Today was our day away from the worksite. We got in the van and travelled through Belize to Orange Walk Town. Orange Walk Town is filled with brightly coloured buildings, and brimming with people. Also, Orange Walk has the first stop light we have seen since we left Belize City on the day we landed in Belize. In Orange Walk, we picked up our tour guide for the day, Wilfredo.
We travelled with Wilfredo to a tourism site on the New River. Wilfredo took us by boat 24miles to the site of Lamanai, an ancient city built by the Maya Civilization. While travelling on the river to Lamanai, we saw an orange iguana, a spider monkey, a snowy white egret, and a few varieties of hawks and herons. We also passed a sugar refinery, a rum distillery, and a Mennonite farm and shipyard.
Lamanai is surrounded by rainforest. After eating lunch at the city, we explored the ruins which consisted of several ziggurat-shaped buildings. We climbed to the very top of the tallest building, and we were treated to a spectacular view of the Belizean rainforest and the New River. Back on the ground, Wilfredo the tour guide struggled to be heard over the sound of howling monkeys – lots of them. Afterwards, we returned back to Orange Walk Town, dropped of Wilfredo, then carried on to Cristo Rey where Rita treated us to another wonderful meal.
By taking a step back from our work we could see how God has blessed Belize with stunning natural beauty. God has also blessed Belize with vibrant people. I have mentioned several times in this blog things that Belize does not have and things Belize might need, but the point must be made that Belize is a very beautiful country. What a blessing it was to step back from our work, and see the many ways God has blessed Belize well beyond anything we could bring our do.
We wish we could upload pictures of all of these sights for our family, friends, and supporters back home. We will have to show you in person when we return. Let us assure you that is amazing to see how much Belize has to offer.
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