On Saturday the Q'eqchi speaking Bus/Org volunteers (Me, Danny, Melissa, and Mallory) hosted a day camp for 8-12 year olds. The camp was held at the Maya Mopan Resource Center and focused on teamwork and cooperation. It was a traditional camp full of silly songs (Banana Lovers Unite was the favorite) and games. We had 27 kids turned out and ended the camp with 200 water balloons. I am convinced a slight majority of them ended up hitting my head. All in all, a pretty successful camp!
On Sunday we had the opportunity to head down south to the Toledo District of Belize to a small village called Blue Creek. The special trip was made in honor of Maya Day 2011. Originally started by a local school, Maya Day invites the community to come out and celebrate Maya traditions and history. There was a stage for the qua (corn tortilla) making, firewood cutting, and best dressed competitions. And of course no Maya Day celebration would be complete without several vendors selling caldo chilan (chicken soup). Of course, I ended up finding the one vendor selling Indian food and feasted on some Dal Roti and Coco Tekari. I live with a Q'eqchi family and enjoy my fair share of caldo at home.
After enjoying the festival we went up the road to a trail. After hiking into the bush for a while we came to the most majestic cave I've ever seen. The land down in Toledo in unbelievably breathtaking. I truly could never describe the feeling of being dwarfed by giant palm trees at the mouth of a gigantic cave system. I am actually sad that I will never be able to describe the experience fully. Danny went swimming in the cave while I sat on the edge admiring the beauty of it all.
Today we went to a small village called Bermudian Landing. We met up with a volunteer who works with the Community Baboon Sanctuary. Her work is amazing and I am so inspired by her. She taught us about marketing then we went on a tour of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is home to 4,000 Howler Monkeys. As you might suspect, Howler Monkeys HOWL! Loudly! They howl because they are territorial and it is there way of communicating to other troupes. Each troup has one dominent male and up to 10 other females and babies.
We got up close and personal with a troup of monkeys and went off to visit the Flowers Bank Cohune Oil Group. It is a group of women who make their living producing Cahune Oil. The oil is great for cooking, baking, and evening works as a beauty product that can be made into soaps. After that, we ended the day with a nice swim in the river. Appearently, the river is also home to crocodiles, but a local man told us not to worry becuase the crocodiles are not aggresive and prefer murky waters with less current than the area we were swimming in. I'll take his word for it.
We are so blessed to live this wonderful adventure. Every day presents a new challenge, a new perspective, and new knowledge. I'm thankful for the beauty of this country, the warmth of our host families who prepare our food and treat us as one of their own, and the knowledge of our trainers who are doing their best to bring a group of 37 trainees up to speed in a country that is ever changing.
My host sister Clementina making Qua!