Day 3 - School Days and the Belize Zoo

               Greetings readers! Harris Franklin here reporting in on our group’s day - what a day it was. The first thing we did today was discuss with Les and Chris the concept of good development in developing countries and how S.H.A.R.E. ensures good development practices. The key, Les said, is having “Strong Southern Partners”. This basically means having local organizations and infrastructure in place to ensure development projects continue even if the volunteers and aid organization are not there to oversee the projects. If S.H.A.R.E were to leave the project, the work they have done has a lasting effect on the development of a country and the time and effort put in was not all for not. An example of this is S.H.A.R.E.’s projects in Guatemala and Belize. They are successful because of the partners they have in these countries and how they educate them in how to manage the projects without any further input from the foundation. This reminds me of the classic proverb “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime”. With that in mind our group headed to our first stop, Eden Seven Day Adventist High School.

               One of S.H.A.R.E.’s projects is a scholarship program for 45 high school students in Belize. Many young people in this country lack the means to attend high school after finishing primary school. S.H.A.R.E. has stepped in and given these students the ability to further their education. The scholarships are only $300.00 U.S. but this is enough to cover about 60% of an annual fee and also encourages parents to work harder to supply the rest of the fees instead of succumbing to the trials of poverty. It also ensures that it does not become a welfare program. The extreme poverty that can be found here still amazes me. One student in S.H.A.R.E.’s program relies on two scholarships and has no parents.  I can only imagine the difficulty he faces in his life. Visiting the scholarship students was the reason we visited the school.

               Eden was founded in 1987. The current principal, Mr. Pineda, came to the school in 2004 and at that time the school had only 240 students. The school has now grown to 470 students because of the quality and accessibility of the education they provide. The school has better discipline policies and more graduates than other schools in the area. It also has busing capabilities which bring in students from remote villages spread throughout the country side. It turns out that only 140 students are actually Seven Day Adventists and only the bible study course has an overtly religious curriculum. A strict dress code is given to all students and it seemed like a very positive learning environment. The most interesting part of the school tour was visiting the music classroom where we met a music teacher who was a former Cuban patriot who immigrated to Belize for the sole purpose of teaching music there. We were entertained by the students flute orchestra and choir and then had a meet-and-greet with the scholarships students. Following that we mulled about the school, talked with different students and saw their agricultural study area where students were growing vegetables in heavy clay soils and managing the plots they were assigned. After that we were off to the largest ranch and in-house processor and distributer of meat in the country, the Running W Ranch.

               The Running W is a 1200 acre property with 1400 head of cattle, 1000 of them beef steers and 400 breeding cows and several bulls. They use a Brahma/ Black Angus hybrid that is about 5/8^th Angus and 3/8^th Brahma which gives them a hearty steer that has a good BCS and quality marbling of meat. The cattle are fed on entirely grass which grows very rapidly in the tropical climate. They are in groups of 200 and cycled through the 20 paddocks by the local cowboys in 3 week cycles. This gives a ratio of about 2 animals per acre at any given time. We did not spend much time at the ranch before we were off to the zoo.

               The Belize Zoo is comprised of mostly rescued animals from the surrounding jungles and has an entirely indigenous population. Below is a list of the animals we saw: scarlet macaw, parrots, crocodiles, Jaribu storks, keel billed toucans, tigrillo, howler monkeys, black and spotted jaguar, tropical river otters,  Occelot, hawk eagles and tapirs.

I hope you enjoyed reading the blog! Keeping reading!

Sincerely,

Harris.

Day 2 - Iguana Tour and Spanish Lookout

Our morning began by a lovely breakfast on the patio at the San Ignacio hotel. The view was fantastic and we even got to see a toucan in a tree while eating breakfast. The hotel founded a green iguana conservation project in 1996, and after breakfast we took a tour of the facility. The conservation project is a way to increase the population of the iguanas in the area. The facility has an 80% survival rate, compared to a 7% survival rate in the wild.

Along the path to the facility, our tour guide introduced us to numerous plants used locally for medical purposes. The first iguana cage had roughly 28-30 iguanas - mostly female and only a few male. The male iguanas can reach 6ft in length and have orange markings on them. The bright colour attracts females – the brighter the colour the more females they breed with. The males have two penises and are aggressive breeders, mating with up to 9 females per day. The females are smaller (up to 4 feet) and they are green in colour. The females release a scent during mating season that attracts the males. Mating season occurs from November-February. Young females can produce up to 10-30 eggs and older females 50-90.

Iguanas are interesting reptiles.  They will release their tails if threatened, however they cannot always regrow their tails. Next, our guide let us hold some of the baby iguanas that where in the next cage. Unfortunately one of the babies urinated on my shirt. We then had time for questions and discussion outside the enclosure. Overall, it was a wonderful experience.

The second part of the day was spent at the Spanish Lookout, which is a Mennonite community.  During our drive to the community, we began to notice changes in agriculture and in the way buildings where built and maintained. First we stopped to have lunch at a Mennonite garden which had a number of plaques explaining the history of the town and how the small community was able to grow. After lunch, we stopped at a Reimers feed mill which is owned by the community. Most of the mill employees are from Guatemala. On average there are roughly 35-40 workers a day. The feed mill produces animal feed for local chicken, dairy and swine herds. They also import dog and cat food. Their main ingredients include corn, soybean meal, oats, vitamins and minerals. The corn is produced right in Belize however the soybean meal is imported from elsewhere. They can produce up to 75 tonnes of feed per day.

Finally, we stopped at Bernie Teeson’s family farm. First we had to put on plastic boots as sanitary precaution. Bernie has 3 main barns; two for laying hens and a broiler barn. The broiler barn had an average 6000 broilers and they were fed a prepared feed made from local corn. The floor of the barn was covered with shavings and sawdust. In the summer he uses fans with water foggers to keep the chickens cool. For the laying hens, the eggs stay at room temperature and get sent out to a local market every two days for local consumption.

We then headed back to the hotel where some of the girls had their hair braided. Then we made our way to the most amazing pizza restaurant. It was quite the feast and we were all very glad to be resting after a long day of learning.

Leslie-Anne Swanton

Day 1

Our first day in Belize! we started the day off with a delicious breakfast at the hotel then proceeded to the Mayan archaeological site of Xunantunich in the Cayo district in western Belize. Xunantunich is a modern name meaning stone woman. Our guide led us through the ruins and even introduced us to some of the local flora, including foods, medicines and poisons. The site itself is located on a hill overlooking surrounding lowlands, including Guatemala, which our tour guide told us was a 20 minute walk from where we were.the hill now was covered in trees, where at some point it would've been cleared, allowing the elite living at the site to survey the region. The temple itself was not just one structure, it was a series of structures placed methodically. We climbed two structures, including El Castillo, a pyramid some 130 ft high. the view from the top was stunning, we saw right across to Guatemala and the surrounding Cayo district. The pyramid itself was built in levels, some containing intricate carvings representing different Gods of the Mayan religion. The placement of the buildings themselves represented the different levels of worlds; the under world, the middle world, the upper world and the connections between them. as well. The Mayans believed in life after death and their construction reflected this belief.

El Castillo

After a full morning of touring in the hot sun we were all in need of a little rejuvenation; one bumpy ride later we were at the Belize Botanical Garden and all ready for lunch. It was Duplooy's quesadillas all around; apparently the best quesadillas in Belize, and I think I can say from the silence at the lunch table that we all agreed that they were very delicious.

Vanilla Bean Pod

With food in our bellies we were ready for our next tour of the stunning grounds of the Belize Botanical Garden. It was a private property given to the public in 19997, it now boasts an exceptional array of plants and supports many native animals.On our way in we sampled a starfruit and something called a tangelope, a large green citrus fruit that was absolutely delicious. I am a horticultural student and ass the tour went on I was surprised at all the plants I saw that I had learned in my Plant ID class, Steve Loewen would be proud. The expansive 45 acres was planted with both native and introduced species. They even had an orchid nursery which contained 175 of the 312 native orchids to Belize. Did you know that the second most valued spice is actually an orchid? We got to see and smell a vanilla pod up close. There were also other spices and herbs like allspice, cinnamon, oregano and cilantro. We walked into their rainforest and climbed to a lookout point were we saw the tops of many trees. A very nice vantage point. That marked the end of our tour and the end of our day, back to rest and relaxation. I can't wait to see what else is in store; a great start to an already great trip.

- Angelica Rigas

Hello from Belize!!

Well, it has been a long day of traveling. We flew out of Toronto at 8 AM (5 AM wake up), and arrived in Houston TX by lunch. After a short layover, we boarded our final flight to Belize City, Belize. The flights were smooth, and we arrived on time. Les and I rented a 15 passenger Ford van for the group, and we all climbed in for a 2 hour drive to the Cahal Pech Village Resort in San Ignacio. The road trip provided a lot of interesting scenery. We drove out of Belize City into a large area of natural savanna. This area is not cultivated, due to the high water levels and high salinity in the soil. Along the way, we drove by a cattle ranch and an citrus farm. We arrived at dark - about 6:30 pm. Our rooms are thatched roofed cabanas, with a screened porch which includes a hammock. Very nice! We had a relaxing dinner in the hotel restaurant. The meal was incredible - the presentation was so nice. The students are now in the pool (with has 3 levels, with waterfalls between).
Breakfast will be at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Then we are off to visit the Mayan ruins and the botanical gardens. We will be staying at this resort for 3 more nights, and visiting local features each day. We will try to post a group picture from breakfast!


 

Ridgetown Campus 2012 Belize Study Tour

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the first post for the 2012 Belize Study Tour!

I'm Chris Gillard, and I am the instructor for the 2012 Belize International Study Tour course at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. Katie Hunter organized the last 2 tours, and did a phenomenal job! I would like to take a moment to thank Katie for her advice and support.

This is an exciting opportunity for agriculture and horticulture diploma students from Ridgetown Campus, to explore the economic, social, environmental and production issues in a country and a culture that is very different from Canada.

There are 8 students enrolled in the course. In addition, Les Frayne from the SHARE Foundation will coordinate the tour, and I will coordinate the student learning in our 'classroom'.

We will be exploring Mayan ruins and a botanical garden, the Belize zoo, a hot sauce factory, banana and spice farms as well as a cattle ranch and feed mill. There is also an opportunity to visit several Share Foundation projects such as rural students sponsored to attend high school and receive vocational training  (http://www.shareagfoundation.org/projects/Education.html).

 Our adventure begins on Sunday December 9th at Toronto's Pearson Airport. We return to 'our favorite frozen country up north' on Monday December 17.

Please bookmark this site and follow our progress! We will be updating the site every day with pictures and postings written by our students. There may be minor delays in posting, due to internet access so check often.

You can leave messages and comments on our blog - I will share them with everyone!!

  

Exploring the Beauty of the Barrier Reef

It was a sunny, beautiful day in Caye Caulker accompanied by the songs of the birds. The weather was a welcome change of pace after some of the cloudy days we had during the past week on the mainland. The panoramic view of the light blue ocean was also a pleasant new environment that I have never experienced before. The clear blue skies looked promising for a morning of snorkelling and relaxing on this little island paradise. I am optimistic about finally getting a suntan.

The girls had an early start this morning, because the night before we had agreed to wake up at 6:30 a.m. to go swimming. It was worth it because the water was amazing, but the dolphins didn’t come out this time. The swimming lasted for about 40 minutes and then we went in to get ready for breakfast. We ate breakfast at a little coffee shop just 2 minutes away from our hotel. For breakfast we ordered coffee and juice, grilled cheese, toast with cream cheese and a sliced tomato on top, eggs and fresh fruit. The service was pretty fast and the food was good it was also the best coffee since we got to Belize!

After breakfast there was some time for exploring the gift shops which was perfect for some last minute Christmas shopping! Soon, our group was all together again and ready for some snorkelling! Before heading down to the rental place Katie and Les talked about some things to expect for when we go out onto the reef, things like staying together in the water and not to touch the reef because it is sharp and to stay together in the water but also to watch out for other swimmers so that no one bumps into one another. Once we arrived at the rental place, we tried different flippers until we all got the right sizes. Next we all got our masks and excitedly walked down the dock to board the boat, to travel out to the reef for our next Belizean adventure!

Belize has the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere and it actually spans 185 miles along the coastline of the country. Hol Chan Marine Reserve is the name of the reserve that was established in 1987, and the name is Mayan for “Little Channel”. The reserve is the location of our snorkelling stops. The entire reserve is five square miles and is a fascinating sea habitat. The coral reef is a made up of various coral formations, over 500 species of fish and a variety of sea sponges. The coral has been in existence for millions of years and the individual coral polyps are very small and live in colonies. They have a slit like mouth opening that is surrounded by tentacles that sting and trap food which would be plankton, this is probably what gives the coral a rough feel if you brush up against it as you are swimming. Luckily we came out of the reef with very few coral “kisses” or scratches. Coral needs sunlight which is why they are usually found in areas less than a hundred feet deep, they also prefer temperatures of 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. As we swam through the reef we saw a variety of different fish species and our tour guide Salvador made sure to point out different fish or coral throughout our swim and then come up to the surface to tell us what it was we had just seen. Some of the really unique things we saw were spiny-tailed lobsters, a brightly coloured Queen Parrot fish and many other sea creatures.

The next stop on our snorkelling trip, that we were all anticipating was in Shark Ray Alley, where we got to see and touch sting rays and nurse sharks. In fact, they swam so close to us that they would touch our legs as they were gliding by us. Our guide showed us how to hold the sting rays and to pet them but some of us preferred to just look at them. Shark Ray Alley was shallow enough that we could all stand on the bottom. The bottom was covered with sea grass which, for me, took some getting used to. It was really cool to get so close to these majestic creatures – the sting rays seemed to glide through the water as they swam past us. Salvador was feeding the rays and nurse sharks to encourage them to stay near us, he also held a nurse shark so we all had the opportunity to scratch it’s belly like you would do to a dog! After we got back in the boat we were given some fruit and sodas, this was a welcome relief to get some of the salt taste out of our mouth, one indication that some of us were beginner snorkelers!

We had one more stop along the way; it was an area where everyone was free to swim around on their own. This gave us the chance to use our newly found snorkelling skills to explore a bright and colourful section of the reef. Throughout it all, the weather was hot, breezy with a very quick rain sprinkle. The entire trip was a few hours long, thankfully we all slathered on the sunscreen, because we were finally experiencing some bright Belizean sunshine.

Once we returned to the island, we all went to explore Caye Caulker, where the island motto is “Go Slow”, this really represents the laid back attitude that is apparent on the island. Some of the girls even had their hair done in tight braids which made them seem like true islanders. We were all fans of the hand crafted necklaces, bracelets, earrings and headbands. We had done plenty of Christmas shopping for our friends and family, why not for ourselves too? It is exciting and amazing to see the work of the artisans here in Caye Caulker and all of Belize. Sometimes the crafts that are made take weeks and they sell their items for cheap prices, compared to the hours they spend in crafting them.

The rest of the afternoon was a relaxing shopping downtime until we got together again for supper. Tonight we ate at Bamboo, a shorefront restaurant and bar. The atmosphere provided a sense of fun and play. Seats at the bar and some tables were wooden plank swings that were tied to the ceiling. For dinner we ate chicken quesadillas and they sure were a treat. The meal was very filling, no one finished their plate, not even Branden! After dinner, we all slowly made our way back to the hotel. Some of us got back quicker than others, as some stayed behind to watch the Chicken Drop, which is similar to cow-patty bingo if you’ve ever seen that before! It was time for me to start packing because I knew it was going to be an early morning. Today has definitely been our most laid back day since our arrival and it was a fantastic way to spend our last day in Belize, it gave us a time to reflect on all of the things we learned throughout our travels.

Written by: Liz Jones

Beauty in the Broken

Lush green jungle, big beautiful mountains and endless speed bumps seemed to be our adventure cut out for the start of day 7 here in Belize. Les’s driving allowed us to be alert and aware of all the beautiful scenery around us. It was great because even if you wanted to sleep in the van it was immensely difficult as the speed bumps were constantly arriving in our pathway. Today was our busiest travel day yet. We travelled from San Miguel to Belize City and then off to Caye Caulker to the Tropical Paradise Hotel. Throughout our long journey from the south of Belize to the central part of the country along the coast, we saw many citrus farms, banana farms and tips of extremely tall mountains in the clouds. It was truly a beautiful sight to see. The beauty that this country has to offer is remarkable and outstanding. It is fair to say Belize is a country with beauty as well as brokenness.

As the sun rose in the morning it was joined by the awakening sounds of pigs, roosters, dogs and random other noises from the community. The sounds around me brought me to the conclusion that I must’ve woke up in a barn. As I got out of bed I forgot that I was caged in by mosquito netting. Aaron my roommate and I were thankful we had this netting as it proved well in the night keeping all wild insects out of our sleeping area. Beyond the loud animal noises came the grooving local reggae music that definitely had an impact in waking all of us up! It was weird to be in the middle of nowhere yet still hear music that was kickin’ in the background.

We packed our bags, then put them in the van and enjoyed another meal prepared by the Mayan villagers. If you must know, yes we had more corn tortillas again. These people live off such plain, repetitive food it would drive me nuts. If you aren’t aware at this point, I truly love food and I’ve been known as the garbage can on this trip. It’s been great for me as I receive all the leftovers of everyone else at all our meals.

We left San Miguel with our goodbyes and smiles. It was now a 4 hour journey to our Tropical Paradise Hotel. At this point in our trip we had the time to look back on the memories over the last 7 days. It was a quieter trip out to the Cayes as everyone was looking fondly at the scenery all around us. Beauty is a word that simply summarizes the geography of Belize. Breathtaking views and lush jungle truly made us praise the beauty this country has to offer. However as we were travelling beauty proved to be vivid but so did the brokenness. We passed villages with thatched roofing and children running around with no shoes in the mud. We saw homes that were abandoned and left behind. We saw little kids walking on the street with no family to be seen. Yet on the other end of the spectrum as we passed through bigger cities we saw glass buildings, soccer stadiums and car dealerships. It was amazing to see the difference just within a few miles from one another. The diversity in the living conditions in Belize is astonishing. It was sad to think that such a beautiful country is filled with such brokenness. However the thought came to me that every country is like that. Each country has its beauty if offers, however brokenness smothers and sometimes hinders the potential beauty one country has to offer. I think it’s important to look past the brokenness with positivity to truly see the full potential of beauty. As we travelled today I know similar thoughts were lingering through our group members. Throughout the last 7 days we have seen a lot of brokenness but the beauty has overwhelmed our hearts when we see the smiles on local villagers’ faces as we pass by. A broken world contains much beauty you just have to look beyond the outer appearance.

We continued driving through lush green jungle and minor developed cities as well as extremely swampy marshland. There were endless acres of useless unfertile land that was not farmable. I kept thinking as I saw this wide open space the potential this land could have in helping the agricultural sector in Belize. Truly it was an astonishing thought, if finding a use for this land was possible. The marshy swamp land has extremely large amounts of salt as well as low pH levels. Not ideal soil conditions to grow high yielding crops. It’s unfortunate there’s no value to this land because the potential it could have in production if it was fertile would be life changing for this country.

We finally arrived in Belize City to the water taxi depot. This water taxi was going to take us over to Caye Caulker on an hour boat ride. Looking out towards the Caribbean, dark black clouds filled the skies. The waves were calm however and the sun appeared to make its way out again. By this time in the day it was roughly 3pm and we just wanted to reach shore as we were all so hungry and ready for another meal.

After about a 45 minute boat ride we finally made it to land! We walked to our hotel just off the shore, dropped our bags and immediately headed out towards a spot we could have lunch. Les knew good restaurants on Caye Caulker and led us to an amazing joint just off the pier. We enjoyed our lunch as we overlooked the ocean. After lunch we decided as a group to go for a swim in the ocean. What a great time that was! We all started talking about the last 7 days we spent together and started reminiscing about the amazing memories we’ve had in the last 7 days. Funny memories, happy memories and of course memories of expertise we have learned from all of our educational tours. We laughed and laughed together enjoying every moment of it. Following our swim, as soon as we got out from the water immediately a dolphin swam by exactly where we were all swimming. It was remarkable to see and it was a great ending to the bonding time we had. We made a new friend on Caye Caulker. Or maybe I should say Katie Hunter made a new friend. A dog kept following our group around and it even waited outside Katie’s door for her to come out. At first the dog was a nuisance but its cuteness conveyed us all to start to adore it. Well mostly the girls but I pretended I liked it too. With their only being me and two other guys on the trip, the overwhelming female presence had started getting the best of me.

Finally we finished our long day off with a fantastic meal at Happy Lobster. The name gives away what most of our group enjoyed at that meal. Prior to this meal the most bizarre thing happened and I bet no one from Canada could guess. On the streets of Caye Caulker a Christmas Parade took place. Can you believe this even Santa Claus came! He was there I saw him with my two eyes and I was quiet ecstatic about it. It was great to see the cheers and festivities of this holiday season even way down here in Belize.

The beauty this country has to offer is not just the breathtaking mountains and lush green jungle, it’s the people and the spirit they have towards daily life as well as us the visitors. Beauty is simply more than looks and perfections; it is but the heart inside. Even within all the brokenness crowded around us, beauty was vividly seen and it was an honour to endure and travel this beautiful country in Belize. Belize has bonded our group together in many ways. We have experienced life in ways Canadians are unaware of. We have seen people have nothing yet convey happiness towards everything. Finally Belize has prepared us to see life at a whole new level where we can now put our own life in perspective to theirs. Going to the corners of the earth has a tremendous affect on ones soul. It is safe to say beauty lies in the broken.

Written by: Branden Domm