Thursday, February 15: Home and Reflections

We had an uneventful flight home, arriving home about 2 AM on the 16th. The Delta lounge in Atlanta where we spent our 5 hour layover had a shower!

What would I have done differently?
First, cancel the rain. It was fine most of the time (And certainly far nicer than the extreme cold and oodles of snow we were getting back home), but it did hamper us quite a bit.
But of the things in my control...
We made the right decision getting the car for the first week, and we were happy not having the car in St. Ignaceo.
I would keep the first 3 stays roughly the same, but add a trip to Hopkins in the middle and skip Belize City, staying near the airport on the last day.
So..
1. Brucie's Cabin in the Community Baboon Sanctuary: 3 nights was perfect
2. Hopkins: 3-4 nights to give us enough time to snorkel, possibly spend more time seeing Frigate Bird Island, and getting a feel for the Garafina culture.  Preferably stay in a hut right on the beach.
3. Yaxche Jungle Camp--3-4 nights with the focus on doing caves.
4. Parrot Nest tree fort at Bullet Tree Falls: 3-4 nights would have been adequate, although a week was nice too

Wednesday, Feb 14: Museum of Belize

We nixed the original plan of going snorkeling on Caye Caulker since we had already gone snorkeling and didn't love it enough to go again, and the idea of going to the Caye and hanging out as a bad idea since rain was forecasted. It turns out that it didn't rain, but neither of us particularly like beaches, so we were probably happier staying here. 

We walked past the place where cruise ships dock and were underwhelmed with all the pushy vendors--although the area did feel safer.

In the afternoon we went back to the ice cream store and got a coconut cream/soursop sundae. 

Then we walked to the Museum of Belize, built as a prison in 1857 and used as such until 2002.  Some of the sections included Mayan history--a few artifacts but more information, slave history, an actual jail cell, butterflies and some really creepy-looking bugs, and more.

Ear Flares--hard to believe anyone could wear those huge ones on their earlobes!

Replica of the skeleton at Altun Ha showing where the jade head was found.

Xunantunich Ruins where we had been 2 days ago

Monday, February 13: Bus to Belize City

I had hoped to go tubing again, but it was pouring rain, making the river too dangerous. It had been difficult to get out at the end the previous time, and with the extra water, the current would be even stronger. 

Instead I walked down to say goodbye to Manuella, Margaret, and Lucy. 

Hammock Attachment

After that Theo dropped us off at the bus station. Given how hard it was raining, how much of the road was covered by water, and how heavy my pack had become, it was a huge blessing! We caught the express bus this time rather than the regular bus. I sat below the emergency exit in the ceiling which dripped water onto me whenever the bus stopped. But that was insignificant in comparison to the people who got the drip when the bus was moving. Given that the express bus stopped just as many times as the regular bus, I decided that the only difference between the express bus and the regular bus was the additional word in the front, "Express". It's also possible that the express bus has the luggage rack in the ceiling while the regular bus doesn't.

  One thing that we did notice is that the bus didn't usually stop completely for a stop sign or if only one person was getting on or off. One guy forgot his backpack, and they tossed it off the bus after him. Many of the stops were at the ubiquitous and rather large speed bumps, so the bus combined an almost complete stop for the bump with people climbing in and out. Very efficient!

Urgent Care Equivalent--on bus route

Once in Belize City we took a taxi to Hotel Sea Breeze. It was very clean, but not in the best of neighborhoods.

We went for a walk, going over the historic swing bridge to the south part of town and even more quickly back again--we discovered quite quickly that south of the river isn't the best idea for two women traveling alone. Then we walked around the north part of town, the best part of which was the ice cream shop which had air conditioning. It was in the 90s and humid.

Monday, Feb 12: Xunantunich, Tubing, and a Very Fun Hike!

As soon as we heard that the river had gone down enough that the ferry across the river to Xunantunich was finally open, we headed out. Taking the taxi to St. Ignaceo ($1) , the bus to Xunantunich ($1), the hand-cranked ferry across the river (included with our $5 entrance fee),

 and walking up the steep hill one mile to the ruins, we were one of the first people there. Although the fog was present, we could see quite far all around us. The border to Guatemala was only a kilometer away, the closest we came to the border in our stay. We walked around all the different ruins and climbed to the top of the highest one, El Castillo.  El Castillo, the second tallest structure in Belize is 130 feet high.  After we walked back down the hill, much easier than the climb up--and much hotter--we took the ferry back across, the bus back to San Ignaceo, and the taxi back to Parrot Nest.

Air Plants

On our trip we saw police lights and heard an ambulance for the first time. The police appeared to have just finished arresting a couple of guys. They were loaded into the back of a pick-up truck with their hands on their head. At the very back of the truck was a military guy who probably had a machine gun pointing at them.

I had thought to just relax in the hammock for the afternoon, but some new guests were interested in tubing, so I was delighted to go with them and show them the route.  Keva the dog came with us, first climbing onto my feet in the water, but then moving over to the person who was a dog trainer. and staying with her.   Then at 4:30 I met Manuella's daughter Lucy, and we went for a long walk to her parents' farm up in the hills. It was really fun! There we picked coconuts to drink. It was dark by the time we got back.

Margaret's Future House

The Living Area on the Farm

An Awkward Attempt to Remove a Coconut

The Walk Home

Sunday, Feb 11: Church

Today was a dry hot day, reaching 90 degrees--dry meaning no rain; there was still lots of humidity. We went to San Ignaceo at noon and ate lunch at the new Indian restaurant.  Then we came back to the Parrot Nest and went tubing.  The water had gone down significantly but was still higher than the previous time I had gone tubing and much higher than the river normally is--close to the top of the second bank. I got stuck in the becalmed water between the two sets of rapids, and back paddling while in the inner tube was getting me nowhere, so I finally turned over and swam out. Getting out was also interesting because of the fallen tree right by where we needed to get out.  We ran into the tree to stop us and then clambered over and under the branches and scrambled up on shore. It was great fun! 

At five PM I met Manuella outside her home, and we walked to church. The church was conducted all in Spanish, but I recognized the tune from one or two of the songs. I also learned a few Spanish words. I enjoyed it despite not knowing the language.

Saturday, February 10, 2017: Birding

We got up at 5AM so that we could catch a taxi and be at the San Ignaceo Resort and Hotel by 6 for a birding tour. First we stood on the terrace, high above the ground and looked around. The toucan which usually comes around 6:30 did not show up, but we heard a toucan and saw many other birds. Then we walked through the forest trail past a couple of small waterfalls and saw many other birds, getting a very close up view of the motmot.

We then went to the market where I got another fresh coconut which I could drink out of with a straw. When I finished I took it back, and he cut it open and scooped the coconut flesh out for me.

At dusk we went looking for a toucon but saw several yellow headed parrots instead. I also saw a large male green iguana in the driveway.

Friday, February 9: Goats and Rain

In the morning I went for a couple of walks, the first 2.5 miles and the second 3 miles. The first one was over the river and up a dirt road looking for toucons, but instead I found goat and horses tied up at the playground.It was not uncommon to find dogs lying in the middle of the road and chickens wandering free. It was raining, the rivers were high, and some of the roads were big puddles.  It was raining so hard that the goat was moved to a little more sheltered area when I got back--tied up to the road sign.

Papaya and Banana Trees

On the Road

A Sideroad!

Typical Cemetery in Belize

 

 In the afternoon we caught a ride with our host to the taxi stand and then took a taxi to San Ignaceo. There was an enormous spider in Marcus' car which hid when we opened the door. 

The Very Large Spider in its Lair

In San Ignaceo we looked around the Friday market, buying some Belize food and some fresh squeezed orange juice. It was still raining hard intermittantly, and the rivers were all really high.

At the Market

 In the afternoon we visited the family I had met a few days earlier and talked about cake making and embroidery. The mom was Manuella, and the two daughters that I talked to most were Margaret and Lucy.

Manuela's House