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.