The beach at Placencia.
One of my best friends in Peace Corps and I had been talking about taking a trip to another Central American country during the winter vacations. We had our hopes set on Nicaragua, but had to re-think our plans because of political instability in Honduras (which we would have to pass through). So we set our sights closer to home, north to Belize and started scheming about Caribbean beaches.
Previous to leaving for Belize, I decided to visit one of Guatemala's most-renowned natural sites-- Semúc Champey, for Thanksgiving. This is a series of turquoise limestone pools set in a ravine of jungle-blanketed mountains in the eastern part of the country, Alta Verapaz. It competes with Lake Atitlán for the title of “most beautiful place in Guatemala”-- but I had yet to go. So I arranged with two other friends to spend Thanksgiving there.
Our first full day at Semúc, Thanksgiving Day, we arranged for a guide through our hotel to take us spelunking, tubing, hiking and exploring the pools. First, he led us through a series of nearby limestone caves, where we waded through the river that carved the caves. The only lights we had were candles, and at times we had to swim for stretches holding a candle above the water. We had to climb up rope ladders and at one point slide though a little chute with water gushing through it to get to a lower point. The caves were beautiful, with stalagmites and stalactites and bats hanging silently above, and no one has been able determine how many miles deep they continue. After the caves, we did a short hike to a beautiful waterfall, which the bravest of us 3 (not me) jumped off of into the deep pool below. Then we tubed our way back down the river, and started the walk up to the limestone pools. Instead of going directly to the pools we did the very steep but short hike up to the mirador (look-out) to see the full view of the terraces of 20+ bright pools, nestled like jewels into the green ravine below. Then we spent what was left of the day splashing around in the pools. That night, we ate at a local comedor (eatery) where we had a Thanksgiving dinner of beans, cheese, tortillas and eggs-- perhaps not the most glamorous Thanksgiving meal I'll ever have, but the day made it worth it. The next day we went back just to enjoy the pools, and passed the time swimming and singing and goofing off.
From there, I went back to the city of Cobán, to meet my friend Amanda who would be traveling to Belize with me. The next day we made the10 hour bus trip up to Flores, the northern city on a lake near the famous Mayan ruins in the jungle, Tikal (which I still have not seen, and there was no time for it on this trip). We spent a night in Flores, then took a 5-hour shuttle trip the next day to Belize City.
Immediately after entering Belize it became abundantly clear that we were not in Guatemala anymore. Guatemala for the most part is a fairly homogeneous-looking country with two main ethnic groups, Latinos and Maya Indigenous (but Latinos by definition are mixed European and Mayan decent, and almost none of the Indigenous peoples are 100% Indigenous anymore, so the ethnic lines between the two groups are pretty blurry). Belize, however, is made up of a blend of different cultures-- Creole (the most predominant), Maya Indigenous, Latino, Garífuna (descendants of slaves who have their own language, music and traditional dances-- there is also a small population in Guatemala), and other pockets of Asians and Europeans. The official language is English, but Creole and Spanish are also widely-spoken. The Creole language shares a lot of English vocabulary and structure, but the strong accent makes it difficult for a native English-speaker to understand. The music on all the buses was also very different, mostly reggae or reggae-pop or old blues songs (which, although I love my Guatemala camioneta music, was a refreshing change).
Unfortunately, we didn't do much in Belize City besides get dinner because of the many warnings we received that it wasn't safe to walk around at night. But the next day we left early for the 45 minute ferry ride to Caye Caulker (“caye” = key, as in Florida Keys). Caye Caulker was a beautiful island with a quaint town on the Caribbean. The waters around it are the gorgeous teal color that you image in the Caribbean. The Caye was dotted with cute cafés and mom-and-pop dive and snorkeling businesses and was pervaded by the laid-back, take-it-slow mentality. We spent the first day just walking around the Caye, meeting locals (mostly Creole) and sitting on the dock to soak-up the sun (the only down-side is there is no real beach on the Caye). We also enjoyed rum-juice drinks for happy hour as we watched the sun set at the point (with ocean views on each side) and socialized with locals.
Caye Caulker.
Hotel at Caye Caulker, decked out for Christmas.
The next day we took a full-day sailing and snorkeling trip to the nearby barrier reef (second largest in the world). The coral shimmering under the water was beautiful, and we saw abundant sea-life-- sharks, an eel, sting-rays, a small octopus, lots of tropical fish, and sea turtles. We were served rum-juice and ceviché as we sailed back to the Caye while the sun began to set, and I shared good conversation with one of our guides, Rafael. That night we went to the bar at the point again, where we met some locals at a bonfire, the most interesting of which was “Coconut Man” who never gave us another name but referred to himself always in the third-person (as “Coconut Man”) and danced crazily around the fire to the reggae music.
With Coconut Man.
The following day we left Caye Caulker for another very long and hot bus ride south to Placencia, a beautiful beach-town. Placencia is gorgeous, and though it has more of a local-residency than the touristy Caye Caulker, it was also more built-up in a way with nicer businesses and nearby resorts. We stayed at the cheapest place, which had cute little rooms right on the beach. We came to Placencia with one purpose in mind-- to lay on the beach and soak up the sun (with some swimming in the ocean as well), and that's pretty much what we did for three beautiful days. We did go sea-kayaking once, and we spent some of our time walking around town and making daily trips to the amazing Italian-run gelatto place. And for meals we indulged in delicious fresh seafood-- conch fritters and snapper and lobster and shrimp, washed down with plenty of Belikin beer (thankfully much better than the Guatemalan beer, Gallo). But the vast majority of the time we simply lay in the sun.
A cool fan-like palm tree in front of our hotel, on the beach, in Placencia.
Getting pickled at the Pickled Parrot.
Sunset at Placencia.
The only damper on our sunny days in Placencia was the ceaseless harassment from the local boys. The tourist season had just begun and we were two single girls on our own, unaccompanied by a guy. These proved to be major disadvantages, since there are many local guys who seem to have nothing better to do than spend their days and nights combing the beaches for foreign girls to hit on. Our first day we were friendly enough, interested in meeting new people but tried to make it clear we weren't looking for romance. That night we went to the local bar to hear some live reggae music, but the attention was overwhelming and relentless. We primarily ended up talking to two guys, who clearly had in mind pairing-up with each of us. And they didn't give up for the rest of our time in Placencia, even though we time and again tried to make it clear that wasn't going to happen.
The guy interested in me, Antoine, was somewhat reasonable, and interesting to talk to, and he would leave us alone when I asked him to outright. But the guy interested in Amanda, Carl, was simply crazy. I have no better or more PC way to describe him. Amanda politely but firmly told him on our second day, that no she didn't want to hang out with him and no she wasn't digging it. But the message clearly did not sink in, and the next morning he stood outside our window shouting Amanda's name (while we were still sleeping). When I eventually went outside and found them both sitting on the beach in front of our hotel (Amanda was still sleeping), I got angry and told Carl outright that she didn't want to see him or hang out and to leave us alone. He still didn't seem to get what I was saying; he just thought I was angry with him and that Amanda would feel differently. Antoine also told me that Carl had told him that I had asked to see him, and for that reason he came with Carl (I guess Carl was hoping for power in numbers), but I explained to Antoine the situation and asked him to speak to Carl. For the rest of that day he seemed to back off, either because of my intervention or Antoine's. But the next day he was hanging out around our hotel again, so we spent the day taking long walks on the beach and sea-kayaking. And after the first night, we didn't make another appearance at the local bars.
Overall it was just unfortunate and a little stressful feeling like we had to avoid people, especially for Amanda (even though I do believe these guys were basically harmless). And by the end we were being blatantly mean and unfriendly to the many guys that approached us on the beach, since we learned the hard way that friendliness doesn't work.
Our second evening there (and one of our best), we were lucky to fall into an altogether different sort of crowd. We went to a tapas-like restaurant where we heard some young Latino guys singing and playing guitar with a couple of middle-aged men. They were playing classic Spanish songs, which stirred up my inner-Latina, and I finally worked up the courage to request a song, which thrilled and surprised them (that I could speak Spanish and knew all the words). I ended up staying with them, enjoying the music and singing along, while Amanda met some other gentlemen. I started chatting with one of the middle-aged men, who turned out to be from Guatemala City and very... how do I say this, um... wealthy. He is on the board of trustees for the most prestigious private school in Guatemala. But mostly he was very interested in what we're doing for the Peace Corps and my love of Guatemala and spoke of helping me get scholarships for some of my more promising students. Mostly, it was nice to hear open appreciation for what we're doing for the Peace Corps, because sometimes it feels like the people in our towns don't understand all we gave up to do this, so it's nice to hear sometimes. The other middle-aged man singing along was his Guatemalan captain for his private sailboat, who was rather taken with me and serenaded me to classic Spanish songs (changing the words to make them about me). His boss from Guatemala City was there with some American friends and business associates that we befriended, and their friendly (platonic) company and intelligent conversation was a refreshing change from the relentless overtly sexual come-ons from the local boys. So that restaurant became our hang-out for the next couple nights and added a different element to our Belize experience.
With our friend from Guatemala City.
Being serenaded by the Capitán.
Overall, despite some small annoyances, Belize was the perfect get-away and Amanda the ideal travel-companion, and we had so many laughs, even over our little, um, adventures. I thought I would be missing sunny beaches and the sound of the waves and delicious seafood as soon as I got back, but the truth is, it feels good to be in my beloved little village, in my own beautiful room after more than 2 weeks away (I was furthered delayed by asthma-related medical issues). Sometimes it takes leaving for a while to remember, but I am so blessed to be living this life.
