A Trip to Belize

     We peer out the window as our Southwest flight descends, straining to see what kind of place we have surrendered ourselves to for the next 8 days. It's 4:30 p.m. and the weather predicted here is much warmer than our Oklahoma weather. Craig and I grab our backpacks and step down from the plane in our hoodies into humid 80 degrees. Making our way to the airport entrance, a little nervous not knowing what customs totally consists of, we see my family wave to us from the gated balcony. Yay! We get through customs after needing to get the exact address for our stay. Hello family!!!! Mom, Dad, Natalie, Corey, Chantal, Perry, Shania, and Quianna. No grin can compare to those shared when you see your family!
     What a van! Deisel Toyota which seats 16. We find our way out with Natalie beginning her temporary job of pointing and verbalizing; turn right up there! this way! that way! Turn here! No, there! The important part is that she got us every place we needed to go. We drove from Belize City to Belmopan, found us a Chinee store (Convenience stores owned by Chinese) and bought some snacks for supper; Yogurt, tortilla chips with cheese dip, wafers, and whatever else the kids found for Mom to buy.
     We met the other missionaries and youth at 7:30 and Christmas caroled there in Belmopan. Off we go to Dave and Katie's for our first night in Belize rocking around in our bus. We arrive in San Ignacio, I did not realize it was the second largest city in Belize. We exchange greetings and sit around awhile getting to know Natalie's mission family. Dave's house is a typical belizian house with wood siding, no insulation, and shutters and screens for a window. We slept good that night and only woke up once from the noise of a moto. Morning woke us up with the sound of their pet parrot! What a nice tropical greeting for our first morning!...we packed our stuff into the rental van. Natalie, Craig, and I walked to the breakfast joint, then were joined by the rest of the tribe @ https://popsbelize.com yum!
     Belize City here we come, then we are on our way to Caye Caulker! We are to stay 2 nights @ https://www.vrbo.com/404357 on Caye Caulker! The drive from Dave's was about 2 hours on a fairly bumpy road. Driving through the town San Ignacio is quite a deal, narrow streets and vehicles parked to one side all along, this van can barely fit. People are sitting around and talking, walking, and biking. The women here use wash machines, but no dryers so colorful pieces of laundry hang everywhere on cords strung over porches or from trees. We stop at a couple Chinee stores to get sunscreen and a few snacks. Along  the road we stop and buy a bag of coconut water from a guy. It's a little different tasting but it could grow on me!
    We get to Belize City and park our van to take the water taxi to Caye Caulker. Driving through Belize City is very similar to San Ignacio, narrow streets and vehicles parked along the side. People are walking every which way and there are little souvenir, clothing, and utility shops all along the street. Us women are wondering if there will be time to do some shopping before our water taxi leaves. We browse the shops, find a pair of swim wear for one of the boys, then board our boat. 45 minutes on aqua- blue water! Are we really in Belize or is this a dream? A feast for the eyes, please, may I take this scene home? Maybe take a portion for my backyard?...
     About 10 men stand right around where u get off the boardwalk and ask taxi? taxi? taxi my friend? Only golf carts and bikes here, 'taxi' is written on the golf carts. We pile our luggage and every body on one of these taxis and get driven to the Blue Turtle. Perfect house for us, thanks mom! We relax and snoop around the  house. The kids take advantage  of the pool behind the house. Time to find some food! We walk back towards the restaurants and main streets of the island looking for a place to eat, hostesses walk up from every direction..Wana see a menu? Wana see a menu my friend? We have fresh lobster, shrimp, fish, tacos, hotdogs and so on. We find a place named Brisas Del Mar, right by the water. I had BBQ pork kebabs. Craig had shrimp kebabs. Rice, mashed potatoes, and cabbage salad for the sides. We also had the best pineapple juice with our meal!!! It was so good! We then went walking the streets and went into a few shops on our way back to the house. It was a very pleasant evening! Just beautiful! We hear a guitarist singing "down the seven bridges road" see some natives around the corner clapping, perfect touch to the island atmosphere!
     Home to the Blue Turtle with full bellies, the chess game is pulled out along with Mastermind and Psych! I have such a wonderful family. I realized that no where else and with no one else do we share the most similar interests! What other family would all like the same games that I enjoy? Sleep comes easy...
     It's morning and we wonder what for breakfast before our 10:00 boat tour. Natalie and I decide to walk to a Chinee for some cereal, milk, and yogurt. We eat and gear up for our adventure! We meet our tour guide, get our snorkel gear, find our boat and off we go! We lather on 65 spf. First we stopped and seen some sea horses, then to see some tarpons, pretty big, long silver fish. The tour guides bring little fish and sardines to feed them so when they hear the boat engine they come right up to the boat. About 10 pelicans came paddling right up to us, the tour guides feed them too, one pelican grabbed a tarpon and wrestled around with it for a bit! Next stop was to see the stingrays and nurse sharks. Here we got geared up and tried out our snorkeling. They bring dish soap to wash your lenses first, they say it helps to keep them from fogging up. There were probably 10 stingrays and about the same of sharks, as soon as they heard the boat motor they swarmed around us. They have a tube that they fill with 'Chum' so they too attracted them. Next stop was the coral reef we got to follow our guide around and he pointed out lots of fish and told us what some of the reef plants were called. We seen about 4 rainbow parrot fish, one turtle, and lots of other fish; little white, black, and yellow striped fish, little blue ones, and little black ones. The weather was gorgeous, it was a perfect day to snorkel! We were given some pineapple, watermelon, and orange for a little snack. We motored over to an area where there was no current and swam around a little before we headed back to the dock. By then we were feeling like we'd gotten enough sun! Headed back to the Blue Turtle and some of us took a nap. Time to eat again! We walk to a place Natalie wanted us to eat at and find that it's closed! Walking around we find Fantasy Dining. Craig and I enjoyed a dinner of grilled fish, rice, and fried platains along with some yummy pineapple juice. Mom, Dad, and the kids had a taste of ice cream and we all walked along the streets, stopping here and there to peer into a shop or check out the conch shells being sold along the street. We get home and play a few games, and it's been another wonderful day spent with the family! We are all feeling our sun burns by now!
     It's morning and time to pack up! Wishing we had booked a few more nights there, we leave the island. Destination; San Ignacio. Another beautiful boat ride across this amazing water. We find our van and begin our drive back. We got to Dave's, picked up a few things and got to our next home away @ https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/9424006 the Belize Gem. It has 2 bedrooms, a loft with 3 twin beds, one bathroom, and a porch which is about as big as the house itself. First thing mom does is put a load of laundry in the washer "what she does best!" We got settled in and Dave's brought us supper! BBQ'd chicken with rice, beans, and a few greens. Got spiffed up and headed to the Billy White church for the school Christmas program! Another bumpy road. It was so neat to meet Natalie's people. Snacks were brought out, then we went caroling! I got to drive the mission pickup around hauling some kids in the back, hopefully they didn't get jostled around too much! Natalie and I got home around 2:00. Mom was waiting up for us, I think she was worried we would never make it home. Luckily the one turn Natalie forgot, I remembered! Otherwise who knows where we would have ended up! Next morning we got ready to go to the San Ignacio Market! Natalie and I gave the children our Christmas gifts just in case they ended up buying something similar to what we had got them. I love seeing the reaction children give as they open gifts. It's a very warm day for Market considering it's the middle of December. We walk among fruit, vegetables, handmade items, clothing, and all other sorts of merchandise. Money exchange is easy here, everyone takes American money and the exchange rate is $2 BZD to $1 USD. We order some papusas for lunch. Can we just eat these the rest of our meals? We buy some orange and grapefruit juice, some papaya, pineapple, kiwi, and star fruit. Everything looks so yummy!
     Off to Spanish lookout to Western Dairies' ice cream joint, one of the biggest dairy production companies in Belize. It reminded me of the burger/ice cream restaurant in our area called Braums. We got some ice cream, pizza, and fries. Another stop to FTC "Farmers trading center" a big store run by Spanish Lookout Mennonites. I got a few pieces of fabric there!
      We get back to San Ignacio so Dad, Natalie, Corey, and Chantal could go caroling. Craig and I found a Chinee and got groceries to make corn casserole for the potluck lunch after church the next day. A beautiful evening at our home away playing games.
     Sunday dawns, the day of rest just as much there as in Oklahoma. We make the drive to Billy White once again and listen to the inspirations spoken in Spanish and English. Then a feast for lunch brought together by all the ladies! Once again it was wonderful getting to know these people. Back to the Belize Gem. Later we go caroling in Spanish lookout, riding around in the bed of the pickup. We got invited into their houses to sing! They have really nice houses compared to the other areas of Belize. I had given my phone to Craig and some how it slipped out of his pocket. We thought we'd lost it forever, but after we were done caroling we went back to one house and as soon as we pulled up we seen its reflection in the grass! Another night in Belize.
     Morning finds us relaxing at the house. Breakfast of eggs, yogurt and granola, papaya, pineapple, and star fruit. Star fruit is shaped as a star when u slice it and tastes like an apple/cucumber. I liked it. I'm not too crazy about the papaya, mom says it tastes like her barf and Natalie said the first time she tried it she thought it tasted like cat pee! We are relaxing and getting ready for the day when Natalie and I suddenly realize that the meat shop closes in 30 minutes! Mom, Natalie and I hop in the van and cruise off, leaving everyone else behind! We had a little chuckle, what a clever way to get out and do some shopping without the kids! We did want to get some meat for our Christmas meal the next day. We got to the meat shop just in time. We got a pork shoulder roast to make tacos out of. We then walked down the walking street in San Ignacio poking our heads into various shops. We drove back to the house, loaded the family up and headed to the Lohrs. Mama Janet, Naomi, and Kaylah run the Cool "M" ranch here. Milking 3 cows twice a day, making yogurt, granola, cheese, banana muffins, french bread, sour dough bread, and cinnamon rolls to sell at market, these women keep busy! We stay for some tea and yummy banana chocolate chip muffins. I could listen to their stories all day. We had dinner plans. Bertita had invited us to her brothers place for Christmas Eve. We had grilled chicken, sausage, tamales, and a few other side dishes. Tres leches cake for dessert. It was all scrummy! The children played Monopoly while the rest of us sat and got aquainted. I realized again that it is fun to make new friends! Home again and another night in this lovely land.
     Merry Christmas!!! We made pork tacos, rice, beans, and pumpkin yummy for dessert. I was trying to make Mexican brown rice. The rice never really got done. And I excepted the fact that I may never learn how to make rice! We ate around 3:00. We spent the day playing games and enjoying our time together. Natalie made some yummy popcorn! Coconut oil, sugar, and popcorn kernels and you have yourself some fingerlickin kettle corn! Is it really Christmas day? It hardly felt like Christmas with green grass everywhere and coconut palms gracing the back yard. Our last night in Belize!
     We decide to stop at the Mayan ruins before we are taken to the airport. Belize has only one archiologist!? It was a warm day! We are thankful we had a tour guide. We learned a lot! Black Howler monkeys let us know they were around, so we find them and check them out! What a noise! Another meal of papusas before we head out. Maybe I can learn how to make them someday. Wishing we could stay a couple more days, maybe more, we leave the others behind to catch our flight back to home.