From the Mayan to the Musical

When I take international trips, I go to great trouble to create an hour by hour itinerary to act as a template for our days activities.  Sometimes, I follow that itinerary exactly.   Other times, I come across things that look more exciting than what I had planned, and I put away my binder (which is usually glued to my hand throughout the trip) and let the journey plan itself.  Other times, all the research and planning fails, and you suddenly have to enter crisis management mode.   Friday was one of those days.

We woke up friday with the sad realization that we'd be leaving our home for the last 3 days, Casa del Caballo Blanco as well as the town of San Ignacio.  Our stay could not have been more pleasant, and the company of Ricky the onsite manager, and Grace who fixed us amazing breakfasts and dinners everyday, all the while treating us like absolute royalty will truly be missed by each of us.  In addition to that, I will certainly miss the view outside our house that we had the privilege to wake up to every single morning.  Nonetheless, we had another cross-country drive ahead of us, from the western edge of the Cayo district to the Eastern Coast of the Stann Creek district.

We did not have a real tight schedule for the day.  We'd be travelling for over two hours (if we did not stop) to Nuuk Cheil cottages in Maya Center.  The Hummingbird Highway has a few various attractions along the way, and I figured we'd play it by ear as to what we stopped to see and what we passed up.  Originally I had planned to spend this afternoon and the next morning (before heading to the airport) exploring the towns of Dangriga and Hopkins.  Both are known for their music, specifically drumming, and their Garifuna culture.  (The Garifuna people originated in Belize from a couple slave ships which capsized and the would-be-slaves found their way to the shores of Belize.  The culture is very Carribean feeling, and the towns are very friendly, and very low crime places.). 
not stop) mostly along the picturesque Hummingbird Highway to get to the Stann Creek district area where we'd be staying at the

The night before,  Ricky had talked to me about a few things to see along the way.  The Blue Hole (a small inland one, nothing in comparison to the massive one off the coast, which we did not plan on seeing this trip due to the required cost and time commitment to see it), a tiny roadside stand that sold good tamales, and a strange section of the highway in the hills, where you can put your car in neutral, and it will apparently roll up hill.  (It is debated whether this is due to some magnetic force, or just an optical illusion.)  All 3 sounded like good reasons for a stop. 

Once we got to the city of Belmopan, and turned from the Western Highway to the Hummingbird Highway heading southeast we were definitely in for a visual treat.  The remainder of the drive was a winding road through small tropical mountains, all of which were covered in palm trees, and other tropical ground cover, and many of the homes, even those of the typical humble Belizean nature, had various beautiful tropical flowers, hedges, and flowering trees. Though it was obvious the vast majority of the residents did not have much financially, it seemed like a lovely area to live.

Hummingbird Highway

Twenty or thirty minutes later we came upon signs for the Blue Hole National Park.  We paid our entrance fee at the office, and were directed to drive another mile to the entrance for a very brief hike to the hole.  They welcomed us to swim, and there were changing rooms near the blue hole.  We hadn't intended on swimming, but thanked her anyway.  When we got to the parking area for the blue hole, a security guard told directed us which way to hike, somewhat apologizing that the Blue Hole was fairly brown this morning, but was clearing up, and was still fine to swim in if we wished.


We hiked for 2 or 3 minutes down a trail and a set of stairs to the blue hole.  Normally, blue holes are sinkholes that are full of water, but have a blue color due to the limestone in the water.  This one was a light tan with a bluish hint to it, likely from recent rains stiring up mud into it. The water sprung from under ground for the most part, but also had some runoff from the areas around it which had tainted the color for the time being.  The hole was only about 20 feet around, and connected to a short river of about 30 feet that then disappeared into a cave with a ceiling only 2 inches over the water's surface. There was also a "Hummingbird Loop" trail that was a mile long, but the girls were wearing sandles, and the terrain didn't seem suitable for their footwear, so we decided to jump back in the car and continue onward.

Blue Hole (not the "Big" one)

We were now on the lookout for both the area that Ricky discussed the "reversed gravity" effect.  He admittedly didn't have a good way to describe where it was, but I thought I knew roughly where he was referring to, and a couple times we stopped the vehicle in the middle of the highway, put it in neutral, but to our dismay, each time
we rolled down hill, not uphill. 

We also kept our eyes out for Bertha's tamales.  This he described as a small road side stand with a coke sign.  These are pretty common (though most either have a Bilikin beer sign, or a Crystal drinking water sign) so I feared this would be a challenge to find also.  However, as we came around a bend in the road, I saw a roadside stand with a coke

Bertha's Tamales

sign, and sure enough as I turned to look at the other side of the building as we passed by it said "Bertha's Tamales!"  I did a quick U-turn, and we headed back.  There were several vehicles stopped there. I asked what kind of tamales they had, and the young woman in her 20s answered "chicken."  We ordered three along with three soft drinks.  She asked if we wanted them here or to go.  And we said we'd eat them there.  She had some benches to sit on, so why not.  She opened up a Thermos cooler, and inside were dozens of aluminum foil individually wrapped tamales.  I grabbed the obligatory bottle of Marie Sharp's Habanero salsa and slathered some of that on also.  The tamales did come with chicken bones that had to be spit out (pretty much all chicken dishes here are "bone in"), but I thought they were quite tasty.  Allie and Kalyssa ate theirs, but weren't quite as impressed. 

We jumped back on the Humingbird highway for the final stretch to our destination.  I had counted my money and realized I needed an ATM to pay for our room.  So I figured we'd hit Dangriga quick, grab cash, and head to our cottage at Maya Center, drop off our bags, and head back to Dangriga for sightseeing and a 4:00pm reservation we had for an activity.  The driving distance between our cottage and Dangriga was unfortunately almost 40 minutes... further than I had hoped. Nonetheless, after we had cash in hand, we headed out that way.  We came upon Nuuk Cheil, and the sign for the grounds was certainly a bit rustic looking (hand painted plywood), but the grounds looked very pretty with paths, and tropical plants all over.  The office seemed a bit more questionable.  A young man appeared, and said the office manager was out at the moment, but he found our reservation in the book and us to our room.  Allie and Kalyssa were already very apprehensive after seeing the state of

Apprehensive Allie at Nuuk Cheil

the office, and some questionable pieces of ....furniture... sitting outside the office. (the bench seat from an old truck half chewed up by the stray dogs using it as a bed.)  Note, at the this point, while not entirely impressed, even our prior lodging at Casa del Caballo Blanco had a hand painted sign, and we were greeted by stray dogs along with the owner (Belize is overrun with strays, they are everywhere.)  He brought us to our room.  It certainly looked rundown, but at first glance, I thought it didn't look too much worse than the cabin in Lamanai.  The girls both looked at me and wrinkled their noses with the look of "really dad?"  I was somewhat in a hurry, as I wanted to see some of Dangriga before our 4:00 appointment.  The girls wanted to sit in the restaurant and use the wifi, so I told them, "go ahead" I'll get the bags quickly. 

I emptied the car and put all the bags in the room, and used the bathroom.  It certainly was extremely basic, and old, but didn't seem terribly dirty.

I went back into the bedroom however, and decided to inspect a couple black spots on the girls bed.  I looked closely at one, and it looked like guinea pig poop.  Hmm.  I thought perhaps its a weird fuzz.   I grabbed a piece of toilet paper and picked it up.  It was definitely poop. There were 3 pieces across the pillows, 2 pieces on the bed, and a pile of several pieces on the head board.

Now one note:  Belize is a tropical jungle.  There are bugs, and wildlife of all sorts.  One extremely common thing you'll see is lizards and geckos.  Geckos are great because they eat bugs.  They often get into you residences, and especially when staying in cabins and thatch roofed buildings as we have, you tend to see and hear them chirping in your living quarters.  This is good, because if a mosquito or two sneak in with you, the gecko will take care of it for you.  The downside is, they will occasionally poop.  A couple times I did find gecko poop on my bed at Casa Del Caballo Blanco.  However, it was very clear the bed spread and sheets were very freshly washed and it had just happened  (in fact they even changed the bed spreads again on day 3.) Also, there are mosquito nets, that would deflect any overnight deposits from on high as well as any mosqitos that snuck in the door with us.   There is a big difference between gecko poop and rodent poop however, and there is a big difference between geckos in your house or rodents.

I looked at the other bed, and while there was no poop, the bed had gray flecks of something all over the white sheets.  Dust? dirt? dead gnats? No idea? But as I was inspecting closely, I saw two tiny white spider/mites of some sort go running across the sheets.  I grabbed the luggage and began putting it back in the car. As soon as I was done, I pulled out my Lonely Planet guidebook to look for alternatives, preferably in Dangriga itself.  There were plenty of options, and I tried calling one, but the call wouldn't go through.  I figured we'd just drive to a couple on the way to our 4:00 and see what was available. 

I tried to find the young guy that had checked me in, but he was no where to be found.  Forget it.  I put the key on the bed, locked the door, and shot them an email explaining the room was unacceptable due to the rodent poop and we were staying elsewhere.

Allie read the Lonely Planet reviews on places in Dangriga, and we decided to go with the Jungle Huts.  Fortunately, this was right down the street from our 4:00 appointment.  I stopped the car and ran in, and quickly explained the situation to the owner and asked if he had any rooms.  He said he had a group of 14 that did take up most of the better rooms, but he did have some, and invited us to take a look.  He showed us a very clean looking room with very updated looking tile, and basic but nice beds.  He said the air conditioner should work (we haven't had AC since our first two nights).  I said it was great.  How much?  $89.  Love it.  "US dollar I assume."

"No, Belize Dollar."  My jaw dropped (that's $45US). 

"You are my favorite." I told him. He laughed. 

He asked how much the other place was (with the rodent poop).
"$60US!" I said, and he recoiled in disgust!

The girls also gave their nod of approval, and we unloaded our bags, and jumped in the car to head over to our next stop.

Jungle Huts Room

This area of Belize is known for being the musical center of the country.  If you know me, you know that my family is very artistic and musical.  Allie paints (and has one a first place and a second place ribbon in the Wilson County fair. Kalyssa plays drums (and pretty much any other instrument she can get her hands on), and I play guitar.  Within Dangriga is the Pen Cayetano Studio and Gallery.  Pen is Garifuna and plays the drums, was the founder of Punta Rock in the 80s, and is a painter.  His German wife Ingrid and their daughter are also artists.  They give tours of their studio and work, as well as drumming lessons. 

I didn't quite know what to expect when I got to the address.  Ingrid invited us in, and Pen scrambled turtle shell man wore in San Ignacio). Allie got a set of two drums, and he had one drum himself. 

to get his drums together.  Ingrid showed us around the art studio, which had dozens of paintings highlighting Garifuna culture and history, as well as Belizean history.  In a place of prominence she had an extremely old black and white photo of a black couple getting married.  She said the house was over 100 years old, and that was a picture of the original owners that they found in the attic when renovating it!  Wow!!! how cool! She then brought us downstairs and showed us some more art, as well as some more of Pen's instruments.  My eye caught two vintage juke boxes that were up against the walls.  Yes, Pen collected those too.  At this point, Pen was ready for us, and brought us out to his backyard where he had a stage and several Garifuna drums set up waiting for us.  He had us all sit in a circle, and gave me and his wife each a bass drum.  Pen gave Kalyssa a set of turtle shell drums (similar to what the Turtle Shell Man in San Ignacio played) and Allie another set of drums.

Pen introduced us to 4 different rhythms, showing us how it sounded, and then spending 4-5 minutes jamming on each rhythm with us.  The first one was very basic, and very simple.  The second one was a bit more complex.  The third one, I couldn't get my hands to do what I was telling them to, and kept tripping over my own fingers.  At one point, Pen leaned back with a hearty laugh, and stopped us and said "lets work on that one a bit."  After our 30 minute training session, Pen asked Kalyssa about her drumming and said he had a full drum kit.  He brought her to it, and gave her some sticks, and she played a bit for him.  I saw a bass hanging on the wall, and asked if I could use it, so I joined in.  Pen smiled broadly, and said "Hold on, I join you too."  He grabbed a guitar, and the 3 of us jammed away for 10 or 15 minutes. 

After we were done, Pen looked at Kalyssa and said, "That is great that you play drums.  It is always hard to find someone that knows how to play them, for some reason no one wants to learn drums.  You need to move to Belize and we start a band."

After this little session, Pen seemed reenergized.  With great excitement he began to show us the rest of his property including his mango trees, starfruit trees, chickens, a random rooster that has come to visit today, his outdoor kitchen, and his duck pond that has gone dry.  He picked up a couple fresh mangos and gave them to us to take with us.  We thanked Pen and Ingrid and all of us left with unrestrainable smiles on our faces.  That was a cool experience. 

There were a few other things I wanted to see here, but it was already well after 5:00, when most sightseeing places closed.  We drove the main street in the town several times looking for a place to eat.  The feeling in Dangriga was very different than San Ignacio, Orange Walk, or Belize City.  Ethnically, just about everyone here was Garifuna (roots come from Africa).  Everyone seemed extremely friendly, and when our eyes met with someones on the road we received a warm smile and a wave.  After several minutes of trying to navigate the narrow street, lots of cars, and people, and a bit of construction, I suggested we ditch the car at our hotel 3 blocks away and just walk over.  We did just that, meandered downtown. We found a Chinese restaurant called "Family Restaurant" and decided it was as good a place as any.  I had beef chop suey.  Nothing fabulous, but it was a change up from the cuisine the rest of the week. 

After dinner, we took a brief walk to the Stann Creek, and followed it over to the ocean through the area of the Dangriga Central Market.  This was closing up for the night, and it looked like we wouldn't get a chance to actually shop in it, as the current plan was to get up super early and head up to the zoo for a few hours before heading to the airport.  At this point it was getting dark, and we decided to start the walk back to the hotel. 

Stann Creek to the Ocean

Stann Creek Inland

As has been the drill every night, the girls wound down in the room, while I worked on the blog at the outdoor restaurant outside the rooms.  A while later, I received frantic texts from the girls that a large cockroach was in the room, and I needed to come kill it.  Belize has the same large flying cockroaches that many tropical places have, and apparently one found its way into our room.  So I took a break from my blogging to exterminate the invader (finding both girls standing in fear on the beds) and returned to the restaurant area.

While sitting outside, the group of 14 showed up.  It was a group of Methodists from Texas (and a couple from New Jersey) that had been in Belize for the past week for a mission trip helping set up an eye clinic in Punta Gorda (one of the few areas of the country that we didn't get to visit.)  It was nice hearing the talk about all the things they were thankful for from the trip.  Many of them were likely late teens, and had never been to a place like this.  As I've always heard from Mission trips, those that come to be servants and help with projects for the locals end up walking away feeling like they benefited as much if not more from their interactions with the people here than those they came to serve.  Several of them shared stories about the interactions they had, and what they will remember the most about the trip.  Although I could only hear part of the story, one of them talked about how she got to see a young girl looking through corrective lenses for the first time.  It made me think of a viral video I just saw on facebook a few days ago of an infant seeing her parents clearly for the first time, and the look of amazement and joy on the baby's face.  Yeah, that would definitely be fulfilling. 

There is so much value in bridging borders and making connections with people whom you thought you'd never have anything in common.  You often walk away realizing you have more in common than not in common.  Relative American wealth, comfortable living conditions (water, air conditioning, etc.) are all secondary to the things that really matter in building connections with our fellow man such as family, community, and sharing the positive energy of the human spirit with those around you.  There is so much of that to be shared, and it is something that reproduces easily the more you share it. 

I am happy to be returning back home tomorrow (as I do miss air conditioning, and not sweating through my clothes every day by 10:00am), but am also sad for the week to be over.  We have had some great experiences, met some great people, and seen some unbelievable sites.  I had many classes in high school and elementary school on the Mayans, but I learned more in this week and will retain it better than all the cumulative Latin American history I learned in school.