Unbelizeable

This past week I spent a week in Placencia, Belize with my family (my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and cousin).  Placencia is on a tiny peninsula in the southern part of Belize.  I'm glad we experienced the southern part, because it isn't as full of resorts and is not as touristy as the northern part.  We got to see how locals lived and learned some about the Belizean culture.

cool looking palm, eh?

 We stayed at The Maine Stay, which are really nice cabanas right on the beach.  White sand, crystal clear water, and palm trees.  It doesn't get much more relaxing then this.

Butch running around on the beach livin' the doggie dream

During our stay we adopted two dogs;  Lady and Butch.  They were the first 2 dogs that I have touched in over a year.  It was nice not hearing "you won't be able to get pregnant if you touch those dogs!" We went to the grocery store asking for doggie bones.  We only got weird looks from the workers.  Oh, the thought they probably had in their head (The dogs here are lucky if they get fed dog food!).  Dog treats? Whoa, what were we thinking?!

a house near the ocean

During our trip we ate really yummy seafood, saw Mayan ruins,  hiked to caves and swimming holes, went snorkeling, and much more! I regret not going scuba diving, but the snorkeling was still amazing.  We took a 2 hour long boat ride to Glover's Reef.  We spent the day snorkeling, and relaxing on the boat.  I saw a nurse shark, a sting ray, a spotted eagle ray, squid, a baracuda, starfish, and a number of fish with beautiful shapes and colors.  And not to mention, the beautiful coral reef.

boat ride on monkey river

buying our frappachinos & smoothies at the coffee stand.
The stand next to it was where we bought our vegetables & mangos.

We took a boat tour to "Monkey River".  Monkey River is the name of the village and the river.  This river is full of crocodiles and beautiful birds.  We didn't spot any crocodiles, and I  tried not to think about them too much during our swimming part of the trip.  My cousin Max had a Belize bird chart.  He taught us the name of all the pretty birds we saw throughout the week.   We took an hour long hike through the jungle, in which I really enjoyed seeing the abundance of bamboo, and plant species.  I really just enjoyed being in nature again.

Our local guide feeding his pet Paca

chuchito chewing on coco

During our hike we searched for howler monkeys.  The search didn't last long, because of how loud they howl, we didn't have a problem finding any.  These monkeys didn't get as close to as us as the ones we saw in Costa Rica (where they would steal people's stuff), but it was still really neat to see them.  We got a small village tour from a local.  His name was Raymond and he had a pet Paca.  The night before, we were curious about this food item on the menu at a restaurant in town.  Good thing we didn't order that.  On our way back we went Manatee watching.  We did see one, but only for a very brief moment.

My parents looking at jewelry from a local vendor.
They are on the "worlds most narrowest street"
Yes, it is in the Guinness Book of World Records

It was a much needed week with my family, especially after leaving my community.   Being in good company in a beautiful place certainly helps with  the strange feeling I get when I think about not going back to El Salvador to live.  It does mess with my head, and I think it will take awhile for things to really "sink in".   It'll be harder when I am traveling on my own.  I'll have time to do more thinking, and I will probably have many times where I'll feel alone, confused, and lost (if not, literally).  I appreciate the week I had with my family, and the good times we had together in Belize.  However, it's time to leave Paradise behind.. (well, at least, for now.)

a house downtown with their tree of wisdom

hiking the jungle 

It is a strange feeling that I am not going home.  I feel I should be preparing this next week, as my "vacation away from my vacation."  However, it only continues.  My journey has just begun. Right now I don't have a home, nor do I know where home is.  However, I don't really mind.  It makes life more exciting not knowing where one will end up.  All I know is that I love the feeling of freedom. I am about to  meet people from all over the world. I will see many more beautiful places, and learn a number of different cultures.  I am about to embark on a journey of a lifetime.  Please continue to follow me on my travels.


Next stop:  Santiago, Chile.