Mayflower Bocawina National Park

We decided to go on a day trip to the south of Belize to visit the Mayflower Bocawina National Park in the Stann Creek District. It was going to be a long day trip so Keri suggested we try out the new tent and camp overnight to give us more time. We threw together our gear, made about ten PB&J's for sustenance and grabbed a bus heading south out of Belize City. We made it to the drop off after the town of Dangriga and started the 4 mile hike down the entry road to the ranger station. A jeep rolled up about 2/3's of the way into the hike and gave us a lift for the last mile. The guy, named Mora, was the manager of a jungle lodge called Mamanoots located right by the park. We had a great conversation with him and found out he had been running dive tours out at Glover Caye until recently. The economic downturn had slowed things down so he had to take this job in the meantime.

After he dropped us off, we wandered around and looked at the Mayan site at the park. The site is unexcavated and very different from the usual sites. It is cleared somewhat of vegetation but really puts it in perspective of how quickly the jungle can reclaim things. Other areas of the park have structures less cleared and it was striking to see them appear as you walk down a trail. We then headed straight for the trailhead to Antelope Falls so we has time to make it back before nightfall. The sign at the ranger station stating the trail would have some steep parts.... the trail proved that "some steep parts" is relative! The trail started out pretty normal and then progressively became steeper and steeper until finally we were having to use ropes to pull us up the side of the mountain! It was well worth it though as when we reached the end, the falls appeared before us and was a glorious sight. We took a rest, stripped down to our suits, and enjoyed the cool water flowing down the mountain. There was a pool at the very top to swim in but we only made our way up half way to a shelf since we were so pooped from the hike in. Without sounding cliche, it was truly amazing. We even spotted a bright red hummingbird feeding right at the waters edge.

We made it back after the refreshing dip and set up our camp at a beautiful spot on a bluff overlooking the creek that runs from the falls. We started to relax and Pat started to fantasize about beer trucks appearing on the lonely road. Keri suggested a trip to the jungle lodge as a more realistic alternative so we went down the road to Mamanoots. There was another couple at the restaurant and we talked with them about the Peace Corps and such. Another couple in their party joined them and by the end of the evening they had invited us along in the morning for a guided birding walk. So we joined them and their guide the next morning and had a wonderful time. We found ourselves standing on the top of an unexcavated Mayan ruin in the middle of the jungle watching Keel Billed Toucans feeding in the tops of trees.... a beautiful experience. After the birding hike, we discussed our experiences in Belize with their group a bit more and then had to head back to the city. The entire group were very gracious and generous to share their guide, and vacation, with us. We were very thankful for the experience.

Check out the quick video below of the falls and we added some more pics of the area. Take care everyone!

Pat's Birthday and mailing tips!

So we headed up to Chetumal Mexico to celebrate Pat’s birthday. Chetumal is a border city at Belize’s northern border with Mexico. The day started early with a bus ride from Belize City. We had hoped to catch an “express” bus (one that only stops in “major” cities) but instead ended up on a “regular” bus. These are what are referred to as “chicken” busses; they are almost exclusively old Blue Bird school buses from the US that run on a route but will stop almost anywhere along the way. Sometimes that can make for a very long ride with people literally stopping the bus every 100 yards! Anyway, we made across the border and for the first time REALLY felt out of our comfort zone. Really we had not realized how important being in an english speaking country really was.... and we also had not realized how woefully inadequate our spanish skills were! Let’s just say that we really need to focus on the numbers and we were lucky we had an honest cab driver. We met up with some other PCVs at the mall (yes a mall!) and then toured the old market and waterfront on a mission to find Pat a guayabera shirt for his birthday. We have never been particularly fond of malls, but did find it nice to be in an organized, clean environment. The other thing of importance that we enjoyed was the inexpensive prices for things, what a difference from Belize! We had a meal in a small comedor and it was only US$7 for both of us! We managed to catch an express bus back that evening and what a difference. Pleasant seats and no jerking from a stop every 5 minutes. All in all a pretty good birthday, don’t you think?

Now just a quick word to everyone about shipping/mailing things to us. Number one, we have changed the address from the PC office in Belmopan to Belize City. It is located under the Belize City weather toward the top of the page. We also have a care package wish-list there too. Most things are really available here but the things we listed are really hard to come by. Books are almost impossible to find! If anybody does send anything, let us know as we have to go to the post office to pick things up and we can also remove it from the list. Use the US Post Office as it is the cheapest way.... FedEx and UPS are ridiculous! Also, we think padded envelopes are opened and inspected less. When you are declaring things, feel free to go on the lower side or stick in some education supplies (crayons, ect) since the import taxes are very, very high. If anything is mailed to us and arrives by 2/19, we won’t have to pay anything since our first 6 months is tax free! Finally, we would also love to receive stuff in person! Miss you all!

Pat and Keri's Super Holiday in Belize Extravaganza!

Well we hope everyone had a great holiday season! While ours was a little different than in the states, we had a very festive time with new friends!

For Christmas we cooked up a pretty traditional American Christmas dinner and invited over some other PCV’s here in Belize City. Amazingly, we were able to find everything we needed (even fried onions for the green bean casserole). We did add a bit of Belizean flair to some of the dishes such as seasoning the turkey with Ricardo (a central american “season all”) and using callaloo instead of spinach in the dip, but kept it just like “back home”! Pat even made a fair batch of the Belizean version of egg nog called rum pope.... very tasty and a new Robison household Christmas tradition!

Keri received a comal (special pan used to cook tortillas) and a tortilla press while Pat scored a mighty cool BBQ grill! We opted to wrap our presents with the local newspaper and medical tape from our PC emergency kits!



For New Year’s, we ventured over to Caye Caulker to hang out with some fellow PCV’s and ring in the New Year. Caye Caulker is a short 45 minute boat ride away by water taxi and we stayed at a quaint little place called Ignacio’s. The cabanas were lifted up on stilts and somewhat spartan in their amenities, but the view was worth a million bucks! Plus the price was only US$20 a night, and on our current budget that is a fairly important consideration. Anyway, we had a super busy day on New Year’s eve.... we went on an all-day sailing/snorkeling trip that took us out to the reef and made three stops. We have experienced plenty of diving/snorkeling in Florida but were truly impressed with the barrier reef here. The abundance of fish and wildlife was amazing! We saw sharks, grouper, snapper, turtles, rays, and innumerable other tropical breeds. Another member of our group had an underwater camera and we will post some pics when we can. After seeing all those fish, we splurged for a nice dinner of whole snapper and a filet of grouper! We hung out with the other PCV’s but opted to ring in the new year on our own on a deserted stretch of the coastline leaning against a beached local fishing boat. It was a New Year’s we will remember forever!

We missed you all and hope everyone had fun! Good luck to everyone in 2010!