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
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