Adios Belize

This is Mike...
We had fun in Belize and will never forget the fond memories. The people were great and we never had any issue with security the whole time. It is also such a great experience to be able to speak English everywhere. We can see why so many expats are moving there; for cost, lifestyle, or whatever makes them happy.

Roughing it at the Green Parrot on Maya Beach

Not so easy to turn a bus without a front axle :)

Sunrises were very nice on the coast. The kids got up earlier than us to run out on the beach to watch the sun come over the horizon, it was so sweet to watch them filled with so much life.

The girls made friends with the caretaker's daughters who spoke perfect Mopan-Maya and English. The kids clicked so well together that when we checked into the rental they left us after five minutes to play with the other kids. We saw them 6 hours later when it was dinner time. 

Kids around the world are mesmerized when it comes to watching a Disney movie

 

The coolest gas pump! I had to take a picture of it. (for boats and cars to fill up in Placencia)

Laughing Bird Caye is a beautiful national park

Paradise

Zoe and Sierra liked Laughing Bird Caye because of all the barracuda in the water 

Elusive Whale Sharks and Divemasters

This is Elise.  I just got back from an all day whale shark diving excursion.  Whale sharks get up to 60 feet long and feed on small particles in the ocean.  They come to feed in the spring around the full moon while the snapper are spawning.  So the spot to see them is about 1 and a half hours out on a fast boat.  The kids weren't allowed to go so Mike and kids stayed at our lovely beach cottage.  So, I am diving without a buddy, but in a group.  I go out with a reputable, professional organization with good reviews.  I am a little apprehensive because it is a "blue water" dive, meaning there is no bottom.  You are in very deep water with no visible bottom.  If you don't see whale sharks then you don't see much at all.  From what the dive master said I though we would all be diving together.  I intending on staying close to them because the dive masters are familiar with the waters and the boat captain usually knows where you will be surfacing.  Everything started out fine.  It is a little disorienting to be in clear deep water and easy to get to 100 feet without realizing it.  I was fine until the divemaster and rest of the group took off.  I thought they must have seen a whale shark and be chasing it.  I followed but somehow soon got left behind.  I felt totally abandoned.  Luckily I wasn't the last person and there were three others behind me.  I got close to them because you aren't supposed to dive without a buddy.  The rest of the group was nowhere in sight.  I am used to the kind of guided dive when they are constantly asking if you are okay and checking your air supply.  No one was watching out for me on this dive.  I could've been at the bottom of the ocean or bobbing at the surface for all anyone knew.  I was scared and angry.  I kept my head and watched my air and depth and realized I was totally on my own.  I followed the snorkelers from our boat thinking the boat should be following them but in reality the snorkelers were following us.  Who is leading this dive?  I don't have a dive computer so I don't know how I am doing with my nitrogen levels.  I am in the middle of the ocean and I don't know where the boat is.  Finally we catch up to the other divers while I am running low on air.  I do a safety stop on my own using my watch.  I surface to a boat in choppy seas and now have to climb a ladder that is bouncing up and down precariously with my tank on.  I swallow some salt water in the process.  Get safely back on board, cussing mad.  I thought I was diving with a group and was left on my own.  Luckily I can take care of myself and didn't  panic.  If I had been a more inexperienced diver there may not have been a happy end to this story.
Nobody saw any whale sharks on the first dive.  I saw the fin of one on the second dive and also had the weird experience of being underneath some dolphins on the second dive.  Some people saw more whale sharks on the second dive but they were very elusive.
We are leaving for Tikal, Guatemala tomorrow morning and we will spend at least two days there.  Then Rio Dulce then Copan, Honduras, then Antigua.
I feel like I am still on a boat.  The room is rocking back and forth.

A good day to be a dad

This is Mike...
Today, at 1 pm in the afternoon, Sierra and I were driving home on a small road when we passed a couple of Mayan women and their children waiving at us. Sierra asked, "Dad what are they doing?" and I replied, "They are hitch hiking." She replied, "Why?" I explained they are probably trying to get home for the Easter holiday this weekend. She was still puzzled and said, "why don't they just walk?" I responded by saying, "It was hot and walking with a couple of kids in tow is not easy and imagine just how thirsty they would get." She then asked, "Why don't you pick them up?" I said OK, let's do it and turned around. She was surprised and said, "What if they are dangerous?" I said, "They are clearly a stranded family and just need a ride." She was so nervous to pick them up, was jittery and her voice began to screech the closer we got to them. We stopped the 4 Runner next to them and they were so relieved that someone stopped. We asked them if they needed a ride and the little girls almost jumped out of their skin with joy. I said, "Hop in, we are going to town." The family piled into the car, the mom in the front with me, and the three daughters hopped in the back seat with Sierra. Sierra began speaking with the kids and found a lot of commonality in a very short period of time. I was speaking with the mom and asked if she was visiting family in Placencia for Easter and she said no. She went on to say that they left home at 430am this morning to catch a bus to the harbor whereby they caught a ferry to this peninsula so that they can sell Mayan items. I replied rather loudly and with amazement, "430 in the morning?" The little girl in the back said, rather sadly, "Yeah and we haven't sold anything all day." I dropped them off in front of the beach house we are renting and called out for Zoe and Elise to come outside. They came outside and saw we had guests. I said, "come on over let's look at what they are selling." All the attention was on the goods for sale. Unbeknownst to me was Sierra and the little girl were talking to themselves. The little girl was so enamored with a coloring book laying on the floor of the backseat. That's when Sierra asked, "Would you like to keep it?" and of course the cute little girl nodded. When I caught wind of what was going on, Sierra had decided to run into our beach house to get her some crayons and pens so the little girl could decorate the book when she got home.  We ended up buying $50 BZ worth of stuff and Sierra gave the little girl $20 BZ from her own savings on top of that. It was a win-win, they were happy and we felt great. Sierra is champ for noticing, a champ for giving, and a champ for caring. Today was one of those wonderful moments where I can say, "It was a good day to be a dad!" 
               

The otherside worth mentioning

This is Mike...
   The Caribbean has a lot of beautiful places but also has it's share of spoiled places. Trash that washes out of storm drains in the US, Mexico, Cuba or where ever, floats until it hits a beach. We have been to several areas in the Caribbean prior to this trip and the scenario is always the same. The local shop owner's pay cleaning crews to bury the debris and sometimes, though rarely, haul it away. This too is the image of paradise, paradise lost, that is. The shear quantity of plastics floating in the ocean is unfathomably large. Worse yet, is the glass and yes broken glass, that can strewn a beautiful tropical beach. I cannot help but think about the LORAX and how he must be shaking his head in disbelief at us and our poor stewardship of this precious world. The girls and I try to clean up trash when we see it but it is like digging out of an avalanche with 4 spoons.
   The natural setting is also being hit by the cruise ships and boats opening their sewage tanks at sea and having the material set off algal blooms and that algae hurts the reefs and sometimes making people sick with open sores. I am writing this because we don't want anyone to think we only see half full glasses and roses everywhere. There is another side to all this but we don't choose to focus on it because we all need a little more beauty and happiness in our lives. Life is not easy, no matter where we are. Sometimes life can be a struggle but that is not what motivates us. A better tomorrow is what motivates us. We believe that if enough people see the other side of paradise maybe we can fix the wrongs. I just hope it does not take too long because the animals are literally choking to death on our junk.
   On a different note, things are getting tight from time to time. Each new accommodation presents new challenges like different noises, minimal lighting, bugs etc. We have had plumbing issues, rain coming in through the ceiling issues and bugs flying through torn screen issues. There is also Elise's favorite, lack of privacy in the bathroom issues. It can be hard from time to time but these are small on the grand scheme of things. Actually, truth be told, I am amazed how we are taking things in great stride. Also, for the record, we are not bottom fishing on places to stay, we are renting nice places at least from VRBO and Trip Adviser's perspective. The standards of construction are just different and as such these issues can arise.
   Elise and I were discussing the near term itinerary for this trip and keep coming up with no plans. We are now finally slipping into the travel zone and just looking at the next steps in bite sized chunks. We will be in Belize until April 9th and after that go on to Guatemala. We are hoping for cool sights and cultures in Guatemala. We are looking at enrolling ourselves in Spanish schools and do some charity work over there as well. Beyond that all we can say is AYE AYE AYE!      
     

Manatee boat ride and Tranquilo Bar

Manatee swimming in the lagoon

Tranquilo Bar, you need to catch a five minute boat ride to get to this place 

Nothing says cheers to the end of the day like a strawberry shake

the vagabonds

Taking the boat back to the harbor at night

This is how the other half lives (notice the helicopter up top, James Bond style)

Placid waters

Zoe reflecting on losing yet another tooth

Stuff

This is Elise.  As I am writing this Mike is dropping off two large suitcases full of stuff that we don't need to a charity.  One of the hard lessons we have had to learn on this trip is that just because it fits in the car doesn't mean we should be hauling it all over Central America.  Some of the stuff are things we use everyday at home (makeup), some of it are things we thought we needed in case of emergency (water purification and mylar blankets).  We had to accept that having too much stuff was making it hard to find the things and detracting from our trip instead of making us more comfortable.

     Belize is a hard country to define or put into a box.  The inland area is highly influenced by the surrounding Latin American countries.  Most people speak Spanish and many are from Guatemala or El Salvador. (Not counting the hordes of ex pat Canadians.)  It is jungle and mountain.  The coastal areas are more Afro-Carribean.  The people here often speak Creole.  Every where people are very friendly and helpful.  I haven't felt like I was in danger or about to get robbed at any point. (We haven't been and aren't going to Belize City which is the place rumored to be crime ridden.)  Placencia is a pleasant little town on a peninsula. We chose to stay here to avoid the hassle of getting to the more popular Ambergris Caye or Caulker Caye.  If those islands look anything like the small cayes we took a boat ride out to then we really missed out. So often though the reality doesn't measure up to the hype. 

Caye to fun

Zoe likes drawing on the beach and makin' easy mon

The neighboring caye

The girls floating in the shallows after lunch

Sierra chillin' island style, ya mon

The "Swamp Thing" is alive!

This is Mike... 
We went to Silk Caye (about 22 miles by boat from Placencia) yesterday for some snorkeling and lounging around. The abundance of fish and a healthy reef was quite a site to see, it felt as if we were flying with millions of fish just below us. We were gone all day so they served lunch on the caye so we wouldn't starve to death. After lunch we went out to a nearby sand bar, by boat, and that's where the excitement began. We saw a couple Loggerhead turtles, stingrays, and about a dozen or more nurse sharks. The girls enjoyed swimming with the animals very much and seemed to take it all in. On the way back from the sand bar we ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. That was an interesting experience to punctuate a great day. After a distress call, a fellow boater dropped off some gas with us and we were off to town.     

The lowest hammock I ever saw

Zoe kicking back on the hammock she has coined, "the lowest hammock I ever saw." The hammock is about 4 inches off the ground and she laughs at it a lot

The girls made fun of me for taking a hot shower on a hot day which made me sweat and I was already sweating to begin with. They did not think I would post this picture because I am holding a ladies fan to cool off. They are both laughing at me as I am typing this caption.

This is Zoe...(dictated by Zoe typed by Daddy)
It is funny but I am writing this about my dad holding the girl's fan, which was very funny. There is a creek where we are staying now. We went away from the place where my dad was holding the fan. The are lots of sea shells where we are now. We came over to the beach from the forest. We are still in Belize. There are lots of palm trees here and I saw two coconuts at the beach today. I feel like our home is connected to the beach because of the creek. I am not sure what this is, a creek, river, beach, I am not sure. The lowest hammock I ever saw is on the picture above. My butt was touching the ground on the hammock and that was today. I saw two love birds and one just flew away. I don't know where the other one went? They were about to kiss with their cute beaks. I slept on a futon for the first time last night. It was comfortable but Sierra took my doggy pillow and I had to go on the other side of the futon. My dad's eyes are blue and mine are brown, hahahahaha. Can I have a stretching break? Daddy did you really write that? Don't really write that!
The lagoon is really deep. My daddy just told me what it is called. Sierra got scared yesterday about swimming in the lagoon. We really did see something, it was a needle fish. I had a delicious lunch with eggs, milky icky cheese and cinnamon toast. I did not eat the cheese but took a bite of it and know it is yucky. There is a lady selling carrot bread in the front yard now. I gotta go. I like carrot bread a lot lot lot!   

Chance encounters

Canal boogie boarding

Canal view

Doing the sunset ritual

This is Mike...
   We arrived in Placencia yesterday evening after a 4 hour drive on the hummingbird highway, south to the ocean. Placencia is at the end of a long peninsula with a lagoon on one side and the ocean on the other. The peninsula is so skinny in a few parts, that it is barely a hundred feet wide. We are staying at a home with a couple condo units on the ground floor on the lagoon side of the peninsula. Placencia is a cute little village with a lot of young families similar to what we used to have in Austin. In fact, last night we got a deluxe tour of the boardwalk by a squad of little girls. Sierra and Zoe were amazed to see the other kids. The squad was made up of two Italian girls and two Norwegian girls and two north American girls also Zoe and Sierra. All the kids were of similar age and spoke perfect English and were very friendly. Also Across the canal from us is another house filled with kids from Colorado. Our hope is that our kids can relax and unwind a bit with the kids as they surely deserve it.
   To date, our kids have been superb travelers. They are flexible and understand that each day unfolds rather than us planning it. Don't postpone travels because of kids, rather start traveling because of them. Kids see the world in such different ways, as such can teach us old farts so much. They are not bogged down by politics, language, etc. they are just looking for the next cool experience. Also, their cool experiences are not necessarily expensive. They have created bouquets of wildflowers for a mock weddings, tried to draw the horizon with crayons, play pretend games without end, and so on.
   Two days ago I met someone that reminded me of Kyle Anderson. The guy was a Guatemalan and spoke perfect English. He spoke of his family and how he tries to spend the most time possible with them. He said, when he leaves the house in the morning he only thinks about how soon he can go home. It was so awesome because Kyle said almost the exact same thing to me six months ago. It is strange how a chance meeting can stir up memories. Maybe it is that easy! Maybe meeting other people and seeing the similarities between us is the point. Acknowledging that we are each unique but not special will be a challenge to both live and teach my kids.
   Here is to chance encounters and the wisdom they can provide                   

Fun on the farm

This is Sierra.  I can't believe that time has gone by so fast.  We are in Belize!  If you can Belize it! Ha, ha,ha. (Can you belize that they actually say that all the time?)  Today we worked on a farm and we got to hold a baby sheep.  It was a lot of fun.  When I went on to to feed the daddy sheep, I stopped and thought, "I am just feeding sheep and I am tired already."  All the other people, like Natalya, probably have a lot of work to do.  Then, one hour later, I was planting hibiscus and we ran out of water to let the baby hibiscus drink.  When we went back and forth to get the water the person who was driving me said, "Do you want to drive the golf cart?"  Who wouldn't say, "YES!"  When I was trying to turn I came within a millimeter of hitting a tree.  That was fun!
P.S. Ms. Wood, if you are reading this, thanks for putting up this link on the class blog

It's feeding time on the back forty

The girls have decided to become vegetarians again

We see this as affection the lamb probably just wants to move on to greener pastures

Chocolate the old school way

After grinding the cacao beans to a paste, the girls added hot water to make a gritty and very bitter 100% cacao drink. We did add honey and raw sugar later to make it sweeter and more enjoyable. The kids worked on their "drink of the gods" with incredible attention and detail.

Sierra is grinding the cacao beans with a traditional stone. The stone has a rough side which the Mayans carved grooves into for added grip to help pulverize the beans. The stone also has a smooth side which was used at the end stages when the cacao turns to a paste.

Zoe working on the cacao beans with much focus

Sierra is trying to keep the beans in the center so they don't fall off the grind stone

The Mayan lady explained how important the role off cacao was to the Native Americans and was used as currency in the post classic period. The Native Americans called the liquid chocolate "the drink of the gods" and was mainly used by the spiritual leaders and royal courts for various rituals. This chocolate did not have any milk in it, as such, did not melt as easily as our chocolates. Also, the chocolate was a bit gritty in addition to the bitterness. The biggest surprise was how this pure chocolate actually gave us he sensation of being full after just a little bit of it. Imagine not only being satisfied from the chocolate high but it also working as an appetite suppressant. There is a lot we think we know about food but a true gap remains regarding the benefits of pure super food.  There is more to chocolate than a Hershey bar, a lot more.

Belize

This is Elise. The neighbor just down the road here is plowing over 80 acres of rainforest to raise cattle. We can hear the crackle as the bulldozer pushs over the big trees. I think of all the animals and birds being displaced and killed as the forest is being destroyed.  How do we stop it?  We don't. We can't. It's his land to do what he wants with. If it was your land would you want someone telling you what you could do with it?  This property we are staying on has 5 acres that's mowed and landscaped. In all honesty it is more pleasant to stay here than in the middle of the jungle. I just ate some beef yesterday. Somebody had to cut down some forest to raise that cattle. Do I wish I could save even that 80 acres? Of course. I had a nightmare about the forest being bulldozed. I woke up screaming,"No! No! No! ".
There are conservation efforts here. The Belizeans are proud of their country and are trying to conserve it. There is much less trash here than in Mexico. I like the mix of cultures and the friendly easy going people. It reminds us a lot of Hawaii with the beautiful countryside and easy going people. We have to remind ourselves to be vigilant about our belongings because we know there is crime here. It's easy to become complacent when it's so pretty here and everyone is so nice.

Pine Ridge and Thousand Foot Falls

A cool area at the top of the Pine Ridge Mountains. This is a spring fed region with lots of cascading pools to cool off in

Pine Ridge Mountains have a lot of fauna including big cats. The ranger at the observatory said not too long ago he saw a big jaguar in his yard. He also said you can hear the mountain lions every night all around his house. He said they roar all the time. Also, he believes there are black panthers as well but has never seen one. This was an awesome area.

The thousand foot fall is actually 1650 feet tall.

Farmer's market and some farmer Janes

A sunset view from the place we are staying at.

Zoe eating street food at an El Salvadoran vendor in the the farmer's market. For the record, the street food is simply awesome but you have t look the other way on the cleanliness of the prep stations.

The girls went shopping for all the veggies and fruits we needed for the next couple of days

The girls wanted to harvest coconuts to drink the water and our gracious host took them out for a  harvest

The girls are real troopers when it comes to yard work

A tooth and a skeleton

Zoe (AKA money bags) was happy to lose another tooth so she could get flush with cash again

We found a full skeleton on the gravel road to our place. For a science and nature lesson we had Zoe take a good look at the skeleton and asked her to try to identify the remains based on her knowledge of the surrounding fauna. We even went to great lengths to be scientific with the remains. When we asked her scientific opinion on what the remains could be, she said "it looked like a Rhinoceros." No joke, a friggen Rhino.   

Xunantutich

The girls at the base of the ruins. We all really had a great time here

Climbing the steep ruins is not for the faint at heart. Elise and Sierra stopped half way up the structure.

Zoe and I, made it to the nose bleed section of the temple. Un-Belizable views from atop the ruins

Just imagine during the hay-day of this site you would not be able to see one stone as the whole place would have been covered in red plaster along with accented murals

These ruins are located just outside the town of San Ignacio, Belize. There is a small ferry boat ride you have to take to get to the ruins so that eliminates a lot of the traffic that would otherwise occur. Locals say there is a legend of a "White Maiden" that presents herself on occasion to try to entice unsuspecting men to follow her into the caverns of the temple. She glows like a ball of light with a flowing gown. OK, I get the legend but for the record, if a glowing, floating woman comes before me the last thing I would do is follow her into the bowels of an ancient temple. I would get "Ghostbuster" on her real quick.