Day 8

This is a day late because we did not have access to the Internet yesterday.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

by Courtney Fehr

Today was our second to last day before leaving, so it was a "vacation day". The day started with a breakfast of homemade buns which were a festive treat during the easter holiday, one of Belizes many rich traditions.

We then left for Orange Walk to meet our tour guide for out trip to Lamanai Mayan Ruins. We all hopped onto a motorboat with another group of six Americans to start our journey down the New River or "Foreigner River". Along this river our tour guide, Hilberto, showed us many of the different species of animals and plants native to Belize. We saw turtles, fish, birds, crocidiles, fish, iguanas, bats, lizards, and even a monkey. After two hours of cruising through the river, we arrived at Lamanai. We were sunburnt... or at least I was, but we were all very excited to see the ruins. We all ate a typical Belizean lunch of rice and beans, chicken, coleslaw, and fresh fruit juices. After lunch we started our tour through the mayan ruins.

FUN FACTS WITH COURTNEY

1. During the peak of the Mayan population in Belize, there were three times as many Mayans as there are belizeans living here today.

2. There is really no confirmation that the Mayans of Lamania actually sacrificed humans at all.

3. Your back can burn even through a shirt.

4. Three percent of Belizes population is Mennonite, and they together produce at least 40% of the countries resourses.

5. Mosquitoes prefer left legs over right legs and that it IS possible to have more than 28 bites on one leg.

6. Mr. J seems to believe that a towel and a hat are the most effective way to prevent a sunburn.

Altogether we climbed three Mayan pyramids, learned about their religeos beliefs and traditions (which were a stark contrast to ours), and sweat out more water than we could replenish (imagine trecking though a humid forest at 35 degrees with no breeze and a killer sunburn). We later hopped back onto the boat to return to Orange Walk. Back at the hotel we quickly showered and dressed for dinner with our friend and the principle of the school, Miguel, and his wife. We ate more delicious traditional Belizean food at the resturaunt and filled our table with empty coke bottles. We ended the day with a great meeting where we chatted about our plans when we arrived in Canada and sharing our expiriences with our friends and families.

by Courtney