Who knew my first holiday stretch completely without family would be so hard? Christmas was uneventful and therefore mildly sad but I made the best of it and did what I could do to make it nice. I woke up, made breakfast, chatted with the kitty, opened presents, cleaned, drank lots of tea, painted my toes, did all my laundry by hand and then went for a walk. My host mom had me over for a late lunch too which was kind and generous. Tamales, salad, sandwiches, chicken, stuffing and lots of cake and coke. I met her family and had a relatively good time. The following, LONG, story is roughly an excerpt from my journal, written the day after my grand adventure on December 26th... Enjoy.
The morning after Christmas day, I woke up again and again, but kept willing myself to sleep a little longer. With nothing planned and knowing it was the day after Christmas and another holiday I was not eager to rise. When I finally got out of bed I expected it to be after 9am at least. I must have really slept in! Nope. 7:41am. Time for tea, breakfast and 45 wonderful minutes of self guided yoga. Great start to the day. So what does one do when friends are limited if non-existent and most everything is closed for the holiday? (NOTE: Boxing Day is an observed holiday in Belize; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day) Well, I walk. A lot.
At 10:30 I left my house with cookies I’d made the day before to deliver to my land lady and some people I work with. I also had some to take to friends in Cayo. My plan was to deliver the cookies, walk for a while, head to Cayo and hang out for the day. I was hoping for an interesting turn of events, some random adventure or at least some wonderful people to pass time with. I had no idea how random my day would become.
When I passed my land lady’s house it was all closed up so I just kept walking. I saw the Inspector Chief of Police down the way on his front porch so I stopped to chat and give him the cookies instead. He was happy. He’s always happy. I then walked near the entrance of town and saw a bus waiting which I boarded. Sitting there I realized that I didn’t really want to head immediately into Cayo so I got off the bus and kept walking. I passed a co-workers house but it was also all closed up so I kept walking right out of Benque towards Xunantunich. I stopped at a Chino store to buy a phone card and walked back to a pay phone to call Christen, who said she might be at the Mayan site that day. With no phone (at that time) this was my best option to track her down. No luck with the phone and I was feeling frustrated and out of touch with the world but I was determined to keep my spirits up so I decided to keep on walking all the way up to Xunantunich, perhaps I’d find Christen up there. When I got on the ferry the conductor looked at me suspiciously, a single female travelling alone, and asked me what I was doing. I told him I just wanted to walk and enjoy nature. He gave me a wary eye and told me, “Ok, just be careful.” So off I went up the main paved road to Xunantunich. I had no intention of paying to enter, just wanted to be outside and it seemed like a relatively safe space to explore alone.
As I climbed the hills I noticed small side roads, barely clearings really where vehicles had once driven. I turned down one and headed straight into the woods, definitely on heightened alert to noises around me and critters in my path. I grabbed a stick to walk with, to bang on trees with and to clear the way of spider webs. Being accustomed to hiking in Alaska, I know that you shouldn’t really hike alone and you should always make lots of noise in case of bears. Well first, I have no friends locally to hike with (yet!) so I broke a rule there. Second, I was more walking than hiking, in the jungle of Belize rather than the rainforest of Alaska. Third, I don’t think there are bears in Belize but the jungles certainly have jaguars. I’d be fascinated to see one but not particularly in this context. I hear they’re more afraid of people and rarely spotted though. My side venture was brief because I’m a scaredy-cat I guess. I continued on the main paved road to the top, looked around the parking lot, didn’t spot anyone familiar looking, so I turned around and headed back down. On my return trip I took lots of wonderful photos of butterflies. (NOTE: I will reference wonderful pictures often, and someday, when the internet connections of Belize quicken their pace, you will see said pictures.)
After crossing the ferry back to the other side of the river, I attempted calling Christen again. No luck. Oh well. I decided to just keep walking towards Cayo. The road is about eight miles and I was at such a loss for what to do with my day that I seriously considered walking the length of it, or at least some. But, the sun was hot and the hills steep so I didn’t make it very far at all, maybe a half mile. I stopped at a speed bump and leaned up against a very comfy tree in the shade. I must have sat there for 30 minutes watching cards, trucks and tour buses go back and forth. I turned down at least 5 taxis because I’m too cheap to pay more than a $1 bus ride. I was also too shy to stick my thumb out for a ride and since I was certainly in no hurry, I just waited. Wasn’t sure what I was waiting for, maybe a bus. Finally, a black, shiny Mercedes car with a Belizean driver and two white people in it slows to cross the bump and the driver asks me from the rolled down passenger window if I’m going to Cayo. I say yes and hop in. What a lucky day! We exchange pleasantries. The driver is Gene and his passengers are Brad and Janet (Quick! First to name which movie this couples names are from gets a hand written letter from me :) All of them live in Houston and Gene is from Cayo but lives between the two places. Brad is originally from Portland, so we all immediately have plenty to chat about. They ask what I’m doing with my day, what I’m doing in Belize. About my day I have no good answers. Headed into Cayo to hang out. Gene says they’re headed to Mountain Pine Ridge for a few hours if I want to join. After a few inquiring questions, I happily agree, confessing to them that I have no great plans and I’d be stupid to turn down such an offer. “Great!” comes the response, “Welcome to the family!!”
Gene parks the car at his “little house” – a sprawling 2-3 floor home / future resort plus three more floors of balconies for party space, pools, terraces, outdoor kitchen and living room. A paradise I’d walked by many times without a clue. Janet offers me a Cuba Libre (rum & coke + lime) and the two of us ladies sit to chat and get to know each other while the guys head to Santa Elena for BBQ. They bring back a dozen styrofoam containers with food and we all have lunch and drinks. More people show up. Lots and lots of family. About an hour later we have multiplied to 8 people headed out for the adventure to Mountain Pine Ridge and we’ve switched to a Suburban for the trek up the mountain. Another hour of driving with plenty of stories, laughter and beautiful sights we arrive to the Rio Frio Cave, the biggest and most awesome, magnificent cave I’ve ever seen. I wanted to cry. It was breathtaking and simply outstanding to me that I was standing in this place (used to be a burial ground for the Mayans) when hours earlier I’d been at a loss for something to do with my day. We were there for only about 20 minutes and then back into the car to see some natural pools. It was after 4pm and we were racing daylight. At the pools, rocks and boulders are scattered naturally creating pools and falls that I could’ve spent days swimming in. But as it was, only my feet got to soak. We hiked out of there are the crimson sun began tucking itself behind the mountains. We then went to Five Sisters Falls Lodge. This is a beautiful resort perched high above a rock formation that a river runs through creating five waterfalls. There are 310 stairs to climb down and I managed to talk everyone into the trip down (and of course back up). At the bottom there is a beach, a couple thatched huts for cover and a pavilion with 4 or 5 hammocks ready for lounging. Superb! The sun was down, light quickly turning to darkness, so after yet another cursory experience of one piece of Belize’s bliss, we ascended the stairs towards the bar at the top. We reached, everyone panting and sweating but feeling accomplished. Brad bought a round of beers for everyone. I asked for a Belikin stout and got looks and comments from a few of the guys. A girl drinking stout? Unheard of apparently. Amusing. I have a feeling I’ll be shattering the gender roles and assumptions put on me plenty while I’m here. After a refreshing drink we headed back towards town. Unbelievable day. I started out my morning down and fighting boredom, badly wanting to hike and lamenting my lack of friends or hiking buddies, yet look where the day took me! I’m so blessed, is the thought that kept coming to mind.
We arrived back to the house after 7pm and I was easily talked into staying for the party. “There’s a party too?!” It was Gene’s mother in laws 72nd birthday. Dinner wasn’t until 10:30pm so I spent several hours fighting and internal battle of social awkwardness and shyness. Everyone I’d spent the day with disappeared to shower and/or nap so I was left to mingle with the rest of the ever growing family that I didn’t know. There were so many people flowing in, all of them related somehow. And then me, the white girl they picked up on the side of the road. Hi. Nice to meet you. Emily White. And no, my last name is not a pun on my gringa status. Or maybe it is. Overall, I had a fabulous night. There was plenty of delicious food, a few dark beers, I met people from Benque and Cayo, danced with an adorable two year old girl named Haley, chatted with her friendly 27 year old mom who lives in Benque, made an instant friendship with Gene and his wife and daughter, and attempted social mingling with countless other family members – most who welcomed me with big smiles and hugs, some who just looked at me strangely. At about 1:30am I was tired and the family was trickling out at last. Gene, Brad, Janet and I got back in the Mercedes from whence we started and they took me home. The next morning I woke with a sense of awe at the things I got to see and the amazing people I met who were complete strangers but filled with so much love and hospitality so as to instantly make me family. And of course, this new family of mine made sure I knew the invitation was always open for me to come back and enjoy myself at their home anytime.
My life is beautiful. Sometimes challenging in so many ways and other times filled with lavish generosity, friendship and unexpected adventures. I love it.
No comments:
Post a Comment