in the area. Bill Dominguez, originally “This is awesome. We are from Panama, met his Belizhere by the sea. We are ean wife while running the experiencing culture and outlet in Belize for 13 years. warmth,” he said. So awe- Today they live in Chitre, some, in fact, Dominguez Panama with Belize still in already has his sights set on their heart ▪
Bill Dominguez (center) and his Black Pearl comrades say they are looking forward to "Meet in the Middle" in Placencia again. (PHOTOS: JOLIE POLLARD)
John Martinez from Houston, Texas revs up his bike at the Tipsy Tuna.
Coast Guard A Team Wins Kayak Race Motorcycles from North and Central America line the Tipsy Tuna sidewalk. Below: Fjord Botten poses with Karl the stuffed toy who joined him on an 11-day journey to Placencia Village from Alberta, Canada along with his friend, Sue.
By JOLIE POLLARD
The Coast Guard A Team who won day one of the inaugural BTB Love Belize Sea Challenge, which wrapped up at the Point in Placencia Village, also came up on top at the end of the five-day race. Punta Gorda natives, James Alford, Godfrey Alford, Mark Alford and Daniel Gregorio successfully completed the kayak challenge, which began in Punta Gorda and ended in Corozal covering 218 miles of Belize's coast line. The entire race took the young men a total of 39 hours, 59 minutes and 14 seconds. The first seven hours and two minutes were spent paddling through calm waters from PG to Placencia with a teammate switch up in Monkey River. ▪ Above: A Team pulls into the Point 48 minutes ahead of second place winners. Left: The coast guards pose with BTB and Love FM officials who organized the big event. (PHOTOS: ALEXANDER SMITH/BTB)
