Christmas in Belize 2013

Nathan and Megan arrived at the International Airport on December 21st!  As Dave was flying, I went to pick them up!  They'd had a long day before they ever made it here, so they went to the Radisson to have a rest before dinner.

One of the treats that Dave and I received was a free turkey from BERT.  I had it in the oven while they were resting.  Due to being unable to find stuffing mix or sweet potatoes, I had to make a couple of last minute changes to the menu!  Such is life in Belize!  We had plenty of wine and Christmas cookies to keep all happy, though.

Sunday afternoon was pool-time, and we enjoyed lunch by the Radisson's pool.  After a short tour of the city, we arrived home for a meal of rice and beans and chicken--very Belizean!

Apparently, Dave's lunch at the Radisson had some e. Coli in it, as he became desperately ill.  On Monday morning, he took the plane to International Airport for servicing, but became so ill that the mechanic had to give him a ride home!  Actually, he went to the BERT office first, which I did not learn about until the next day!  Anyway, instead of my staying at work while Nathan and Megan went to Caye Caulker (below) for the afternoon, I spent the afternoon in the emergency room while they gave Dave fluids and antibiotics.  What a way to begin a vacation!

Due to a number of irritating occurrences, the plans to go to St. George's Caye on Tuesday were cancelled and late in the day we set off by car for Placencia, a nearly 4 hour trip.  We enjoyed driving on the Hummingbird Highway through the mountains, but the potholes in the road, especially when it was raining off and on, were treacherous!  (I later saw on the news that an American couple had hit a pothole too fast, and the car was thrown into the ditch.  No one was injured, as everyone had seat belts on, a rarity in Belize.)  We were able to find The Placencia Hotel in the dark, and we had dinner on Christmas Eve on the Pier.

Christmas Day dawned bright and clear, and after breakfast we headed for the pool!  (We were going to lie on the beach, but those nasty sand flies were out and about!)  The pool was beautiful--the perfect temperature, a beautiful stone waterfall, and a swim-up bar!  Who could ask for a better day in the sun!

In the afternoon, Megan went to work out, and Dave and I took a drive down the peninsula to the town of Placencia.  The town is filled with shops, but everything was closed for Christmas.  There were people in the streets, partying.  And we were able to drive around the airport, where a crossing bar goes down as an airplane takes off!  One can see the lagoon on one side of the road and the Caribbean on the other.  This area is being purchased and developed by people from the U.S. and Canada.  Really beautiful residences!

The sunset on Christmas night was beautiful!  And we ate again out on the Pier.  The service staff were particularly cheerful and kind!

On December 26th, we went to Dangriga so that Dave could see from the ground another of his frequent destinations by air.  The town is known to be a Garifuna town and is very alive on Garifuna Settlement Day, but not much was going on when we were there on Boxing Day (a national holiday, too).

The four of us drove back through the mountains on the Hummingbird Highway.  I was not aware of the citrus industry in the area.  We also saw a banana grove or two near Dangriga.  We ate lunch at Cheers, then headed across the street to the Belize Zoo.

The day continued to be showery off and on.  We happened to be there on an apparently active day for the animals.  The jaguar is a special creature at the Zoo, and the personnel do a "jaguar lick," during which they place something on the heads of people who sit in a cage with the jaguar on top, licking off whatever it is that is on their heads!  Well, some children of a family there were in the cage, and we were able to watch the jaguar do somersaults and prowl around on top of the cage!

The Howler Monkeys were lively!  I have a movie that really captures their sound, but I could not get it to load to the blog.   The Spider Monkeys were active, too!  I'm so glad that we stopped and saw the Zoo again!  It is a really special place in the jungle!

The following day, Dave needed to be prepared to fly, and I thought that I should make an appearance at the Child Care Centre.  Megan and Nathan went to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, having arranged a snorkeling trip for Saturday morning.  They had great difficulty finding a room in which to stay, but located a room at the Mayan Princess.  On Saturday morning, they went with "Lil' Alphonse" on a snorkel adventure in Hol Chan and Shark Alley!  Nathan had not been snorkeling, so he received a little instruction and dove in!  He looked down to see a huge ray swim by!  They said that seeing the colorful fish and swimming with stingrays and nurse sharks were phenomenal experiences!  

 To the left is the guide holding a shark, and below is Nathan gazing at fish!

Dave flew to Ambergris Caye and gave Megan and Nathan a bird's eye view of the reef on the way home.  The weather was not clear enough to take them out to see the Blue Hole, but they enjoyed the colors of the reef.

Saturday evening we ate at the Riverside Tavern with Yvette Burks joining us!  I was so glad that Nathan and Megan and Yvette were able to meet each other!

On Sunday, Nathan, Megan and I drove to Cayo to visit Xunantunich Mayan ruins, but the river was so high and rushing that the ferry was closed, and we could not get across to the ruins.  Mayan ruins are all over the country with only a small percentage likely uncovered.  Another site, Cahal Pech, was nearby in San Ignacio, so we went there!  For me, it was something new to see!

Monday morning, I took Nathan to the Child Care Centre where the children greeted him!  I was so happy to introduce "my children" to my son!  The following day, they asked me if he was still here! And he had the opportunity to meet Ms. Augustine and others with whom I work.

Then it was off to the airport where we sadly had to say "good-bye."  I was so happy to be able to show them places that are now my home.  I think that they had something of an adventure, perhaps a bit more "third world" than they were expecting.  A different kind of Christmas!

More Pre-Christmas Festivities!

The weather has been continually rainy, four times the normal for the last month or more.  When the day for the annual Christmas Parade dawned bright and sunny and the perfect temperature, the time for celebrating began!  I loved being outside, watching people and waiting for the parade to begin.  Dave was off flying, so I walked the half mile to a good spot across from the hospital.

The parade was filled with children, marching in holiday colors, playing in bands, and dancing.

 (The man marching behind the band, above, is a neighbor of ours, George.  He directs traffic for St. Joseph's Church a block away, and on this day he had been tipping the glass way too early!  He always greets us with a cheer and a wave as he sees us drive by!)

We always have our favorite clown, too!  He is Javier, the medic who works for BERT and flies with Dave, when he isn't being a clown!  And Santa brought up the rear atop the fire engine!

On December 20, the Department of Human Development hosted a lovely dinner and dance for employees and their guests.  The room on the fourth floor of a nearby building was beautifully decorated!  A turkey dinner was served, and a DJ provided music for dancing!  Here are a couple of pictures from the event!

Christmas Party at the Centre!

Ho, ho ho!  Santa came early to Dorothy Menzies Child Care Centre!

Laura Connelly and Natalie Lanni, our faithful volunteers from Florida who come every couple of months, came with two other frequent volunteers from their church to host a holiday party at the Centre.  This was no ordinary Centre party!  Two months ago, Laura made sure to get a wished-for gift request from every child and staff member!  Then she and her team in Florida went to work, filling the wish list and shipping it to Belize.  When Laura and team arrived on Wednesday, they began wrapping the gifts, getting ready for Santa's arrival on Saturday.  Meanwhile, they also had prepared a performance of the Christmas story, bringing costumes for Joseph and Mary, the Wise Men and the Angels.  Rehearsals began on Thursday!  

Yesterday was the big event!  Christmas morning magnified! The Christmas Story was presented first, followed by a dance choreographed by a group of four girls.  Then the sign language teacher, with a group of children with whom she has been working, signed a lovely song!  

  

At the end of the performance, Santa arrived!  (We decided that he had walked, due to a strike by the reindeer, as he lost a lot of weight on his journey!!!)  Each child was called to come up and receive a gift, the one they had requested, from Santa:  Jordan sandals, remote control cars, several baby dolls, MP3 players!  The importance of each child having a gift with his or her name on it cannot be underestimated.  One little girl, the day before the event, asked:  "Is my name going to be on my gift?"  These children receive lots of gifts at Christmas, but seldom one that is personalized.  Usually it is "girl under five" or "boy over twelve."  To have a gift which they asked for and with their name on it was most special! Then cupcakes and ice cream were served, and the staff received their requested gifts:  big pots for cooking rice, tablets, DVD players, jewelry and phones!  

Chaos reigned as children put batteries in and played with their toys!  Additionally, there was a crew working on the new, cement wall that is being constructed at the back property line of the Centre!  They got in on the fun, since they had tools to unscrew modules needing batteries!  And of course, they had to have cupcakes!  (A little disruptive was the large truck arriving to deliver the rice and beans and flour, etc. for the week!)  What a lot of fun everyone had!

Earlier in the week, Dave took an afternoon off, and we drove to the Orange Gallery in Cayo.  I love that gift shop, filled with beautiful wood pieces and art!  We ate lunch at the Gallery's cafe, which was wonderful.  Just being out in the country, in the hills in the mist, was heavenly!  

On the flying front, Dave flew less in November than in any other month.  He seems to be making up for it now...9 flights in 3 days! One morning, he was called early.  Upon arriving at the airport, he found that high tide had spread debris across the run way.  A few guys with brooms were slowly clearing the runway.  Dave thought the patient might get critical at the pace they were going!  He took the push broom from the hangar and headed out to help them. Within a few minutes he had cleared enough space that he thought he could get off the ground.  As he took off, they workers moved off the runway.  The control tower at the International Airport said:  "I thought the runway was closed at Municipal!"  Dave had to explain how he managed to get off the ground.  When he returned after a short flight to San Pedro, he informed International that he'd do a low fly-by to check on the runway condition before landing, as International was still reporting that the airport was closed.  The workers, still sweeping, moved off of the runway when Dave flew overhead, and he landed safely with the patient!  Such is life in Belize!

Thanksgiving--Belize style!

Thanksgiving in Belize is a little odd.  First of all, the fact that it is mentioned or celebrated is odd, given that the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock and not on a Caye.  Secondly, it is not a national holiday, so if one were to actually celebrate it, one would need to take the day off.  The larger restaurants feature turkey dinners, for which I presume one would need a reservation.  And some families do fix a turkey dinner.

Dave and I, being Belizean right now, worked per usual.  Dave had a flight, and I worked at the Child Care Centre.  I did order a Thanksgiving lunch, prepared by and sold by the Anglican High School students.  Hmmm...I think it was a Belizean Thanksgiving lunch!  Rice and beans with a slice of turkey on top!  And a slice of ham lunchmeat!  And one teaspoon of cranberry relish!  Most amusing was the "dressing," which actually was a small pile of toasted bread crumbs!  The student who sold me the lunch was so very grateful and appreciative, so I felt totally great about it!  As Dave was flying, his lunch went to our van driver, who brought us the lunches from the high school.  I might mention that the number of styrofoam boxes for lunches defies counting here!  At lunchtime, on nearly every street, a vendor will be selling lunch, packaged in a styrofoam container.  Often it is chicken with beans and rice.  You will see parents outside schools buying lunches from a vendor for their children.  Some vendors are just outside of a business, making it convenient for the employees to dash out and buy lunch!  I find it expensive, so it rather surprises me that people feel okay to purchase lunch.  Of course, it is their major meal of the day.  I am sure that some bring their lunches from home to work--maybe peanut and butter sandwich and a banana!?!

The Child Care Centre has had an influx of children recently.  We now have about 65 children, and a number of them speak only Spanish.  I am wishing that I'd been studying Spanish!  My interviews of children have prompted great laughter in some of the kids!  Anything to amuse them, I say!  LOL!  I spent the better part of one day with a 6-month-old and a 4-year-old, who was very traumatized by the move to the Centre.  I was the "grandma," giving the children time together, as they are in different dorms and not frequently seeing one another.  The difference for the 4-year-old was amazing--he left me and the baby and began playing with the other young children, for the first time since his arrival! Success!  And he is doing much better now.  Of course, we are not equipped to have such young children at the Centre, but if there is no foster family available at the time, here they come!

The week ahead will be an exciting one!  I think I'll start by taking Monday off!  I am actually going to the Centre today to open the admin. building for a University of Belize social work student who is going to do a healthy boundaries group with some of our boys.  I'm supervising for a bit!  On Wednesday, the Centre has a Board meeting to which I've been invited, with a catered lunch!  The only hiccup in this plan is that in our conference room, we have about 20 gigantic shipping boxes of gifts needing to be wrapped.  On December 14, a Christmas party will be held at Bliss Centre for all of the children in care throughout the country--thus the boxes of toys!  (I wonder who will be wrapping those gifts, and if it is on Wednesday, we have a problem!)  Also on Wednesday, Laura Connelly and her group arrive from Florida, bringing gifts for all of our staff and children.  On her last visit she asked each and every person what they wanted, so these are personalized gifts.  And on December 7th, we will have our Centre party with Ms. Laura and Ms. Natalie!

Yesterday, Dave and I shopped for Christmas!  We went to the "Expo" at the Princess Hotel, which featured the major stores selling wares.  We bought a few things there.  Then we went to Mirab Store where we purchased necessities such as a new set of sheets and towels for some special visitors who will be coming in just 3 weeks!!  We also bought a few Christmas decorations so we look a little festive.  We are decorating today.  Some homes are already fully decked out with Christmas lights!  I thought there may be a palm tree or two used as Christmas trees, but people seem to have artificial trees up.  We may or may not go that far in our decorating!

The big news from "home" is that Jonattan has his Green Card in hand!  And Jeremy and Jonattan are on their way to the Philippines on December 10!  We are so happy for them!

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!

Blancaneaux Lodge

Blancaneaux Lodge is a Francis Ford Coppola resort in the Mayan Mountains of the Cayo District in Belize.  And what a beautiful place!

Dave had to "work" so we were "forced" to take a couple of days off and go to the remote lodge for a little R & R!  (Thank you, Yvette!)  We flew the BERT plane to Blancaneaux's dirt airstrip so that Dave could test the runway, see the lay of the land and meet with the Dutch Army, who are doing maneuvers in the area.

Dave and I took off from Municipal Airport and climbed through puffy clouds, darting here and there!  As this trip took us south, I was able to take some pictures overlooking Belize City, including one that captured the Child Care Centre and my office building.  (No one would know that, but me, and that is not the picture shown below, which is of downtown.)  The day was beautiful, and the countryside showed off all the shades of green!  We were able to find the airstrip (great to have a GPS), and landed safely!  Beside the runway was our horse-drawn carriage, ready to take us down the beautiful lane to the Lodge.

Immediately after arrival, representatives of the Dutch Army, including the doctor, arrived to consult with Dave.  We walked up to the runway to study how feasible it might be to land the plane at night without lights!  The Army would set up light cans along the sides of the runway so that Dave could get in for night evacuations,  Besides the challenge of finding a thin strip of dirt in the jungle at night, Municipal Airport, where the plane is based, has no lights.  International Airport does have lights, but the facility is closed after 6:00 PM, so special arrangements would need to be made.  The Aviation Board of Belize would need to approve this challenge, and then BERT's board would have to approve it!  Needless to say, approval was not granted, so Dave is not on call 24/7 for 3 weeks!  The Army will have to evacuate over a BAD road to the nearest clinic.  A helicopter company is providing daytime evacuations.

A prime reason for staying at a Francis Ford Coppola resort is the wine!  Since Dave did not have to fly again until the next day (thank you to Yvette, again!!), we had wine for lunch!  Dave had their fabulous pizza while I had a phenomenal fish salad!  The resort runs an organic farm, providing the most wonderful fruits and vegetables--the best we've had in Belize!

Dave and I walked up to the organic farm after lunch and were given a tour of the beds.  Torrential rains had fallen in the few days prior to our arrival, and the beds were being rebuilt in some cases.  They bring in good black soil.  We walked on up the road to the stables and pet the horses.  I'm pretty sure that Candace will want to stay at Blancaneaux to go on a trail ride in the jungle!  On the road, Dave nearly stepped on a fast moving, thankfully shy coral snake.  If bitten, Dave would have been in serious trouble, given that he is the pilot for medical evacuations!  It was a pretty snake, though!

After our walk, I enjoyed pool time!  This resort really takes care of its guests!  (Of course, I had to have a rum drink, too!)  All of the staff quickly learned our names, and we were "hailed" (Creole word) by our first names.

Our cabana overlooked the falls on Privassion Creek.  The roar of the falls was deafening!  This creek looked more like a river, and the flooding that had occurred a couple of days before was obvious along the banks.  The resort has its own hydroelectric plant, but the flood really destroyed it.  On Sunday, when we attempted a hike to 1000-foot Falls, we talked to the maintenance manager who said that they had to order parts from Canada.  Meanwhile, power was sufficiently provided by generators.

Dave and I went to dinner, walking to the restaurant after dark.  And the jungle is a very dark place!  We again had a fabulous meal with dessert and a bottle of wine!  We took a night hike up the road to the runway, just to experience the jungle night!  Beautiful!

When we arrived back in our room, turn-down service had prepared the bed, and candles were lit on the table.  The cabana, a large thatched building, had beautiful wood and colorful wall hangings.  The open windows let in the sound of the falls.  And if we wanted to call the lobby, we used the "shell phone!"  The shell phone was a shell on a wooden box, and one pushed a button to alert the lobby of a call!

Our Sunday morning walk didn't turn out to be the adventure we'd hoped.  The path to the Falls was so wet from the rains that we knew our shoes would be soaked before getting very far.  So we walked around the grounds, saw the Francis Coppola Villa and the Enchanted Cottage, and looked at the garden and stables again.




On our flight home under cloudy skies (so the colors were not so vibrant along the way), we caught a glimpse of Hidden Valley Lodge Airport.  I'm pretty sure we will need to visit that lodge, too!  It is not far from Blancaneaux!

I believe we flew over mango fields!

Mango season has passed, and I miss them!









Then we returned to Municipal Airport at the end of a wonderful weekend!

Blancaneaux Lodge is definitely a luxury resort and worth every penny!   Heavenly!