Today has been a great day. We had a simple travel day into Belize, where things are a little nicer and the people speak English. So what do I do as soon as we come into the country? Order a burrito in Spanish. Oops!
Our van drive today was only about three hours, so as soon as we settled into our eco-resort (called "Trek Stop") we ate lunch and headed out on the local river for an afternoon of tubing. They say it has been raining here for the past twelve days straight, so the water was really high. We were given the usual disclaimers, and instructed what to do in case we get dragged under the rapids. A couple of people were really scared of the rapids, but after our reassurances of how easy it was going to be they decided to join us. The rapids were much higher than usual which meant much better ride than usual, but instead of lasting 2.5 hours, it only lasted less than one hour.
During that hour we saw at least a dozen huge iguanas along the side of the river as well as a plethora of birds along the shores and in the trees. That is the way to enjoy the rain forest, in an inner tube floating down a river. Of course we didn't get pictures, but the memories will remain. I don't know if Haley and I will be able to return to Helen to go tubing after realizing tubing's full potential through Belizian rain forest.
Trek Stop, the place we are lodging at is incredible. It is set up as an environmentally friendly eco-resort, where you poo into a large hole, you shower in rain water that has been saved up in large basins, and you refill your existing water bottles instead of buying new plastic ones. The people who own it are also really cool. They remind me of my old D.O.D. teachers in Panama; free, laid back spirits who go out of their way to make you comfortable. They most remind me of Mrs. and Mr. Petersen. Mrs. Petersen was my calculus teacher in Panama and her husband taught biology at PCC (Panama Canal College). They had met in the peace core and by the time I had met them, they were older but just as cool and laid back as they had ever been. They had an infectious love for learning and inspired me in many ways, including my decision to study medicine.
John and Judy (the owners) also have an infectious love of learning that is apparent in their hands on eco-museum for children and adults alike. They are older, John with a thick beard, t-shirt, long pants, and rubber boots. He always has a pipe in his mouth. Judy has double pony-tailed hair, thick glasses, and a kind smile. It is just nice how accommodating they are.
Tonight we are going to eat an early dinner and fight off the jungle bugs as we try to go to bed early in preparation for our caving trip tomorrow. Apparently there is this cool river that flows through a large cave system. We will follow the river down until we reach a large room where the Mayan performed ceremonies including human sacrifice. They say there are Mayan bones laying around the room that we will be able to observe.
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