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So I am back – what do I notice – everything is very orderly and punctual. Everyone is time poor and is busy planning and doing rather than just being, the bird song is really loud!  The countryside is stunning and green at that stage of the year where the trees and flowers are such vivid colours excited to have got through the winter, Scotland is beautiful.  Nothing much changes but in fact it does – most friends’ lives have moved on in leaps and bounds with babies, new jobs, new homes, engagements, marriages having happened a lot in the space of just 4 months. The tram works are still going on.  It is great to catch up with everyone who I really did miss hugely while I was away, friends and family are what matters and I am so thankful for the support from all directions while I was away and also now I am back – to mull things over, express hopes and fears, ideas and share things with people that know you inside out counts for so much and is what I missed. However there are some special people from while I was away who I hope will remain friends and made the time away so special. It is really the people that matter not so much places or things that you do or things that you have, it is the conversations, the smiles & the meetings which are what count and make it memorable. Who knows what comes next for me – the step off the hamster wheel was vital and good timing… I just have to be careful not to get back on it again as there was a reason to get off it. We shall see.

Thank yous to so many people i can’t list them all.

The Belize Red Cross for giving me this opportunity – good luck with your future vital work.

Challenges Worldwide based in Edinburgh the charity which recruited me, placed me in Belize and kept an eye on my progress while I was away.

All those who contributed financially to enable me to get there and stay there, it was a self funded voluntary project and without that help I wouldn’t have even managed to get on the plane. I am confident my work was vital and they couldn’t have afforded to pay anyone to do it – so it was well worth the time not to mention I learnt a lot.

My parents for all the storage admin and your great visit, Alison for paper admin. Tracy & Andy & Fi for putting a roof over my head back in Edinburgh before and after.

To those who regularly put pen to paper via emails taking the time to keep me up to date with the chat back home – invaluable – thank you.

To my friends in Belize you live in a very special country which offers so much.

Today (28th June) I got this: “We have had our first scare for the hurricane season this last weekend. A Tropical Storm with winds of 65 mph passed over Belize and affected Belize City and the northern districts and the Belize River Valley. However, not much damage detected yet more than some flash floods in some areas. Promises to be a very active season.”  My thoughts are for the people of Belize and the surrounding region that this ‘disaster season’ does not create too much havoc or destroy too many peoples homes and families.

Ok enough chat now.

Holiday Time

I had scheduled in 10 days after my finish date of the project to spend more time in Central America exploring areas I couldn’t get to in a weekend. It turns out 10 days is a very small amount of time for a very big place…. most travellers I met were on the road in the region for 6 months or more! Still I made the best of the time I had. The first weekend I went out to St George’s Caye off Belize city to stay with a friend- it is a really special spot and well known by those in the British Army who have had a tour in the country as they have a base there for I imagine something that is called marine training, not dissimilar to the polar training that occurs in Val d’isere each year.

The Caye was fun and we snorkelled of the boat, sped through the mangrove covered islands, collected fish from fishermen on the sea and played the British version of Pictionary which is pretty tough for a Belizean who has never come across wellington boots, Trafalgar square or parking tickets! The Sunday was another visit to that most perfect of Caribbean islands – Goff’s Caye – no one else was there and it is properly amazing – unbelievable clear seas, white sands and then also excellent snorkelling – with corals and fish showing up in brilliant colours – a little girl of 5 provided the best moment of the day who put on a snorkel for the first time and was so excited by being able to see a whole new world she hadn’t known was there.  I also got brilliant sunburn which a week later kept me amused on an all night bus journey as the whole lot shockingly peeled off

So I set off on my travels, a 5 hour bus from Belize City to Punta Gorda in the south of the country held up my a broken bridge due to the rain which I thought would scupper my plans when the guy next to me said I was not going to be mended ‘right now’ which could mean anything in the next year (Right now is an overused phrase the Belizeans use when they say they will do something straight away which means in the next day or so!) Anyway it was all find and I got to PG in time to spot a couple of American Peace Corps volunteers I had come across, walk round the very small town and jump on the boat to Puerto Barrios in Guatemala.  Arrival in Guatemala was very relaxed with the immigration office being about half a mile walk from the dock! As soon as I could I got a bus to Guatemala City which got me there at 9pm after day of 16 hours on the move. I didn’t seem much of GC except that it was huge compared to what I have got used to – 2-3 lane highways, lined with enormous take away restaurants – taco bell, MacDonald’s, burger king, wendys, dominos – very different from Belize which has none of this.

The following day I got one of the renowned local chicken buses to Antigua where as many people as possible are squashed in to the bus with street vendors jump on and off with delicious snacks. Antigua was the capital of Guatemala long ago – it is stunning, and ancient surrounded by 3 volcanos, the streets are cobbled and to me it was all very sophisticated with amazing coffee shops in courtyards with peaceful fountains tinkling away and lovely furniture. That afternoon I took a tour to the Volcan Pacaya, a mix of Slovakian, Slovenian, US, Dutch, German, Swedish and Oz tourists all in a tiny minibus. After a 2 hour journey which finished in a drive up the mountain into more and more mist and drizzly weather we started walking – I was prepared for a full on hike but in fact it was pretty relaxed and only an hour and a half up through the forest emerging to views over 3 other volcanos one which had smoke coming out of its summit. Slowly the mist dissipated and we had a lovely evening. It was really quite incredible – Pacaya is an active volcano with gases continually coming out of the summit from which we didn’t seem too far away from, then there is lava literally flowing down the sides of it – we could go so close we could prod the hot lava with a stick and melt marshmallows on it – the rocks bump and grind as they move down the mountain – glowing bright red as they are heated so hot they flow – I have never seen anything quite like it. As it got darker the whole mountain lit up red from the hot rocks.  The shocking thing is that 10 days later it erupted raining hot rocks down on the village below. Power of the earth not to be underestimated. Dinner that night was in a restaurant that turned out to be surprisingly entertaining, a live band encouraged some Americans to get up and dance and before we knew it the whole restaurant was dancing – one of those magic and unexpected moments!

I then went to Lake Atitlan which has been described as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, it was stunning and a very relaxing day as we chugged around it on a very ancient boat with a Dutch girl and a grumpy Australian couple, stopping at 3 villages round it each of which has a different Mayan culture so distinct from each other. The best was the drive there with the Mayan driver who explained a bit more of his culture – he had very much been encouraged to get married at 18 and be a church goer by his parents to ensure he behaved – it worked 15 years on he was still married with 4 kids! The road was on either side a patchwork off fields and greenhouses of flowers, road works all the way as it is the main interamerican highway from the states to South America which is being enlarged, 100s of children heading to school in their traditional dress.

I had a final day in Antigua; it is fascinating – beautiful facades of churches behind which lay enormous tumbled ruins which were once beautiful stone work – the result of various earthquakes. The buildings have lovely tiled windowsills with colourful plant pots behind iron grills, curved Spanish tiles on the roof, big studded doors behind which you occasionally glimpse the life that goes on behind,  a courtyard cafe, candle lit restaurant, even the MacDonald’s, and dominos pizza buildings were carefully concealed behind beautiful exteriors. A blissful hour was spent having a pedicure with a copy of Vanity Fair which is my one weakness on the magazine front.  For shoppers wanting Guatemalan goods it was a paradise, really quite overwhelming with a vast array of colourful goods.

An all night bus all the way from Antigua to Flores right in the north of the country was a quick way to get from A to B and not waste time – I came across 2 confident gap year students who were well practised and got into their pyjamas in the bus station before we got on. I froze in the AC all night not used to being cold! Flores is a village on a tiny lake island in the north of Guatemala – I had breakfast there and then headed out – to el remate at the other end of the lake, a very relaxed village close to a national park which I went for a walk in my flip flops which was stupid and I ended walking bare foot which when there had been jars full of snakes local to the area at the gate didn’t do the nerves much good, though had fun watching the spider monkeys in the trees above – finished off with a swim in the clear blue lake water – properly refreshing, ate dinner with a funny mix of travellers which was abandoned with the Australian girl touched a frog in the loo and properly freaked out!

The main reason to visit this area is to go to Tikal a site of Mayan ruins and possibly one of the best examples in the region. It is over a huge 10 mile square area and dates back to 900BC. Huge temples rise out of the forest and only a small part of the massive site has been excavated.  I self guided which turned out well – getting to the grand plaza at 6.30 am meant there were only about 4 other people there and the enormity of it was awe inspiring, the centre of the ceremonial and religious activity of the site it was certainly very spiritual – climbing up one of the temples puts you right out of the top of the canopy of the forest so at the same level as the chattering monkeys and birds. A friendly park ranger chatted away in Spanish about the history of the site, the masks on the temple and pointing out a tree with 3 species of parrot in it and all the different  - views of the various structures which are all symmetrically placed.  The forest has truly reclaimed this once busy habitation and the revealing of it again is fascinating, howler and spider monkeys, humming birds, toucans and various other creatures usually only seen in national geographic are obviously quite used to people walking around their patch. Time disappeared and 6 hours went in a flash… a really special place and impossible to properly explain. I got a series of buses back to Belize about 2 hours away reminding the exit border guards that the exit fee was only half what they wanted! I caught up again with the 3 Swedish interns with the Belize Red Cross who were based in San Ignacio for supper – good to see them again and also have familiar faces to chatter with over a beer or two in a Sri Lankan restaurant!

Then I had one of those annoying travelling days where it takes ages to get nowhere much at all – finally I made it to Belize City on the bus and out to San Pedro on the boat – met by my friend & her sister in a golf cart on the dock for 3 final nights of my vacation in a hotel called blue tang – luxury compared to what I had been in till now. Drinks, dinner and catch up on the beach turned the day around. A girl day followed of just being lazy, taking in the island, swimming off the dock, looking at market stalls and trying out cocktails in various bars.

My last day of holiday was really the best – I hauled myself out of bed at 5am to get on a 3 hour boat ride far out through the reefs and atolls off the coast of Belize to finally get to THE BLUE HOLE… a 1000m wide 400ft deep hole on the edge of the reef (you may have seen an aerial shot of it). It is infamous in diving circles and is one of the must dos for divers. I was terrified as this was a mega 43m dive – anyway over the edge we plopped like a bunch of penguins and went down over the edge – it was amazing…. at 130 ft down it does get darker and the stalactites were enormous and we could go in and around them all…. the safety stop for 8 minutes on the way up was the best with 4 big nurse sharks coming in out of the gloom one by one. So total exhilaration when back on the boat. … Wow. 2 more dives that day were equally brilliant – one with perfect visibility and about 5 turtles gently swimming by and the next was like being in a fish tank – quite extraordinary – totally surrounded by shoals and shoals of tropical fish. With lunch on one of those tropical paradise type islands with pure white sand, turquoise waters and palm trees it was all in all a totally awesome day – thank you to all my Edinburgh friend who gave it to me as a birthday gift -it would have stayed one of those impossible dreams with out them and for me it was a great reward at the end of 4 months of really quite hard but satisfying work. Returned to the hotel at 8pm shattered but properly happy.

Last day in Belize was sorting out how to get home round the BA strike, I took a flight off the Caye back to Belize City – 15 minutes of great views over the reef and also then over Belize City and all the land marks I had become to know well. Lunch with my brilliant pilates teacher, a final good bye to The Red Cross office and then back to the Leiva family for a final night and pack up and drink in the tavern round the corner from the house. All a rush and the Red Cross driver then took me the next day back to the airport for the start of my mega journey home.  As I got in the vehicle he said – ‘I’m really gonna miss you’ to which I could only say that I would miss him and all the people that I had met in the past few months, and I really meant it – it is tough to leave it all behind.  Until the next time!

Last couple of weeks with the BRC

My last couple of weeks with the BRC were among the most interesting of all. The communications strategy quickly wrapped up and sent to the printers I was tasked with analysing some questionnaires and work on village ‘vulnerability and capacity assessments’ taken at the beginning of a disaster preparedness program that is now being implemented.

It was revealing doing stats on surveys of villagers who literally lose EVERYTHING (crops, livestock, houses) when they are struck by floods, hurricanes, earthquakes; fascinating, they are totally unprepared and don’t have knowledge within the village re first aid and boiling water basics etc so regularly get ill when at their most vulnerable and in survival mode having been cut off by road access. The hurricane shelters are often in disrepair and can’t take the whole village or don’t have sufficient  bathroom facilities or are the school so the school ends up remaining closed for up to 2 months while people’s homes are repaired. Luckily there is a fund in place being implemented by the BRC in 12 villages over a period of 15 months to better prepare them by teaching school and family emergency plans, first aid skills, how to make water safe etc.

8^th May was world red cross day and we had a parade and fair – very Belizean at 8am at which point all the stalls were meant to be set up we were still waiting  in an empty park for marquees, power, bbqs everything – i couldn’t believe it was going to work out but amazingly as it always does it did. The parade through the streets of Belize City was brilliant,  it was so impressive to see young people come from all round the country to parade under the red cross banner as was happening in 186 other countries – there were 3 seriously loud bands – very Caribbean with drums and dancing and girls with trwirly sticks… whistles etc – it took about 2 hours…..at the fair – i was running the tombola i was a bit British about it and thought it would be dreadful but in fact it was brilliant – my god the Belizeans love to gamble – kids coming with their only dollar lining up again and again a variety of prizes – there was a blender and 2 irons which were the key prizes and being mothers day in this region the next day everyone wanted to win for  gifts for their mothers. Volunteer awards were given out, there are some incredibly dedicated people of all ages throughout the country who have been volunteering for years for the BRC, great to recognise their work which largely probably goes unnoticed.
 
I found this in an email i sent… “Started packing yesterday – felt quite a few mixed feelings about it – - have grown really fond of here and life is so much more relaxing – can’t wait to see friends though”. My last few weeks slipped away so fast i think that comment says it all – it was a real wrench to come back & it wouldn’t have taken much to persuade me to stay. It always happens – you just get settled in and start to have friends and get into the swing of somewhere just at the point you leave it all.

Just at the end of my last day in the office everyone gathered around the big table in the middle of the room with the usual celebrationary bottles of coke, fanta and sprite with delicious cake and then the DG said a kind thank you speech to me, to which i responded poorly there is always so much you wish you said afterwards…. each individual i worked with will remain in my thoughts – they all have great skills and desire to carry out their work, the only area they need to work in is working together better to make them stronger as a team. The BRC does so much work for the vulnerable of Belize on limited resources it is really quite remarkable what they achieve and they are very well regarded throughout the country mainly for the fact that the aid given is totally non discriminatory which in a country totally polarised by which political party you support is vital. They gave me surprise gifts of a cool shell necklace and earrings and a red cross watch which will be good memories for me when i wear them…

The final day for me with the BRC was a perfect way for me to finish, it was the AGM which in fact only happens biannually – at which the new board and president were elected. The Director General reported on the achievements over the last couple of years which includes implementation of 3 disaster preparedness programs in the country, responding to Tropical Storm Arthur, Tropical depression #16, as well as the first aid, H1N, AIDs prevention program, and the social assistance programs such as soup kitchen, meals on wheels, wheelchair provision etc. Then elections took place with the elected persons announced. After a quick lunch i slipped away leaving the BRC with a new board with new energy to continue the work they do and steer them safely through the challenges ahead.

Its Hot!

We are now into the hottest month of the year here and I write on a Sunday evening with 70% humidity and 33C with the fan just blowing the hot air around – if we are lucky it should drop 2 degrees in the night – the real killer is the humidity which is energy sapping and sweaty – it makes work near impossible as the brain turns to mush in the afternoons and getting enough water in is challenging, I have taken to daily treats of coke or sprite to get extra sugar. One way to slim down I guess and generally I am ok with it, I am always pleased that the Belizeans find it tough going as well – it isn’t just me from Europe.

Last weekend I escaped the city to Ambergis Caye the main town of which is San Pedro which is mostly known from Madonna’s lyrics on La Isla Bonita – you may remember…. last night I dreamt of San Pedro….  an hour off Belize City in a boat it is like nowhere else in Belize. Row upon row of resorts have built up along the beach and for good reason – the barrier reef is only half a mile out and the sight and sound of the waves crashing on it is continually there in the background. Alot of people said don’t go it is dreadful and Americanised and spoilt but I reckoned I should go and look for myself and was pleasantly surprised – I liked it. Maybe it was because it was so bustling and a change from the mainland, or that it felt safer to walk around than the city, or that just being there makes you feel like you are on holiday or even that the shops all had AC and a chance to feel normal temperature  I don’t know but I hired a bike and road 7 miles north of the town along the beach gazing at all the swanky houses and hotels,  stopping for a swim off one of the many docks that jut out through the sea grass to  reach the  clear blue sea. Also the evening in the main square was full of atmosphere with lots of street stall BBQs selling tacos, fajitas and various other Spanish influenced foods.

I only have two weeks left at The Red Cross – it has gone so fast, I have pretty much completed the communications strategy which was the project I was tasked with – it just needs a final sign off before going to print – it is pleasing to have got to the end of what seemed a bit mountain to climb at the start. There are various things left to tidy up but these last 3 weekends are all for the red cross, this weekend we had a stall offering advice and first aid at the agricultural show – I was expecting cows, sheep, vegetables and farmers but they weren’t really to be seen it was all beer, fairground, music, food and the two main cell phone companies slugging it out over who could give the best offers! Then there was a Red Cross Youth camp in Cayo I went to take photos at and just observe, 100 young volunteers from all round the country having the opportunity to say how they want the BRC to develop, full of enthusiasm and energy it was interesting to watch – they did a candlelight parade round the town in the evening – atmospheric and a traffic jammer but worth it. Next weekend we have a parade and all day fair to celebrate the 8^th May which is world red cross day and the following weekend is my final day and it is the AGM where the board is elected – so a hectic way to finish but great to see the society putting all these events in to action which is what it is all about.

As the days disappear I find myself trying to savour and collect the images which will go on the hard drive of my memory – sights and smells which a camera would never capture –  my walks to work each day are captivating especially as I know more and more of the locals, it is the old ladies who gossip on their front step, the man in the wee shop sitting on his small stool, the homeless dog who patiently waits outside the same gate each day, the mother taking her two small children to school sitting on the bike handle bars, those who seemingly sit and do nothing from dawn to dusk, the homeless men who sleep out by a shop opposite the police station who line up for the soup at the red cross on a Wednesday, the homeless lady who sleeps by the office on the concrete floor but always keeps it tidy with her shoes neatly by her head, the Chinese shops who serve the school kids through the small door in the iron bars that front the store, the house I pass which looks like it is ready to fall to bits but always has activity outside where most of the living is done on the porch from the washing to the brushing of teeth to the morning shower to the dog lying tied up. the parrots in cages which chatter, the extremely unurban sound of cockerels crowing, the big old American cars that also look like they will fall to bits lining the road and then later in the day the smell of Belize city (apart from the smelly drains) which is the unmistakable smell of BBQing chicken on the roadside under a drum billowing smoke – If nothing else I have raised the profile of the red cross just by walking around – now even when not in uniform I get the unexpected greeting of REEED CRAAASSS follow me!

Weekend Adventuring

An error to have left it nearly a month between blogs, it means i then write a mega one rather than putting it in bite sized chunks. So much has happened since i last wrote, mainly on the fun side of things. From the photos you will see I had the good luck to be part of an 8th birthday party trip to the most beautiful caye just of Belize City. It was the Caribbean sea at its best – clear blue water lapping a sandy island with just a few palm trees on it, great swimming and ideal for a bunch of excitable kids, it all seems a dream when back at the desk on a Monday morning.

Easter here is taken very seriously with everyone disappearing from Thursday morning. I took full advantage of a 4 day weekend and headed to my favourite area- Cayo in the west of the country, something about it draws me to it, maybe the green hills, stunning views and agricultural land have something to do with it. The first night i stayed in a tiny cabana at San Jose Succotz and met up with a friend from work for supper, the next day she reappeared and we went to Benque Viejo Del Carmen a village almost on the Guatemalan border for their Good Friday re-enactment procession though the town. Luckily Liz did all the translating as it was all in Spanish but the story is well known to most of us and was Jesus’ last walk to the cross. At each of the 12 stations there were prayers, finally having gone all round the town we reached the church were they carried out the crucifixion. It was a boiling hot day and was very evocative, a good experience and definitely made me realise it was Easter despite being so far away from the usual events in Rosehall. Throughout the streets of Benque the villagers also decorated the streets with beautiful coloured sawdust patterns they painstakingly had made in bright colours. That afternoon I went for my big treat of the weekend which was a night at the river camp based in the lodge at Chaa Creek, i had been there before for the day and it is a really special place, I took full advantage of 7 miles of trails through the forests, butterfly farm, museum, a gentle kayak on the peaceful river which was flanked on either side by steep rocks and jungle, the calm only punctuated by butterflies and dragonflies and the odd breeze to send a ripple over the otherwise mirror like river, a morning bird walk where we spotted hummingbirds, parrots, heard a pygmy owl, and many many more, it was a good thing to do as the guide was knowledgeable and it brought the seemingly nondescript forest alive. In the camp there was no power so a camp fire was lit after dinner though the light of which we saw a fox then paraffin lamps lit up the cabin at night before sleeping to the sounds of the forest not to mention the howler monkeys that make the most extraordinary noise. As always the most interesting part of the stay was the people there, mainly families from the US all very friendly and with interesting reasons as to why they had chosen to come to Belize on holiday. I had been a little bit nervous about a weekend all alone but of course there are few moments when I am really on my own, I have enjoyed meeting so many fascinating people from all over the world, and catching a glimpse into their lives, who if I had been with a travel mate I would probably never sparked up a conversation with. One of the most blissful things about Chaa Creek is the swimming pool and it was a total treat to relax next to it (toucan in the tree above!) and also to eat very fresh fruit and raw veg as a change from chicken rice and beans.

Easter Sunday was an extraordinary day, i joined a tour to the ATM cave (Actun Tunichil Muknal), discovered in 1989 it is quite incredible. It was pouring with rain but as we had to walk through rivers and trails for 45 minutes prior to the entrance and then swim into the cave it didn’t matter. We were then in the cave system (with out a headlamp it was pitch black) we then walked through rivers for about an hour or so from knee height to chest deep, Amazing rock formations with stalactites and mites all the way. Finally we had a climb up out of the river which took us to the main chamber where we had to take off our shoes though keep our socks on to prevent the oils from our feet from damaging the fragile environment. It was a huge chamber and literally littered with 1500 year old Mayan Pottery meaning it took some serious concentration not to step on it. All of it had been used for sacrificial purposes and we were shown 5 of 14 human remains discovered in there. A really great trip and unlike anything i have ever done before, again an interesting group of people and I appreciated the over excited American who perfectly complemented the rather dour guide.

I finished the weekend by visiting two Mayan sits with a group of American nurses who Liz from work put me in touch with…. I am conscious that photos and chat about old ruins are not very inspiring to those who haven’t been there so I won’t say much more except to say the more i learn about the Mayans the more intriguing they are, an incredibly sophisticated civilisation. So I arrived back to work on the Tuesday happy to have had a lovely time out of the city. I was immediately humbled. In the office was a Belize Red Cross volunteer who had just come back from 2 months in Haiti. I was privileged to then listen to him for the next couple of hours talk about his experiences and what the current situation is out there. An amazing man who had stretched himself to the limit as by all accounts, as are all the other Red Cross personnel out there. Very emotional stories that brought tears to his eyes as he recounted them, he said the first 3 days none of them could talk to each other as what they saw was so shocking. He was working on the distribution of shelter and had distributed with his team of 4 plus 10 Haitians to 25000 families which is approx 125000 people as well as re built a school. It is impossible to imagine what the situation is like out there and hearing directly from him brings some of it to life. It is a numbers game and 1.2+ million people as alot to get round with shelter, food, water, healthcare. The fundraising in January which was the first work I did when i got here seems more relevant. I truly admire those that are there on a purely voluntary basis doing what they can and just consider myself lucky to be part of a humanitarian organisation even for this short time to if nothing else broaden my own mind and get a window on a world away from ours where basic survival is what so many struggle for each day.

A cheerful moment one afternoon as the BDF band heralded the baton being paraded through the country on its way to the commonwealth games in India.

 I have written alot and there is so much more to say but i will be brief on the next bit… last weekend i reached the top of Victoria Peak which is the 2nd highest mountain at a whopping 3675 ft in Belize (no one seems to know what or where the highest is!) Despite being of no huge height – it was about as pushed as i have ever been physically. A 3 day / 54km walk through the Cockscombe Basin Wildlife Sanctuary jungle carrying my tent and food in veryy high humidity with a group of 6 US peace corps and a Belgian girl and a guide. 24 km were pretty flat – the other 30 were seemingly either vertically up or vertically down – it was full on. The 2nd day was a 12 hour hike starting at 5am with the 1st Km taking an hour as it was up, we reached the summit at 9am having utilised some bouldering skills on wet slippery rocks and got harnessed in to a rope for some of it. Back to the camp for 1pm then the worst was a 7km hike down to the lower camp by which time i was desperate to try to work out how to call in the helicopter to extract me. A bathe in the river and sleep followed by an easy 3 hour hike out on the last day got the mind back into a more positive frame and i am super chuffed with myself for managing it, a week on even happier as i can now walk again though i still look like my legs were rolled in a mozzi nest, a tic on the nipple was a first and hopefully a last.

So into my last month of work, I will write a bit more of that next time, and i am becoming reflective on my time here and also the ‘what next’ is looming ever bigger in my mind. I have a good routine here of plenty of sleep, good diet, minimum alcohol, yoga/pilates 4 times a week, sunshine and relatively low pressure at work, it has been a bit like a 3 month health farm and good time off the hamster wheel, so i somehow need to prepare for the next stage – I have 6 weeks (assuming ash doesn’t prolong it further) to ponder….

Not so good bits and great bits

So in all the training and also personal thoughts before embarking on something like this you know that there will be moments when you wish you weren’t and you just hope that those moments will pass quickly and that you emerge from them a bit wiser. In retrospect it is easy to see that the bad bit was coming but at the time it appeared out of the blue.  A combination of not getting anywhere at work, a cancelled Pilates class (which is my stress buster), a weekend of supermarkets in Mexico, living with lots of people having had my own flat for the last 6 years and fighting against another culture where everything can change on a moment to moment basis culminated in me wanting to just get on the plane out. Buckets of tears and frustrations over the course of about 2 days got all the angst out followed by a couple of rum drinks put me back on course to meet this experience head on and take the positive bits from it.  Me being me it was going to happen and all the fears return that I may not be able to climb out of the low bits but I guess I have learnt a lot in the last 4/5 years and expressing my frustrations rather than keeping them in seems to be the answer however out of character or embarrassing the mode of expression may be. Another volunteer put it about right that you never fully relax in this city as you can at home when you are surrounded by the familiar and friends, to reach that sense of somewhere really being ‘home’ takes a while and so the tension builds.  So the plane ticket has not been changed and I guess it was half way blues.    

A long weekend in Mexico was a bit long! Chetumal is a proper big city just over the Belize border, compared to anything in Belize it is MASSIVE, the minute you cross the border you are on a 3 lane highway and it feels much wealthier. The city is the big get away for Belizeans where they can shop, go to the cinema, eat and relax as they can’t at home. I went with all the family that I live with and they immediately hit the supermarkets to bulk buy things like milk, washing powder, etc. I found myself in a Costco type place for about 2 hours followed by a supermarket like an extra large Tesco for about 3 hours as I thought we were going for supper, shopping isn’t my idea of fun at the best of times… and with a family of 8 who speak in Spanish I was totally lost as to what was going on. In a city which is one of the 10 worst in the world as voted for by the lonely planet it was good to be with people who knew it inside out so where to eat etc but it really was not my ideal weekend bar the swimming pool at the hotel. The Sunday night was fun as we walked to the seaside front where clowns were entertaining the crowds and an open top bus blaring out house music took us on a night ride along the front where we could glimpse down on the seaside restaurants and see some really quite funky architecture. I should have spent the afternoon exploring rather than inside shops!  I don’t think I will have much use for pesos again in a hurry, though I do know that I would at some point love to explore more of rural Mexico.

The following weekend was much more my scene, the country coordinator for my program took me with her family to San Ignacio for the day where we went to look at the cottage they are building, after a detour to the hospital following one of the kids severely cutting himself on the building site (7 stitches) we had the typical Saturday Belizean lunch – BBQ chicken, on a Saturday in particular whichever town you go through there is always the wafting smell of BBQ and I am sure it will now always remind me of here.  We then headed to a place called The Lodge at Chaa Creek, which was truly inspirational – 30 years ago a British/US couple bought 140 acres of jungle and have slowly turned it into a paradise, a butterfly farm, forest medicinal trail, spa, horses, organic veg, camp site and beautiful lodges all make up the lodge.  Everything is done in sympathy with the environment with all the buildings in traditional style.  The best bit for me was the pool which is what we went there for, it was a great tonic just to swim in beautiful surroundings – the accompanying sounds of what sounded like a cow in distress turned out to be howler monkeys in the trees nearby!

Work has ticked along and as I have now reached half way stage it is a bit of a worry that I have so much to achieve in such a short period of time, however the fact that my work has to be completed in booklet and presentation form for the BRC general assembly on the 15^th May is a good deadline so I will have to have it done for then.

The great thing this last week was my parents arrived for 10 days. It was a surprise really that they have come here and strange to have 2 totally different worlds collide.  Their first afternoon we ‘did’ Belize City sites on foot which takes about an hour… after which the humidity on what for us was a cooler day took its toll. However last Wednesday we got the local bus to Orange Walk which at 56 miles away took 2 hours as it was going to work time and the stop stop bus never really gets going. From Orange Walk we took a river tour back south for 38 miles through great jungle and getting a different perspective of the countryside from a boat, with a knowledgeable guide we spotted crocs, kingfishers, herons, bats, iguanas and many more birds not to mention spider monkeys coming aboard for bananas but also nearly escaping with a hammer from the tool kit at the same time! The final destination was Lamani, somewhere I had wanted to go since I had arrived, a Mayan site from 2000BC, which has been only partly excavated – we went round the 5 structures that have been revealed out of more than 700. For me  - my mind is totally unable to comprehend just how old these ‘buildings’ are, they are huge and the carvings on these stones incredibly intricate. The Mayans pretty much died out in the 15 / 16^th centuries but had been seriously sophisticated with their own calendars, writings, astronomy, social systems etc, they reckon there were about a million of them in Belize, a country which now only has a population of 320,000 people. The ruins from their cities are all over the country but Lamani was the first I have been to and it was very impressive. Our guide was excellent and we were able to climb the highest structure to emerge high above the forest for a view of at least 40 miles in each direction.

We then headed for the weekend down the beautiful hummingbird highway which goes through stunning scenery with the road flanked for miles by orange groves and pretty houses neatly cared for, most with lines of washing strung outside and yards swept clean surrounded by plant pots and lazy dogs sleeping. On arrival in Dangriga famed worldwide for its drumming and Garifuna culture we jumped on a boat for a very blustery ride out to Tobacco Caye, within seconds of getting on the boat we were totally drenched and it was with relief to get to the caye finally not before going straight though the middle of a mostly mangrove atoll on the way.

Tobacco Caye at 5 acres big could be walked around in 5 minutes, I was fearful that the usually busy parents would be bored in 10 minutes flat  – luckily with some good books, great snorkelling straight out of the lodge and swimming in sparkly clear Caribbean seas along with constant activity with comings and goings from the dock viewed from the hammock on the deck interspersed with meals of barracuda just landed we had the impression that for 3 days we were very busy doing nothing! Rays just gently cruising in under the restaurant in the evening and an eel appearing under the dock helped make for a special few days and for me what was really magic was that I took a refresher dive course. With some nerves having not put the tanks on since about 2000 I passed all the tests and took a 50 minute dive – I had totally forgotten what a different world it is under the sea and what a treat it is to be part of it, not to mention that feeling of total freedom which only I guess space would otherwise let the body be in. Lobsters hiding in holes, sea cucumbers, a myriad of fish, corals and sponges, wonderful colours made me realize that it is ok to miss skiing for this year and most special of all was seeing a turtle swimming past which was a first for me. There were all sorts of fascinating people coming and going from the island but most interesting possibly was an American family with 4 kids under 12 who have been on the road for the last couple of years. Last year they cycled London to Tunisia and back then this year they are 3 months into a trip from the US – the kids have school with their mother and their father works from a lap top, violin practice still happened even on the beach and this week school for the eldest 2 was a padi course – a different sort of an education.  And so back to work with a bit of a bump and dealing with being back ‘home’ where Spanish is the main language which I seem to have lost the basics of somewhere.  It makes me realise I am so lucky to have such incredible weekends and as I go in to the second half of my stay to make the most of it as it will be over before I know it and there is so much to achieve in that time both in work and in play whether it is fun or challenging.

It seems like so much has happened since I last wrote, I have had 3 weekends in different areas of Belize, and each reveals something more about this incredibly varied country. Three weekends ago my flat mate and I headed to The Blue Hole and St Herman’s cave national park. Belize is famous for another blue hole out in the ocean but this one 12 miles along the hummingbird highway from Belmopan was no disappointment. Great trails through the jungle which allows for self guiding meant that we had a perfect Sunday…. A walk and a swim. The walk first took us to St Herman’s Cave; I thought it would be similar to the rob Roy hide outs in Scotland – a small hole that you have to wiggle to get into…. This was quite different, it was huge with steps down into what looked like a crack in the forest wall and it opened out in to a big space which just headed in to the earth, there was a basic path to follow next to an underground river and luckily I had my torch as 300m in it was pitch black and we could only just pick out the walls and stalactites from the torch and camera flashes. A good hike through the forest with monkeys swinging in the trees above, past some pretty awesomely big trees with huge buttress roots and pretty tropical flowers up to a very rickety observation tower was rewarded with a great view over the forest and then down over the orange groves. Oddly enough we had packed some Christmas cake for lunch and it tasted much better than at Christmas! An hour and a half later, having spotted a squirrel and the tropical birds which had woken up as the temperature cooled we arrived at the Blue hole, a swimming hole in which the water is totally clear and bright blue… something to do with it being above a cave, the geographical terminology escapes me. It took me seconds to jump in to the cool water, a great spot to dip and look up at the forest way above, so not bad for a Sunday day trip out of the city. The following weekend was a trip to the north of Belize on the coast, for hand over to 3 villages 3 micro projects the Red Cross had been involved in. Each village had a ceremony, speeches, prayers, national anthems, tape cutting and everyone turned out in best clothes for the hand overs which was drainage systems, toilet blocks in the hurricane shelter/school and a water tower all vital for coping with the various weather induced disasters that are thrown their way in terms of flooding and hurricanes – great for me to see some of the really great work the RC do here and it had all been backed up with disaster preparedness courses for the communities. Following each there was an enormous feast of traditional soup followed by chicken rice and beans…. By the third village it was hard to fit it in but in order not to be rude eat we did. While the rest of the team headed back I stayed on the night in Sarteneja. It is a beautiful village right on the ocean, I stayed in a tiny cabana which had 3 walls open to the forest around with just mozzi mesh so it really felt like sleeping outside under the stars. The place is run by a Swiss girl and it really seems she lives the good life with 27 acres covered in fruit trees – oranges, mangos, guavas, and veg patch and chickens keeps her restaurant supplied. Her horse and foal and dogs just happily mixing in with the various campers, guests, which her place attracts. Over supper the others staying there revealed their stories… a Swiss guy over to study and draw the plants from the nature reserve up the road, a British girl who had been on the road for 8 months (this time) with no impression that she was planning to ever stop in one place and a guy who was motor biking from Canada to the south of S. America who was recovering from having been shot at, strip searched, robbed and chased by the police in Mexico. All that made for good evening chat over a beer. My Sunday was bliss – a day to myself, I grabbed a bike and went out to the local nature reserve which apparently had all 5 of Belize’s cats in it, my hour long walk was very quiet except for the odd iguana scuttling away as by then it was too warm – I just wonder how many sets of eyes hiding in the forest watched me stomp by. I did however get a bit of a surprise as climbing an observation tower which came out high above the forest, I came face to face with a parrot snake as I climbed the steep steps.,… made my heart beat, and its and it quickly made an exit thank goodness. So recovered by getting back to the sea for a swim and a sunbathe before cycling back through the village. A more perfect spot I haven’t yet found here. A four hour journey of speed boat and bus delivered me back to Belize city – I love the local buses every minute is another chapter in the movie that goes by outside or occurs inside.

Finally to this weekend – we headed out to Spanish Lookout, a Mennonite area which was holding an agricultural expo. The Mennonites are a group that originally came from Europe. http://www.northernbelize.com/cult_mennonite tells you a bit more. There a different groups, some more traditional than others, distinctive by their traditional dress and for some travel by horse and cart, also the fair skin and blond or ginger hair. They are extremely hard working and the Spanish look out area is the wealthiest of any I have yet seen – beautiful farmland, with immaculately kept houses and successful looking farm yards. I could have come away from the show with a batch of chicks a John Deere tractor and a Husquvana chain saw, luckily I resisted! It was brilliantly organized and interesting to get a glimpse into the community of these very private people. My project work continues and I have a better idea of where I am going. I have released the first monthly newsletter, secured a fortnightly ad in a national newspaper & had a good response to a press release from the national media so small steps are satisfying all of which should raise the profile of the organization, which is badly needed to keep it in funds to maintain its work. I realize that there are so many dedicated staff and volunteers in the organization each working seriously hard on all the different projects with the aim of helping others, it is humbling. I also am trying to combat the effects of seriously good food with a Pilates class twice a week, it is great to get some proper exercise, fill the evening and have an hour to totally relax. It is unusual in that the occasional bang on the roof signals an almond or coconut falling. Strange things have happened in the last couple of weeks – last Sunday night there was the sound of a ‘bomb’ and a big red fire in the sky and it turned out to be the space shuttle re entering over Belize on its way to land in Florida and on the morning of 23rd Feb the dogs all round the city went crazy at 5am which turned out to be an earth tremor followed by another at 9am, the bank on our street was evacuated and it turned out there was a 4.2 and a 4.6 up on the Guatemalan border. Thoughts are for those in Chile and of course those in Haiti whose lives have been dramatically changed.