We spent last week traveling to the Northern part of Belize starting with a stop in Orange Walk. We arrived Tuesday July 4th in the afternoon and settled at the Akihito hotel where we enjoyed a Japanese dinner and oriented ourselves to the community. Aven met some friends in the park and we returned to meet them there on the next two days we were in Orange Walk.

The next day we took a trip with Jungle River tours up the New River to the ancient Mayan city of Lamanai. It was a fascinating trip, our guide Gilberto made frequent stops along the river to point out different wildlife including crocodiles, iguanas, bats and a huge variety of birds. We stopped along the way to view the Mennonite community of Shipyard. Once at the ruins Gilberto gave us a tour that included descriptions of the medicinal uses of the plants in the jungle and a history of the city and it’s restoration. We saw howler monkeys and climbed the highest temple where we had an expansive view of the surrounding area. After the tour we had a lunch of traditional rice and beans with stewed chicken. I did a short interview with Gilberto and he highlighted the changes and problems associated with increased cruise ship tourism to the site. A week after our trip, there was a fatality in an accident on the river involving a boat that some deem to be too large and fast for the traffic on the river.

On Thursday, July 6th we had an interview with the mayor of Orange Walk and took some photo’s and video of the town and visited the Banquitas house of Culture before leaving for Corozal. We arrived in Corozal Thursday evening and checked into the Hotel Maya, which is right across the street from the seawall. There is a rocky beach there and Aven and I took a swim. Aven got a small cut on her foot. On Friday we had an interview with the mayor of Corozal. One of his plans is to develop the tourism industry and as part of that he wants to create a sandy beach to replace some of the rocky shore. Aven thinks that’s a great idea. We did a taxi tour of the town that included a trip to the small ruins of Santa Rita, an area the mayor would like to develop.

On Saturday, July 8th we took the Thunderbolt boat to San Pedro on Caye Ambergris. This island community is comprised of expensive resorts and restaurants and is considered Belize’s most successful tourist destination. Way too pricy for our budget. On Sunday we went to see the crocodile show put on by some local youths. They tie a frozen chicken to a rope and use it to lure the crocodiles onto the shore for the entertainment of tourists who give them some meager tips. You can check their website at www.crocodilecrew.com I shot some footage of them which I will edit and send to them for their site.

Monday July 10th was our wedding anniversary which we spent on a snorkeling tour in a glass bottom boat at the Hol Chan Marine reserve and Shark and Ray Alley. We all went swimming with the sharks including Aven. It was very exhilarating and I’m looking forward to developing the pictures I took with the underwater camera. We also saw large sea turtles, eels and a whole array of tropical fish. We returned to Belmopan on Tuesday and have been back at work here since.

We’ll post another update next week, bye for now.
Paul Sam and Aven

On the weekends we have taken a few trips to keep her interest in being here. Here are some pictures she wants to share with her friends Silas, Salal, Clair, Lydia, Amilia Conner and Elaina back home.

June 17th we went to the Belize zoo, which operates on the same principle as the Wildlife recovery center in Errington. The zoo exhibits 125 animals, all native to the zoo. All of the animals are either orphaned, injured and rehabilitated, born in the zoo or received as gifts from other zoos. They all have a fair amount of space and are kept in natural habitat – no concrete and steel cages.

June 23 –26 we went to the Lobster festival in Placencia where Aven met some friends Robin and Ike and played in the waves all day.

July 1st we went to the Blue Hole for a swim in the jungle. The Blue hole is a spot where an underground river comes to the surface for about 150 feet and then disappears into a cave again. It was very refreshing and cool on a hot day, but not like a day at the dams or Westwood lake.

That’s all for now. We’re taking a tour to some communities up North starting tomorrow. Sam has set up interviews with the mayors of Orange Walk, Corozol and San Pedro. While we’re in these places we will visit ancient Mayan cities and swim at more beautiful beaches… hope the rain holds off a little.

Cheers
Paul, Sam and Aven

As many of you may or may not have known Samantha, Aven and I are in Belize for the summer on internships as part of our Global Studies degrees at Malaspina University. Sam is doing a study on municipal governance and planning and I am doing videos to promote post secondary education to Belizean youth for the University of Belize and a study on community based conservation in Belize. We’ll fill you in more as those projects unfold.

We arrived June 15th after an overnight flight from Vancouver via Houston. We headed straight to Belmopan (the Capital) and settled into the house we are renting until September 14th (Aven and I will be heading back to BC on August 28th but Sam is staying until September 14th). The first thing we did was buy bicycles so we could get around town. Belmopan is pretty small (population 11,000) and flat so biking around town is a good option.

Dr. Roy Young the supervisor for our internships gave us a tour of the city on June 19th and got us set up at the University of Belize with an office and computers we could use. On the 20th I met with Dr. Martin Cuellar to discuss the video projects I would be doing for the University of Belize. On the 21st we met the mayor of Belmopan and Sam discussed her project with him and the city administrator. We then set up an appointment for a video interview with the communications director of PACT the Protected Areas Conservation Trust on June 29th.

“Samantha with the Mayor of Belmopan Simon Lopez”

Over the weekend, June 23rd to Monday June 26th we went to Placencia to experience a little Belizean culture and festivities at the Lobster Festival. Like typical white folk on their first sunny day on a Caribbean Beach (it rained solid Saturday) we ended up looking like Lobsters.