1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, BELIZE!

Last weekend we went on a small day trip to Caracol, a maya archaeological site in Belize that houses the tallest building in the whole country of Belize. We left bright and early with two vans and a pickup (the vans housed us and all of the tour guides that are auditing the class) and headed up towards Mountain Pine Ridge yet again, as that is where the one road to Caracol is.

On the way there we had some small adventures - one of the tires in our van blew out so we had to pull over so that the guides could replace it. While we were stopped I went exploring with a few girls, and while using a public bathroom a lizard fell off the ceiling! It was terrifying, and one girl tried to pick it up but it ran away, the whole thing was a very entertaining fiasco.

We made it the rest of the way to Caracol without incident, but I was concerned to find out that because we are so close to the Guatemalan border, we had to have an armed escort to the site of the ruins! Two men with huge weapons drove in front of our vehicles the last half hour of the journey and then waited until we left. All around the actual site there were also guards, sitting on trees and wandering around with their guns over their shoulders. It was certainly an experience.

The ruins were beautiful, my favorite so far, but it was a very hot day so everyone was very tired. We walked around the smaller sites for a few hours, ate lunch next to a tree with orependolas (cool birds that have hanging nests), and then headed towards the tallest building.

The building, called Caana, has about 90 steps that were about up to my mid thigh that you can take to the top. Lets just say that in the blazing sun it was certainly a hike. But it was worth it, because the view from the top was absolutely amazing. We stayed up there for a bit, then hiked back down and left the park. On the way back we stopped at a small cave for about 10 minutes so people could swim, and then we arrived back in San Ignacio. It was a fun little trip, but I think I've had enough of ruins for my time here.

Easter weekend was a big weekend for us. It was our spring break, and to celebrate the fact that we had Thursday-Monday off from school we chose to go on a grand old adventure. We had been planning it for months - a trip to Guatemala. Two days at the lago de Atitlan, and two days in Antigua. By the time Thursday morning arrived, we were all quivering with anticipation at the thought of a weekend of new surroundings and adventures.

Of course, luck would have it that my alarm would not go off on that morning, but I was able to scramble to get ready. We hopped a bus bright and early to the Belize/Guatemala border where we were supposed grab our chartered van. The minute we stepped off the bus we were surrounded by men asking us to trade our money into quetzales. It was frantic and a bit stressful. We went from there into the border lines were, because we are white we were ripped off and forced to pay 2 BZ to get through the border. Another lovely Belizean scam.

We finally made it through and I'm proud to say that now my passport has two stamps - one from Belize and one from Guatemala yay! Our bus was waiting with our bus driver Alfredo right outside of the building, and we hopped in with all our bags and tried to organize ourselves quickly, and then we were off on our 16 hour drive.

The drive was broken up with a few stops for gas (where small children tried to sell us food through the windows - they had delish ice cream and MANGOES!) for food, and of course for bathroom breaks. The drive was gorgeous, and it was up these windy hills around the time it got dark so we felt as though we were on a roller coaster and we could see the large dark spot that was the lake below us. It looked like a massive black hole surrounded by tiny sparkling lights; it was beautiful. After about 15 long, exhausting hours we finally reached the town on the edge of the lake where we were supposed to take the water taxi. It took us nearly an hour to get through the town because they were having an easter procession, and we got caught behind it. But the town, Flores, was very pretty so it wasn't a bad thing. The water taxi in itself was another experience: we were so low in the water with everyone in the boat that i could reach my hand over and touch the lake. Had we had a hole we would have been wet up to our chests. The boat certainly struggled to pull us through the water, but eventually we got to the hotels. 5 were staying at a hip place called la Iguana, and the rest of us were at an eco-hotel called Hotel Islaverde. Both were great, but I fell in love with our place for sure.

Hotel Islaverde was set into a hill, with a beautiful lawn (that we could hardly see in the dark) and a lit path up through a garden to the room. The rooms were gorgeous and had these beautiful porches with hanging flowers and cushions. I felt like I was in a honeymoon brochure. It was amazing. That night we ate a delicious organic dinner and despite that fact that it was late, we all ate everything they put in front of us, and then many of us immediately went to bed.

The next morning I woke early and went out on the porch and sat quietly, watching the birds come up to feed off the flowers. I saw a few hummingbirds and it was awesome - I felt like I couldn't be in a real place, it had to be a dream. Breakfast was yet another delicious organic plate of eggs, fresh fruit, tomatoes, toast, and potatoes. And REAL coffee!!! Something Belize does not understand. We spent the day swimming and laying out in the grass, relaxing and playing cribbage. That evening we went over to the other hotel La Iguana for dinner, and it was a yummy 3 course meal that was right around the time they had happy hour, so everyone was very happy and chatty.

It was a great night, and the next morning was similar to the last. I got another delicious breakfast, walked down to the edge of the lake to watch the sun rise, and spent my last few hours lounging before we left at noon. We had another car ride, but this one was only about 3-4 hours of amazing scenery as we sped down the mountains we had climbed in the dark, taking in all the great views we hadn't seen the night before. Once we hit Antigua the atmosphere certainly changed. There were more buildings, and cobblestone streets, and we couldn't wait to be out of the van. We were split up between 5 hostels, so it took a while before everyone was unloaded, but eventually we were all out and getting settled, with plans to meet as a large group the next morning.

I was with Emily, Kalyn, and D at Hostel Quachoch, and we unpacked and then took off to explore the city. We watched an easter funeral procession (by now it was the saturday before easter) and it was very moving. The streets were filled with people, floats, and heavy incense smoke, and we were all holding candles on the sidewalks as these men in black cloaks walked by carrying these large metal canisters for the smoke and flames. The floats were carried around these beautiful carpets made of flowers called alfombras. Each float showed a different image of christ dying and being buried, and the last float was a HUGE golden float with mary magdalene on it, carried by about 45 young women. This float went over the alfombras, destroying them as a celebratory rite, and people ran forward to pick up the pieces of the destroyed flowers. I was able to get a few flower petals that I pressed in my notebook. After the procession we didn't do much else, walked around for a bit, got a bit lost on the way home, met a nice couple staying at our hostel, and went to bed with plans to get up early.

For breakfast we had mangoes, and then we went to do a bit of shopping before meeting up with the group. The people at the market are so stressful, they beg you to haggle with them, and as you walk away they are still shouting lower and lower prices at you. It's slightly terrifying. We went from the small market, to a bigger market, and then back to meet with the group, where we found out that one of the members of our group, Margaret, had broken her arm and didn't know how she'd done it. They went off the the hospital to get it looked at, and the rest of us split up again. It was an exhausting day for our group, we spent most of the day shopping and touring the city, had a delicious lunch of guacamole, and watched another easter procession - though on actual Easter Sunday there were fewer processions than the previous days. Unfortunately Good Friday was the biggest day and we had missed it. Dinner involved yet again more guacamole, and we went to bed early again, but managed to get lost a second time on the way home.

The next morning we left bright and early, and a had a similar ride home, broken up with gas stops and pee breaks. We gave two girls a ride part of the way because they had been staying at one of the hostels and we had extra room. This time it was only a 10 hour ride, so it wasn't as bad. When we got back to the border we were again harassed by those men with the money exchange, but at least this time we weren't scammed! I'd have to say that overall it was a very successful easter trip. I'd go back to Guatemala in a heartbeat!

The weekend after Caye Caulker was a little bit more relaxed. People's parents were all visiting, so Martha's Inn was on the quiet side. Friday I had the annual general meeting for my service learning project; which was very successful, and that evening I went to this cute little place called Kumquat Cottage that one girl Dani's parents had rented out. We had a cookout with her family and played bocce with stones and limes. It was a great night, and one of the first in a while to remind me of home. I got a bit homesick, but it was good to be a bit distanced from the typical San Ignacio evening.

Saturday morning I went with one of my roommates' Kalyn, another girl Margaret, and her father to Mountain Pine Ridge. Mountain Pine Ridge is a protected area right outside of San Ignacio town. Its off a long and extremely bumpy gravel/dirt road, lined with so many pine trees that you aren't sure if you are still in Belize, and instead feel like you've been transported to somewhere with landscapes more similar to Colorado. In the protected area, we first went to Thousand Foot Falls, expecting to be able to hike down and see these, according to the guidebook "amazing" falls. However, when we got there and paid the 2 bz entrance feel it was actually just a lookout where we stood miles from the falls and couldn't actually hike down because it was "too dangerous." What a scam. But this is Belize.

After that we decided not to listen to the guidebook anymore and instead chose to choose our own path. We took a side road that had a sign for Big Rock Falls, and it ended up being well worth it. There was a five minute walk down to some pools that were attached to a beautiful waterfall. It was gorgeous and the water was really cool on such a warm day. We spent a few hours swimming around and enjoying ourselves before we headed home. That little side stop certainly made up for the disappointment of the Thousand Foot Falls.

Sunday was a whole new adventure in itself. We went on a field trip for my adventure and ecotourism class, out to a small man made Caye for lunch and then to the Swallow Caye Manatee Sanctuary. On the way to the sanctuary we saw two dolphins (or porpoises couldn't be sure) alongside the boat and they were gorgeous. I love dolphins, and seeing them in the wild truly made my day. We saw a few manatees later in the afternoon, but overall the dolphins to me were more exciting. The manatees were hard to spot in the cloudy water of the sanctuary.

It amazes me the field trips that we go on for our classes. Keep posted because next weekend I am going to be going on two more field trips that are bound to be great adventures.

A few weekends ago we went on our final group sponsored trip to Caye Caulker, an island off the coast of Belize City out by the barrier reef. Its a bigger island than South Water Caye, and we had a jam packed weekend. Well first I should start off by saying it had been a busy week leading into the weekend.

Wednesday was St. Patty's day - which is celebrated by some people in Belize... and we went to happy hour and had drinks dyed green with food coloring, but it wasn't a major celebration by any means. Then on Thursday there was a birthday party for a girl who goes to Galen, and on the way there my friends and I were attacked (not bitten, just run into and chased by) by dogs in the street. It was terrifying, but right after quite funny. However, I was not feeling well, so I chose to go home rather than go to the party. On the way home from the party, while I was sleeping in my bed, a few of the girls from the program were unfortunately mugged! No one was hurt, and only two cell phones and some keys were lost, but it was traumatizing and everyone was woken up by the crying and chaos as they arrived home. Needless to say it was a stressful evening (at that point very early morning) and we were all exhausted and desperately in need of a vacation when we woke up to get ready for Caye Caulker.

To get to Caye Caulker, we got a bus to Belize city, then a water taxi out to the island. Once we were on the island we had a chance to relax. Our group was split in two; half went to paint at a high school on the island, and the other half (that I was part of) went to an area of protected mangroves to clean up trash that was deposited during a hurricane a few years ago. The volume of trash was unreal - and most of it was one of many pairs of sandals, tons of glass and plastic waste, and various other things that might fall off of ships or get washed away from beaches. In the hour or so we were there we cleaned up nearly 5 large trash bags, though it looked as though we'd done nothing. I hadn't felt well all day, so I hadn't been that helpful during the services.

That evening, we were fed a delicious dinner that I couldn't eat because I felt so ill, so I went to the pharmacy and found out that I had a parasite!! Apparently they are common, but let me tell you it was not pleasant. However, she gave me some medicine I was able to start taking that night and I was thrilled to have a reason for feeling ill. Everyone crashed quite early after having to get up so early to start the day.

The next morning we did some more community service - just the opposite activities as the day before, and then met before lunch to go on our rum punch cruise! We went with ragamuffin tours in their sailboat out to the reef, where we stopped at three separate areas to snorkel. The first site was an area of grasses where we snorkeled and saw tropical fish, then we sailed a bit longer and stopped at another site where we got to see nurse sharks and rays, and huge grouper! I even got to touch one of the rays and swim through a group of large fish. The third place was right on the edge of the reef, near a very deep drop off. We saw more fish, some barracuda, a huge ray, and even a green sea turtle (SO cute). The tour guides on the boat were great, and we blasted music and ate delicious sandwiches and fruit and they made large bins of rum punch. I was already feeling better because the medicine had taken effect, and it was a great day! To top it off, one of the girls in our group slid off the sailboat at one point, and it was one of the funniest things I've seen on this trip.

The next morning we had to ourselves, some people went to a small windsurfing lesson (I did not because I wasn't feeling well) and the rest of us just swam around and enjoyed the sunshine. None of us wanted to leave when the time came - it was a great weekend!

I'm a bit behind again... but hopefully by today I will be able to catch up!! I couldn't come up with a good title for this one... so when I asked my friends about it, the only thing remotely close to a cave that people could come up with was tunnel of love so I chose to go for it!

Three weekends ago I did one of the things I'd had plans to do since I got here - visit ATM caves. The caves are a natural 'wonder' in Belize, that are full of ancient maya artifacts and skeletons. Its an interesting excursion - you can only get to the site with tour guides, because people are not allowed private access, and head lamps must be worn. I'll have to say that in my opinion it was the life-changing experience that I thought it was. Definitely something I would recommend doing and am glad to say I have done.

We woke up bright and early on the Sunday of our tour and walked down the street to the tour-guide's office. From there we hopped in a 10 person van: me, chelsea, winter, megan, and matt, and a few med students in town for the week were in the tour group, and our tour guide's name was Orlando. It was a bumpy, relatively boring 45 minute ride out there, and when we arrived we were told to take only what we really needed and our lunches and to leave everything else in the van. Everyone was in a good mood, and we grabbed helmets and started the journey!

The 'hike' consisted of a relatively flat path through the forest for half an hour, broken up by a few 'river crossings' where we had to walk up to our knees in water, and a few stops to learn about some of the local plants. The tour guide forced us to eat this nasty plant that tasted like crushed up malaria pills, but we did it anyways because he told us it was good for our health!

The excitement started to build when we actually got to the pavilion to drop off the rest of our belongings. We could only take cameras, and socks for wearing around the artifacts so the oil on our feet didn't ruin them. We had to swim the first 20 feet into the actual cave, and from there we walked for about an hour through waist deep water, and over rocks, and through small holes. It was dark, and at one point the guide had us turn off our lamps to really see how dark it was.

All around us through the trek were these crazy mineral and rock formations, and the water was cool and clear. When we finally got to the area with the artifacts we had to take off our shoes and put on socks, and we wandered through looking at old pottery and remains of people who had been sacrificed. Nowhere in the US can you get so close to ruins! We had to walk on the sides of red tape so we didn't step on the pottery, but it amazed me that red tape was the ONLY thing between us and the real artifacts! What was the coolest were the human remains. They were all of voluntary human sacrifices, and the bones had been calcified by the minerals in the cave and were preserved where they had lain. It was awesome. Where else am I going to see perfectly preserved calcified remains literally inches from my face??

The whole tour took about three or four hours, and it was a blast! I would definitely recommend it if you are ever in Belize!!