A Living Mayan Experience

Kate appeared at our door late last night to tell us she had heard from the woman at the Mayan place. Rather than try to meet us at 10:00am, it would be better for us to take the 10:00 bus from Punta Gorda. Yay!!! That meant more than an hour of extra sleep this morning.

At 8:30 Kate appeared with our breakfast tray, a yummy meal of moist zucchini bread, fresh fruit, and orange juice (with which Montana was a bit less than thrilled, but a request to Kate will produce .something else hopefully)

Our public bus stop was just up the hill less than a block, so we had plenty of time to look around. We found the B&B where Mark & Teresa stayed because their neighbors were very quiet & peaceful…skeletons, actually. A large cemetery overlooked by their veranda.

The bright green, yellow, & red bus was easy to spot, so we jumped on after asking the conductor if this was the bus that stopped at the Big Falls Bridge. It was a 50-minute bus ride and turned out to be the major stop for zip-lining & river-tubing. The Mayan lady, named Anita, called to us from the bridge, so we knew we were in the right place.

She took us up the hill to the house built in the style of the Mayan fifty years ago. 

Her husband (Luis?) was the main guide as he showed us the many tools and uses of natural trees & plants used not so long ago. People could live off the land quite comfortably. 

A

fter we washed our hands with soapberries, we were also served a lunch which we had helped make. We both thought it delicious.

Another daughter walked us up the road to the second place which featured the family doing crafts. Carlos the son introduced us to his father Juan who demonstrated making baskets from forest trees with extremely thorny branches. We each got to try some of the basket making, then Juan’s wife showed us 

the weaving. Montana did a few pass-throughs of the shuttle for making a handle to a purse.

Juan walked us back to the bus stop & we were soon back in Punta Gorda. It was a very good experience that we thoroughly enjoyed.

A Lazy Day

We awoke at 8am and had breakfast. We got packed and hung out at our BNB until eleven, which our taxi driver came, picked us up and drove us to the airport. We got into the airport, but there was barely any check in that we had to do. We didn’t even have to go through security. We hung out at a café until 12:10, which we then went to the waiting room and stayed there until 12:30. At 12:30, our plane left. We were the only ones on the plane at first, but after a few stops the plane was full.

We landed in Punta Gorda at around 1:30. A driver was there to pick us up & take us to Blue Belize. Kate met us at the gate & showed us to our room. We have a wonderful veranda which overlooks the ocean.

Kate had mentioned several good places to eat & mentioned some grocery stores, but we learned after walking..and walking…and walking—that restaurants here close at two & don’t open until 5:00 or so. We did find a store with a sign just inside the doorway with arrows pointing groceries to the left & hardware to the right. In reality, the hardware seemed to be encroaching on the grocery part. We finally chose a couple of frozen chicken legs, a bag of rolls, and a can of butter from New Zealand. Time to get creative!

We returned by way of another street & found a Chinese restaurant open for business, so  we stopped in there & ordered plates of food that were quite delicious. More than enough, so we brought home leftovers. LuRue got Chicken Fried Rice; Montana got Sweet & Sour Chicken.

We did find another grocery store later, but decided not to buy much more right now, but will remember it as it didn’t have wheelbarrows mixed in with the grocery aisles.

Swimming with Sharks

Another early morning for two people who hate getting up to alarm clocks, but having a full breakfast served to you takes away some of the sting.

LuRue got serenaded at breakfast with "Happy Birthday". The day was off to a good start.

Our taxi was here at 7:45 to whisk us through Belize City to the water taxi. After buying round trip tickets to Caye Caulker, we boarded the ferry...it took about 45 minutes to get there. EZ Boy was waiting for us. We had our own masks & snorkels, but got some fins from them. A group of six joined us on the boat & we took off to the reefs. There were three major stops. During the first one boat driver Harry took us on a tour around a bunch of coral. He picked up a couple of things from the ocean floor...a conch & a sea anemone, which Montana held.

The next stop was Shark Alley. The area was as advertised--full of sharks and sting rays, but with four other boats there, the main creatures we saw and came into contact with were rear ends of homo sapiens...LOTS of them, too! But we did have lots of opportunities to see the sea creatures as they swam beneath us. Harry fed sardines to some sting rays until he was able to hold one long enough for us to feel the smooth skin.

The third major stop was called the Coral Garden. It wasn't much of a garden compared to Bonaire, but there was still lots to see.

Back to Caye Caulker and one more round of Happy Birthday to LuRue before we said goodbye to our 6 snorkeling partners and Harry.

A lady at EZ Boy pointed us in the direction of the Rainbow Restaurant. Montana and LuRue both had shrimp meals, complete with garlic butter, baked potato, and cole slaw (hmmm...why did Montana's plate still have cole slaw left on it?) Oh, yes, we also celebrated with a banana daiquiri and a pina colada--both virgins.

What is a birthday meal without ice cream? So we went in search of a place & finally found one after circling the same stores about three times. We were beginning to think that ice cream doesn't exist in Belize. Montana bought a birthday cone for LuRue (and herself, too, of course!)

Then it was time for the 3:30 water taxi back to Belize City. We found a nice taxi driver to take us back. He insisted on taking us to the grocery store, waiting for us, then driving us back to the B&B.

Montana immediately arranged the mirrors on the closet to look at her back. Her bare back looked like she still had on her bathing suit. Slathering on some body lotion helped. She's now wishing she could sleep on a bed of ice (cream)!

Once again the day ended on the promise of our mouth-watering ice cream bars. What could salvage these pathetic lumps of goo? Montana nuked hers in the microwave, then spread it on Ritz crackers. LuRue also nuked hers, but spread a thin layer on a saucer to go back into the freezer. Montana's description of what it looked like won't be mentioned here. Needless to say, we're still on the hunt for some good ice cream in Belize.

From Hibiscus Schizopetalus to Leopardus Weidu

Warning: This blog post will not be as detailed as the others, because LuRue is busy doing stuff for tomorrow, so Montana is writing it. 

We got to sleep in today, yeah! But Montana woke up at around 6, thinking it was time to get up. After getting sluggishly out of bed, we ate a wonderful breakfast with ham and cheese sandwiches and bananas.

The morning we spent catching up on our photos, blog comments, emails, etc. We really needed that morning, because we both had a lot to catch up on.

At 1:30, we met our same cab driver, James, and he drove us to the Belize Zoo. LuRue spent most of the car drive pestering James with questions. Montana, however, almost fell asleep several times on the way in.

This is our cab driver, James

We both thought it was a great zoo. One of the best we've seen. Most of the animals were at the zoo, because they were found injured, so the owner took them in and helped them heal. We saw all sorts of things from strange flowers to jungle cats. Our taxi driver showed us around, which was very helpful. He found many of the hiding animals and without him we would've been lost.

The zoo was huge; a lot bigger than we were expecting. We spent about 2.5 hours looking around at the animals and plants, taking pictures, learning about the things we saw and hearing the animals background stories.

Around 4:30 we left the zoo and our cab driver drove us to the grocery store. We bought our dinner and walked back to our BNB.

We ended the day by eating another wonderful ice cream bar. A great way to end a wonderful day.

Exploring the River of Mayan Spirits and Crocodiles

Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Belize City and Lamanai

Another wonderful breakfast before meeting our cab driver James who  picked us up at 7:45 and drove us to the Reyes dock on the New River just a few miles from Orange Walk. During our hour & 15-minute drive, LuRue quizzed James about his life growing up in Belize. There were so many similarities to Will's life on the farm in Indiana.

Throughout the day, and yesterday as well, many references were made to the Mennonites, who apparently have a very strong influence here. In one case land was being cleared, the explanation being that the Mennonites were doing so to grow crops. The attitude toward the project was positive.

Our excursion turned out to be about half boating. Our water time was about two hours each way. Though there appears to be one river on the map, there are so many channels, intersections, & back alleys, that it would have been impossible for a novice to find the way. Besides the guide, there were three men on our boat, all Spanish-speaking, and all very interested in birds. The guide was very accommodating, stopping to give photo opportunities to the men while Montana and LuRue usually looked in vain for the elusive birds hopping through the thick-leaved trees. Once in a while, we got a glimpse, but it was difficult to get too excited about cormorants much like we see in Alaska. We would have loved to see a bright-colored parrot or toucan, but none appeared.

 Spider monkey near dock

Lamanai is one of the biggest and best excavated Maya sites in northern Belize. Besides a small museum & three gift shops, there were three large well-preserved structures spread out over the area.

The guide spoke mostly in Spanish, which neither of us understood very much of, even after all our Spanish courses.  But the guide repeated the important points in English. Mainly the temples were the most interesting, though we also learned some new trees & plants.

Montana made the journey up the first & second temples. Several people were going up & down, using various methods on the steep, slick, uneven steps. No problem on the first temple for Montana, but the second one held a surprise for her. First she butt-bumped down the top steps, then stood & walked down to the first platform. She must have angered the Mayan gods for not using the rope handle, because as she reached the platform, they moved the ground just enough to cause her to pitch forward, falling on the same knee she had fallen on in Fairbanks two weeks before. She caused quite a stir among the other climbers who rushed to her aid, but being the trooper she is, she assured everyone she was fine, and continued down the final set of stairs. As she walked back to our group, we saw blood running down her leg. Oh, no! But at least she was upright. LuRue had some paper napkins in her purse & was looking for a vine to use as a tie, but our guide, Eric, came to the rescue with a plastic sack to hold the napkins in place.

As we visited temple number three...the royal palace...the howler monkeys started up a ruckus that rolled through the jungle. Too many trees to see any, though.

We had a good lunch, very similar to yesterday...rice & beans, chicken, vegetables, & fruit. There were a few minutes to look through the gift shops. Montana and LuRue each made small purchases. Then it was time to go. Eric re-bandaged Montana's knee with supplies from the boat & we took off again. More invisible birds, but this time we did catch glimpses of some crocodiles, especially one which was resting on a log. (Lamanai means submerged crocodile in Mayan)

James was waiting for us at the dock & drove us back as far as the supermarket, where we got a few more groceries to supplement what we have at Villa Boscardi. We got some ice cream bars, but when we opened the box, the bars were more like collapsed structures of chocolate with goo inside. Not an ice cream bar at all. Another long day! But a fun one, besides the wimpy ice cream bars.

Through the Gates of Hell

 Monday, June 10, 2013
Belize City to Nohoch Che'en Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve

Didn't wait to jump into adventure! After being served a delicious scrambled egg breakfast by Belgi, who works for our B&B hostess Francois, we were packed & ready to be picked up by Vital Nature & Mayan Tours at 8:00am. Our guide Shaid (pronounced Sah-eed and no, he isn't Middle Eastern...and no, it is not pronounced Shade as Montana continues to call him!) was at the gate right on time & after a few minutes' conversation, he made a phone call & we added zip-lining to the day. Turned out to be a good decision as it took 45 minutes to drive to Nohoch Che'en. The zip-line area was very close by.

There was a bit of an uphill hike to get to the first of 5 lines to zip...but pretty much all downhill from there. We were in good hands all the way...guides to secure our gear, explain what to do, shove us off the platform, then catch us on the other end. We put our lives at risk a couple of times when we did a 180 or a 360 completely by accident! Montana left her camera recording as she zipped one line, but warning: take dramamine before watching!

A family joined us...a new college graduate & her parents from Tucson. They were a lot of fun. We saw them again later as they were also going on the cave tubing trip.

Shaid was great! Not only was he full of information, he was also full of jokes & ready to talk about most anything. He was born in Monteverde, Costa Rica, but his family moved to Belize when he was about 10.

After picking up the cave tubing gear, we had a 30-minute walk to the river. During the walk, we were given a few lessons about surviving in the wild in the jungle. Shaid disappeared for awhile & returned with Malli apples. They were good! We also got some protein when Shaid showed us a growth on a tree, which turned out to be a termite nest. He convinced us to try some & eventually we did. The magic word for LuRue was "mint". Actually they were sweet & minty...just a tiny crunch, too! However, Montana wasn't impressed, but did eat some.

When we got to the mouth of the river cave, we heard the moaning of the ancients as we got into our tubes and went into the entrance to Hell, or so thought the ancient Mayans. As we floated slowly through the caves, we saw some resting bats, a few cave swallows, & lots of other "creatures"...giant lobsters, an eagle, an elephant, a baby turtle, a dolphin chasing a jellyfish, and the hand of Satan himself. Whatever your imagination could see in the weird formations...

We learned that we were lucky to have new equipment, as some outfits still use the old-fashioned tire tubes, and the tubers must stay connected by having the feet of the person behind you under your armpits. Shaid told us that there were more than a few complaints about someone's stinky feet inches from your face. It was a very relaxing & peaceful trip.

Back to the station for lunch, part of the tour...a plate of beans & rice, cole slaw, and chicken.

After we got back to the B&B, Francois helped us set up another trip for tomorrow. Then we walked to the supermarket & got some nourishment. After all, termites aren't all that filling.

Backwards in Time

Sunday, June 9, 2013
Miami, Florida to Belize City, Belize

Nighttime fell upon us, but sleep did not. Montana tried to curl up in her spacious First Class seat, but what actually happened to her is unknown. There are suspicions that she might have slept a little. LuRue watched an entire movie, but she still couldn't sleep a wink. Saved by games on her Kindle, she made it to Miami.

The 3-1/2 hour layover was filled with a fast-food breakfast from a pizza place and playing games on the Kindle. The flight to Belize was about an hour and a half & this time we both kept nodding off until  our head jerks brought us back to reality. Neither reached the door to Dreamland.

Guess what! More First-Class meals! But this time we would have gladly traded what we got for a PB & J. The meal included a large green salad, which Montana declined joyfully. The only main dish left was halibut, but these two Alaskans have had much better halibut. The one main accomplishment was feeling stuffed to the gills so there's no desire to eat the rest of the day.

We cruised into Belize without crucial incidents, our bags arrived safely, and we were happy to see Mark, the taxi driver, waiting for us at the front entry. He was very engaging, giving us short historical and cultural lessons on the way to the B&B.

Francoise was there to greet us and show us to our spacious room. She's a delightful lady who is very friendly & will help us with planning our days here.

After unpacking & settling in, we walked to the beach, which is a block away. The street was lined with gorgeous flowers of so many varieties.The water is very warm & inviting temperature-wise, but unfortunately the river empties into this area, so the water is brown, silty, and unswimmable.

During our walk we tried to find out what time it was because we were totally confused by so many different sources. We thought it must have been late afternoon because, in our heads, we had continued to travel east. We forgot about Belize being west of Miami and in the Central Time Zone. Now we have set most of our clocks, watches, etc to 3:30pm.

We decided we might get a bit hungry before tomorrow morning. Belgi, Fransois' hostess, gave us directions to the supermarket... about a 10-minute walk away. Unfortunately it closed at 2 pm on Sunday & by now it was 4:30. A bit later, we saw Francois & begged 2 slices of bread with jam from her. We stole from tomorrow's breakfast, but at least we won't go to bed hungry.