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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
BELIZEimo!
after 6 weeks studying Spanish in Xela, Guatemala, i said my goodbyes to my friends and family there. i was tired, emotional and excited as i headed to belize for 2 weeks on a 4am bus to meet my friend aya.
tomfoolery ensued as we made our way around belize...from caye caulker to cockscomb jaguar sanctuary, to the belize zoo, crooked tree, the mayan ruins of Altun Ha, and back to caye caulker hoping for sunshine, with intermittent uncomfortable visits to belize city.
by the time we made it back to caye caulker, the most accessible island near belize city, the sun peeked out long enough for us to take a snorkel trip with Juni, a fascinating fellow and fish whisperer. He grew up on caye caulker, witnessed many changes for better and for worse around the island, but his boat building remained constant. he has built 200 boats, his first when he was 15, and his last as of late at age 71. he is a young man, welcoming travelers into his underwater world each day (weather permitting), 6 of us at a time, to the shallow reef known to have a high concentration of sharks and rays. we did see quite a few among an array of corals and brightly colored tropical fish. the animals here know him. a small school of fish swam with him the entire 1 1/2 hours we swam in one area. he coaxed an eel from beneath its rock. and he shared a beautiful story of his 28 year relationship with a family of sharks that has since been poached. he has the respect and an uncanny ability and energy to attract and befriend sealife.
the sun rarely made an appearance, but aya's rubber boots, our heineken food box, and my gigantic flour tarp bag traveled from bus to bus to boat with us, and the hummingbirds buzzed around aya's bright fleece hat. there was no shortage of birds in this haven for serious birders.
for the photo journal, feel free to browse around:
http://picasaweb.google.com/coffeewithkatie/BELIZEimo#
tomfoolery ensued as we made our way around belize...from caye caulker to cockscomb jaguar sanctuary, to the belize zoo, crooked tree, the mayan ruins of Altun Ha, and back to caye caulker hoping for sunshine, with intermittent uncomfortable visits to belize city.
by the time we made it back to caye caulker, the most accessible island near belize city, the sun peeked out long enough for us to take a snorkel trip with Juni, a fascinating fellow and fish whisperer. He grew up on caye caulker, witnessed many changes for better and for worse around the island, but his boat building remained constant. he has built 200 boats, his first when he was 15, and his last as of late at age 71. he is a young man, welcoming travelers into his underwater world each day (weather permitting), 6 of us at a time, to the shallow reef known to have a high concentration of sharks and rays. we did see quite a few among an array of corals and brightly colored tropical fish. the animals here know him. a small school of fish swam with him the entire 1 1/2 hours we swam in one area. he coaxed an eel from beneath its rock. and he shared a beautiful story of his 28 year relationship with a family of sharks that has since been poached. he has the respect and an uncanny ability and energy to attract and befriend sealife.
the sun rarely made an appearance, but aya's rubber boots, our heineken food box, and my gigantic flour tarp bag traveled from bus to bus to boat with us, and the hummingbirds buzzed around aya's bright fleece hat. there was no shortage of birds in this haven for serious birders.
for the photo journal, feel free to browse around:
http://picasaweb.google.com/coffeewithkatie/BELIZEimo#
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