Beaches, Jungle, Wildlife, Volcanoes

From the beaches and sun of lovely Roatan we arrived in Costa Rica. The first couple of days were crystal clear and we saw the sillouette of Poas Volcano from our vantage in Atenas. But, this last week has been rain, rain, and more rain. We have enjoyed some wonderful hikes in the jungle and seen all variety of wildlife. I've been playing around with the blog and hope you enjoy the slideshows of Honduras and Costa Rica.

We treated ourselves to some luxury and stayed at a place called the Peace Lodge by La Paz Waterfall Gardens. (See Liam enjoying his bath with a cascading waterfall in the gargantuan bathroom.) It has a huge enclosed butterfuly garden, an aviary, hummingbird garden (the kids got to feed them in the morning), monkeys, and a gorgeous trail that skirts the Sarapiqui and 4 incredible waterfalls.

At Arenal we hiked a trail with 20 or so suspended and hanging bridges that afforded us a view at the jungle canopy. We saw howler monkeys,blue morpho butterflies (that weren't enclosed), and toucans (that weren't accustomed to being pet). As you can see from the picture Liam was unphased by being hundreds of feet above the river canyon below. He keeps us on our toes by constantly running (and face-planting). One of his infamous falls sent us looking for a Costa Rican dentist earlier in the week. That amidst a GI bug that took its turn with each of us over a few days.

The weather cleared enough one day for us to see Volcan Arenal. It spews ash and fiery embers regularly and didn't dissapoint us. A couple of times the rumbles that we heard through the day were paired with a phreatic eruption and we saw smoke and ash billow up from the top. Russell captured some pictures of the pyrotechnics at night. It, of course, would have been fantastic to have watched it more. But, apparently only 1 in 2 guests ever get to see the volcano at all in the green (rainy) season. So we were lucky.

During this break in the rain, Russell did a zip line canopy tour. I was supposed to get my adrenaline hit yesterday, but the high wind gusts and driving rain persuaded me to wait for another opportunity - Panama perhaps? Instead we decked the kids out in their raingear and went for a hike in the jungle (they are Alaskan after all - what's a little weather?). We visited another butterfuly garden and ranarium and had an interesting wildlife encounter. As we were crossing a stream bed Russell and I both saw a very large, black animal descend down a tree, crash into the understory, and dash through the bush. We'll never be certain, but we both think it was a jaguar. That or an aberrant coatimundi. Natalie thought we both should draw what we saw when we returned to the hotel and with her sleuth prowess she would determine what animal we witnessed. I think Liam said, "See monkey!"

Today, we travel on to the Pacific Coast on the Nicoya Peninsula. Hopefully, this tropical depression or whatever it is will move on as well. If it isn't downpouring we may take a diversion float on a mellow river along the way. We won't have internet access much for the next week or so. The next update will likely be from Panama after visiting the San Blas Archipelago.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Onward from Punta Gorda

A week ago we left our temporary home of Punta Gorda. There was some envy of one of the families that we left behind. They, too, have two young kids and have made a commitment to serving Hillside for the next year. We had only just begun to get settled, meet some wonderful people, and get our bearings that a month did not seem long enough. The last couple of weeks I spent quite a lot of time in the car traveling the not so great roads of the Toledo district to what seemed like every Mayan village in the vicinity. It wasn't, but we did hold mobile clinics in at least a half dozen different villages. In one clinic we had to throw a tarantula out of the "pharmacy" before setting up shop. Ninety percent of our day was spent treating scabies, upper respiratory infections, diarrhea, and headache/neckache/backache. The women all have headaches, et al. They work tremendously hard, have the charge of watching way more children than I have (and they seem to control them better!), and carry their babies slung from their foreheads. I'd have a headache too! I was so fortunate to have a really sharp group of medical students with whom I worked. It rejunvenated my interested in teaching medicine again to have such enthusiastic and eager young doctors around me. Only one American student who I so wished I could have lured to Alaska. But, his wife isn't game for severing their midwestern ties to family. (No comments from you, Mom.)

Russell had the much more challenging duty of caring for Liam and Natalie all day. They visited the market most mornings, exhausted the Punta Gorda library of all available children's books, enjoyed fruit shakes, went swimming at the pool next door and occassionally off one of the piersin the Caribbean, explored every corner of Punta Gorda, visited a cacoa plantation, took a nature/butterfly walk, to name just a few things. We did travel as a family out to the Snake Cayes just off the Southern coast with our neighbor and his son in their boat. Xavi (posing with the iguana) is five and became a frequent impromptu guest at our house when he wasn't at school. November will be a month filled with festivities in Punta Gorda, much of it centered around Garifuna Settlement Day. Of the many ethnic groups in Belize, I found myself most enamored with the Garifuna and it was a bit of a disappointment to miss out on hearing the drums, seeing the dancing, and perhaps tasting casava bread.

Saturday we headed to the Cayo district of Belize northwest of Punta Gorda, a few km from the Guatemalan border. After a month in Toledo the disparity of wealth between Toledo and the rest of Belize was so much more apparent. Toledo is quite a bit more undeveloped than the rest of the country. But, what is worse is that due to the transportation costs and its "remoteness" the food and other durable goods cost easily twice as much. We were shocked that we were spending almost the same on food in Belize as we do at home in Alaska. Not so if we had been elsewhere in Belize. It is really a double whammy for the people of Toledo and why Hillside was established to help out this region.

From San Ignacio, Belize, we took a combination of buses, vans, and taxis to El Remate, Guatemala. We spent two nights there and used it as our base to visit Tikal. It wasn't a huge stretch to get the kids up at 5am to start our day since we now seem to back to that schedule of waking anyway (much to our chagrin). They were amazing troopers and made it until noon traipsing all over Tikal. Natalie probably walked at least 4 miles. She was very keen to hike up all the temples and is particularly proud of herself for going up Temple 5. Not the tallest temple (although she went up that one as well), but certainly the one with the steepest staircase. Liam walked a fair bit as well, but saw much of Tikal from my back. A guide would have enriched the experience for Russell and I, but was unrealistic with the kids. We saw some fun wildlife in the park as well. Spider monkeys (I see monkey! exclaimed Liam again and again), heard Howler monkeys, a toucan, green parrots, and Natalie's favorite, a pack of coatimundis. Liam finally gave in and fell asleep on my back on the hike out and took almost a 4 hour nap when we got back to El Remate.

The next few days are a blur of repacking, car, bus, and air travel from El Remate to the island of Roatan, Honduras. We spent election night in Belize City. Fortunately, with a TV. Unfortunately, without internet access and with the TV in the same room as our two sleeping kids. Nonetheless, we watched and listened quietly as our country did something that makes us feel very proud, elated, and excited. Being outside our own country we also get to witness how excited at least this part of the world also is about our new president elect. Russell bought a CD off the street with this reggae tune called Barack Obama. He's played it a few times on the computer and yesterday I heard Natalie humming it, "BARACK OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA" (insert your own most familiar reggae tune....). We are more than a little disappointed and confused by our own state's elections. We're having a tremendously hard time believing that Alaskans really, truly re-elected a senator that has been convicted of a felony. It isn't final yet and there are some questions arising about the record poor turnout of voters in Alaska. Doesn't seem right.

Paloma is circling southeast of Roatan. We have sunny skies, but it is quite breezy and the visibility for snorkeling will likely not be as good. It is the off season for a reason, I suppose. It is a tranquil spot if not a bit pricey. Very much oriented around diving which doesn't benefit us much with two little kids. We did a jungle hike this morning and on the way back our driver pointed out the roiling water and told us that it was probably a pod? of whale sharks. It would be incredible to see some. There is a place where we can snorkel with some trained dolphins. Very touristy, but I think we'll do it because I'm sure Natalie would love it. Heck, I think I'd love it.

Will update again when we get to Costa Rica. Cheers to all!

Belizean Chocolate

Today I went to the Garifuna village of Barranco for a mobile clinic. It is a charming village on the coast south of Punta Gorda. The Garifuna are descendents of the Carib Indians and the Africans that were brought over as slaves. They are wonderful, garrulous people full of stories and we had a very enjoyable morning with them. They served us lunch before we headed back to PG.

Russell took the kids to a lodge/cacao farm called Cotton Tree Lodge. It is along the same gravel road that we took toward Barranco. Our first week here I came across some amazing locally grown and produced chocolate in one of the grocery stores. The cacao grown in the Toledo district is sold to the UK company Green and Black's for their Maya Gold chocolate bar. But, this Cotton Tree bar was also produced right here in Toledo. And, it is some of the best chocolate I've ever had. So I encouraged Russell to go check out the farm and try to procure more of the stuff for me.

It is actually a high end luxury lodge along the Mojo River. The kids enjoyed walking along the extensive boardwalk trails in the jungle. And, yes, Russell did bring me home some chocolate! I'd still like to see a cacao plantation and see what the cacao plants/beans look like. But, it apparently is not the season at present.

On his way back to PG Russell saw a very clever cow. I , for one, am glad to be out of the States during this election. But, I could hardly say that we are insulated from it. Just goes to show you that many worldwide are interested in who will be taking office!

We have one more week in PG. There will be only one student with me next week so he and I will be busy. The kids seem to have settled in. Just in time for us to pick up and disrupt their routine again. Perhaps off to see Tikal in Guatemala after we leave PG. Northern Belize got a ton of rain with this tropical depression (the south did too, but not as much). There is a fair amount of flooding and we are reconsidering our plans.

Placencia, Ruins, and Fishing

The Ball Field at the Mayan Ruin of Nim Li Punit




























































Placencia: Natalie snorkeling, playing in the water in front of the cabana, the cabana, and Liam enjoying the boat ride.


Russell with his yellow tail snapper on a fishing trip to the keys offshore Punta Gorda.

















The clock tower on Punta Gorda Main St.

Toledo District Explorations

Above are the ruins of Lubaantum - site of the Crystal Skull (ooh, aah). The Mayan village of Blue Creek is where we hiked in the jungle and went swimming.










Saturday market in Punta Gorda.

























Pictures of our house and view of the almost daily thunderheads on Front Street in Punta Gorda.









Internet access, while available, is not exactly convenient - especially to take time to do something like update a blog with pictures. We are enjoying a weekend getaway for this long three day weekend. Belize celebrates what I guess is Columbus Day at home as Pan American day. That this area would celebrate Columbus Day in any form at all seems rather ironic to me. We are in the town of Placencia which is the only area in mainland Belize that really has a sandy beach. It is definitely more tourist oriented than Punta Gorda, but still way less than the northern cayes. The cabana is just feet away from the ocean edge and the kids have already enjoyed a swim in the bath water warm Caribbean. While Natalie and Liam are sleeping inside Russell and I have been drinking our Belizean beers on the veranda and enjoying access to the wireless.

This past week was, I learned, International Elder Week. Appropriate that my Mom became an elder on Monday (sorry, Mom). I would not have known this except that I was involved in a Belizean Elder Health Fair of sorts. Along with another volunteer physician down for the week we saw about 200 local Punta Gorda elders (over 65) this week. It allowed me to experience and meet a wonderful cross section of Belize and hear some great stories from the people. A very rewarding experience all around.

Russell took the kids on a field trip to a local Mayan ruin - Lubaantum - about a 45 minute drive away. And we all went to Blue Creek, a Mayan village in the same vicinity, last weekend to have a little hike in the jungle and go swimming. The Saturday market in Punta Gorda is the big market of the week so we had to check that out as well. Russell ended up buying some red snapper from the fish market, but it ended up being a rather pathetic amount and didn't taste quite the same in our fish tacos as halibut. I'm not sure we'll eat rice and beans again for a good long while once we return home. But, it is quite the staple here and, fortunately, still a favorite of the kids'.

We went snorkeling today out of Placencia. Natalie swam with her goggles and life jacket the entire time and had a blast. Liam swam with his life jacket a little while and happily entertained himself on the boat. Three of the nursing students working at the Hillside clinic went with us as well. They were less into snorkeling than Russell and I and graciously watched Liam for a while. He was perfectly content hanging with the pretty young women. They both absolutely crashed when we got back to Placencia. Liam even nodded off on the boat ride home. With any luck maybe tomorrow morning will the first one in 3 weeks that they might sleep in??? Not holding my breath. It took all weekend to upload these pictures. So the ones from Placencia will be in the next post.

Meanwhile back at home a wind storm blew down 13 trees at our house.

Wave Jumping on Amelia







The Red Otter Superheroes










Doing laundry in our temporary housing.




















While we are living in our current pad we have had the use of some bikes. Not sure we would travel with the kids on our bikes at home this way, but it has been fun to tour around PG with the kids this way. We move tomorrow to a different house. It will have some advantages over our current place. It will be a lot quieter, has three bedrooms, is right on the coast so will be cooled by ocean breezes, and there is a hotel with a pool that we can use for a small fee right next door. But, no bikes and it is a bit smaller overall. Russell had already made some acquaintances in the "neighborhood" where we are. Namely a woodworker two doors down. Liam managed to lock himself into the bedroom a couple of days ago and was obviously hysterical when we couldn't get him out. Ultimately, Russell broke the door down to free our son. And, then remembered seeing the woodworking sign so went to befriend the guy and borrow some equipment to fix the door. We were both amused when the guy brought over some "scrap" mahoghany to use as a shim.

I went with the other physician and two medical students (all women from the UK and all 10-15 years younger than me - I feel so OLD!) to Monkey River today. It is a Garifuna village about 2 hour drive away. It reminded me quite a bit of doing Alaska Bush village trips. I'll be doing home visits with the nurse practitioner all next week and that should be quite interesting. Natalie accompanied me to the internet cafe and is getting antsy so more in a few days....

Will post some pictures later this week. We found an internet cafe walking distance from our current abode and I only have a half hour before it closes.

Natalie had a wonderful time wavejumping with Papa at the beach in Amelia. Liam enjoyed the sand and feeling the pull of the waves as well. We had cooler weather due to Kyle and now that we are in Belize we are thankful for that cool weather!

Things here in PG Town are slowly getting shuffled around and trying to work their way into a picture of what we will be doing here. We are adjusting to our new surroundings. This is humidity like nothing I've ever experienced - even in a Midwest summer. The past two nights we've had a fabulous evening storm. With the tin roof it really sounds as if the water is being thrown down on you from a fire hose. We have found ourselves waiting in eager anticipation for the shower because of how much cooler it feels once it comes. Natalie and Russell stood out in the street the first night watching the lightning prompting several Belizeans to inquire if all was okay. While seeking out a restaurant this evening we stopped to look at the leaf cutter ant expressway. One of the locals informed us that it happens every year during the rainy season as they seek out higher ground. We could see the ants high up on the tree branches and the leaves eated down to the stem. Then there was the stream of ants down the branches, across the powerlines, down the light pole, and traveling across the sidewalk and wrapping around the building as far as we could see. With the majority of them carrying their leaves 3-4X their size. Both kids enjoyed it. Russell got too close and discovered that their pincers do indeed hurt!

While waiting for dinner Liam loves to watch the geckos and lizards. "I see it! I see it!" Natalie was a bit dismayed when a little Belizean boy caught one of the lizards and flung it down on the street, mortally wounding it. She did not like it and was on the verge of getting upset. There really aren't any beaches in Punta Gorda although it is on the coast. The kids did enjoy walking in the ocean off some rocks yesterday and we'll try to take a trip out to some Cayes just 15-20 minute boat ride away in the Bay of Honduras.

There was some miscommunication regarding my "assignment" here. After my experiences in Nepal and Kenya I truly expected it to be nothing like what I expected. So I've had to strive for that balance between my urge to have control of the situation and know all that is going on and be patient and go with the flow in a country with a different tempo. I should know a few more facts tomorrow about what I will be doing and where we will be ultimately living. For now we have a comfortable house, but we have to be out of it this weekend because it is for some nursing students. It is up in the air where we will be.

I need to wrap this up and will add more in a day or two. Am hoping so much that Liam starts to fall into a better sleep rhythm soon!!! We are all safe, healthy, and enjoying the incredible hospitality and friendliness of the Belizeans.