OUR FIRST VISITOR

Belize celebrates Easter in a big way.  Good Friday and Easter Monday are both national holidays, so we got to enjoy a four day weekend.  We also got to enjoy our spending time with our first visitor to Belmopan!  Our friend (and my colleague from my orientation program in Washington DC) Holly came to stay with us for three days, and we took advantage of having a guest in order to do lots of day trips and sightseeing. 

We picked her up at the Belize City airport on Friday and made a beeline to Lamanai, a Mayan run in the northern part of Belize that is accessible by a one-hour boat ride.  We met up with a tour guide who took us along the New River, and we saw lots of critters along the way – mostly birds, but also a turtle and even a crocodile!

Heading up a narrow part of the New River toward Lamanai.

Yikes.

Welcome to Lamanai... and more crocodiles.  We stayed out of the water, thank you.

Our tour guide did an expert job of showing us around the ruins at Lamanai.  We even got to climb a couple of the temples and got an incredible view of the jungle and river from the top.

One of many howler monkeys we spotted at Lamanai.

A very scientific - albeit accurate - name for this tree.

Andrew and Holly at the ruins.

View from the top of one of the temples.

On Saturday, we headed west to the town of San Ignacio.  Every Saturday is market day in San Ignacio – a gathering of vendors selling everything from fresh produce and spices to clothing and souvenirs.  This Saturday was also the annual Cross Country Cycling Classic, which is an annual road bike race from Belize City to San Ignacio and back again.  It was started in 1928 and is the oldest sporting event in the county.  (If you’re interested on the history, there’s more info here.)  We left Belmopan around 8am and made it most of the way to San Ignacio before a police car came through and waved us to the side, a pack of maybe 60-70 riders went by, and we continued on our way. 

A wave of riders passes by outside San Ignacio.

Andrew checking out the produce at the market.

After making the rounds at the market, we headed to Ajaw Chocolate for a chocolate-making demonstration.  We learned all about the history and Mayan tradition of harvesting cacao beans, fermenting and roasting them, and grinding them into a paste that forms the base of chocolate.  And, of course, we got to do some sampling!

I am even more of a chocolate expert now.

We headed to the Chaa Creek resort for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon there.  It is one of the oldest ecolodges in Belize, and has a series of interpretive trails, a natural history museum, and even a butterfly “pavilion” where a guide gave us a lesson on the life cycle of butterflies.

Inside the butterfly pavilion at Chaa Creek.  Andrew was a natural.

The blue morpho butterfly.

We celebrated Easter with a brunch with some work colleagues, and then a visit to the Belize Zoo.  The zoo is located about 20 minutes outside Belmopan and includes only species native to Belize that have been rescued and are unable to return to the wild.  The exhibits are exceptionally well done and we had a fantastic time seeing so many tropical creatures up close.

The tapir - kind of a dog meets horse meets rhinoceros.

The harpy eagle - he was HUGE... and a bit grumpy.

The toucan.  I've seen several of these in the wild now, but it is definitely impressive to see one up close.

We took Holly back to Belize City on Monday.  She didn’t have to head out until the afternoon, so we spent the morning at a water park just outside Belize City. 

Floating in tubes while enjoying a beer - a classy end to a fantastic long weekend!

As we dropped her off, the skies opened and it started pouring rain.  There were some lightning flashes and thunder claps too.  The storms have continued into today.  But fortunately, we were able to spend four fun-filled dry days exploring more must-see sights around our new home.  We also have some credibility as tour guides and some proven activities to enjoy with future visitors!  Perhaps you’ll be next!!!

A YEAR AGO TODAY

A year ago today was my first full day in Washington DC.  I spent the day getting my bearings, settling in to my new “temporary” apartment, and preparing for the first day of my new job.  I know for a fact that I was not thinking of where I would be in a year – I had enough on my mind!  But here I am, one year later… in Belize! 

We’ve been here almost exactly two months now, and our new “temporary” house in Belmopan is starting to feel more like home.  The house is furnished, but we are able to bring whatever we like with us to make it our own.  Our things from the U.S. arrived a couple weeks ago – rugs, books, kitchen stuff, clothes, linens, games, you name it.  Andrew had to travel back to the states for a few weeks and was gone the day the moving truck came – well timed, sir!  But getting unpacked kept me busy until he returned, and we’ve been busy getting everything set up since he’s been back.  Except for hanging some art on the walls, I think we’re almost done. 

Who knew we had that much stuff!!??!!??

Our stuff had been in storage at a facility in Hagerstown, MD before getting loaded into these crates, put in this container, and shipped out on a boat to Belize in January.

Empty boxes and a feeling of accomplishment.

And the result!  We're ready for visitors!

Andrew is all settled in to his office/safe room/forensic accountant cage.

On the work front, all is well.  I’m starting to finally get the hang of things (although there’s still lots to learn).  There’s never a dull day, that’s for sure.  I also ended up part of the “first responders team” at the Embassy and had two days of training to learn how to deal with emergency situations.  The training included learning how to wear some very fashionable new attire.

Such a flattering outfit - and very sensible for 100+ degree weather!

Outside of work, there’s no shortage of happy hours and other get-togethers.  The folks I work with are a really fun, welcoming, energetic bunch, and we’ve had a fantastic time getting to know them.

The "Driveway Drinking Club" that meets periodically on a Friday in the driveway of one of the houses on the compound for a potluck and, as the name implies, drinking.

We (unfortunately) don't live on the housing compound.  (I say we're the out-of-towners.)  We would have preferred being there to be closer to the after-hours activities and to take advantage of the pool and other amenities.  But our house is only a couple minutes away, so we still do.

Resort living on the housing compound.

One of the extra-curricular activities is Wednesday nights at the Pig and Parrot, which is a little pub at the British High Commission that opens up on Wednesdays.  We’ve found ourselves there most Wednesdays to enjoy darts, pool, an outdoor patio… and a beer selection that includes more than Belikin.  The deputy high commissioner is a lovely gal who is into birding, and I’ve joined her for a couple outings to start learning about the birds here in Belize.  (Bird nerd alert: several photos of some of my favorites follow.)

Emerald toucanet

Collared trogon

Painted bunting

Black-headed trogon

White-fronted parrot

So, all in all, it’s been a very soft landing here in Belize so far.  If you’d asked me a year ago where I would be and what I would be doing today, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have said “putting on a respirator suit" or "bird watching in Belize.”  Given that, I dare not guess what I’ll be doing a year from today.