North to South

Today, we set out with the intent to go to the north end of the island to see what we could see, then finish down to the southern end where there is an archaeological site. As we headed out, what did we see but road work! Graded out the bulk of the pot holes in the dirt road for the last mile or so heading to the condo. Followed most of the usual route, until downtown when we went to "Back Street" and kept going north.

 

There we hit the toll bridge - $5 BZ for each crossing. Not everyone was quite understanding of this, as we heard it being explained going both directions. On the north side, the road is concrete, and flat. We tooled along as fast as the cart would go for quite a while. The North side has much larger (5-6 story, ~60-80 unit) places, unlike our little complex, as is further from the downtown, not to mention the toll charge. The vegetation also changed - more mangrove swamp on the bay side, and fewer trees.

The top end, where we turned around - my guess was about mile 7 north.

On the way back, there was a road west - we headed that way. A beach was at the far end, but due to road wash out we stopped about 1/2 km short. There was an observation platform on the side of the road, so Harley climbed up to take a view. Not too much to see, except the bay in the distance.

We stopped in the downtown core to have lunch, then people watched for a while. Headed south after, following our usual route. We stopped for OJ from the "the Baker" and milk from the store - but they were out - our little corner store to the rescue! They had it. We stopped at the condo, for a pit stop and to put the liquids in the fridge. We then headed south.

The far end was much the same as around here - but there were a large number of lots for sale.

 

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

Today, Harley and I had a snorkeling trip booked for the afternoon. In the morning, Mom remembered that she had seen a disposable waterproof camera at a sore downtown. So,, she and I headed down to pick it up, and grabbed sausage rolls and cinnamon rolls for lunch from the Baker.

Harley and I headed out at 1, joining the rest of the group for a total size of 10. We headed out promptly, arriving at the site when only one or two other boats. We were given the rules - don't touch anything, stay with your group ( having been split into two groups of 5), walk to the ladder with your fins in hand - and two of the other groups promptly broke all of the rules within 10 minutes.

Still, the reef is quite impressive - green turtle, sting ray right away, along with numerous other fish and a nurse shark. We got to swing around the reef once - the name Hol Chan means 'break in the reef' - it's at the narrowest deep break in the barrier reef. After we all were back on the boat, we headed off to the next reef with a cold Coke in hand. The second reef was called Shark Ray Alley - there was an eagle ray that swam under the boat as we arrived. The area certainly holds to the name. As soon as we were in the water, there were about 8 nurse sharks - of course the small amount of bait fish the guide was adding to the water helped gather them - they hung around for about 10 minutes before moving on to other areas. We got to spend more time wandering around the reef before heading back to the dock. Photos won't be available until the camera is sent in, as it's an old fashioned film camera...

We made plans for tomorrow and the 31st, then had dinner - Harley got Mom an after meal treat at the local store. Not a crumb was left - as Harley said, she was a clean plate ranger!

 

Dec 27 and 28

Easy Days! We slept in Sunday, and spent the whole day doing as little as possible - Mom read her book on the couch, Harley read his kindle on the beach, and I worked on a puzzle. We had a late lunch of a sandwich, so Harley and I made nachos for dinner. That was the excitement for the day, as it was extremely windy outside.

Monday, Mom and I headed to to the downtown again after making snorkel plans for Harley and I. We spent a pleasant few hours souvenir shopping, stopping for another break on the beach.

We picked up some more shrimp from the grocer, and had a shrimp salad for dinner. Quite yummy!

 

Boxing Day

After a slow start to the morning, we sent a note to the property management regarding a broken toilet handle, and question regarding the golf cart rental - thinking it was tomorrow that it was coming - instead, it was today!

Anyway, it meant that the golf cart arrived just before noon - after a quick check out of the process (locking it up as there is a universal ignition key), we decided to head to the downtown core.

After a trip around the core to see what was open, because there were quite a few places celebrating Boxing Day, we started close to one end of the street, but unlike last time when we walked the street, this time we wandered up the beach.

After a while, it was time for a break, and we decided to get some food - Mom's papaya smoothie was refreshing, and the fish and chips and nachos were both fresh and well prepared. We sat and people watched for quite a while, then headed back to the street.

While Harley walked back to get the golf cart, Mom took the opportunity to look at a stall selling woven goods - after a bit of a haggling, and walking away, Mom got her price and has a new runner for the dining room table. We then took the drive back down to the condo, where because of the late lunch we ended up not having dinner and hit the sack.

 

Christmas Day

 

We left a note for Santa. I think he appreciated the beer.

Woke early to fancily wrapped packages under the TV set. Sun was up, but wind was blowing ripples on pool. Andrea heated up sausage rolls and Cinnamon rolls made in the nearby bakery - delicious. After, we opened our presents. Lots of coloring to do and Lego to build. We enjoyed our deck, read, talked to neighbors and watched the boats for most of the afternoon. About 6PM Andrea did a Christmas dinner in the toaster oven. All groceries found at the local stores.

We did text with Lora Leigh, Jason and the girls, and got snapshots of the girls as they enjoyed their gifts. Opened the Lego boxes here, and have built a Santa's village all under Harley's Christmas lights.

 

Lamanai

Today started at 6, as we were headed to the Lamanai Mayan site. We met the boat at 7, and picked up the rest of the tour group at their dock before starting towards Belize City. Halfway there, next to an uninhabited section of island, where we had breakfast- breakfast burrito and pineapple.

After reaching the dock at Belize City, we switched from boat to bus - a school bus. From the city, we headed north towards the city of Orange Walk. Along the way, you really get a vie of what the lowland inner stretch of the country looks like, and how sparsely populated the area is. Of the 350000 Belizians, 1/3 live in the City, while a much less dense population lies north. Many of the locals were out waiting for the local busses, which also happen to be school busses. A number of homes along the way had their surrounding trees, which the guide Alan, explained were to supplement the family table as well as income - avocado, cashew, papaya were a few pointed out. He also said most had their own ponds where they would farm their own tilapia.

 

 

Just before the main city of Orange Walk, the destination of the Lamanai EcoTours was there, on the bank of the New River. After a bathroom break, we boarded a larger speed boat. A quick trip up to Monkey Island, where the local resident spider monkey came down for a visit. Along the way, we also saw the smallest hawk in Belize, which hunts insects; a snake cactus, and bromeliads (orchids) covering trees.

At the site, we stopped for lunch - rice & beans, stewed chicken and cole slaw. Alan made sure each one of us had a bottle of water before being sent up the walk to take a quick look at the self-explanatory museum site and meeting the Lamanai guide. He explained the site was first escavated in 1976(8) by a expedition from the Royal Ontario Museum, and noted that this site had the largest number of known Mayan buildings, though the majority of the buildings are still covered by the jungle. In fact the temples were constantly changed as rulers turned over.

The next temple was the tallest of them all at the site - 300 feet. Just 6mo ago, they cleared the west side and installed a set of wooden stairs, replacing the rope that led up the main stone staircase - saves both the site and tourists from harm. At the top of the temple, you still had to climb the stone steps using hands and feet. Then at the top, you had the 360 degree view, along with the howler monkeys howling. The trip down the steps was more harrowing then the trip up, as you knew one slip and it would be all the way down. Directly in line with the steps is a ball court - the center stone is hollow, and thought to be mercury filled. Today's sports super stars wouldn't try to be so super if they were Mayan - the best player of the game was fêted as a hero for a few hours prior to being the next sacrifice.

 

The last temple was the Jaguar Temple - the local Mayan king still lived in a house across from this temple when the Spanish arrived in the 1500's. A damaged calendar stone rests in the courtyard between the house foundation and the temple. Alan had shown Mom around the museum before showing her the Belize state flower (black orchid), then he helped her to walk up to the temple so she could see it for herself.

 

We then inverted the trip - speed boat back to the bus, bus back to Belize City - where we were given pop, beer or rum punch, along with a few snacks. Then the trip back across the bay, and watching the sunset - finishing the day back at the dock at 5:30. We ended the day with leftover fish chowder and grilled cheese sandwiches.

 

Easy Day 2

Spent today at condo, mainly taking it easy - Harley and I borrowed the bikes and rode into town. We picked up a couple of souvenirs chosen on the last trip and stocked the larder for Christmas dinner.

Have finished one puzzle, and stared a second one...