WIN Belize

I should have written this last Friday as soon as I got home, but I was exhausted and fell asleep at about 9:00.  This past week has been exhausting, but that serves me right for spending a week relaxing with my family.  On Friday afternoon, I was able to give the final recommendations to Agatha at the Women's Issues Network of Belize.  The nonprofit in Belize City is struggling with having a sustainable income for the organization.  Sarah, Vanessa, and I have been working on a report to present to them.  They were looking at creating the Women's Business Network of Belize (WBN).  So, we started researching plans for the WBN. 

We decided to interview different businesses and organizations.  This is why the three of us traveled down to the Toledo district in the south.  The south is considered the poorest district in Belize.  There are a lot more indigenous people and tourism (the number one income of Belize) isn't as developed in the south.  I actually loved Punt Gorda.  Sure, the sea isn't the same Caribbean blue down there as it is in the cayes--this is because there is a lot more rain, which creates the five rivers that mix up the sea in the area. 

I still love Punta Gorda.  The Maya in the south speak English as their second language, and you hear hardly any Spanish.  The people work together a lot more, too.  I deeply appreciated this idea of community.  Sometimes it is for the good and other times, not so good.  Our tour guid told us of a story about two little children that went missing.  There was an accusation of an American, but they didn't have any evidence, so the people got into a bus, and drove to his house and burned it down.  He was not in the house, but relocated to San Padro shortly there-after. 

Although that was an example of the bad, there is still a lot of good in the communality of the people.  They create businesses and organizations and genuinely take care of each other.  This is an attribute that so many people in the world have lost.   I won't give more details about the trip down to PG because I already wrote about it. 

The presentation went extremely well, and Agatha was very grateful.  She even asked me to continuously follow up with her to make sure that she is working on making it happen.  The adjective "happy" doesn't even begin to describe how I felt.  Elated.  Maybe that comes closer.  Anyway, we took pictures and talked a little more about how much I enjoyed this project.  We then headed for the bus.  On the bus ride home, I thought about the events of the afternoon.  Working on this project was the highlight of my summer.  It was why I got to travel down to PG, and probably has a lot to do with why Punta Gorda is my favorite region of the entire country.  My parents came to visit and I drug them down there, and I think they wondered for a little bit why it was my favorite so much. 

I realized that I know exactly what I want to be when I grow up (nonprofit consulting) and then I realized that I AM DOING IT! And I have been for the past year.  I also admit that I would love to work for WIN Belize and figure out how to get this project off the ground and see it come to fruition. 

Family: Down South

This was a bit funny.  My dad saw a website online that advertised the opportunity to live like a Mayan.  My dad was under the impression that we would be sleeping in the Jaguar reserve, since it boasted that the guide grew up in the reserve.  We got there, and it was just a shack on the side of the highway.  The guide had lived in the reserve up until it was made into a reserve, at which point his family was forced to relocate.  The hut was very similar to the hostels that I have slept in all summer.  My dad was worried about my mom's comfort, and offered to take her to a hotel.  He then admitted that the reason was that he didn't want to be teased about this forever.  I took a picture of his face.  That night after dinner.  We went on a Jaguar hunt.  We did not expect to see anything more than some monkeys and a toucan; however, we are now on the official record as having spotted a Jaguar.  Yes, my friends, the Jaguar hunt was successful.  We didn't really see anything else for the rest of the night on our midnight jungle hike, but we saw the illusive and stealthy Jaguar. 

The next morning, we packed up to head to the Cotton Tree Lodge in Toledo.  The Humming bird highway remains one of the most beautiful drives that I have ever experienced!  It was indescribable.  My dad picked out a spot of land for retirement.  (this was actually before the Maya Center.) Anyway, we started the drive further down south, and went into town first.  We got some lunch and I tried showing them the chocolate factory and the shop, but both were closed for lunch.  We ended just heading on over to the lodge.  We got to the lodge and learned that it was an eco-lodge that does a lot of philanthropy in the community.  It took some adjusting to.  I am use to the heat, but my mom was struggling with the extreme heat and off the charts humidity of the jungle.  She...we were concerned about having a night without air conditioning.  It actually worked out just fine.  The jungle down south cools off a lot more at night than it does at the western boarder.  I really just enjoyed sitting in the hammock on the front porch.  We also went out to the jungle lodge to see the monkeys.  No matter how much we looked for them, we weren't able to see them. 

The next morning, we decided to go snorkeling again.  The water in PG isn't nearly a crystal clear as the cayes.  There are five rivers that meet the sea in Toledo, and that makes the water a lot more murky,  and easily churned.  The guide took us to a ranger office for the marine preserve who told us a bit about the area and what Belize is doing to preserve the water.  It was really interesting.  We then went to a beach that was crystal clear and beautiful. 

Cadie was talking about how she likes "what if?" questions.  I then asked her, "What if you wake up tomorrow and love J. Biebs."  She then promised that that would never occur… ever, ever, ever.  At which point I sang, "Never say NEVER!"  She didn't appreciate the serenade.

We then went snorkeling and saw an octapus, starfish the size of the kitchen sink, lobster, and dori fish.  It was not nearly as well known as the Ho Chen reserve, so we were the only ones out there, but I actually liked it a lot better.  PG remains my favorite part of Belize.  We started to have lunch on the beach, but the sand flees were to potent, so we just ate out on our boat and had the chance to talk to our guide for a while. 

The next day, we packed up the car and headed back to Belize City to take my parents to the airport.  :) 

Family: San Ignacio

Once we finally made it to Belize City, we started our journey toward San Ignacio.  I had my parents drop me off at my place first.  The next day, we decided to head to Tikal, which they were both very impressed with.  It's hard not to be impressed with Tikal.  That night, Mamma Kay made us dinner, and it was quite delicious.  My mom had been wanting to try homemade tortillas, but was afraid to eat anywhere that prepares fish.  They loved the BBQ Chicken and tortillas.  Then, Cadie and I took a cab back to my place and had a sleep over.  She was cute and shy.  THe next morning, she woke up and took a shower.  I thought that she had been in there for quite a while, so I went to check on her, and she had locked herself in and couldn't figure out how to get out. I was trying not to laugh too hard. 

That afternoon, we went to Barton creek to go canoeing in a cave.  It was fun and similar to the ATM caves.  I really just enjoyed being with my family. At the end, there was a rope swing and a cliff that we could jump off of, so…. We used them.  That night, I sent my parents to Ka'ana for dinner and I hung out with Cadie and Vincent. 

The next day, I got to give my parents a small tour of San Ignacio, and then we picked up a rental car to go down south.

Family Time: San Padro

I saw my family last week and we got spoiled rotten.  I got a cold a few days before and was worried about going because I didn't want to get my mom sick.  The night before, I only slept a few hours and I probably looked a little like death.  I had planned on picking up my parents, and sleeping in the hotel for a few hours.  Nope. I picked them up, and we took the water taxi to the hotel where we were greeted on the doc with cool wash cloths that smelled like Eucalyptus.  We then got a tour of the hotel and our hotel room. They gave us rum punch (without rum) while my dad checked in.  It was nice.  We then took out the kayaks and went to the edge of the reef to do some snorkeling.  It was so fun to be able to do it with mom.  I kept thinking, "I'm getting spoiled rotten! I don't deserve this!" then I thought about the last few years and decide that I may not deserve it, but mom does, and she needs someone to do it with her, right?  Anyway, I then went back to the hotel room for a HOT shower (I forgot how nice hot showers are) in an air-conditioned apartment, and we went to dinner where I ordered a salad.  Four months of burritos and the salad was wonderful!  My mom thought that I was crazy for not getting the traditional Belizean food, but understood after a week of tortillas.

The next day, we went out to the Ho Chen reserve and did some more snorkeling. It was fun because I got to see a sea turtle, some sharks, and a sting ray.  Several actually.  That night,  I was still feeling sick, so I sat on the couch and watched the Olympics. I hung out with Cadie and Vince while my parents went out to dinner.  We got Pizza and a pina colada.  (best of my life) We went to church the next morning and it brought me back to Mistretta: a tiny apartment with views of the sea, and only a hand full of members.  After church, we took out a golf cart to explore the island.  It was quite a fun adventure.  I really just enjoyed the time that I was able to s pend with my family.  I kept thinking: Family + Paradise= Paradise Squared. 

We had to leave Monday, but mom wanted to go birding first.  We had a guide pick us up at the dock and he took us out to a random island with lots of birds on it.  We then got out and got to wonder around the island. It was so much fun!  Mom thought I was bored because I know absolutely nothing about birds, but I enjoyed just going for a boat ride in the Caribbean.  We also went to another island to find sea shells.  Mom and I both fell into quick sand.  Life tile! 

We had to get a water taxi back.  We went to a restaurant for lunch, but mom was too nervous to eat there, since she is HIGHLY allergic to shell fish and it is lobster season, and just the smell affects her.  She went and found somewhere to eat, and then ended up giving it to a woman who didn't have food.  When we got there, mom brought us to go find her, but she was already gone.  I ran to the grocery store to get something for her to eat and then went to get ice cream for the family.  I looked pretty silly with five cones, and got quite a few comments.  Even though it was only a two minute walk back, the ice cream had melted a lot in that short walk, and it was all over my arm. 

We got on the water taxi, and it was the last water taxi to leave the island before the storm hit. Right after we got on, there was an 'incident.'  A man sat next to a woman, and she quickly put her hand down 'saving it for her boyfriend.' (even though there was another open seat on the other side of her)  She threw a fit and claimed that he was hurting her.  She could have easily pulled her arm out to stop the 'pain,' but she was calling for the coast guard to come arrest him.  Her boyfriend then threatened him, and he picked up a screw driver to protect himself.  I couldn't help but think about how sad it is that they were escalating each other.  She was playing the victim, but was also an antagonist.  I was impressed by my parents for their attempts at restoring peace to the boat. 

About half an hour away from the shore, the boat broke down.  They had to have another boat come out and tow us into town.  With the approaching hurricane, we were just a bit nervous to be on the last boat back to the mainland before the storm was supposed to hit.