Tour d'Belize

The third goal of the Peace Corps is to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. So, I was very excited when Dad came to visit on March 11th. Having been here for a year, I thought I was finally prepared to give him a proper "Tour d'Belize!" The day after he arrived, I had a party for all the people I worked with at WIN Belize and other Belizean friends, so they could meet Dad. I strung white lights across my drive and put chairs outside, so everyone could enjoy the cool sea breeze and beautiful night. The next day we jumped on the water taxi and went to Caye Caulker, a cute little vacation spot about an hour off-shore. When we got back, we went to the Belize Museum, located in the old prison. The restoration is beautiful and we saw the new Mayan Jade exhibit that was in the process of being set up. The next day we went on a tour around the city in an open carriage, so Dad could see the different areas of town - from the very poor sections on the Southside to Buttonwood Bay, where the Prime Minister lives. We also saw many of the beautiful old Colonial homes that have withstood 100 years of termites, and 2 major hurricanes! We walked across the famous "Swing Bridge" that is turned on one central post with a hand crank before hurricanes, so the fishing boats can move up river. We visited the old Governors House that is now the House of Culture; St. John's Cathedral, the oldest church in the Caribbean; the Bliss Lighthouse, walked around the downtown area, saw the Old Colonial Court House, and of course, the Women in Art exhibit at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts, where I now work. We took the bus to the Belize Zoo, but we only saw a panther and a few snakes. I guess the other animals were on holiday too! Another morning, we had brunch with US Ambassador Thummalapally and his family. It was so nice of them to take the time to meet Dad and he really enjoyed it. Then on the weekend, we headed across the country to San Ignacio on a 3 hour bus ride. Dad was a real trooper, but it's a must if you really want to get the full Belizean experience! We went to Cahal Pesh, a beautiful resort at the top of a Mayan Ruin and stayed in an amazing "air conditioned" thatched hut overlooking the town of San Ignacio. The next day we went to the beautiful open market in San Ignacio, then a friend of mine who has a car, picked us up and we went on a great adventure on a very rough dirt road through the Mountain Pine Ridge to see the Green Ridge Butterfly Ranch and Francis Ford Coppola's resort, Blancaneaux Lodge. We had a wonderful lunch at the top of a mountain, overlooking a beautiful river and waterfall at the Three Sisters Resort, and ended up at another great resort called Caves Branch, where I had reserved a treehouse in the top of the jungle overlooking another beautiful river. The next day we took the bus back to Belmopan and spent the afternoon with the people I lived with during training when I first arrived in Belize. Then we were back on the bus heading home to Belize City. One of our last trips was with a guide who took us to the Altun Ha Ruins, one of the largest ceremonial centers with three restored temples. But before I knew it, Dad's vacation was over and we had to say good bye. We had a wonderful time and I hope I showed him a good sampling of this amazing country!

But I think one of the highlights of the trip for both of us was visitng the power plant in the Menonite town of Spanish Lookout. We spent about an hour with hard hats on getting a first hand tour of their 5 brand new Caterpiller Diesel generators. They were awesome!