D.F.

D.F. equals Distrito Federal

One of the biggest perks of this job is all the friends we make who disperse around the world.  Last January, we got to spend a few days in Paris with a friend from my orientation class who was posted there.  And this January, we got to spend a few days in Mexico City with friends from Belize who now work there.  Our friends were kind enough to let us stay with them in their fantastic Polanco apartment and explore their new city for a few days.  Neither Andrew nor I had previously visited Mexico City so it was all new to us.  And after a year in little ol’ Belmopan, it was a wonder to all our senses.  Museums!  Theaters!  Grocery stores with aisles and aisles of CHEESE!  Oh, the civilization!

So many jello molds!

So many flowers!

So many wheels of cheese bigger than my head!

We were only there for a long weekend, but we covered a lot of ground to try to take in as much civilization as we could.  We started with taking in some ancient civilization by visiting the National Museum of Anthropology.  It was an impressive – and huge! – collection of artifacts that could have kept us busy for a full day.  But we hit the highlights and moved on to another national museum, Chapultepec Castle.  It was a Sunday, when all the national museums have free entry for Mexican nationals and residents, and they came out in droves.  I think the entire population of Belize equaled the number of people we encountered in the museums we visited that day.

Aztec artifacts at the National Museum of Anthropology.

A beautiful iron gate at Chapultepec Castle.

Oh the humanity!

We spent our second day walking through some of the artisan markets and neighborhoods around Zócalo plaza, where the Metropolitan Cathedral is located.  It was hard to find a right angle or straight line on the cathedral or any of the old buildings surrounding the plaza – a sign of the earthquakes and shifting ground in this part of the world.  The markets surrounding the plaza were fascinating too.  Do you need a part to repair some small electronic device?  There’s a street that has nothing but parts and wires and anything you might need for your job.  What about fabric?  Want to make a dress?  The next block over from the electrical repair street is storefront-after-storefront of fabrics. 

Checking out an artisan market.

And I do mean artisan.  These guys were making guitars on the spot.

Zócalo plaza and the Metropolitan Cathedral.

An amazing pipe organ inside the cathedral.

Two full days in Mexico City and we barely made a dent in all there is to do there.  But we had some amazing meals, got to visit with good friends, and had a full dose of big city life to hold us over until we’re back in a city with more than 15,000 people again.

D.F. also equals Dense Forest

Less than a month after visiting Mexico City, I visited a village on the complete opposite end of the spectrum called Red Bank.  It’s a Mayan community about 2 hours south of Belmopan, and from January-March every year, flocks of scarlet macaws call the forest around Red Bank home.  I went down for the weekend with a few other friends to check out the show.  I’d happened upon a flock of macaws last May when I spent the weekend at an Audubon Society camp in the Cockscomb forest, but when a friend was organizing this trip, I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to see them again.  And I wasn’t disappointed.  After spending the night in a thatch hut “bed and breakfast,” we got up early to meet our guide and take an hour-ish hike into the forest.  As we neared a clearing we could hear squawking, and then, right on cue, there they were.  Flying rainbows above the forest canopy.  We watched them from a few viewpoints for a couple hours and then headed back.  Some days in Belize are magical, and seeing scarlet macaws flying free was one of those days.

First bird spotted on the hike was... a toucan.

You don't see flocks of macaws flying around like this every day!

Their colors are spectacular against the green forest.

 

Looking out over the village.

HOLIDAYS WITH FRIENDS

We were fortunate to have some reminders of home over the holidays this year in the form of friends!  Our friends the Taylors from Portland came for Christmas, and our friends the Culvers from Santa Cruz came for New Years.  I love having friends visit because it gives Andrew and me a terrific excuse to take a day (or two) off work and play tourist to see some sights that we haven’t yet explored.

With the Taylors, we headed to San Ignacio and the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich.  Admittedly, Andrew and I had been to both before (we’ve actually spent a decent amount of time in San Ignacio – it’s my favorite town in Belize).  But there’s something about visiting the giant Mayan ruins with folks who have never seen them to really make you take it all in anew.  The structures – and the view from the top – are truly awe-inspiring.

The grounds and ruins at Xunantunich are so remarkable!

The front door had just closed from the Taylors’ exit when the Culvers arrived for New Years, and we covered a lot of new territory with them.  First up, St. Herman’s Cave in Blue Hole National Park.  I’d been to the park – and it’s Blue Hole – for some birding last spring, but this was my first trip into the cave.  It was amazing!  You can walk about 300 yards into the cave, and within 100 feet you’re in pitch blackness so you need flashflights (or, if you’re less prepared like us, the light on your cell phone).  At the turnaround point, there’s a massive column where a stalactite and stalagmite have joined up.  Nerd-tastic!

Heading into St. Herman's Cave

I was taking this picture in total darkness - just had to assume I had all the Culvers in the shot.

Cooling off - and getting the mud off - in the Blue Hole after hiking to the cave.  That sign on the hillside may or may not say "no jumping."

We also headed south to Bocawina National Park and went on a fairly intense hike (read: there were ropes and rock scrambles involved) to the top of Antelope Falls.  Fortunately, the weather for all of December and so far into January has been (relatively) cool and mild – in the 60s at the start of the days – so I was able to endure moderate outdoor physical exertion without feeling like I was going to pass out from heat stroke.  And the view from the top looking out over the jungle to the sea made it all worthwhile.

The lookout point at the top of our hike in Bocawina.

We also fit in visits to a couple of old standbys – the Belize zoo and a steakhouse on the outskirts of Belmopan that serves up pretty fantastic meals on the weekends.  Like I said, we cover a lot of ground with our visitors.  No one goes home bored (except for maybe teenagers…)

A tapir at the zoo.  I love these guys.

Enjoying a Sunday meal at Trey's "Barn and Grill."

After our visitors had all departed, we made plans to head to a private caye for a long weekend.  Andrew made all the arrangements – getting a group of embassy colleagues together to rent out all 12 units at the resort, making the reservations, organizing the water taxi for us all to get out there… and then promptly came down with a nasty stomach bug that laid him out two days before we were to depart.  On the morning we were to head out, he was feeling a bit better, but he wasn’t up for a drive to the coast and then a boat ride from there… so he ended up staying put and having a quiet weekend in Belmopan, and I had a solo weekend on the caye (with my colleagues).  Truth be told, the weather on the caye was a bit gray and very windy, so I went snorkeling one morning, but otherwise just enjoyed the view.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to make a return trip later this year so that Andrew can experience what he missed this time.  (And he is fully recovered now, by the way.)

My room on Hatchet Caye.  Not a bad spot to watch a couple days go by.

The sunset on the last night on the caye was hypnotizing.

And so, with the new year behind us and January well underway, we embark on what will be our last full year here in Belize.  There are still lots of things on our list to see and do, and we’re happy to cross some more off the list with any of you who’d like to come visit!

DECEMBRRRRRRRRR

December has arrived and has brought a welcome reprieve from the heat and humidity.  Who know there was a “winter” in Belize?  For the past couple of weeks, the mornings have been cool (relatively speaking – in the 50s) and the days have been warm and pleasant.  Note to self (and any potential visitors) – this month is a lovely time to be here!

We headed out to the coast for a change of scenery the weekend after Thanksgiving.  We were both getting over colds (brought on by the change of “season” no doubt) so it was a lazy, relaxing weekend at the beach.    

Ahhhh.  Just looking at this view is a stress-reducer.

We drove to Placencia for the weekend, but there is an airstrip there.  The road goes around the end of the runway.  A few weeks ago, a plane clipped a car as it was taking off and ended up in the water.  (No one was hurt.)  Maybe not the BEST airport design.

On December 10, Andrew and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary.  It fell on a Sunday, so we were able to celebrate with a late lunch at a steak house just outside Belmopan that’s only open on weekends.  Delicious!

Andrew's gift to me for our "leather" anniversary.  So clever.

With lots of folks heading out of town for the holidays, we’ve gotten to put our dog-sitting skills in to practice.  Two of our recent house guests, Gerti and Leif.

Not technically a house guest, but this white lipped mud turtle did hang out in our yard for a couple of days.

We took a trip out west to a town called Bullet Tree in search of a local artist named Walter Castillo whose paintings I've admired for awhile since they depict colorful and happy scenes from Belize.  Andrew figured out where his studio was located, so we headed out for the day with another work colleague.  We found his studio (that he referred to as his "joyshop") at his house, and he spent an hour showing us his work, talking about his view on life, and giving us a true taste of Belize.  (And also a taste of coconut water from coconuts his friend cracked open for us.)  It was one of the most authentic Belize experiences we've had here.  We bought a few of his prints, but I aim to own an original before I leave here. 

One of the paintings he had just finished.

Our visit with Walter Castillo in his "joyshop" - he was quite a character.

We broke down and bought our first artificial tree.  Last year, we just put up lights around our DC apartment, but this year we’ll be having friends visit for Christmas and New Years (!!!) so it seemed we should make a bit more of an effort.  And I’m sure the fake tree will come in handy in Africa in a couple years too.  We had a bunch of embassy folks over for a “White Tapir” party last night, and the tree came in handy as the focal point for the collection of Belize-themed gifts that were exchanged.

Merry Christmas to all!

It’s hard to believe this year has almost come to an end.  Maybe it’s because there aren’t any REAL seasons here to mark the passing of the months.  Maybe it’s because we’ve found so many new and different things to do (at work and play), we haven’t gotten bored.  Whatever it is, I’m expecting that next year will be a blur too.  But come June, when it’s 115 degrees and feels like 122 with the humidity, Decembrrrrr won’t come soon enough.

AND THE WINNER IS...

HARARE, ZIMBABWE!  

I love that their flag put a bird on it.  

I'll be serving as a Political/Economic Officer in Harare starting in May 2019.  I hear it's really quiet and there's not much going on.  HA!  We'll be keeping an eye on the events down there for the next year and a half.  In the meantime, there's still LOTS of time to visit us in Belize!  We'll be here until February 2019, so come see us!  If we don't see you here, then we'll hope to see you while we're back in the States for a few months before we head to Africa.  And if we don't see you there, then maybe we'll see you on a safari in a couple years.

For the less geographically inclined, we'll be here.

In the meantime, we wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.  On this day of giving thanks, we're so very thankful to have our wonderful family and friends.  This will be the first Thanksgiving in MANY years that we aren't spending with you... and the first time we'll be celebrating a Belizean Thanksgiving (whatever that may be).  But no matter how near or far you all are, we'll be thinking about you and raising a toast to all of you this evening.  Cheers!

There are a few turkeys in Belize.  This one was walking down the road a few days ago.

PANAMA

We recently returned from a 2-week cruise to celebrate my parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary.  There were 11 of us traveling all together, including other family and friends.  We left from San Francisco, transited through the Panama Canal, ended up in Fort Lauderdale, and made a number of ports of call in between.  Fair warning that this post is going to be heavy on vacation photos… because it was a spectacular vacation!  We had amazing weather all along the way, good fun at every port, and a fantastic visit with family, old friends, and new friends met along the way.

First up, San Francisco.  They don’t make days there any nicer than the one we had as we sailed out.  Trust me. 

Ahoy mateys!

I mean, seriously, how many days a year does San Francisco look like this?

Heading out to sea.

First port… Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Andrew and I walked the town a bit, with a stop at Slim’s Tequila Bar, which is the self-proclaimed smallest tequila bar in the world.  And then we hired a water taxi to take us out to Los Arcos at the tip of the Baja Peninsula. 

This was the view from our cabin when we woke up that morning.

Sampling the goods at Slim's.

Water taxi to Los Arcos - and our cruise ship in the background.

Next port… San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.  This small beach town was still recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katia a couple months prior.  Locals told us all the boats in the harbor had been either sunk or washed ashore, and there were still several sailboats half-buried in the beach.  But my parents and we walked around the town a bit, found a donut shop and a local brewery that a friend had told me about and that satisfied my craving for all manner of carbs, and bought some of the local rum to have on hand as we sailed onward.  An excellent stop.

Welcome to Nicaragua!

Looking over the options at Dia de los Donuts.  You don't know how excited I was to have my first real donut in almost a year.

And some rum for the road...er... sea.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katia was evident on the beach.

Next port… Puntarenas, Costa Rica.  It was HOT and we watched finishers of a running relay race coming into the finish line.  I have no idea how these people can run in this climate.  I’ve tried several times now and have given up. 

A lovely old stone church in Puntarenas.

Central America has AMAZING sunsets!

And the sunsets are even more enjoyable with some local Central American rum. 

And then… the Panama Canal crossing.  We started the passage about 7am and it took the better part of the day to transit through from the Pacific to the Caribbean.  100+ years later, the canal is still a well-oiled machine, and it was completely fascinating to see it in action first-hand.

Moon on the morning of our Panama Canal Transit

Panama City over yonder.

Under the Bridge of the Americas and into the canal we go. 

Some local wildlife along the way.

There is less than a meter on either side of these big ships passing through the locks.

Through the first set of locks and into the Culebra Cut.

The Culebra Cut - basically a 9-mile ditch cut through the mountains to make the whole thing work.

The spectators in action.

Heading through Gatun Lake and it's submerged hilltops-turned-islands.

A ship coming into the Gatun Locks along side our ship.

1913!  They don't make 'em like this anymore!

View of the lock gates from the back of the ship.

We made it!  The last gates before we head into the Caribbean Sea.

Next port… Cartagena, Colombia.  Six of us ended up stumbling into a private tour of the town and in particular the old walled city with its super cute cobblestone streets, colonial churches and buildings, and fortress walls.  My favorite stop of the cruise.

View of Cartagena from a hilltop monastery.

The intrepid explorers - us, my parents, and our family friends

The old city walls are no joke!

Such a lovely old city with its town squares.

Art imitates life, 21st century style.

Adorable!

This church had just gotten a fresh paint job before the Pope's visit in September.  Spiffy.

I loved the old street signs - and since the street names change every BLOCK, there were a lot of them.

And lastly… Aruba.  We’d spent a week here with our friends Meg and Chris several years ago and had fun walking on the beach there again.

Ahhhhh-ruba.

It was a fully relaxing two weeks away, and I came back to work on Monday feeling very rusty.  But by Friday, I felt like I’d already been back for a month.  Oh well.  On to planning the next vacation!  (Which is still TBD.)   At any rate, we had a wonderful time exploring new places and visiting with our family and friends at the same time - a two fer!  So glad we were able to celebrate my parents' 50th with them in such a special and memorable way.  Happy anniversary, you two!

And now, we are also anxiously awaiting news of our next assignment.  We should find out any day now.  I’ve put up a poll on the right-hand side of our main blog.  If you’re on your phone reading this, check out the desktop version to submit your vote for where you think we’ll be headed next… and stay tuned for the announcement very soon!