Today proved that no matter how much planning is done beforehand, you can never know what the day will have in store. The intended itinerary was to drive from Hill Bank to our second site, La Milpa, with shopping and swimming stops along the way. We did all these things, but with some unexpected twists.
As we are on our way to La Milpa, the bus started making warning sounds and the warning lights came on. We had been driving through a Mennonite community at the time and made an impromptu stop at the home of a Mennonite family that had a garage to get the engine checked out.
Mennonites hanging out at their farm garage (they fixed our bus!).
Photo by Lidia Henderson.
Our stay here ended up being pretty long, but the Mennonites were very helpful and just as excited to see us as we were to see them. One of the little boys even took picture of us! Our driver and the workers communicated in Spanish, even though the official language of Belize is English and the Mennonites speak their own low German. Our guide, Peter, who never misses the opportunity to go birding, let them look through the spotting scope. Finally, after cleaning the filter and jumpstarting the bus with the Mennonite’s generator, we were soon waving goodbye and on our way (or so we thought…).
Already a bit behind schedule, we still stopped to go swimming at a dam. We were excited for our first swim of the trip, to be in bathing suits, and cool off in the water. The dam we swam at was actually the first dam in the country from the Mexican border, which was a stone’s throw away. The Mexican border was to our right as we were driving, and the hills around the area were a contrast to the lowland broadleaf forest we had encountered up until this point in the trip.
Dam that we stopped at for a swim.
Photo by Savannah Judge.
Getting back on the bus, we headed towards the Mennonite store to pick up everyone’s demand for conditioner and anti-itch cream. As the bus started climbing a hill, the warning sound came back on and after many attempts starting the engine back up, it stalled! We all jumped out of the bus and ended up walking to the convenience store. In addition to picking up all our necessities, snacks, and some yummy homemade ice cream, many of us also enjoyed buying seven-dollar machetes from the hardware store. Julio saved the day again by fixing the bus and finally bringing us to La Milpa for a belated lunch.
The group walking up the hill towards the Mennonite store. Our bus is tagging along behind.
Photo by Savannah Judge.
La Milpa is beautiful; we feel like we are on spring break by being here. The layout is similar to the Hill Bank site, and as we sat outdoors for lunch we were greeted by dozens of hummingbirds. There are a number of bird feeders around the area, and watching them beat their little wings is amazing. After getting settled in our rooms we took a walk around the vicinity and paid a visit to the crocodile in residence. There are lots of exciting things around the area, including Mayan ruin sites that we are looking forward to exploring tomorrow. Until then, we will enjoy Belikin Beers and a good night’s sleep in our new rooms.
The view from our dorm at La Milpa.
Photo by Lidia Henderson.