Liz: Day 43: Tranquility Bay, Ambergris Caye

Sofia is working on an update for our last couple days, a trip to the Butterfly Ranch and swimming at Rio On Pools. That will be coming soon.

Yesterday we traveled by ferry from Belize City to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, about an hour and a half ride. At the dock we boarded a small speedboat that zipped thirty minutes up the east side of the island to Tranquility Bay. Tranquility Bay is located in the Bacalar Chica National Marine Park and is a United Nations World Heritage Site.  The reef meets the shore just to the north so you can easily snorkel out to the reef and the boat traffic is limited as there is no outlet to the north.

This is "La Isla Bonita" of the popular song by that name. Our cabana looks down through coconut trees and over 50 feet of white sand to the water.  Sofia woke me up this morning to come watch the sunrise with her.  We watched a heron catch its' morning meal and enjoyed the bright pinks in the sky and on the water.  It was beautiful morning and a relaxing day of playing in the water, snorkeling, making skirts out of palm tree leaves and reading.

The restaurant is out on a dock over the water. During the day you can look down through the floorboards and see fish swimming around. You can meander down to the restaurant in bare feet if you like. It's very casual and a great place for kids of all ages to sit on a stool sipping a soda watching the ocean float by. At night they light the water under the dock which draws all kinds of fish. You can stand at the end of the dock and see rays, barracudas, trumpet fish and a variety of other fish.

Tomorrow we are going to try our hand(s) at fishing.  If we catch anything big enough the kitchen will prepare it for us for dinner.

Otis: Day 40 & 41: San Ignacio Lizard Farm and Ka'ax Tun Park

Visiting the lizards (iguanas) was pretty fun. If you poke your hand towards the baby iguanas' tummies they will whip their tail fast at your hand.  The grown ups will puff up and fight each other for territory. I liked Moonracer Farms. There is no electricity and it's fun there. I saw army ants.  The army ants can kill scorpions and even a chicken and bigger.  They are powerful and scary.  My dad lifted me over one of their marching lines and we drove over a big line in the truck.  And you just have to love Marge's cooking. You have to try it. You're going to love it.

We went to a jungle park with caves and vines you could climb up.  My dad wouldn't let me climb very far because I can't climb but there was a boy named Melver who could climb super high.  But his dad climbed higher and higher, all the way up the cliff.  In Marge's outdoor kitchen, Melver can climb up to the rafters and walk on them and higher.  There are caves you can go into.  There are pottery shards in many of the caves that the Mayans left.  There are really big creepy crawlies you're going to have to watch out for, like spiders and bats. The bats eat fruit so don't worry about them.  Tom has a machete.  It is really light and sharp. I got to try chopping down a tree with it.  The rest you have to discover for yourself.

Pictured Below:
Sofia at San Ignacio Lizard Farm
Baby Green Iguanas
Mayan Pottery Shards
Otis Climbing
Melver's Dad (Julio) Climbing
Julio, Tom & Marge

Links:
Moonracer Farm  (lodging and tours)

Liz: Day 38 & 39: At Home In The Jungle

I am happy to report that although the screens had holes, the bed was missing a slat and the mattress was a 2" foam pad, and although there were crocodiles in the pond 50 feet away (about the same distance as the bathrooms) and we found a black scorpion crawling across the floor of our room after dark, we survived our night "roughing" it summer camp style without any major problems.  The kids had a great time, the dad rose to the occasion and the mom experienced a case of grumpiness the next morning, which passed after a good meal and some meditative time next to a beautiful river. 

We took a night tour of the Belize Zoo and saw some animals up close that are hard to see in the day, like a big jaguar and a harpy eagle.  The tour started with the opportunity to hold a boa constrictor which Patrick and Otis were brave enough to do.    Our guide, one of the zookeepers, howled up to the howler monkeys, starting an outburst that lasted until we were well away.  I have to confess here that I am not a jungle type of a gal.  Deadly poisonous snakes, fire ants and mosquitos that could be carrying a nasty disease like Malaria or Dengue Fever don't excite me.  So, about halfway through the tour I wanted to be home with the kids tucked safely into bed. While Otis shared the sentiment, Patrick and Sofia had a great time on the tour and we recommend it.

You might be wondering at this point why I wanted to go to the Belize jungle.  That's what I was wondering the next day as we bumped our way over miles of rocky dirt roads that felt about 10 times worse than any dirt roads I've been on before.  If you wonder why it is so expensive to get around Belize, it's not just the high cost of gas but the cost of spare tires and parts for the cars.  We passed a village on the way to Moonracer Farm that is without power. Our guide told us it was scheduled to get power but then the entire village voted for the political party that lost the election and now they don't get power.  There are poles along the road up to a point but no power lines. Perhaps that's also why the road is so bad. Our guide said it was because they would just get the road fixed and graded and then the heavy rains would come and wash the dirt away, leaving rocks and holes.  Big rigs coming through to pick up oranges and deliver things make the problem worse.

Finally we arrived at our destination, Moonracer Farms, a lovely place in the middle of the jungle where you can pick fresh oranges, grapefruit and bananas right off the tree to go with breakfast.  The cabin was immaculate and cozy, the screens in perfect condition, the beds comfortable, and the hosts are friendly and understand (and welcome!) children.  We had a wonderful homemade meal that reminded us of home, pasta with a garlic and cheese sauce along with vegetables and chicken. Today, sitting on the hammock on the porch listening to the birds and monkeys, watching hummingbirds fly around just outside the screen, and seeing the kids happily exploring a new place and learning about the jungle, I'm glad we came.

Patrick: Week 6: The Selva

Boo hoo hoo!  We're half way through!  I can't believe we've been on the road for 37 days.  Every now and then I think about home and work and then promptly remind myself that I still don't need to think about that for a while longer.

Our stay on Isla Mujeres was fantastic.  I was laughing to myself one night while sitting on the roof of our hotel sipping a 3 layer margarita with a bunch of Canadians that were singing along with the John Denver song that was playing on the speakers.  It was one of the last situations I expected when embarking on our trip.  In truth though I _really_ enjoyed the adult conversation with all the travelers that were staying there.  It was a breath of fresh air.  Being major introverts, Liz and I  hesitate to introduce ourselves and chat as much as others might.

I've been trying to branch out in the foods I try.  Some of my new breakfast favorites are Huevos Motulenos and Machaca con Huevos.  Mmmmm.  The breakfast spot across the street was the perfect place to experiment.

Liz (somewhat tentatively) jumped at the chance for a few kid free hours for 3 days to get her PADI Open Water SCUBA certification.  It was a bit of a crash course but she did awesome on all the book work and her confidence was increasing dramatically with each dive.  Now we're looking forward to doing some more dives together.

One of the highlights for me was doing a wreck dive on my birthday.  The wreck was named Barco C-58 and was the tail end of a WWII era ship that was sunk intentionally to create an artifical reef.  Besides seeing a ton of Eagle Rays, there was a big Barracuda, some large groupers (?) and a load of smaller fishies resting on the side protected from the current.  Later that day on Liz's second dive we got to chase a sea turtle around a little.  I love those guys!

Anyhow, now we're in Belize.  For the whole first day I had to keep reminding myself not to say 'hola' and 'gracias'.  They still slip out now and then.  Yesterday we got to meet some howler monkeys (who are awesome by the way.)  Today we're headed to the Belize City Zoo where we'll do a night tour.  After that it's into the jungle for some adventures that may or may not include: cave tubing, more mayan ruins (Caracol), visiting some beautiful waterfalls, checking out a butterfly ranch, and then a few days on "La Isla Bonita."

Pictured below:
Sofia "Puca" the wrestler
Otis helping out a local statue
Liz preping for her first dive
Patrick in Barco C-58
Underwater sights

Liz: Day 37: Belize City Community Baboon Sanctuary

Today we had a wonderful introduction to Belize.  We hailed a taxi outside our hotel and arranged a ride to the Community Baboon Sanctuary, about 40 minutes out of town.  Our taxi driver, Byron was such an interesting, good guy and he gave us a running commentary on what we were seeing and about how things work in Belize.  He loves to cook and told us how to prepare some of the classic Belizean dishes.  He said that the first thing a farmer starting a farm in Belize will plant is coconut trees, because you can drink the milk, eat the meat, make oil for cooking and use the shells and wood for making things.  The only thing an old time farmer needs from town is salt.  Everything else you need you can get or grow in the country.

The community baboon sanctuary is a locally run collective of landowners who have organized under the leadership of the non-profit to preserve the habitat of black howler monkeys.  Farmers agree to leave some of the trees the monkeys need and not farm on the banks of the river, which leads to erosion and loss of habitat.  Our guide Robert was very knowledgeable about the rain forest, both plants and insects.  He also knows the monkeys pretty well and can call them.  I didn't know we'd get to touch the monkeys, but a couple of monkeys came and sat on both Otis' and my shoulders.  They are wild monkeys but you can interact with them carefully with a guide.

We also saw what fire ants and leaf cutter ants look like.  You have to watch your step there because if you step on a fire ant nest they will crawl up your legs and when they are all up they will bite you at the same time.  They don't bite until they're all up and they produce an acid that makes the bites burn. You have to watch your step in fire ant country!  The leaf cutter ant warriors are huge and were used in the past for stitches.  Once their jaws bite down on something they don't release so you can use them to hold skin together.  We did a unit on ants in homeschool and it still blew us away to see these ants in real life.  They are impressive.

Our tour was cut a little short because Sofia was scared of the forest.  Usually she's pretty fearless and she has been fine in forests at home and the mangrove forests in Mexico, but the rain forest freaked her out.  She was wearing sandals and thought things kept biting her.   We're going to be spending 3 nights and four days on a farm in the middle of the forest next week so we'll make sure she wears good shoes and hope it works out.

A side note for anyone traveling to Belize:  if we had booked the tour through our hotel it would have cost $99 US per person. However, we were able to get the (same!) taxi for $80 total and paid the entrance fee on our own for $21 US total.  So just by walking down the steps and talking to the driver we paid 1/4 what we would have paid for walking 5 steps into the lobby and asking about a ride.

Here's a link to the sanctuary:  http://www.howlermonkeys.org/

After our tour, Byron, at our request, took us to one of his favorite Belizean restaurants.  I tried Black Relleno, a stewed chicken dish served with rice. There was a cooked egg yolk in it, along with onions and some other veggies.  It was tasty and hearty.  Otis ordered the fish patty Barracuda, which they all thought was hilarious, and Patrick tried a Belize specialty: Gibnut, which is a rodent.  Last night Patrick tried cow foot soup, pictured below, which was delicious.

Pictured Below:
Black Howler Monkeys
Fern Leaf Tattoos
Black Relleno
Cow Foot Soup
Bellikan in front of our hotel window

Liz: Day 36: Belize City

"You don't need to speak Spanish here. We speak English mon."  The reply after Otis told a man at the bus station "Gracias" for helping him.  To which Otis clenched his fist in the "Yes!!!" victory gesture.  The kids are in relaxation heaven today with over 100 channels on the tv, most of which are in English.  We splurged on a really nice hotel for our first couple nights in Belize and we're so glad we did.  After traveling all night by bus, getting swindled out of $100 leaving Mexico and finding ourselves in a completely different culture, it's nice to have a little bit of a buffer before jumping into the fray.

Belize City has a reputation for being dirty, rough and a good place to avoid.  We weren't planning on staying here but when the lodge we reserved sent us an invoice for $1650 US (for two nights) just hours before our bus left, we had to scramble for plan B.  Our experience so far on this trip has been the more expensive the room, the more dissapointing the food and the more nickel and dime-ing that goes on.  So far, I'm glad we came here.  The city is an interesting mix of people, a combination of Mayan and Carribean culture with a splash of Mennonite culture thrown in and on top of that, many of the stores are owned and operated by the Chinese (per our taxi driver.)  Behind those is a hint of British colonialsm, ie:  Earl Gray and Bigelow tea in our hotel room, a plumbing system that allows you to flush toilet paper, and English spoken as the primary language.

Random Toilet Trivia:  Did we mention that it's considered very rude to flush paper into the toilet in Mexico?  Because their septic systems can't handle the paper and it's expensive to dig up and replace the system, it's considered the equivalent of leaving someone's refrigerator door open.  A small garbage can is provided for the toilet paper. An exception is at some of the bigger resorts where they will post a notice saying "Please flush paper in the toilet." Back on track now....

It is stormy today in Belize.  Rain is splattering against our windows and the trees outside are blowing and making me feel like I'm underwater again.  About a hundred yards beyond that the Carribean is a choppy gray green.  Every once in a while a boat zips past.  Inside, the kids are comfortable in their jammies and Patrick is reading the Destination Belize magazine we found in our room.  Tomorrow we'll get out and explore but for today a nap and the view from the window are looking good.

Liz: Day 34: Last days on Isla Mujeres

I have a moment of quiet as everyone else is occupied with fun individual activities and not quite ready to start the day.  We are getting ready to head to Belize, hopefully tomorrow night on the night bus.  This mornings tasks are: coffee (L&P) and breakfast for the kids (leftovers), taking our last small batch of laundry to the lavendaria, finding the travel agency on the island that sells ADO bus tickets and buying our tickets for tomorrow, cruising down to the island supermarket in the golf cart with the kids to buy birthday presents for Patrick's birthday tomorrow, and taking my final written exam for my diving certification.

I am especially excited about Patrick's birthday tomorrow.  The dive company we've been diving with is going to take us out on the boat and first Patrick will get to do a wreck dive and then we'll both do the second dive, which will be my final dive for my certification.  Afterwards we're going to celebrate with a ceviche lunch with the guys back at dive headquarters.  So hopefully I'll do well on my final dive!  Yesterday I had a rough start as the ocean was pretty rough with big waves throwing the boat around and my mask wasn't adjusted properly so I couldn't clear it underwater.  For the second dive I tried a different mask and was fine.  We saw some underwater statues, several stingrays (one passed by me swimming about 8 feet away), and a variety of sea life including a lobster hiding under a rock.

Our time here on Isla Mujeres has been a good break from travelling.  There is a great snorkeling beach walking distance away that is shallow enough and big enough for the kids to play indefinitely.  It's like a giant bathtub with fish swimming around in it.  The island is narrow so you can walk across it in a short amount of time and the beach is white sand, glistening and gorgeous.  I realized yesterday looking at the beach that I was starting to get used to the view, which was formerly only a travel dream photo on my computer screen and on calenders.

Another fun part of our time here on Isla Mujeres has been the people at our hotel.  There was the big potluck dinner last week that was attended by over 30 people (our cookies were a hit!) and this week there have been a couple of happy hour events.  There are people who have been here the entire time we have been and it has been nice to get to know them and have some adult conversation. People tend to come back to this hotel every year. Sofia has met more people here than the rest of us.  She has gotten to go watch cartoons with her 2 year old friend in the hotel office several times.  Sometimes when we meet people they say, "We already know Sofia."  When we were out walking yesterday we passed by the salon where Patrick and Otis had haircuts and the stylist waved out the window and said "Hola Sofia!" Earlier in the day one of the women who cleans at the hotel recognized her on the street and greeted her by name.  Sofia told me she'd like to stay here forever.

Pictured below: a walk along the east side of the ocean, art along the way, the perfect end to our dinner (not pictured was the accordian player)