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.
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