Altun Ha and More

Though many days have passed, I'm picking up from the last post.  When we arrived home from Blancaneaux Lodge, the rain was falling, but Dave still had the day off!  We decided to go to the nearest Mayan ruins, Altun Ha, to see how far it was and what it was like.

The first challenge was the hour trip there, as the roads were flooding in several places.  We passed horses in the road, and a lovely, big thatched roof house!

Altun Ha roughly means "Rockstone Pond" which was also a later village in the area.  As it was raining, I took pictures from under my umbrella.  We did not go all the way to the main pond as the mosquitos were eating us up despite having insect repellant on!  With all of the recent rains, the ponds were full.  The area was large and vibrantly green!  The temples were not as high as those at other Mayan ruins we've seen, but it was very beautiful!  Below are pictures of the Sun God's Tomb, the view from the top of the Sun God's Temple, and the path toward the pond.

Once it started to rain, it has persisted!  The country is flooded in many parts, delaying the harvest or transport of the ripe sugar cane.  The streets are completely destroyed!  One evening on the news, a picture was shown of an SUV with a broken axle, nose down in a pothole on Bayman Avenue, a major street three or four blocks from us!  We had just driven through that same hole on that same evening!  Much of our time is spent searching for a new route to the Radisson where we work out.  At this point, no street is without a major section washed out!

Fortunately, the rain subsided for a couple of days, enough time for me to work on the house and de-mold it!  Mildew grows spontaneously.  Dave reached into our file cabinet and pulled out a fuzzy logbook!  I have been reluctant to mop the tile floors as it is already so wet in the house.  I was glad to have last weekend to clean the blinds and mop the floor!

Tuesday, November 19, was Garifuna Settlement Day in Belize, a national holiday.  Businesses were closed.  Most of the celebrating goes on in the south of Belize where the Gariganu people landed over 200 years ago in dug-out canoes, escaping slavery.  Much of the Garifuna culture is maintained, and I just love the Garifuna dresses!  People proudly wore their Garifuna clothes at work on the days preceding the holiday.

For us, the special significance of the day was having Jack and Linda Loye visit!  They were on a cruise ship that docked at Belize City.  Since they weren't on an organized tour, they arrived mid-morning.  Dave and I had arrived at the cruise ship dock fairly early as we did not really know where we were going or what the routine was.  Well, it is an experience all its own!  Two cruise ships were in town, so people were spilling out of the dock terminal and onto buses!  Many artisans were open in their small huts.  And taxi drivers and horse carriages were there to take people on city tours!  It was a warm and sunny day, and Dave and I stationed ourselves in different locations to be on the lookout for Jack and Linda.  We were offered all kinds of tours, and we want to get T-shirts that say in big letters, "We LIVE here!"  Everyone was very friendly, and I laughed a lot with the locals!

Dave and I took Jack and Linda on a drive through south Belize City, across a couple of the bridges and into north Belize City.  They saw where we shop and work.  And they were able to experience first-hand our streets!  After a brief stop at our house, we drove out towards the Zoo.  Due to time limitations, we had to skip the Zoo and instead ate at Cheers Restaurant.  The drive was nice, but I think I would have skipped that in hindsight.  We didn't arrive back to the terminal in time for Dave and me to go out to the ship.  I've never been on a cruise ship, and I would have enjoyed that.  We wanted Jack and Linda to experience a little more of Belize, but time was limited.

Here are pictures of the four of us at the cruise ship terminal, and a picture of Linda and me, 52 years after we met!  Now that makes us sound very old...but really, we're not!

We are now anxiously awaiting Nathan and Megan's arrival in just a month!  And Judi and her friend, Mary, will come in January.  I think that Debbie and Chuck will come in February.  We love having people visit!  Book your tickets and your room at the Brown Bed & Breakfast soon!