Today was our day "off" and we were headed to PG (Punta Gorda) to sync up with Nicole from ProWorld. First in order was getting there. We heard there were only 2 buses on Saturday from the village of San Felipe to PG. One left at 6 and the other at 7 or 7:30, depending on who you asked. Ned and I had set the alarm for 6 thinking we'd take the 7 bus. In reality we woke up around 5 to the rooster crowing, the noise of the corn mill engine, and country music playing. Because the village is predominantly wooden structures with thatched roofs noise carries easily. The closest analogy I can think of is it's like tent camping in a crowded campground. I personally get a kick out of hearing Johnny Cash in a remote village in Belize. I think Johnny would like it too. It had rained hard all night and was still coming down pretty hard when we left our room and stood in front of Ixcacao at 6:45. We didn't want to miss the last bus, that's for sure. Turns out a bus came in about 2 minutes and we were on our way.
When we reached PG it was still raining like crazy. Fortunately, we had an idea of the layout of the town from the previous weekend. We decided to wait out the rain and have breakfast at Grace's, a cute little place with covered outside tables. We ordered bacon, eggs, beans and a huge basket of fry jacks. Yes,we were aiding our addiction to fry jacks. We had a very leisurely breakfast and the rain still hadn't let up so what the heck, we'll get wet but at least it's warm. Ned wanted to find a hardware store to pick up a few things for some projects at Juan and Abelina's. It was kinda fun to step inside this little tiny hardware store with things crammed in every nook and cranny. I think Ned was having too much fun trying to cobble together the things he needed for his projects. By the time we left the store, the rain was just a slight drizzle and we had fun walking around the town on market day. The place was definitely buzzing. What a difference a week makes! Last Saturday, when we first arrived everything seemed so foreign and PG seemed so small and remote. After a week in San Felipe this place seems like a big city!
The ProWorld office felt like a welcome home. We stretched out on the couches, played with some of the little kids and chilled for awhile. I can attest to the fact that Angry Birds is enjoyed by kids everywhere - ha! It was wonderful to see Nicole again. While we've spoken with several members of ProWorld, Nicole has been our only face of the organization. She's fun, knowledgeable and seems to know everybody. She was taking us on a outing today to have lunch with a Mayan family and to visit Lubaantun, an ancient Mayan site.
Gustavo and his wife Catalina are simply amazing. I am just blown away by the kindness, sweetness and openness of the Mayan people we have met. Just like Juan and Abelina, we were made to feel as if this was our home. We spent some time chatting with Gustavo and getting to know his background. He is a biology teacher at a local high school, the same one that Henry attends. His real passion is staying connected with his Mayan roots and happily sharing his culture and traditions with others. Our lunch, which was beyond delicious, was harvested completely from his land. We had jippy jappa salad (kind of like hearts of palm), water spinach, beans, and gibnut which he hunted himself. What I was most impressed with was the beautiful hallowed out gourd on the table. It was stuffed with small tortillas. This was in the Mayan tradition of keeping the tortillas hot. How friggin' clever is that?! I was completely enthralled with this. Even after our meal was finished, you could still see the steam coming from the rest of the tortillas in the gourd. I so wanted to bring one back to the U.S. I asked Gustavo where I could buy one and much to my absolute surprise he presented it to me as a gift. I really was so overwhelmed with he and Catalina's generosity. I know it's going to have a special place in my home and I can't wait to serve it to my Chix Flix group, who I know will just appreciate it as much as I do. I am seriously just in awe of the kindness and generosity of the people here.
Next up was the trip to Lubaantun, the largest Mayan ruins in Southern Belize. Mr. Santiago Coc was our guide and for the next hour or so we wandered through the grounds with him. It was fantastic and completely blew me away. We had the place to ourselves and the rain had stopped. I should have been better prepared because the walk up to the ruins was quite slick with all the rain. Ned and Nicole were properly attired, but I was wearing my usual flip flops. (Neise, quit rolling your eyes at me!) I kept slip sliding everywhere sure I was going to land on my ass and become a mud ball. What an idiot. Fortunately, no stupid mishaps just a wonderful walk in these calm peaceful grounds. Santiago was a great guide. We not only got a history of the people, the approximate date of the site (700 A.D.) and the site history, but he also educated us about all the flora. Lubaantun was built with sandstone without mortar and over time began to crumble. The name Lubaantun actually means "the place of fallen rock" in Mayan. This is the place where the famous Crystal Skull was originally found. (Yes, there's a bunch of controversy around that!). What I loved best was the sense of calmness and peace at this site. It felt very sacred indeed. I could go on and on about all we learned, but what I enjoyed most was imagining the ancient Mayans playing games on the ball field and holding sacred ceremonies with cacao on the grounds. I have a great picture of Ned sampling a very immature (unripe) cacao pod. Santiago encouraged us to taste it. The cacao seeds haven't even been formed yet. The taste and texture somewhat resembled a cucumber. Is this the coolest adventure yet...not only are we in search of cacao beans at their source, but we actually sampled one on ancient Mayan grounds!! Unbelievable. Thanks Nicole, good one.
We are back at ProWorld in PG getting ready to snuggle down for the night. It's pouring like crazy again and I am absolutely exhausted. Ned went in search of dinner, perhaps back to Grace's where we had breakfast. I'm looking forward to sleeping forever until we connect with Nicole again tomorrow. She's taking us to Barranco, a Garifuna village. Should be another interesting day in this beautiful, crazy, multi-cultural land of Belize.
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