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Belize Trip #3: Like Sophomore Year Three months after returning from my trip to the Middle East (and Belize), I began musing about heading off to Belize once again. Some of my colleagues at Otak, my engineering company in Portland, were going to Abu Dhabi for a week-long workshop there in March. I didn't need to go on this particular trip and they'd be out of the office for a week, so it seemed like a good opportunity to take some vacation time and head down to Belize once again.
I'd been to Belize twice in the past year to do volunteer service work but I hadn't seen much of the country yet. My travels had been confined mostly to central Belize, between Belize City and San Ignacio along a corridor known as the Western Highway. I'd also traveled out to the keys in the Caribbean. But other than that, much of Belize was still a mystery to me, so this time, instead of taking a bus or taxi around central Belize like I'd done during my earlier visits, I thought about renting a car and exploring southern Belize. During my previous trips some of my Belizean friends told me that southern Belize was like a different world compared to the areas I'd already seen, and they said I should check it out if I ever had the chance.
My volunteer work in Belize had been with the service organization, ProWorld, and its Belize affiliate, known as ProBelize. So one night in early March, I sent an e-mail to ProBelize's director, Adrian Bartley, and asked him if he needed help with any projects during the last week of March. Adrian promptly wrote back and told me there was going to be a group of 20 college students from New York University (NYU) doing construction work in San Ignacio that week and that I'd be more than welcome to join them. That clinched it. I immediately got on the Internet and booked a flight, my lodging and a car rental. Two weeks later, the day after my Otak colleagues flew off to Abu Dhabi, I was on a 6:00 a.m. Continental flight out of Portland International Airport bound for Central America.
I arrived at the International airport in Belize City on Sunday afternoon, then I picked up my rental car, a Suzuki 4WD Jimny. No, not a "Jimmy," but rather a "Jimny." It was like a small jeep and was the perfect vehicle for me – though certainly not cheap at $400 a week. I hadn't driven a vehicle with manual transmission in many years, since the days of my beloved and long-gone 1985 Toyota pickup truck, but it felt good to use a stick shift again. I just had to remember to shift (doh!) and press down on the clutch pedal whenever I stopped (DOH!)
I drove down the Western Highway bound for San Ignacio and thought about how seamless visiting Belize had become for me after only two visits. During my first visit to the country a year earlier, I was totally awestruck by the cultural and economic differences between Belize and the U.S., seeing real poverty for the first time. I remember during that trip, in February 2008, how I felt like I was on a different planet here, and that's no exaggeration. I was still very sensitive to the stark poverty in Belize, of course. But now I didn't think much about the transition, probably because I knew what to expect. It's like someone starting their second year of college after a jaw-dropping experience during their freshman year.
I drove into San Ignacio that sunny Sunday afternoon and checked into what is becoming my favorite place to stay in Belize, the Log Cab-Inn. It's a modest resort on the west side of town with individual cabins and, best of all, terrific meals cooked by Ina, their phenomenal (and humble) chef. I use the term "resort" loosely, though, since most resorts in Belize are several steps below what many Americans conjure up when they hear that term. So even though Log Cab-Inn isn't the type of resort that most Americans imagine, it's still a great place to stay, with comfortable rooms and friendly staff. I highly recommend it.
Early the next morning, I drove into San Ignacio and stopped at the ProBelize office, where I found Michael, the American construction manager who I'd worked with during my two previous visits to Belize. He was happy to see me again and gave me a big hug. After a few minutes of catching up, we got in our vehicles and drove out to the Clarissa Falls Resort (again, I use the term "resort" loosely), a few miles west of town, where the NYU group was staying. They had, like me, arrived in Belize the day before.
After the ProBelize staff introduced me to the group and vice-versa, they held a two-hour orientation session there for the students. After that we set off to our various work sites. We worked at three locations that week, all near the village of San Antonio, where I'd worked during my two previous visits to Belize:
Above left: On the Western Highway heading to San Ignacio on Sunday afternoon. Above center: I gave my digital SLR camera to Stephen, a ProBelize staffer. I shot almost every picture in this website with this Canon D-30, which I bought in 2001 just before my trip around America, New Zealand and Australia. I bought a new Canon SLR for this trip to Belize so I figured that Stephen, a photo buff, would like my old one. Above right: Our first work site was at the village of Cristo Rey where we built a playground for the children.
Above left: This is Michael (left, the ProBelize Construction Manager), Todd (NYU's group leader), and Winsome, a villager at Cristo Rey. I was stunned when Winsome told me that her adoptive mother was the famous 1960s folk singer, Odetta. That blew me away. Above right: Two Michelles and a Rachel smoothing a bench they'd just built at the new playground in Cristo Rey.
Above left: Our second worksite was in the jungle at a location called Seven Mile. We built a concrete floor for a new bus shelter here. Adam, a ProWorld staffer (in the blue shirt), was the work manager at this site. Above center: Adam and the crew taking a break at Seven Mile. It was between 80 and 85 degrees every day, pretty typical for March. Above right: Our third worksite was at the Roman Catholic elementary school in San Antonio, where we built a concrete floor for a new schoolroom. Michael and Molly were the ProBelize construction managers here.
Above left: After pouring dirt for the floor, we tamped it down, getting it ready for rebar. Above right: Camillo (left) and Emily having fun with the kids at the Roman Catholic school in San Antonio.
Above left: A curious onlooker. Above center: A self-portrait from my Jeep while cruising through the jungle. Above right: By Tuesday morning, at Seven Mile, they had dug the footing for the bus shelter floor. They were almost ready to pour concrete.
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