Paradise - Belizean Style

It’s 2:30 in the afternoon and I’m sitting in the hammock on our balcony up on the big hill - overlooking most of San Ignacio. From my vantage point, the only thing I can see in front of me is a makeshift flagpole with two white rags tied to the end, flapping in the breeze. The fact that they are moving at all is a great sign...any kind of breeze to cut through the heat is something to rejoice at. But I was sitting here wondering what this “flag” was for, who put it up, what it represents?....Is it a surrender, a political statement, or merely a tool to see where the wind is coming from? Interesting. Everywhere else in Belize, the country flags are waving and posted around in great abundance. Small and large towns alike are preparing for the big celebration this coming weekend and into next week. It’s St. George’s Day this weekend, and this kicks off a huge 10-day festival to commemorate the founding of Belize and all sorts of important national pride moments. There’s activities, parades, fireworks, music in the streets, and even more lively entertainment than usual. San Ignacio is meant to come alive in a way we haven’t seen yet...how exciting!

So far, I’ve thought that San Ignacio and it’s sister city, across the flooded river, Santa Elena, have been vivid representations of Belizean culture - fully alive with street venders offering hot barbecue, tamales, and burritos, children playing, dogs barking, roosters crowing, pick-up trucks chugging up hills, locals selling avocados and plantains, and most everyone trying to find a shady spot to escape the ever-present heat.

This weekend we found a fantastic way to embrace the tropical heat - we went to the coast! A three-hour bus ride to Belize City and an hour-long water taxi ride found us on the pier of Caye Caulker, an island off the coast of Belize. The Caribbean water was five different shades of turquoise and the reggae music floated on the breeze. It was, quite simply - paradise. Our little shack of a hotel sat on the water’s edge and the first night the four of us girls laid on the dock watching the lightening show against the midnight backdrop while trillions of stars twinkled in a view that I haven’t seen in a really long time. Saturday brought an adventure of a life-time! We spent the whole day out on a sailboat, stopping at three different locations to snorkel. The first stop at The Reef was a bit like being in the movie, “Finding Nemo.” I actually saw Dory. And about a thousand other fish of every shape, color, and size, moving in and out of their coral neighborhoods, purple sea leaves floating, green grasses moving, and orange coral shining. It was spectacular! The reef is apparently the second largest one in the world after The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Pretty cool.

The second stop was to Shark Ray Alley - and for the first time in my life, I swam with sharks! And stingrays, and barracudas, and ginormous (ugly) fish...beyond incredible. Our guide fed the sharks and rays some tiny fish so they would have something more appetizing than human flesh to get excited about. And I even got to touch the rough skin of a nurse shark and the slimy exterior of a stingray. I was constantly inhaling salt water because I couldn’t stop laughing in total amazement of what I was seeing! Our guide swam to the bottom and picked up a big conch shell and stuffed it with fish, setting it loose while the sharks and rays fought over the prize at the bottom of the ocean floor...quite a scene!

Our final stop was at Hoi Chan - the small channel where we swam with sea turtles and around more coral reefs. We found a sea cave and watched a few brave members of our group fill their lungs with extra oxygen before venturing through the tunnel, a school of huge fish trailing behind. On the ride back to the island, we soaked up the sun, drank rum punch, and needless to say, sat in awe of our day. Saturday night we joined new friends from England for dinner and then headed to a traditional reggae bar for music and rum punch! Bob Marley played on the loud speakers and we swung on wooden swings that the bar had substituted for chairs, our feet in the sand covered floor...having a blast.

Sunday we spent the day lounging in the sun and in the ocean. We spent most of our time at The Lazy Lizard at The Split. The split is exactly what it sounds like - the part of the island that was split when Hurricane Hattie came in 2006. It’s created a section of the island that is now separated by a small channel and is mostly a nature preserve. It’s also created a beach-type area with varying levels of water to play in. This is the northernmost part of the tiny island and a very chill place to be. By the time the water taxi pulled away from the pier at 4pm on Sunday afternoon, we all felt completely filled up from our island adventure...ready to head back to San Ignacio, but certain that we will return soon to the Cayes.

It’s Tuesday as I write this, and the last two days have been filled with meeting the Cayo District social worker, drafting relevant resumes, and helping out with the feeding program. I’m also involved with teaching an 18 year-old girl how to read and write - finding that getting to play school is pretty fun. I like giving star stickers! Tonight after a volunteer meeting, the kitchen will be our playground - a Belizean feast of bean and cheese quesadillas, homemade guacamole and salsa on the menu.