You better Belize it, part 1

We had a great trip to Belize. We had to leave at the crack of dawn on Saturday, Dec. 13. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if someone wasn’t there on time as we had to check in as a group. But everyone was there right at 4:00 like they were supposed to be. Our flights were on time both to Dallas and to Belize City. We all got our luggage back at the end of the trip. The van was waiting for us. All was well.

On our way from the airport to the lodge, we stopped at the Belize Zoo. We were lucky enough to meet Sharon Matola, the zoo’s founder, and watched her feed the ocelot and jaguars. All of the animals in the zoo are native to Belize. They are injured or orphaned and cannot be released back to the wild. We heard howler monkeys roaring for the first time on the trip. Sadly, I did not take my camera into the zoo and have no pictures.

The first of the many pleasant surprises I had during the week was that the food was going to be way better than it had been when I did the site visit last year. On that trip, I had been with a group of about 30 people, and all meals had been served buffet style. On this trip, we were the only school group among a bunch of young couples whom we thought might be honeymooning. During our orientation, the lodge staff showed us a table set for 10 where we should sit, gave us the times that meals were served, and told us that we could order anything we wanted from the menu, as we were on the “all-inclusive” plan.

We got settled in our rooms. Kate and I shared the same “Garden View” room I had last year on the ground floor of the main building. Our two older students, Denise and Kyra, had the room next to ours. The other 6 women were in Casita 3. The resort began its life as a more rustic facility for students and backpackers. I suspected the casitas dated back to that era, as there was only one sink. The Garden View rooms had two sinks. “Hers and hers,” I said to Kate.

We took our places at the table for 10 at 6:00. The waiter introduced himself as Gareth and explained the specials. The soup was corn chowder and the entree was  grilled snapper with almond/citrus sauce. After he left, there was some discussion over whether he had said corn, conch, or clam chowder. We had to ask for clarification. It was corn, and they were not stingy with the salt. I told everyone that even though I was not much of a fish eater, the fish we’d had last year was amazing. I ordered it, as did many others. As we waited, we wondered if it would have bones and/or skin and/or its head. None of the above. Each plate had two good-sized filets of firm, white fish, perfectly cooked and served with a sweet/sour sauce with sliced almonds. The sides were garlic mashed potatoes topped with a black olive that had a sprig of cilantro in the hole and steamed mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower). Everything was wonderful except the vegetables that were watery and flavorless. I ate them, even the carrots, for the fiber and whatever vitamins survived the overcooking. At least I could be sure they still had fiber.

Sunday, Dec. 14. I started my day with the Belizean breakfast. The fry jacks were wonderful—what’s not to like about fresh fry bread? The beans did not have the strong coconut flavor I endured last year. Everything was better this time!

Belizean Breakfast: refried beans (in cup), fruit, fry jacks, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers, fresh squeezed orange juice

 We spent the morning on a physically demanding hike through St. Herman’s cave.  

St. Herman's cave hike, before

On the way, we learned about some of the plants and saw a banana about to flower. 

Banana tree with a flower bud hanging below the green fruit

Climbing down to the cave entrance (big gaping hole on the left)

The guide explained geology of cave formations, the spiritual importance of caves to the Maya as the entrance to Xibalba (the underworld, place of fear). The Ceiba tree, or tree of life, was sacred to the Maya. The branches represented heaven, the trunk was life in this world, and the roots went to Xibalba. The stalactites of the cave were believed to be the roots of the Ceiba tree. 

Curtain stalactites form where water seeps at several places along a crack

Water dripping from stalactites

Hiking past a column

Pulling ourselves over rocks with a rope. Students learn the meaning of "strenuous."

Artifacts and human remains from sacrifices are often found under stalactites. Human remains have not been found in the part of the cave we were in, but we saw broken pots and fire pits, the artifacts of blood sacrifices. The Maya cut their tongues or other body parts with blades of obsidian, collected the blood in pots, dried the blood over a fired, and then broke the pot to release the evil spirits. 

Broken ceremonial pots, ashes from the fire in background

We also saw bats, cave crickets and spiders.

Cave cricket (prey)

Cave spider (predator)

St. Herman's cave hike, after

I kept with the Belizean theme for lunch. I had stew chicken (which was boneless breast meat in a red sauce), rice and beans, fried sweet plantain, and a potato salad with some unusual inclusions such as carrots, peas, green beans along with the typical mayo, potatoes, and boiled egg.

Belizean lunch: stew chicken (in bowl), fried sweet plantains (upper right), pyramid of rice and beans, potato salad

Sunday afternoon, we interviewed four of the lodge staff. I was not sure how this was going to go, but it turned out to be one of the most impactful experiences of the trip. We sat around the lunch table after the dishes were cleared and talked to one person at a time. The students were able to build on each other’s questions to develop an understanding of what it is like to live in Belize. They asked about a wide range of topics from work schedules to national holidays to hobbies to the price of gas. We talked to Belizeans of four ethnic backgrounds: Mayan, Mestizo (Mayan/Spanish), Garifuna (descendants of free blacks of Caribbean Islands), and Kriol (descendants of African slaves). Regardless of educational background, everyone spoke at least two languages. No one we talked to went home at the end of the day. The typical schedule was 10 days at the lodge and 4 days off. Children were left with spouses or parents. Minimum wage in Belize is the equivalent of $13.75 U.S. dollars (USD) for 8 hours, or $1.72 an hour. The price of gas is usually between $6 and $8 USD. As we started doing the math, it became clear that even if a person could buy a car (which would be difficult), he or she could not afford the gas for the kind of daily commutes we take for granted in the United States.

The soup of the day was seafood bisque. Like the corn chowder, they had been generous with the salt, but it still had good seafood flavor. The dinner special was lobster with roasted garlic potatoes and the same rather insipid mix of steamed veg. The lobster was amazing. The tail meat had been removed from the shell, cooked in a spicy red sauce with peppers and onions and put back in the shell. Would I be able to get my jeans zipped at the end of the week when it was time to go home?

Lobster special with garlic roasted potatoes and steamed veg, plus the ubiquitous black olive and cilantro