On March 16th my Dad (Pete), along with his friend Jack, came to visit. They stay for 10 days, during which time we went on a rapid trip across southern Belize and into Guatemala. I had a blast and I am sure they did as well. Planning was in the works for sometime, after my Dad expressed an interest in visiting I went about finding the right time for his stay. In January I began planning a trip to Guatemala with fellow PCVs: Josh, Danny, and Dov. Amazingly Pete was able to schedule the time off and join us on the trip to Guatemala. I made numerous promises that the days preceding and after Guatemala would be action packed and well planned. Although I was still making reservations and arranging events the week before their arrival everything went flawlessly.
Sunday morning I woke up and took the bus to Independence Village, form Independence I caught a boat to Placencia Village. I meet my Dad and Jack a little while before noon. We made our way to Harry’s Cozy Cabanas to settle in. The rest of the day was spent exploring Placencia, eating at the Purple Space Monkey, and having drinks at the Barefoot Bar. On Monday we took a trip to Laughing Bird Caye, it was amazing. The aquatic life was incredibly diverse, I saw so many different species of fish. The boat ride was a little rough, a strong wind was blowing and the sea was rolling. No one on our boat got sick, however the second boat made frequent stops for the seasick passengers on board. Tuesday morning we made our way to the airport, I was treated to a flight. We made it to Punta Gorda in record time!
Upon arrival in town a quick stop was made at my house and then we went out to lunch. One of the best things about the visit was the many meals eaten in restaurants! It was awesome. Around 4:00 the three of us caught a bus to San Pedro Columbia Village. I had made previous arrangements with Maya Mountain Research Farm to spend the evening out
in the bush. To reach MMRF one must take a doary (wooden canoe) up river, the trip took roughly one hour, we only had to exit the boat 4 times
due to shallow water. Jack and Pete did their best to repair a leak in the boat with chewing gum, it held for about 10 minutes. Mr. Garcia, our “captain” was very knowledgeable, he provided us with the names of all the flora and fauna that we saw. His dogs even made the trip with us. We made it to the farm around 6:00, just in time to settle in and eat dinner. I gave a short presentation to the students of a permaculture design class about what exactly it is that Plenty Belize does.
Wednesday morning we awoke early, had a delicious breakfast and went on a wonderful tour of the farm with Chris, the director. Around 10:30 we began the leisurely float down the Columbia Branch of the Rio Grande on inner tubes provided by MMRF. Our plan was to catch the 1:00pm bus back to Punta Gorda Town, to make sure we made the bus we made a mad dash through the village. The residents did not know what to make of 3 crazy Americans running through their backyards while yelling about the bus. Luckily we made it in time. After showers and repacking for part two of our trip we had dinner. With the help of the 4 other PCVs spending that night at my house I made pizza. Jack and Pete said it was great, personally I know I can make it better.
Check back soon for part 2.
