Fri, 26 Feb
....a sad morning, saying goodbye to all my friends at Glovers Reef ....
Alex, Marie, Ray, Me, Nick
with a beautiful sunrise ...
we had a boat load of people going to the mainland this morning. it wasn't a bad ride this time ... just a little over an hour. we passed a lot of small little islands/cayes. seemed unthinkable that we were out in the middle of the sea in really deep water, and then all of a sudden an island appears! arrived someplace out of town in the boonies; some people left in a minivan; but about 8 of us piled into the back of a pickup truck and went into town. they dropped Nick, Marie and i off and we headed for the Immigration Office.
the town of Dangriga ....
we did our first bit, then went for a breakfast ... on the way we passed the Price is Right grocery store .... made me laugh ! ..that's Marie in front ....
we got our visa extensions, they walked me to the bus station; and i said farewell to them. it was sad, we had a great time together, but i was moving on. .... got on the bus,.... again an old American Blue Bird School Bus ... and it was packed... but i did have a seat, that was the good news! the bus left on time and we weren't 20 min out of town when i saw my first giant elephant plant leaves! they were HUGE! it was then i realized that i was really going to enjoy this mainland adventure! yes, i'll miss the sea; but i'll love seeing the plants and flowers of the jungle. the hills were beautiful, and you could see huge palm trees among the other trees on the hillside. Twice we went through orchards and the air was filled with the smell of sweet orange blossoms. i love that smell! a 2 hr trip to Belmopan. Belmopan is the capital of Belize. it used to be in Belize City; but BCity is on the coast and susceptible to hurricanes. they moved it inland to Belmopan were it was more protected. i guess a lot of records were lost some years ago in a hurricane ... at least that's what 'someone' told me ....
once at the bus station in Belmopan, i needed to get on another bus to San Ignacio. i called Chaa Creek, and was told that Eddi had arranged transportation for me and would be waiting until 2:30. if i wasn't there by then, i should get a hotel room in the city. Chaa Creek is 8 miles out of town and there is no transportation out there, except a US$30 cab ride. i need to get on a bus soon to get there in time. but, there are lots of people that are trying to get on the bus; and i was too far back in line to catch the 12:30 bus. while i was waiting for the 1pm bus, a taxi driver asked me if i wanted a ride instead ... US$30 versus the bus is B$3, US$1.50. i was tempted and tried to find someone else to share the ride, but no one has that kind of money here. that's the equivalent of 4-6 dinners here (without drinks of course). so i needed to get on that 1pm bus! ....it's not easy to push your way through a crowd of people with a big backpack and a bigger duffle bag! but, i was able to push my way through and got on the bus ...with my luggage. another pretty ride through the countryside, stopping very frequently to pick up and drop off people; and go over speed bumps!
at one of our stops, i saw this little boy watching from his yard.
i arrived at 2:20 .... and hooked up with Eddi. it was great to see her again. the driver wasn't quite ready, so we were able to go for a rum and coke and chill for a few minutes; then in the truck and out to Chaa Creek.
Chaa Creek is the premier nature reserve and Eco Lodge in the area. set along the banks of the Macal River in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. it started in 1981 and they have done a beautiful job out here.... 365 acres of jungle, with trails, including a Maya Medicine Trail, spa, pool, conference center, beautiful restaurant and bar, natural history center, butterfly house, horseback riding, canoe trips, morning bird excursions and evening noctural excursions on the trails here, beautiful fresh flower arrangements in the bathrooms and tables; everything you could want in a jungle setting .... and people pay dearly for it! ....... it's very expensive to stay here. you can check it out at www.chaacreek.com. .... so, ....me? ..... what am i doing here? ...did i say what a lucky, fortunate, blessed girl i am?
Eddi is a volunteer here, setting up the Interpretive Center for the Medicine Trail. she is staying in a house with 2 other young girls who are helping her, all from the UK. i've been allowed to stay with them. i'm sleeping on the bed in the lounge area of the house ....
this is my bed ... and i swear, it's just like sleeping outdoors ... without the BUGS ! ....
it's awesome! ...we have a complete kitchen, washing machine, and .... flush toilets, .... and my first hot shower in 5 weeks! .... i'm in another kind of paradise!
after dinner in the main dining room, we went on the night noctural walk on some of the trails here. there were 9 of us, all with head lights and it was a bright moon ... maybe that was the reason we didn't see any of the 'cats' or other big animals here. but we did see some really cool things. we shown our head lights across the lawn or into the woods, you could see little shining things. actually looked like a water drop sparkling after it rained. but it wasn't ... it was the eyes of the Wolf Spider. they were everywhere as we walked along the trails ... amazing! also saw this 5in moth, whose eyes shown orange when you put the light on it. and, we saw Leaf-Cutter Ants ... hundreds of them, carrying their little pieces of leaves, in a row, back to their nest. there were so many of them that there was actually a 'path' that they had made! ...just like on TV !!!!!!! ..... i do hope to go out on that trip again, and will take my camera with me this time!!!!!!!!!
we finished up about 8:30 and i was really tired. i had gotten up at 3am this morning, hoping to use the internet and finish packing... the internet was down of course, but i needed that time to finish putting things together anyway. i fell into my bed, and it was like sleeping outdoors. i exchanged the sounds of the waves crashing on the reef, for the sounds of crickets, frogs and geckos! ..... by the way, geckos are permanent 'house-guests' everywhere in Belize. they are so cute and help keep the insect population down in the buildings. but ... they make a LOT of noise in the evenings! .....they sound like a dog's 'squeeky toy' ....
yes, i'm going to like it here !
with a beautiful sunrise ...
we had a boat load of people going to the mainland this morning. it wasn't a bad ride this time ... just a little over an hour. we passed a lot of small little islands/cayes. seemed unthinkable that we were out in the middle of the sea in really deep water, and then all of a sudden an island appears! arrived someplace out of town in the boonies; some people left in a minivan; but about 8 of us piled into the back of a pickup truck and went into town. they dropped Nick, Marie and i off and we headed for the Immigration Office.
the town of Dangriga ....
we did our first bit, then went for a breakfast ... on the way we passed the Price is Right grocery store .... made me laugh ! ..that's Marie in front ....
we got our visa extensions, they walked me to the bus station; and i said farewell to them. it was sad, we had a great time together, but i was moving on. .... got on the bus,.... again an old American Blue Bird School Bus ... and it was packed... but i did have a seat, that was the good news! the bus left on time and we weren't 20 min out of town when i saw my first giant elephant plant leaves! they were HUGE! it was then i realized that i was really going to enjoy this mainland adventure! yes, i'll miss the sea; but i'll love seeing the plants and flowers of the jungle. the hills were beautiful, and you could see huge palm trees among the other trees on the hillside. Twice we went through orchards and the air was filled with the smell of sweet orange blossoms. i love that smell! a 2 hr trip to Belmopan. Belmopan is the capital of Belize. it used to be in Belize City; but BCity is on the coast and susceptible to hurricanes. they moved it inland to Belmopan were it was more protected. i guess a lot of records were lost some years ago in a hurricane ... at least that's what 'someone' told me ....
once at the bus station in Belmopan, i needed to get on another bus to San Ignacio. i called Chaa Creek, and was told that Eddi had arranged transportation for me and would be waiting until 2:30. if i wasn't there by then, i should get a hotel room in the city. Chaa Creek is 8 miles out of town and there is no transportation out there, except a US$30 cab ride. i need to get on a bus soon to get there in time. but, there are lots of people that are trying to get on the bus; and i was too far back in line to catch the 12:30 bus. while i was waiting for the 1pm bus, a taxi driver asked me if i wanted a ride instead ... US$30 versus the bus is B$3, US$1.50. i was tempted and tried to find someone else to share the ride, but no one has that kind of money here. that's the equivalent of 4-6 dinners here (without drinks of course). so i needed to get on that 1pm bus! ....it's not easy to push your way through a crowd of people with a big backpack and a bigger duffle bag! but, i was able to push my way through and got on the bus ...with my luggage. another pretty ride through the countryside, stopping very frequently to pick up and drop off people; and go over speed bumps!
at one of our stops, i saw this little boy watching from his yard.
i arrived at 2:20 .... and hooked up with Eddi. it was great to see her again. the driver wasn't quite ready, so we were able to go for a rum and coke and chill for a few minutes; then in the truck and out to Chaa Creek.
Chaa Creek is the premier nature reserve and Eco Lodge in the area. set along the banks of the Macal River in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. it started in 1981 and they have done a beautiful job out here.... 365 acres of jungle, with trails, including a Maya Medicine Trail, spa, pool, conference center, beautiful restaurant and bar, natural history center, butterfly house, horseback riding, canoe trips, morning bird excursions and evening noctural excursions on the trails here, beautiful fresh flower arrangements in the bathrooms and tables; everything you could want in a jungle setting .... and people pay dearly for it! ....... it's very expensive to stay here. you can check it out at www.chaacreek.com. .... so, ....me? ..... what am i doing here? ...did i say what a lucky, fortunate, blessed girl i am?
Eddi is a volunteer here, setting up the Interpretive Center for the Medicine Trail. she is staying in a house with 2 other young girls who are helping her, all from the UK. i've been allowed to stay with them. i'm sleeping on the bed in the lounge area of the house ....
this is my bed ... and i swear, it's just like sleeping outdoors ... without the BUGS ! ....
it's awesome! ...we have a complete kitchen, washing machine, and .... flush toilets, .... and my first hot shower in 5 weeks! .... i'm in another kind of paradise!
after dinner in the main dining room, we went on the night noctural walk on some of the trails here. there were 9 of us, all with head lights and it was a bright moon ... maybe that was the reason we didn't see any of the 'cats' or other big animals here. but we did see some really cool things. we shown our head lights across the lawn or into the woods, you could see little shining things. actually looked like a water drop sparkling after it rained. but it wasn't ... it was the eyes of the Wolf Spider. they were everywhere as we walked along the trails ... amazing! also saw this 5in moth, whose eyes shown orange when you put the light on it. and, we saw Leaf-Cutter Ants ... hundreds of them, carrying their little pieces of leaves, in a row, back to their nest. there were so many of them that there was actually a 'path' that they had made! ...just like on TV !!!!!!! ..... i do hope to go out on that trip again, and will take my camera with me this time!!!!!!!!!
we finished up about 8:30 and i was really tired. i had gotten up at 3am this morning, hoping to use the internet and finish packing... the internet was down of course, but i needed that time to finish putting things together anyway. i fell into my bed, and it was like sleeping outdoors. i exchanged the sounds of the waves crashing on the reef, for the sounds of crickets, frogs and geckos! ..... by the way, geckos are permanent 'house-guests' everywhere in Belize. they are so cute and help keep the insect population down in the buildings. but ... they make a LOT of noise in the evenings! .....they sound like a dog's 'squeeky toy' ....
yes, i'm going to like it here !
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