Our Anniversary Trip to Tikal & Flores Guatemala

So we need to back up just a little. We are posting a little out of order, but we wanted to tell you all about our 15th wedding anniversary. Yes, pat and I have been married 15 wonderful years and we have been together for 17 wonderful years. Our life together has been fun and exciting and it seems like a new adventure awaits for us each new day. Our anniversary was no exception. This adventure started with Gibnut in Belize city and ended with a lovely steak dinner in Flores Guatemala. On the actual day (June 1st) of our anniversary we enjoyed lunch downtown Belize city where I had my first delicious taste of the royal dish (It was the Queens favorite meal while in Belize). For those of you unaware, Gibnut is a small game animal which is basically a large rodent.... imagine a guinea pig on steroids. Unfortunately, for the Gibnut, it is slow, dumb, & tastes very good! We
went to a little place called Neri’s and dined on the delicious meat. They have all kinds of Belize’s finest dishes. We then went shopping for a soccer ball so I can practice for the team. Oh! I don’t know if we told you but Pat and I are on the Peace Corps Soccer team. The girl’s are called the “Black Orchids” and the guy’s team is naturally the “Gibnuts”. In our last game I played, I actually scored the first goal. Anyway, after our shopping spree we had a lovely dinner at a very nice restaurant called “Celebrations”. We had our first bottle of wine in a really long time and it was delicious. Right before our lovely dinner I gave Pat his anniversary gift.... a machete! He had wanted one for a long time so he could whack coconuts open. We have used it quite a few times.

Anniversary part 2

Okay later in the week we caught a bus down at the water taxi station and began our 5 hour journey to Guatemala. Our bus was to take us to Tikal, but unfortunately, it dropped us off at El Remate which is about 45 minutes from Tikal. Luckily, another couple got off at the same time and they spoke Spanish and could discuss a price for the cab ride. We arrived at Tikal around 3pm and checked into our room. Pat booked us a lovely room right on the edge of the park. The hotel was absolutely beautiful, and had a little restaurant where you sit outside and dine. We had enough time to go to the park before it closed and we walked around the main plaza where we were able to catch some nice pictures at sun set. If you go in after 3pm your ticket is good for the next day so we got up early the next morning and began our days adventure in the park. We did not realize how large the park really was until we began to visit all the sites. It is 6 square miles of restored temples, ball fields, Stelae’s, and reliefs from 300 BC through approximately 900AD. The entire city is actually over 23 square miles waiting to be excavated. It is massive with over 400 structures that have been excavated or in the process of being excavated. I am not kidding it is a Maya Metro-plex. It is theorized that the city housed between 50K to 100K people. We went to temple IV first thing in the morning just after sun rise. It is one of the tallest temples and was used as the rebel base camp in Star Wars. It was absolutely breath taking. The fog covered the lush jungle and packs of howler monkeys were calling from various parts of the jungle. We saw so much wildlife at the park; Howlers, Toucans, Spider Monkeys, and some little fox/squirrel looking thing. As you can tell from the pictures we walked the entire park from the time it opened at 6AM until closing time at 6pm. We were exhausted when we got back to the hotel and ate a lovely dinner and went to bed. We got up next day and took a collectivo to Santa Elena and then a tuk-tuk to Flores. Flores is a beautiful little village on a small island in the middle of a lake. It is gorgeous and the people are so friendly. Pat again had picked a lovely hotel with a pool & AC. It was only 50 US a night and it included breakfast. We walked around the whole island up and down the quaint little streets. Everyday for lunch we went to the center square of town and ate at the food stall. They had the best taco's, burritos, & beer. We would eat lunch and watch whatever World Cup game was on. One afternoon it began to rain and the nice man tending the food stall invited us inside and we discovered that the stall was actually his home. He was so kind and we really enjoyed talking with him in our limited Spanish. We also went on a little boat ride one afternoon over to an island that housed a zoo. The zoo had many animals but the cats were most impressive; a Jaguar, Pumas, and Ocelots. It was a wonderful day and that evening we found a restaurant on the water that had delicious steaks and potatoes. The meal came with a real green salad (for you who live outside of Belize, the Belizean version of salad is potato salad or coleslaw but never lettuce). It was wonderful. Also one night walking by the water, we met a young man and his wife. His wife made fresh, delicious tamales & we liked them so much we ate three each. We complimented the wife on the tamales and she was so nice that she wrote down the recipe for us. The people were so friendly and pleasant in Guatemala. Everywhere we went, they made us feel at home even with our very limited Spanish. We had a wonderful time on our anniversary adventure, but the best part was just being together. Check out the videos and extra pics below!

July 4th 2010 Sarteneja

July 4th, 2010!!!!! Well again just trying to catch up on the blog. We have been so busy and involved in so many activities we have not had a chance to write about them. So I bet you all are wondering how we spent our July 4th this year. Those of you who know us know we are very patriotic and usually host a July 4th party every year. We were worried that we would not have an opportunity to celebrate this year being so far from our homeland, but we had an awesome 4th! One of our fellow volunteers hosted a weekend of fun and celebration Belizean style! We went to the village of Sarteneja located in Corozal district. It is a small fishing village located in the north. It is so far north you can see the border of Mexico just across the bay. It is absolutely beautiful there. Our fellow PCV there is assisting the Sarteneja Alliance for conservation and Development Group in developing the Sarteneja tourism industry as an alternative to fishing. The village has grown to a size that the fishing industry is unable to support the village and to conserve their natural resources they are looking at alternatives. The local tour guide association is trying to develop their tours of the reserve and so several of the PCV’s came up to assist in piloting their tours. It was awesome! We took a bus up to the village the night before. This can be kind of tricky because there are only one or two buses a day into and out of the village. If you visit plan on staying the night. We arrived the night before and hung out with our fellow PCV’s. We went out to a little restaurant in the village, and called it an early night so we could be up early for our tour. The next morning we went down to the dock and took an hour boat ride to our first stop. We went to a small island that is part of the reserve. They have a museum on the island that explains the history and formation of the park. The guide also discussed the damage to the reef caused by the cruise ships. Evidently, they dump large amounts of waste into the bay right off from the reserve. There are a large number of cruise ships crossing daily and this is damaging the reef and effecting other wildlife. Next we were off for another hour boat ride to snorkel the reef. The tour guides did a great job explaining the different types of mangroves and discussing the reef. They did a great job touring us around the reef and pointing out various species of fish, conch, and lobster. It was amazing the amount of fish and wildlife we saw on the reef. The boat ride through the mangroves was also really cool. We then took a break for lunch. We had a good old American cook out of hotdogs, potato chips, and potato salad. It would not be a cook out in Belize without the famous Belizean rum punch made with fruit squash. After lunch a conservation group on the island doing research and counting species gave us a presentation. We then went out for another snorkel to a different location. It was amazing. We then headed back to the village. When we arrived at the village the women’s group who manage the home stay program had arranged a 4th of July feast for us. They decorated the yard and had all kinds of food including Ceviche, chips, beans & rice, stewed chicken, and a wonderful pineapple upside down cake. The ladies also made a wonderful American flag cake as seen pictured. The children came and set of fireworks. It was a wonderful time had by all. Our fellow PCV is doing an amazing job in the village and you can tell she is loved dearly by the villagers. If you would like to read more about Sarteneja Village go to here. Look out for our next adventure coming to our blog soon!

Some of Keri's Work With APAMO

While we are a little behind on our blog, I did want to comment on an exciting summer camp event that I participated in for APAMO during the month of July. I gave a presentation to approximately 70 village children on the risks of oil exploration and drilling in protected areas and off the cost of Belize. The Community Baboon Sanctuary Women’s Conservation Group hosted a summer camp for children from seven local villages. The summer camp was a community educational outreach program that focuses on environmental awareness, conservation issues and academics. The children viewed the APAMO presentation that I created and then they participated in an activity the demonstrates how oil effects water when mixed. The presentation "Belize & Oil Exploration" highlights Belize’s protected Areas and the risks of oil exploration and drilling. The presentation provided conservation tips and tips on how the children could help take action by signing a petition to ban oil exploration and drilling off shore and in Belize’s protected areas. The Community Baboon Sanctuary Women’s Conservation Group was founded in 1998 and is responsible for Co Managing the Community Baboon Sanctuary. The Community Baboon Sanctuary (CBS) is a pioneering project in voluntary grassroots conservation. The goal is to sustain the habitat of the Black Howler Monkey (called 'baboon' in the local Creole dialect) while promoting the economic development of the participating communities. To learn more about this organization got to their profile here. To learn more about APAMO and their activities you can visit their website APAMO. I assisted with the designing of their website and was responsible for their facebook, twitter, and flickr accounts. If you would like to view pictures of the presentation or more pictures of APAMO’s Earthday celebration you can click APAMO’s facebook or flickr icon. You can also got to APAMO’s facebook page at this link or go here to see their pics. The APAMO newsletter also has a great deal of current information about the organization and its members. I might be a little biased but I designed the newsletter and wrote a large part of its content. If you get a chance take a look. Pat and I are now on to a new project working with the Youth Business Trust of Belize. We will be writing a lot about our recent activities very soon, but for now check out their website Youth Business Trust Belize.

Earth Day 2010 in Belize!

Boy was this a busy Earth Day for us! Well actually, it's the first time I even paid attention to the fact it was Earth Day. I mean other than hearing some news report on the radio before I buy a coffee in a styrofoam cup. Those of you that know me (Pat) know that I really couldn't care much less about this hippy-inspired "holiday". Did you know Ira Einhorn, the hippy that murdered his GF and kept her body in a trunk on his porch helped found Earth Day? Well, I have softened up a bit.... just a little though mind you!

Seen as Keri was working for a protected area's management organization (APAMO), we both got in the spirit of things! Keri started out by assisting one of her members, FAMRACC, in a clean up of the preserve area on Caye Caulker. They had some of the schools to volunteer the kids for the day and they conducted a cleanup of the trails. Keri also got to see the work FAMRACC has been doing on the replanting of the mangroves up close. The days work was hard, but there was a huge improvement to the trail system once they were done. Keri did mention that the whole scene resembled Lord of the Flies at some points with all the fires, kids running around with machetes, and the chain saw going. But noone was too seriously injured! (Pics of Event).

Seriously though, it has taken us some time to get used to the risk management issues we see. Maybe it was all those years managing that made us so cautious. Oh the stories we have to tell! But like we said, all the kids came back with the fingers & toes they started out with.

The next day we were split up with Keri in Dangriga and myself on the Western Highway between Belize City and Belmopan. Keri had helped organize a cleanup of Dangriga with Friends of Gra Gra Lagoon and then a presentation on the watershed hosted by STACA at one the Steadfast villages. Finally they were going to take all the kids to Billy Baquedier National Park to cool off after all their hard work. (Pictures of the event)

They started out with the cleanup in Dangriga and really spiffed the place up quite a bit! By the time they were done, the kids had amassed quite a bit of trash. Keri and the crew then made there way out to Steadfast village and Dr. Boles presented to the children on the importance of protecting the watershed. Of course no meeting can go without food and the women's group had prepared some tamales for everyone to enjoy! After a while, everyone hiked into the forest and had great fun at the Billy Barquedier's waterfall.

So while Keri was busy in Dangriga, I was with the PC group doing a trash pick up on the Western Highway sponsored by the Audubon Society. We were joined by the group from the US Embassy and even hung out with Ambassador again. He really is a great guy! After we finished up our stretch of the highway, we heded on down to a aprk where there was the obligatory BBQ chicken. Nothing goes on in Belize without food!

Easter in the rainforest!

So yes.... we admit it. We are big liars! We have not been updating like we promised. But we WILL try more! Anyway.... enough verbal self flagellation.

Keri and I took off back down south for Easter and spent the weekend hiking some more of the trails at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. You guys will remember we went there with Amy and were so impressed we wanted to come back and see some more. We stayed at the dorms they have available and were entertained at night by the little mouse trying to get at our raisins & peanuts. Little bastard got to them once when I forgot to seal the container and then spent the rest of our trip like some cartoon character trying to sneak around us. But I was not going to play "Sylvester" and he certainly was no "Speedy Gonzales" so I was able to foil his attempts.

The highlight of the trip was our hike up the Ben's Bluff trail. At the top you get a panoramic view of Victoria's Peak, the highest peak in Belize. Some other PCV's hiked Victoria's a few months after our trip and it tore them up. Keri & I were quite happy just looking!

We spent he rest of our time hiking around the Sanctuary and trying not to get lost. Can you believe we came across another Fer de Lance?!?! We were walking down a trail near the river and right in the middle of the trail, here he comes right toward us! They are supposed to be pretty hard to find and somehow we have seen them both times at the Sanctuary. Anyway, other than that excitement, we had a pretty good time. We actually met some folks from Australia who were on vacation as well as a nice couple from the UK who were doing the same. We had some great chats with them in the evenings and gave them a little advice on traveling around Belize. We hope it was good advice!

And yes.... that's Peeps candy Keri has at the top. We snacked on them while waiting for the bus back!