Day 18- Trip to the mainland (with Day 17 Sailing Adventure)

I write today from San Ignacio, Belize in the Cayo district. From San Pedro, we took a water taxi to Belize City and from there we took a bus to San Ignacio. But before I can write about my travels today, I have to fill you all in on yesterday's adventure.

Let me start from the beginning-- Sometime last week, Lisa, Kelli, and I went with Dr. C and Dr. K to the northern part of the island to play BINGO to raise money for the San Pedro Sailing Club. Apparently, a lady who use to work at Pedro's Inn (she is on maternity leave right now), her husband runs the club so Dr. C and Dr. K always go to her fundraiser. We had a good time, even though we didn't win anything and there weren't many people besides us, the instructors, and a few parents.

Later that night, Lisa, Julia, and I ran into Forrest, one of the sailing instructors, at Pedro's. Forrest is a sweet old man with white hair, glasses, and a big smile, originally from San Francisco. He retired to San Pedro some years ago. As we talked, he told us that he was taking the kids out sailing on Sunday and invited us to go along. We of course said we would love to, but honestly I was doubtful that we would follow-through.

Julia, Me, and Lisa before we got on the boat
(or knew what we were in for!)

When Saturday night came around, I asked Julia and Lisa if they still wanted to go sailing and to my surprise they said yes! So Easter Sunday morning, I found Julia in the hallway around 9am, we ran downstairs to wake up Lisa, and then we were on our way to meet up with Forrest and the kids at 10. Forrest said to meet at Caribbean Villas, which is an eight minute walk down the beach from Pedro's. We were a bit surprised when we approached the dock--when Forrest said he would take us out on his big catamaran, we pictured a boat like the huge one we chartered when we went snorkeling--the boat he was putting into the water was a little Hobie Cat. Nonetheless, we were down for the adventure. We even ended up knowing some of the kids in the club. A few had been at the Easter Camp that we helped with and one was even in my long division class! She was shocked to see me!

I was so impressed watching the kids getting the boats ready to sail. First, what impressed me was that they were so skilled that they could get all of the equipment together without any help from the instructors, and second at how well they were working together. The majority of the kids I have seen in the schools here have been crazy, out of control, and disrespectful to their teachers. Not these kids. These sailors were all working cooperatively together and very respectful of their instructors.

The boats docked at Coco Loco's
(ours was the colorful one, the kids sailed the small ones)

They sailed these little one sail racing boats. (They had a name but I can't remember) Two kids to one boat. There were seven boats with kids, one larger lead boat that one of the instructors sailed, our catamaran with Forrest and Charlie (an adorably well-mannered ten year old Belizean boy), and one anchor sailboat with another instructor bringing up the rear in our fleet. It took us about 40 minutes to sail to our destination on the northern part of the island. It was such a beautiful ride. The weather was perfect and it was really neat way to see almost all of San Pedro--from a boat. We arrived at Coco Loco's at noon. This was our first visit to Coco Loco's and it was really cool! There was a pool, a bar, picnic tables, a dock and stairs to go swimming in the sea, and open area where the kids could play bocce. We didn't realize it until we got there, but the club was having an Easter celebration! Families of some of the kids showed up with homemade dishes for a potluck picnic lunch. The food was all delicious. Curries, mashed potatoes, ham, chicken, puddings, casseroles, and much, much more. I feel like I finally got taste the real Belize. Everyone we met was overly friendly and welcoming to us--keep in mind we had really only known Forrest before our trip--and by the end of the day, we were treated like one of their own. Peter and Paul from Pedro's  came down for the party and so did Dr. C and Dr. K. It was an Easter Celebration I don't think I'll ever forget. I remember talking to Forrest later, toward the end of the day, about what an awesome time I had and he said "Yeah, well with all of our other family back in the states, we get to celebrate with our sailing family." I think that sums up really well what a good thing they've got going.

The poolside buffet at Coco Loco's
(that's Mr. Randy at the table)

Chowing down!

My plate!

Easter Egg hunt! 

As the afternoon went on, I started a good conversation with one of the other instructors, Mr. Randy. He is another American who retired to San Pedro. I was curious about how the club got started, where they compete, the ages of the kids, and other details about the club. We must of already been talking for at least 30 minutes when Lisa popped in to say, "I want to make my documentary on you guys!" Julia and I both immediately agreed. Another part of our class is to make a documentary on some sort of cultural aspect of the island. I'm so excited to start our film on the sailing club. Sailing is a large part of San Pedro's history and the kid's heritage. San Pedro is one of the best, if not the best, sailing destinations in the world. The reef protects the shore from waves so there is plenty of calm water to sail and good winds. But unfortunately, there is very little sailing these days. Sailing has fizzled out; there are loads more motorboats than sailboats on the island. I learned that back in the day, everyone sailed in San Pedro. It was their main vehicle for travel. I guess the times have changed now, but the sailing club is trying to keep the tradition alive by primarily focusing on teaching Belizean children (not exclusively though, of course). I also want the documentary to feature what positive things the club has done for the kids: keeping them off the street, leadership, teamwork, respect, work ethic, and more.

Our view all day

We didn't start our sail back until 4 that afternoon. We had so much fun getting to know everyone, I honestly didn't want it to end. The sail back was just as lovely as the one there, except a little more exciting. One boat capsized and we saw two kids fall overboard! The amazing training that these sailors have had was obvious. No one panicked at all. We heard laughs not screams.

On the walk back to Pedro's, Lisa, Julia, and I were in complete disbelief that our day actually happened. What an awesome, unexpected experience. And we now know what to do our documentary on! Once again, Belize continues to surprise me!

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Now for today. Today we woke up early to pack up all of our things, load everyone's stuff into our room (we only took what we needed and what we didn't our entire group put in our room), check out of Pedro's, and catch a water taxi to Belize City. We had to walk all the way, with all of our stuff, to the dock. It was hot, hot, hot! I was dripping in sweat by the time we got there. And then, once again in true Belize fashion, we stood on the dock in a huge crowd of people waiting for our boat for the longest, hottest, 30 minutes of my life! Luckily the boat came before I fainted and we got on. The ride over was pretty nice. The boat was loud and we sat in the back so the vibrating from the engine was sort of uncomfortable but I stayed focused on enjoying the views. I still can't get over how pretty the water is.

It took us about 2 hours to reach Belize City. We got off the boat and waited to get our luggage. The baggage claim process was unlike anything I'd ever seen. There was two huge wagons with all of our stuff surrounded by a temporary wooden fence. The crowd swarmed the fence, where two guys (one was actually a kid no more than 13) took tags and handed out bags. No lines, no rhyme, no reason. That was followed by more waiting (in the heat) for our bus. After waiting about 45 minutes, our bus finally arrived. I was so relieved--it was air-conditioned!!!

The drive to San Ignacio was beautiful..for the most part. We drove up hills, saw mountains, big rivers and streams, and saw some peculiar trees and plant life. But at the same time we saw some serious slums. The mainland of Belize definitely makes you remember that it is a third world country. Lots of trash, sketchy shacks, and no road laws. Our bus was flying past all of the other pick-up trucks (that were usually filled with way too many people) on the road. Another thing I noticed was how much smaller their livestock is here compared to back in the states. Oh, and a lot of the farms didn't have fences or anything keeping the animals in an area.

We arrived here at Rosa's Hotel around 4. Our group pretty much fills the entire place. It's small and no where near as nice at Pedro's. Although I'm not complaining because I have an air-conditioned room where everyone on our trip does not.

Tomorrow I will be heading to hike the Caracol Mayan Ruins. Can't wait!