Day 5 - Moving Day

Belize Day 5

Moving Day

Just as we were starting to get used to our first hotel it was time to move on. Yesterday’s rain carried on throughout the night and into today.  As it was Diann’s birthday yesterday we sang Happy Birthday, ate a good supper and stayed up till about 10:30 pm enjoying ourselves. Most of us woke up at around 7 am got ready for the day and packed all of our things.  We ate breakfast and congregated in the dining area as usual. At 8:40 am all were accounted for and in the van except Jan, who came shortly after. We set on our way to Marie Sharps hot sauce factory. The roads were very bumpy because the large amounts of rain had washed them out. In the midst of our journey we switched vans because of yesterday’s electrical incident. We moved our luggage and belongings into a new van. In this van all the air conditioning vents were intact so there was no more freezing. We set out on our way again observing the mountains and the increasing jungle density. After a short time we stopped again for some cinnamon rolls, coffee and a bathroom break. This was Les’s treat for us.

After our pit stop we listened to Les explain to us why some citrus plantations had been abandoned and saw a citrus processing facility from the van. Finally we reached Marie Sharps hot sauce factory. Here each of us bought plenty of sauces, jams and spreads as gifts and souvenirs. I thought the products were very inexpensive, which was good thing. We would have liked to see the production process but the workers had just left for their lunch. After loading up our van, off we went. The next place is where we were spending the rest of the day and the night. It was called the Maya Center village and we were staying at Nu’uk Che’il Cottages. After dropping off our things and getting a feel for our rooms we had a simple but very good Mayan meal. When we were satisfied we visited a local elementary school. We brought lots of school supplies and one soccer ball. The school children were very excited to see us. We gave them rides on our backs and shoulders. This was very tiring; some of us became quite sweaty. We forced them off of us and went back for showers. Les brought a sewing machine which he then gave to a local Mayan sewing group.

Once we were clean again some of us went down the road and visited a small chocolate shop. Here the owner explained how he made the chocolate and what it took to make it taste good. He had just perfected it six months ago. We bought some chocolate from him and thanked him for his time. Next door from the chocolate guy was a souvenir shop. Some of us bought things we liked. We then walked back to our rooms. Finally we played and learned euchre. Another Mayan meal was prepared for us for supper. After finishing supper, slowly the group became smaller. With a busy day ahead of us going to bed early was a beneficial decision. 

 by Tony Bijman