Friday, March 20, 2009

First Impressions of Belize




Wow! What a long trip to get to Belize. After going through customs in Belize City, we were then going to get a '10 seater' puddle jumper plane. I was a bit nervous about this because it did not feel very safe to me. The flight from Belize City to San Pedro was only about a 15 minute ride with one stop at Caye Caulker. This ride was beautiful. We flew over the ocean and were able to see manatees, sting rays, and nurse sharks. It was gorgeous.

San Pedro. On the island there is a lot of construction going on as they are trying to develop more of the island. There are a ton of golf carts, in fact that is the main way of transportation. There are a some taxi vans that help commute people, and the streets are constantly busy with noise. There is only one paved (cobblestone) road in the city and the rest are dirt roads. Pedro's Inn (the hostel we are staying at) reminds me a lot of dormitory living. The accommodations work, although we had to improvise our bed situation. We have three beds in a small room and with no space we stacked them on top of each other. No complaints though as we all have our own bed to sleep in. We are all experiencing the culture life and developing stages of a third world country. There is trash accumulating on the sides of the roads, houses are not well taken care of and a good number of homeless dogs and cats. It really makes me realize how fortunate I have it in the states.

The FOOD. RICE and BEANS... for everything! It is pretty good, although you can only have it so many times in a day let alone a week. I was the first to test out the water. If I made it through the next day the other students were going to follow my lead. I fortunately did not get sick from the water and have continued to drink it. There are a lot of side vendors who sell fresh fruit. I had bought pineapple, bananas, tangerines and grapefruit from this lady. They were all very good. The bananas are huge, as well as the grapefruit ... but all very fresh. I am learning to bargain with these people on the prices, because we are Americans they immediately assume higher prices. Most of them will lower the price after you bargain with them. I have not gotten sick from any of the foods or water. Although I found myself being dehydrated from not drinking enough water. I learned my lesson real quick.

The ocean is beautiful and crystal clear. I have gone for a run on the beach and really tried to soak in all the mother nature. This weekend we are planning to do some excursions and explore the island a little more.

That is about it for now.


3 comments:

  1. sound like a healthy diet. rice and beans and lots of fresh fruits. Enjoy the warm weather. We are at the the other end of the weather conditions. Morning Temperature of 28 and snowing and lot lots of mud where there is no snow. This is something your class may never experience. Enjoyed leaning more about Belize. Grandpa and Grandma

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  2. Bring home some of those grapefruits..:-)

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  3. We are following your adventure and are enjoying reading about it. Learning is on going experience no matter what age or where you are. If you need anything please let us know.

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