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Published: November 16th 2009
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The past weekend we decided to stay in the Golden Stream area and go to the Rio Blanco Falls and Nim Li Punit, some Mayan ruins. Saturday morning we got up and missed the bus to the intersection at which we'd have to pick up the next bus to the Falls. We walked for a mile or two and then got picked up by a van driving two Americans to some ruins on the way. Hitchhiking is a safe and economical alternative to buses, because yes, $2US one-way IS too much for me to pay.
We got to the intersection, in a town they refer to as Dump. Something happened with the bus we were waiting for, so we ended up being stuck there for almost two hours. I started chatting with a young lady and her two kids. After deeming that I was a nice girl and deciding to extend a token of her friendship, she gave me some oranges. That's what they do around here. Hey, you're nice, here's an orange. No, take two. All I had to give was a piece of the ginger cookie I had just bought from the gas station. Here, take a chunk.
Take one for your niƱa too. Friends?
The bus arrived and we turned onto the unpaved road. This is the kind of bus ride that your main concern is whether or not your organs will stay in place. Each time we hit a bump, I was certain that
that time it had jostled my innards out of place.
We got to the park in wicked rural Belize and just walked off the bus. Both of us then realized that we had no idea at what time another bus might come by. Whoops. We were the only people in the park- and probably for miles.
Pictures included. Did some hiking and some cliff jumping. Froze a bit in the water because it was cloudy. I, being a Barry, DID check to make sure it was deep enough before jumping. I've taken to slowing myself down in situations in which I can die. I was doing my standard cursory rush when trying to climb down to check. I did a little slip, my heart stopped, and then I caught myself. It's never, "Wow, I can die. Time to slow down and be careful." It's always "Jesus, how would I
EVER get an ambulance in this situation? There's no way I'm paying for that."
We took off walking towards the nearest village we passed, and a truck picked us up. At first I wasn't sure it was appropriate to be wearing no bathing suit top under my tanktop on such a bumpy truck ride, but when I turned to the side, just behind the small Guatemalan child staring at me, there was a Guatemalan woman breast feeding her child. Boob straight up out. These are the circumstances of hitchhiking in Belize, so rest assured, it's no Turistas situation, Kelly.
We stopped for some eats at this restaurant I have been romanticizing since I got here. It's called Las Faldas (the skirts) and has this painting on the outside of the building of just a skirt and some legs. Not some sexy Marilyn Monroe skirt picture either. Literally just a skirt and some legs. The place is on the Rio Grande in a great location.
After our second ride a little bit closer to our house, we strolled past a bar and our community outreach program manager, Bartolo, beckoned us over for a beer. As I turned
Falls from the other side
Another moment in my life that I wish I had someone to pay to run somewhere and take a picture of me. to see the UNDP truck that he drives sitting outside the bar with all its doors open, I was terrified to see a 100-year-old Mayan woman sitting in the front seat, with a beer. It was like death looking me in the face, con cerveza! Molly and I sat for a minute and talked some business with Barts, I was scolded for not finishing my beer as the bus came careening past, chugged the rest of it and then jumped on the bus back.
On Sunday we biked to Nim Li Punit, about a half an hour bike ride. Pretty cool ruins. $5US admission that we were NOT happy about. They wouldn't recognize us as volunteers because we aren't Peace Corps and made us pay the full foreigner price.
Afterwards, we had to get to a gas station/phone so Molly could make her phone interview. The nearest shop was closed, so we had to continue on for a far ride. Far not by road bike, Capital City Trail standards, but definitely a death march by beach cruiser, loose gravel, atrophied bike muscles standards. It was surprisingly pleasant though. personal philosophy of everything looking different from a bike, the Southern Highway now had all sorts of surprises and treasures. How charming, a dead snake on the side of the road! Awh, look at those naked children standing outside their house staring at us.
So that's pretty much all. In our boredom after the sun goes down, Molly and I invented a pastime. It's guessing what time it is. The sun goes down just after 5, and then we sit in the kitchen and read/do crosswords/chat/Molly makes me dinner. After a bit, one of us says, "What time do you think it is?" Then we guess. Yup. Livin' the good life. I've read like four books already. I eat oatmeal, fruit, rice and beans, and whatever Molly makes me. I miss cold beverages, cereal, refrigerators, Mom's bathroom, and my bike. I swim in the river a couple times a week, sing when I walk by myself, and listen to Harry Potter audiobooks every night and pretend that it's before TV and I'm listening to the radio.
But don't you worry; I'm not without debauchery. The two weekends prior we went out of town. First to beach town Placencia and then to downtown PG. We spend our weekends in the ocean, on the beach, eating real food, meeting randoms and drinking Belikin beer and rum (the only drinks available). This past weekend I met some kids from Minnesota/Wisconsin and we skinny dipped in the Caribbean at 3am. Not much will change with location, I suppose.
Tonight there was a bat in my bedroom, and my net protected me! At first I thought it was our moth buddy who had been hanging out in the kitchen with us for a couple of day (confusing a bat with a moth? You don't know Belizean moths). Then I realized the ominous clicking noises it was making were definitely that of a bat. I called Molly in as I was completely marooned on my bug net island of a bed. The ranger came in with a broom and took some swings for five minutes until it left. "Now what?" "You close your door!" And then who knows what happened. No teeth brushing for me tonight. Update: Bat slept in the kitchen on the edge of the table beneath the stove. Of course I was the one that found it.
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