A New Expedition: Peru

After staying for three wonderful weeks in Belize, it was time to move on to my next adventure in Peru. I spent almost 24 hours bouncing from plane to plane, airport to airport, before finally arriving in Lima.

Honestly, it was a little shocking going from Belize to Lima. It is such a big city in comparison to anything in Belize. It actually reminded me of Thessaloniki in Greece, with how rundown and full of graffiti it is. Also, the traffic was horrendous. I thought Belize was bad – they don’t even have traffic lights there. But here, even with signals, it is cutthroat in the streets. We took a cab from the airport to the bus station and I felt like there were no rules.

The climate is completely different as well. Here along the coast, it’s the middle of the desert. The mountains to the east create a rain shadow effect, diverting most of the rain away from the coast. Everything is very dry and dusty. There is pretty much no green in sight, except where the farms irrigate their crops.

It was also a big change coming from Belize, since here in Peru it is now winter. Funny how that happens when you cross the equator. Something I wasn’t expecting or fully prepared for, especially coming from 90 degree Belize. Luckily it’s not a winter like I’m used to back home in PA. It’s very mild in comparison. The temperature ranges in the 60s to low 70s and there is just a ton of fog. I only wish I had brought a few more warm shirts and sweaters. But no matter.

The last, most crucial change for me to deal with is the language. In Belize everyone knew English. In Peru, it is all Spanish all the time. I have no Spanish skills. None. So that’s interesting. Luckily the program I’m here for is run by Americans who can help me navigate life in Spanish.

Ziplining

While we were spending the day in the jungle, I got the opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted to try – ziplining. I love flying through the air with trapeze, why wouldn't I like flying through the trees?

It was just as much fun as I imagined it would be. After being strapped into our harnesses, we climbed up to the first platform, were hooked onto the lines, held on tight, and let gravity take over. It was exhilarating flying through the canopy of trees, watching the ending platform getting bigger and bigger until your feet hit the surface and the guide waiting there for you pulled you aboard.

Each time we reached the end of a line, we moved onto the next – each one higher and faster than the last. It was all very enjoyable. I only wish that it had lasted longer. We too quickly reached the last line and were removing our equipment, just as my adrenaline was mounting.

In conclusion, I’ll simply leave you with some pictures of the awesome event:

The three of us all strapped in our harnesses and ready to go.

flying through the canopy with one of the guides, Oscar, waiting at the end platform

all smiles

overlooking one of the longest and fastest lines

our guide, Henry, making his return under the Belize flag

Into the Depths of Xibalba

The Maya had strong beliefs when it came to life and death. They believed that the world was made up of layers, one of which was the underworld, or Xibalba. Ancient stories like the Popol Vuh describe the mysterious place, inhabited by the dangerous gods. The Maya thought that the numerous caves throughout Mesoamerica were the entranceways to Xibalba, leading down into the land of the dead.

We decided to be adventurous and explore and spelunk our way through one of the cave systems ourselves – on a guided tour of course.

After a short trek through the jungle we reached a pool of water and the entrance to the cave. A river runs its course within the cavern, so we would be tubing our way through it. We were each equipped with a life jacket and headlamp. There were fifteen people in our group, including our two guides. The line of our inner tubes tied together made a makeshift train in the water, so none of us would float away.

As we slowly drifted into the cavern, the light began to dim and we could see the silhouette of the rocky overhang behind us. Our guides instructed us to turn out our lights until we had completely penetrated the abyss, so we could appreciate the immensity of the darkness.

But soon our headlamps lit the walls around us, revealing hundreds of stalactites hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites emerging from the outcrops around us. The Maya believed that the caves were a sacred place, and that the water dripping from the stalactites was holy water. The guides told us that if we felt the water drip on us as we floated through, “consider yourself blessed.”

We spent almost an hour marveling the rest of the cavern, taking in the beautiful sights and sounds of the river flowing overtop the rock. Then soon we were outside once more, gliding downstream, surrounded by the trees around us and the blue sky above us. In another twenty minutes, we were back where we had started, without the hike.

It was an amazing experience. I only wish that I had had my camera with me to take some pictures. But of course I had left it behind so that it wouldn't be ruined from the water. Alas, nothing would have been able to capture the splendor of the caves in any case.

Unda Da Sea

What do you do when you’re right next to the second largest reef in the world? Go snorkeling of course! So that’s what we did.

Last year, I visited Caye Caulker for only two days, but fortunately had the chance to try snorkeling for the first time. And it was amazing! We did a basic tour, with views of the reef and swimming with sharks and rays.

This time, I wanted to do something a little different. So the four of us went on a snorkeling manatee tour! We went to some of the same great places to see the reef, but we also got to visit the deeper and farther out parts where the manatees roam. I unfortunately did not spot any manatees :( They are so fast! Every time we would get to a spot where others had just spotted them, we would have to quickly put on all our gear and jump into the water and swim like crazy to try and catch sight of them. I am not a good swimmer. I was actually not comfortable enough with my long-term treading abilities, so that I wore a life jacket the entire time just in case. And I’m so glad I did. My little legs got so tired so fast! The third and last time chasing the manatees, one of the guides had to pull me along by the hand so I could keep up. The ocean current is very strong out in that deep water.

But all wasn’t lost – I still had an amazing time seeing the reef again. That could never get old. It is so beautiful that it just takes your breath away. It’s surprising to realize how the colors of the coral look underwater. I always expected amazing technicolor plants and animals, all swimming before your eyes! It’s really not quite like that. The color is actually pretty faint. Maybe it’s the goggles or the water messing up the color spectrum, or maybe movie expectations just aren’t real. Nevertheless! The color isn’t what matters in the end. The endless coral, marine life moving in and out of view, seeing the silhouette of a shark in the distance, watching a whole other world happening below you – otherwise unseen – that’s the remarkable part.

One of the other sites we stopped at to swim was over a sunken barge. It was purposefully sunk a while back, in order to promote the coral growth in the reef. That was such a sight to see. Now this was like out of a movie – picture the beginning of Titanic. Where destruction first took hold, everything was slowly being covered with new life. It was crazy being able to look through a hole in the ship and see what evidently used to be a ladder at one time, morphed into a jumbled mess of coral, with tiny fish peeking their heads through the gaps.

Finally, our last stop was a trip to the lagoon on the other side of the island. Our guides searched through a patch of shallow water and grass, in order to show us seahorses. They were miraculously able to catch one of the tiny creatures for us to fawn over. They are just as cute as I always imagined! It was a perfect end to a beautiful morning.

Livin' On Island Time

My field work session in Belize has ended, yet I still have a week to kill before I’m off to Peru. Last year, I travelled all over the country of Belize exploring the different areas. But this year, I wanted to sit back and relax and soak up some sun for a bit. So of course I headed to the islands.

I’m spending my week on Caye Caulker, a tiny little island off the coast of Belize. It is known for having the second biggest coral reef in the world, only after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. The island is such a great place to unwind. There are only three main roads: Front Street, Middle Street, and Back Street. The ocean side is lined with restaurants overlooking the docks and palm trees in the sand. There are a lot of little shops and eateries to explore everywhere.

The popular place to hang out is called The Split. It is an area on the north side of the island where there is a gap in the island where water flows from the ocean to the lagoon on the other side. Apparently Hurricane Hattie came plowing through and created the current channel in 1961, which has since widened with time and additional hurricanes. There is a bar right on the edge with tables and stools in the water. They like to play loud music so people can dance and swim and drink all at the same time.

Here's a picture of a postcard I found with an aerial view of the island. You can clearly see the split in the land:

It’s funny, it seems like all of the music they play here is a reggae version of some song. Everything is made to dance and jam out to. Since we’ve been here, the theme song of our time seems to be “Here ComesTrouble” by Chronixx. It plays wherever we go. If you listen to it, you’ll get the vibe of the whole island.

While we’re here, the annual Lobster Fest is going on over the weekend. It is such a popular event! The island gets packed with extra tourists coming just for the festival. On the opening day, we witnessed a golf cart float parade (golf carts are the only means of transport on the island, there are no cars). And in the evenings Front Street is crowded with street vendors selling lobster and other seafood right off the grill. It’s such a feast for all the senses.

My goal for this week is to do as little as possible while I’m here. I’ll spend most days laying by the pool (which we were lucky enough to find a hotel with a nice one) and enjoying the sun. Because we have no schedule – we’re on island time now!

Life in Blue Creek

The town where we stay is called Blue Creek. It is in the Orange Walk district, which is in the northwest area of Belize. Our base camp is located in the middle of a Mennonite community that has settled in the area.

Margaret, our cook that I’ve mentioned, is part of this community. It’s really interesting having her make our food, because many times it is a mix of Mennonite and Belizean cooking styles. It results in some fantastic recipes. The meals are always delicious.

There’s not too much around base camp, mostly fields and cow pastures. Across the street is a little internet café where we obviously go to use the internet. They also sell some food and drinks if you want a snack in the afternoon – I usually get their French fries.

Also nearby is a convenience store called Linda Vista. Each day around 4, Sarge will drive the van for a store run and anyone who wants to can go and shop. They have pretty much anything you’d need there – snacks, drinks, toilet articles, writing supplies, etc. Next door there is also a hardware store and the credit union.

A little ways away is the town of San Felipe. These are the locals from Belize that aren’t Mennonites. Many of the men from San Felipe help our teams as archaeologists. They have been doing the job for years now and are so experienced. It’s really great to get to work with them each day because they know so much and bring a little culture into our group.

Xnoha

Each day I wake up around 5am and watch the sun rise from the palapa. It’s a great way to start the day. Breakfast is at 6, provided by our amazing cook, Margaret. We all leave base camp around 7, riding in the back of trucks. We drive to the site called Xnoha, which is probably at least 20 minutes away. Once we're there we park all the trucks and then split into our teams. There are four mini-sites, each with a team, excavating different things in different areas.

I'm on Hannah's team at 13-03. She is one of the newer staff members. She's super nice and I like working on her site. For the most part, every person on our team is kinda doing our own thing. It's a pretty small site -- just a little structure that we've just begun uncovering. So we all have our own designated area and task to work on. But at the same time, we're close enough to each other to still make conversation.

A lot of what we do is move dirt. Like I said, our site is a small structure. We started out the session with just the front and back walls and hallway partially exposed, but have uncovered a lot in two weeks. We extended the back wall and discovered that it goes out a lot farther than originally expected. It actually cut through our pathway to get into the site, so we had to start scaling the wall to get in at all.

I mostly was working on clearing the space in between the front wall and back wall. It should be the main room of the structure. However, we’ve been extremely deterred by a lot of tree stumps. There were three trees that grew in the center of the room and we worked to remove their stumps from out of our way. But the roots are really in there good and extend everywhere! They are also too thick to remove without the use of a chainsaw. So we have to remove all the dirt and rocks from around them before we can get them out. It’s a super tedious job after a while. But we succeeded in removing two out of the three stumps while I was there, so that was pretty satisfying.

I also worked a bit on uncovering a trash midden that we found behind the back wall. It was pretty interesting because the wall had two holes in the structure that most of the ceramic pieces are clustered around. Could it be an ancient Maya trash chute?? We don’t know for sure, but it’s a fun thought. And we found some cool things besides just pottery. There was a full mano, an obsidian blade, and even a piece of possible black jade! Pretty awesome. We mapped out the unit to show where everything was found and the next team there will probably go down farther into the ground to see if they find the same patterns.

During the day, we have water breaks at 10 and 2, although we can stop for water whenever we need to because we have to stay really hydrated. In the jungle it is SUPER hot and humid. The shade makes no real difference. At my site, every once in a while we'll get a breeze that is glorious. Also right after it rains or even during the rain sometimes it'll be cooler. Getting some of that moisture out of the air. But then the mosquitoes are killer. It's a constant battle between the heat and the bugs.

Lunch is at noon, and all the teams meet by the trucks to eat together – a meal packed by Margaret, usually consisting of chicken, rice, and beans. Then we start packing up and leaving our sites around 3, to ride out around 3:30. We head back to base camp, where we then fight over the showers before dinner.

Welcome to the Jungle

I've been out in the field again for a few days now and it is wonderful. A bit different than last year though. Before, I was at a site that didn't have a lot of trees, but was surrounded by cow pastures. So there was a ton of sun and not many bugs. It was nice.

This year, all the volunteers are working at one site, split into teams. Xnoha has a very different atmosphere than what I worked in previously. It is literally in the middle of the rainforest. Each morning we drive to the site, all of us bouncing around in the back of the trucks, until we get to this extremely muddy and treacherous dirt road – or really just tire grooves – that leads straight into the trees of the jungle.

When we walk to our team’s site, we have to make our way along a narrow passageway through the trees. The ambiance is just amazing. It feels like you’re stepping into Jurassic Park or something. You can hear the birds above you and the howler monkeys howling angrily in the distance. If you’re lucky, a spider monkey might pass overhead as you walk by and shake some trees at you. Finally there is a break in the trees and you see the familiar blue tarps hanging over the site.

Next time I have my camera with me when we go out, I'll try to take pictures or a video.

Back in Belize

Here I am, back in Belize, for another two week session with the Maya Research Program. It’s so great to be back! I didn’t realize how much I missed it until we were all on the bus heading from the airport to camp. It’s a two hour drive and we were all exhausted and sweaty in the humidity. The breeze felt wonderful coming in the old school bus windows, as we sat in the janky seats with our backpack straps flying in the wind from the racks above our heads.

I love watching the landscape of Belize rush by the windows. Everything is so green and luscious. The rundown little towns and neighborhoods put a lot into perspective. We are not in a first world country anymore. A lot of the time you’ll see little shacks along the road where people must live, since there is a clothesline with shirts hanging on it outside. When you do come across houses, even the bigger nicer ones, there is still an air of ramshackle-ness to them. They are all painted in beautiful bright colors that make me smile – baby blue, yellow, orange, sea green, even lavender purple. But they all have a slight grunge to them as well. Many of them are under “construction,” with metal rods sticking out of the roof. I guess in Belize you get a break in taxes if you are doing construction on your house, so a lot of people start constructing these second floors, with no intention of ever finishing them.

The drive went by quickly. The first half was pretty smooth, since a lot of the roads in Belize have recently been repaved. But the second half was a lot bumpier. It felt like some sort of theme park ride, bouncing up and down in our seats. But soon I could see the top of the hill with the silhouettes of all the cabanas at base camp. It felt like coming home.

Another Adventure

I've decided to start this blog to document my trip this summer, and any travels I may embark on in the future. I must warn you, I have this horrible habit of never fully finishing a travel blog. (see Paris et Moi or You better Belize it!) So forgive me in advance.

Tomorrow I start my journey to Belize and Peru. I will be participating in two different archaeological digs, and I'll be out of the country for a total of eight weeks. My internet will be spotty so I will try to post as often as possible.