Belize or Bust!

Hola Queridos,

Just a quick post for you all. I'm leaving my world of Caribbean, palm trees, and 90 degree weather for VACATION!

Wait, where can one go on vacation from such a locale? Why, to a place with more Caribbean, more palm trees, and more 90 degree weather! The difference: there will be no dry-erase markers and no faulty copy machines. I am on my week-long break between teaching cycles, and Ray and I are headed south toward Belize!

We just had our parties today for our students, congratulating them for their work. Because my classes are a kind of funky mix of age levels and time slots, I couldn't combine any of them. Thus, I had four parties today with each of my classes, involving everything from watching Finding Nemo (Kinder) to getting beat in UNO (Level 2 kids). Also, they all involved waaaay too much food, as each student was encouraged to bring something. Mostly "sabritas" (potato chips of any type), cookies, spaghetti with ham (weird, I know, but we literally had 3 giant tupperwares of it at one point), and soda, which practically comprises its own food group here. As it stands, I am stuffed and am really trying not to think about it.

Anyway, or "ni modo" as we say here, our itinerary for this week is roughly as follows:


Friday: Playa del Carmen--like Cancun, but calmer and less "plastic." We'll eat out and relax on La Quinta, "Playa's" precious little main street. We'll stay in a cheap hostel in Playa this night.

Saturday: Tulum--this beachside Mayan wonder is one of the most well-known and most visited of the Ancient Mayan pyramids in the Yucatan, largely for it's fabulous beaches and vistas. Saturday night at a hostel near the archeological site.

Sunday: Coba--another fantastic Mayan ruin, but instead of being surrounded by beach, this one's deep in the heart of the jungle and near a spider monkey reserve (cool!). May be machete-ing my way through the deep jungle and fending off spider monkeys on Sunday.

Monday: Travel day--headed south through Quintana Roo's capital, Chetumal, and crossing the border into Belize. Belize, being a miniscule country, will not take much time to cross, so we're headed pretty deep south, to a district (I think Belize is too small to have states) called Stann Creek District.

Tuesday: Dangriga! A tiny town that's the heart of Belize's Garifuna culture. The Garifuna people are of mixed African and Native American ancestry, and they speak a language influenced by African and Native American roots. They are known for their music, and they live in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras primarily.

Wednesday: Stann Creek District, Jaguars, Hummingbird Highway, Beach Bumming, Seaweed Shakes y mucho mas!

Thursday: More of the same

Friday: Begin heading back toward Isla Mujeres. Potentially stopping off in Chetumal for their Museum of Mayan Culture.

Obviously, plans are meant to be changed, so we'll see how closely we stick to this plan. Regardless of how we work it out, I know you are all pitying me greatly--I can feel it.

Looking forward to updating you all soon on the latest adventures! Le vaya bien!

PS-Work Visa Obtained! Gracias a Dios, I wouldn't have been able to travel without it!