Then Rachel came to visit

Rachel!

Me!

 My friend, Rachel came to Belize and blessed my socks off! During her whole trip, I kept thinking, "this must be a dream." What a strange-wonderful thing to have "pre-Belize" and "Belize" life mix together. I surely enjoyed playing the hostess for Rachel, showing her my world. She was a good ambassador too, giving me love and hugs for all those who could not. This is an account of our weekend together.

The first day was a whirlwind. Poor Rachel had jet lag, but valiantly stayed awake and was such a good sport. She met everybody on that day. And everybody loved her (how could they not?). She met Nancy, Sulmi and Kathy, the Toledanos and many of the teachers at school.

From then until Friday night, Rachel did daily life with me. She got to experience what was typical in Belize. It may not have been all that exciting, but it was real. And as Rachel mentioned, exciting doesn't matter: the point is we got to spend time together.

Boating down the New River

sights along the New River

Awesome, vibrant sky

Cruising along

 But it was Saturday where we had the most fun. I got to be a tourist with her! Lamanai (which is a Mayan temple. It means "submerged crocodile") was the best! I don’t know how to explain the whole experience except to say it was awesome. We took a speedboat to the temple, toured the area and then boated back. There were a total of ten people in our boat: an Oregon family of four (who also spoke French!), a father/daughter pair whose wife/mother worked at Lamanai (they didn’t stay for the tour), the two tour guides (Antonio and Henry) and us. On the way there, we stopped often and saw the amazing sights of the river. I liked spying the bats and the all the birds. We did see a few crocodiles and monkeys, too. Midway we rested at Shipyard, I think. There were two Mennonite boys fishing. While I would have loved to take pictures, I didn’t want them to feel like they were on display. Instead we shared our juice and bananas with them. It was the best natural juice ever! Interesting side note: the tour guide, Antonio brought bananas as a snack for us. We ended up sharing ALL the bananas we people or monkeys we met along the river. Isn’t Belizean culture amazing? He was always slowing the speed boat to not disturb other vessels with our wake, offering lifts to broken down boats and chatting as if he’d known them all his life (he might have, it's a small country). Oh, and did I mention it was his birthday? For anyone wanting to tour Lamanai make sure to take HIS tour (contact me or Nancy for details)!

At the top of Lamanai!

Rachel in the jungle

Temple of the Masks

Climbing the steep steps of Lamanai

Breath-taking view from Lamanai

Capturing the beauty

Lamanai, in all its glory

Arriving at Lamanai we had lunch which was made by Antonio’s wife. Yes, lunch was advertised as part of the package, but I don’t know that many American tour guide wives would have willingly been enlisted to make food for EVERY tour. What a labor of love! It was the traditional food of Belize: stewed chicken, rice and bean with coleslaw and potato salad and plantains for side dishes. The tour around all the Maya temples (the Lamanai site has more than one temple) was lovely, as Antonio made sure we got a personalized experience. We stopped often and he always had something to share with us whether about culture, history, animal life or plants. I’m afraid I didn’t retain much of the information. There was just too much! Plus, I was ecstatic to be out of civilization and in nature. My camera was going nonstop! I’m so thankful most of our walking was in the jungle (see Hobbit quote). Rachel and I applied sun block three times and made through the day with no burns! My favorite part of the tour was climbing Lamanai itself. The view from on top was breathtaking. 

Jaguar Temple

On the way back, we didn’t hardly stop at all. That’s because the French-speaking family had to get to their next destination before nightfall. I was lulled by the wind whipping past me, the smell of the water and the pure gorgeousness of the shoreline. I heard Isaiah 30:21 play in my head, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” I have taken this verse grossly out of context, but I think the essence remains the same. All throughout the day, it didn’t matter where I looked or went; I found the fingerprints of God over everything. I felt His approval to continue to explore and glory in His creation. It was so wonderful.

Our last night. We wanted to relax from our active day by watching a movie. Before we started, the Toledanos fed us a Belizean burger. I would call it a the equivalent of a chicken salad sandwich…either way it was great food. All too soon, the movie was over and it was time for bed.

 

Lounging on the way back

Mennonite community

On Sundays, Nancy picks up everyone for church. She thought it would be nice for Rachel to see the lay of the land that way (and where people live). We went all over Orange Walk and saw a lot of beautiful Belize.

Church and the sermon were wonderful, but all too soon the taxi came for Rachel. The taxi man was great. I’m sure Rachel had a good time on the way back. When she reached the airport she used his phone to text me. I was touched to receive that text!

In the end, I would say that Rachel got a taste of everything: people, culture, scenery, geography, animal/bird life, history and daily routine. What a blessing it was to me to taste right along with her. I got to re-experience Belize and it was good. I live with such amazing people, in such an exotically beautiful place. May I cherish it just as much now that she's gone.

Friendship is the BEST part of life!

PS If anyone else would like to come visit, PLEASE email me! I would LOVE to share my Belizean home with you!!!

“the quiet was so deep that their feet seemed to thump along while all the trees leaned over them and listened,”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit