Day 8 - Back Home!

Just a short note to conclude this year's blog...

We all woke early on our last day in Belize. Several people went out on the dock to admire the sunrise, while others dashed down to Amore's for a quick breakfast. We grabbed our suitcases and lugged 'all our stuff' down to the dock to catch the 8:30 AM water taxi to the mainland. Then on to the airport, a quick stop in Houston and back to Toronto - safe and on time.

There were lots of hugs and everyone was calling out 'Merry Christmas'. Then the group split into smaller and smaller pieces, to finish the last leg of the journey home.

I had a chance this week to reflect with each student. Everyone found this trip to be very unique and rewarding - truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  We all owe a lot to Les Frayne, for his guidance and wisdom, his constant banter and incredible dance moves (and don't forget the ice cream and cinnamon rolls). Thanks Les!

Signing off,

Chris

Day 7 - Caye Caulker

Our lovely seventh day was spent on the island of Caye Cauker.  It started with watching the sun come up at 6 AM off the dock at the end of our hotel, and what a sight it was to see. By 8 AM, it was a nice warm day with clear blue skies. Just our luck though, clouds started to move in and the wind picked up. We thought that our plans to go snorkeling on the coral reef were going to be cancelled, but the clouds passed by very quickly and snorkeling was a go! A 17 mile stretch of the coral reef that runs along the outside of Caye Caulker Island, is a protected area called the Marine Park, and was founded in 1997. This became a protected area because of the diversity of flora and fauna, and the importance of the reef in protecting the island from ocean waves and storms.

 The reef is broken into three main parts that tourists are able to explore - the south channel, shark and stingray alley and coral gardens. Our adventure started out at the south channel where our very personable tour guide Shawn came in the water with us to describe and name each coral and fish type. The south channel runs thirty feet deep. From the boat it looks like clear blue water going down to sand with nothing surrounding. Once you put your goggles on and take a look around underwater there is a whole other world. As Shawn led us around the south channel, he was able to point out many different kinds of coral that were along to bottom. Now most he told us about, he told us because they would hurt if we were to touch them, so it was a fair warning to stay away. There were multiple different kinds that we saw like the stop light parrot fish, which had many bright colours and looked as if it was glowing. Some were even friendly enough to swim with us, such as the yellow snappers.

 As a group we were most interested in two fish. We all looked down into the coral, and there was an eel. Half the group found this very interesting and was in awe. The other half including me were freaked right out! It became even more real when Shawn began to feed the eel using a conch shell that he picked up from the floor of the reef.  He held it out for the eel to swim up and grab the dead fish that Shawn had tucked into the shell. We did not realize that behind us was a barracuda. He was eyeing all of us up, perhaps to see which one was most tasty. We were told to not look at him and to just keep swimming, but you always had one eye watching out to see where he was, until we got to the boat and went to the next stop.

Our second stop was shark and stingray alley. In this part there were nurse sharks and stingrays. Nurse sharks can grow to be about 14 feet in length but the ones present were only about 6 feet. They gathered here for many years, because fishermen use this part of the ocean to clean their catch. This became a great place for these animals to get food very easily, so now when they hear a boat they swarm up to see if there is food. When we went swimming with them, they did not think of us as food.  Instead we were able to pet or hold one, if you were brave.

Our third stop was the coral gardens, which is a smaller version of the south coral. We are able to swim around alone and make our own adventure. This area was shallower, with the coral being much smaller, with lots of fish able to be seen up close.  This was an amazing experience and I was amazed that I got in the water with sharks but it was definitely worth it.

The second part of the day was much different. We stopped at the Rainbow for lunch. It is a little restaurant on the beach looking out over the ocean and the view was breath-taking. The rest of the day we were on our own - some slept, others enjoyed a walk and a group of us lay on the dock to sun tan and take in all the sun that we could. Of course we couldn’t just sit there for three hours doing nothing, so being the Canadian girl we are, we started to line dance for a few songs. 

That evening, we all got together again for our last dinner. We went to a one of a kind restaurant called Roses. They display fresh, locally caught fish on a table. You pick your dinner, and then they cook it outside on the barbeque. Inside the restaurant we were greeted by three gentlemen that were traveling around playing music. Our group joined in every chance we got. and it became a sing along as well as music lessons. It was for sure a one of a kind dinner, never to be forgotten.

We were all glad to be together for an amazing, one-of-a-kind week of learning. We made so many memories together!   

Trish Littlejohn 

Day 6 - Caye Caulker or Bust!!

December 15, 2012

We awoke this morning to the sound of more roosters and dogs barking in San Miguel Village. These are sounds we are all becoming accustomed to waking up too! It was an experience waking up in a netted bed for mosquito protection, four people and two bunk beds to a room; in a thatched roofed guest house. Something that I have definitely never experienced before! The villagers once again opened up their homes to us for home-made breakfast, once again made from scratch. They served us coffee that the ladies had picked right from their own land. It was the most delicious coffee, no milk or sugar needed. Something that cannot be found in Canada. Hammocks were our seating arrangements for the home I had breakfast in. A cup of coffee and a hammock is a great way to start the day. We talked with the family serving us breakfast, asking/answering many questions about culture, practices, how our travels have been and began talking more about their community. The family advised us that they had three weddings coming up, all within the next three weeks. The reasoning is that the Christmas holiday is the only time any of the community has time off, so it is the only time to have weddings and have all of the individuals of the community come together to celebrate. We described Canadian weddings to them and both cultures are very similar in tradition. The one distinct difference was the fact that every individual of the community comes together in unison for this celebration. The women begin cooking at 3 AM, the morning before the wedding, preparing all food for the wedding day. As we were chatting we noticed that a hen was behind the thatched roof kitchen door, and as we watched the chicks began to hatch. It was something I had never witnessed before! Sitting in a rural Mayan community in Belize watching chicks hatch in the kitchen over a cup of coffee!

We finished up breakfast, said thank you many, many times for opening their community up to us and loaded up our van to set out to our next adventure. We began our four hour journey to Belize City to drop off our van in preparation to head to Caye Caulker. Through our drive we dealt with about three hours of rain. The dark clouds were surrounding the tops of the mountains, making way for a dark, eerily beautiful drive through the changing topography of flat land, heading into more mountainous and lush landscape. As we were getting closer to Belize City, the sun started to poke through and the sky began to clear. We began playing music, all of us beginning to become more excited for an island getaway, closer to the civilization than we have been for a few days.  

We arrived in Belize City, dropped off the van and were taken to the water taxi in order to be transported to the Caye Caulker Island. It took about an hour to get to the island via boat, for what seemed to take forever after a long day of travel. We arrived tired but excited to begin our last two days at Tropical Paradise Hotel on the ocean front. It is an absolutely breathtaking view. The rooms are airy with the ocean breeze flowing through the windows. The one and only nuisance is the sand flies, which love to bite all over the body. Lots of bug spray needed! (As we have needed throughout our entire trip). We had our meal at the hotel, with wonderful staff and welcoming locals. It is another culture shock being moved from the middle of isolated villages to a resort on an island with an ocean front view and HOT water!! The night ended by sitting on the ocean front, watching a sand crab scurrying around, another new experience! Off to bed and looking forward to a day of snorkeling, sunshine and some rest and relaxation tomorrow J

Angela Robbins

Day 5 - Bananas and St. Miguel

After dinner last night, we were invited to partake in a Mayan ritual.  Ernesto and Aurora, the leaders of the village, led the ritual and explained to us that they perform the ritual on special occasions only.  I believe we all felt honoured to be part of this incredibly spiritual and freeing experience as we gave thanks to the Gods and burned incense as our offering and connection to the spirits.  We were lucky enough to see the incredible meteor shower on the walk back to our rooms.  The stars were brighter than we had ever seen.

               We were all awoken this morning by 6 AM, to the sounds of birds and roosters crowing just outside our door.  Definitely no need for alarm clocks here!

We had another fabulous meal - eggs, sausage, fresh bread, bananas, papaya, tea and freshly squeezed orange juice prepared by our Mayan hosts.  After breakfast we were sad to leave but said thank you and goodbye, packed back into the van and headed for Meridian Banana Enterprise.

Our tour guide Miguel, manages four banana farms in the area and has been doing this for the past 29 years.  When the project first began the workers had to use machinery to clear the land, they built in drainage systems, installed irrigation and cables which the men use to move through the fields and are able to pull 25 bunches of bananas from the fields to the processing area.

Banana plantations are an extremely labor intensive crop.  They plant 840 plants per acre and one man looks after 5 acres including pruning, irrigating, bagging, and harvesting.  The farm we toured had 357 acres and the original banana plants were brought in from Honduras.  One month after planting they begin to prune off some of the leaves by hand.  Shortly after they begin their intense fertilizer and spray program.  They pick off the black fruiting ends of the banana’s, they place elastic bands around the bunches, and band them to protect and increase yield.  Once the plants are bagged, they tie the trees down because the banana bunches are so heavy they are able to pull the tree over.  Banana plants die after producing bunches but there is no need to replant because the mother plant produces suckers (sons and daughters) from their base.

Bananas are harvested all year around but December and January are their slowest months as it is cold and the trees to grow slowly.  The first six months of the year they make $20.00 per box, with a lower price in the summer and fall months. The plantation produces approximately 800 boxes per acre, per year. 

               After our tour, we piled back into the van and got back on the highway and continued south toward San Miguel Village.  We turned off the highway and travelled for approximately 15 minutes on a bumpy, hilly dirt road.  We passed by a river where woman were washing their clothes, then carried the baskets on their heads back to their village where they hung their clothes to dry.  There were chickens and pigs running around freely but all apparently had owners and returned to their coops every night.

We observed many cement as well as wooden structures with thatched roofs.  We later learned that approximately 10 years ago a hurricane came through and destroyed many of their homes.  The government offered the village some funds to build their homes out of cement block to help protect them from future disasters.

For our meals we were split into group of two or three and went our separate ways to have lunch with different families within the village.  They taught us how to make corn tortillas and assisted the women in making the meals.  One fascinating part of the dinner making process was watching them cook on their hand made clay wood burning ‘stoves’.  There is definitely a vast difference from our way of preparing and cooking our meals.  Other than the stove, the main difference was their labor intensive preparation from going to the fields and gathering food, collecting spices, and preparing everything from scratch immediately before their meal.  Also, they have separate buildings for their cooking area, and their sleeping area.

After an amazing meal and a long day of travel we were all snuggled in our beds by 9 PM to get ready for next adventure.

It was an incredible cultural learning experience and makes me realize how lucky we are to have everything at our finger tips but also made me think about how simple life can be.

Danielle VanHaecke

Day 4 - Maya Center

Today was another successful and productive time on our trip to Belize. We were up around 7:30 AM again for another great breakfast served by the staff at our resort. Les wanted to be on the road by 8:30, and we were in the van by 8:32 so we did fairly well this morning. While we were on the road we saw a whole new side of Belize that we haven’t seen yet. We were surrounded by mountains and vegetation on all sides. One of the more notable things was the rate in which the topography changed and how the Belizeans were able to adapt to this. There were ranges of citrus trees that were grown to the last possible inch before the mountain range took over again.  The Belizeans farmed a lot of land that we in Ontario would consider “impossible”.  Some of the fields in the area were on such a slope that our farm equipment such as tractors would not be able to drive on.  The reason that the Belizeans are able to do this is that they plant everything by hand. So although there are many cons associated with hand sowing I guess that one pro is that it can be done on slopes that other farm equipment could not reach.  Along the way we also saw many small Mayan communities, and we would often be through the village within five minutes. One thing that seems very common amongst the villagers in Belize is that they all seem to be friendly, usually greeting us with a simple smile or a wave.

 On our way to the Maya Center we stopped at a bakery called “Kropfs Kitchen” where we were treated to some delicious cinnamon rolls. I’m almost willing to say that they gave “Cinnabun” back In Canada a run for its money. This bakery was alongside the road at a Mennonite farm in the middle of nowhere. We were also able to see some farm dogs that came up and visited with us for a bit. This was a relatively short stop though and we were back on the road within ten minutes. We were once again greeted by the vast vegetation and phenomenal views of the surrounding mountains. It’s a view that I can see myself getting used to in a hurry.

 About another hour down the road we passed by the “Belize Citrus Centre” where all of the citrus grown in Belize is monitored for disease and methods for eradicating diseases are studied. One common thing that is done at the Citrus Centre is working with grafting to develop disease free rootstock. We were only there very briefly though and were not able to stop.

As we continued on a bit further down the road we stopped in at “Marie Sharpes” hot sauce plant, where 10 different varieties of product are made ranging from hot pepper sauce to a mellow pepper jam. While at the factory we were given a guided tour which went through the production steps. While on the tour I was surprised at how such a small company could have such a large customer base. One thing that I found to be quite interesting about the factory was that two of its biggest exports were China and Japan.  Marie Sharpes export their products to many different countries including Canada and the United States, and I would have thought that Canada or the United States would have ranked in one of the top spots in terms of the consumption of this hot sauce. Our tour guide seemed knowledgeable with about every part of the factory and was more than helpful when explaining the steps that the peppers go through.

  After visiting the hot sauce factory we arrived at the Maya Center village that we are staying tonight. We are definitely “roughing it” here when compared to the last resort that we stayed at. However it is giving us an idea of how the Mayans live today. Upon our arrival to the village we stopped by a local school and dropped off some school supplies and soccer balls to the students. Seeing the looks on their faces as the kids were kicking the soccer balls around was something that genuinely made my day.  We played with the students for a while and they eventually called it a day and went home.

 However one thing that set today apart from all of the other days is the gratitude that you feel when you providing students with new sports equipment, and knowing that the school supplies that we dropped off will also help them. After our arrival back to the village, we met up with some local women who make clothes for the community. Les presented them with a sewing machine to help them out with their everyday tasks. The ladies were more than grateful, and it’s nice to know that we helped somebody who puts the community before themselves.

This was a great day and I can honestly say that I’m looking forward to stopping at the next school tomorrow.  Thanks for reading.

This is Kris Sebok signing out.