Blue Creek Village

It's been awhile...I really want to share, with you, my experiences in the Maya village so I will try to paint you a picture of this peaceful Belizean community.

When I first arrived I was overwhelmed and felt so happy to be far away from the beach life I had been surrounded by for several weeks. The journey to the village was an adventure in itself. It took me several hours to figure out transportation and the last leg of the journey I spent in the back of a pickup truck with a funny guy who, I believe, was telling me his life story but he spoke a Maya dialect. Therefore I did not understand a word...he might have just been commenting on the weather, but I will never know. The ride in was breathtaking with lush jungles surrounding the tiny, bumpy, dirt road leading to Blue Creek.

Once inside the village I found my way to the Toledo Ecotourism Association Guesthouse, a small palm-thatched hut that can sleep 8 people but has never reached maximum capacity! I later found out that I was the fourth tourist to visit the village this year, and the first one since the beginning on February!

No tourists, no loud music, no on-the-make Belizean guys and no beach-I found heaven! Just a cool breeze, a creek beside my guesthouse, hundreds of chirping birds, chickens pecking there way through the underbrush, and the distant sounds of the forty-five families that make up Blue Creek.

At night I wrote or read by candle light and took cool showers outside (also with candles) before climbing into my little, quaint little bed complete with a mosquito net canopy. I had a rude awakening when I told Pedro, the owner of the guesthouse, that I thought the village was very beautiful and peaceful. He replied, ¨For me, I don’t know if it is nice, I don’t think it is beautiful anymore. It’s the same thing everyday for me; thatched roofs and wooden houses¨. Poetic and sad.

Just before dinner three, adorable little girls walked hand-in-hand up to my door. They giggled and whispered before they approached and told me that dinner was ready. They quickly named me ¨Michela The Giant¨. I love being considered tall! It’s a whole new world to me. After a delicious meal of tortillas and scrambled eggs I read the kids some books and helped them with their homework. There are seven children in total (Octavia, Leticia, Ophelia, Lavra, Amelvia, Arselia and their brother Alvaro)and they had tons of questions and stories of their own.

The next day Pedro came to collect me for some jungle and caving adventures. We spent over an hour in each cave system; one dry, one wet and I learned a lot from him. Twice we turned off our flashlights and just listened to the sounds in the cave and we heard someone walking around above us, someone whispering and a dog barking. I just figured it was coming from above, outside the cave, but Pedro said he hears similar sounds every time and there could be no way that we would be able to hear outside because we were too deep... eerie.

The rest of the day I had many visits from the villagers. Some were curious children who heard I had a camera and wanted to try it out, others came to welcome me or ask questions about my life back in Canada. I had a very long discussion about scuba diving with a woman who couldn’t understand how a person could breathe underwater and why you would want to with sharks and alligators around! There was also a community scavenger hunt that night and my guesthouse was one of the clues so there was lots of activity swirling around my little private oasis.

I had three very healing days in Blue Creek Village and hope to return near the end of my trip if I have time. I have never felt a part of something so peaceful! What an experience!

After Belize I took the long trek to The Bay of Islands in Honduras, Utila in particular. In Utila I did tons of scuba diving and obtained my Advanced Certification. Another place I would like to return before my time in Central America comes to a close. Utila has some of the cheapest diving packages in the world and I am considering taking the Rescue Diver course.

I quickly wrapped up my travels in Honduras because it doesn’t have a very good reputation for being a safe country. I am now residing in Leon, Nicaragua where I am continuing my adventures with the Spanish language. I plan to take classes for 2-3 weeks here and then go explore big, beautiful Nicaragua before heading south to Costa Rica.