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| A wall mural at the café feat. a song based on Ezekiel 37:1-10. |
The next day, we decided to act like true tourists and go into town to buy some souvenirs. The markets were only set up til mid day, so we searched quickly for the best hammock deal we could find. After a few stops, we found our man and a technicoloured masterpiece was our prize. Along with other little souvenirs and a couple more hammocks (for good measure), we walked to the bus stop to catch a ride back to Machaca. On the way, Papa Jop (the elderly white Jehovah's Witness who made our delicious pizza two nights ago) passed by. He yelled while riding his bicycle, basket filled to the brim, trying to sell his sweet rolls and cheese buns. What a guy.
During the off days at Machaca, Willie and I hung around the gym, playing volleyball, soccer, and basketball with whoever was around. So that's what we did when there wasn't anything for us to do. On this day, we taught some visitors "Bump" and also played 3v3 volleyball with a group of teens from town (one kid had quite the vertical and could spike shockingly well, so it felt extra good to block him. Displaying some quality Canadian volleyball skill in doing so... as well as competitiveness). When we were too sweaty and drenched from the humid temperature, Willie and I retreated and read in our cabin. We heard purring and thought nothing of it, but later realized that there weren't any "house" cats at the camp... Apparently, Jaguarundi inhabit the bushes next to our cabin. Cool, actual wild cats, not stray "pets" with supposed owners.
After supper, when it was dark enough, we headed for the pit in the field to talk and play guitar around the bonfire. The only source of light for miles was our fire, everything else was lit up by the stars; literally billions of them, all visible. No moon to be seen, just a labyrinth of stars. We saw the most we've ever seen. Galaxies were strewn every which way as we took in the 360˚ gaze above. A ghoulish sound interrupted our awe. Howler monkeys. Their creepy hollow screeches resonated from miles away. Hearing these new wild sounds served as a reminder of how foreign we actually were. That realization is quite the feeling: the sense of adventure.
This was our final night of the trip, and still we had yet to stumble upon a snake. If you could remember (from the second chapter), we were told to check the other side of every log before we stepped over, just in case there was a coiled-up snake. Common, we thought they were! Well, my Dad and Don at least got a minor scare... While Willie and I were at the bonfire the whole time, my Dad and Don visited a local residence to check up on a girl who needed medical attention. On the drive there, they ran over something snake-like and decided to reverse back a bit to see what it was. Sure enough, the long snake was scrunched-up in it's coils, lying still. Unsure if it was dead or not, Don leaned out of his window with his flashlight to confirm their suspicions. It featured dark yellow-diamond blotches and was indeed a deadly Fer de Lance (Bothrops asper), the ultimate, venomous pit viper. Just as he was noting it's deadliness, the viper sprung up and lashed out at him. Startled badly, Don floored it out of there! The Fer de Lance is known to eject venom from it's fangs at a distance of at least 6 feet!!! In fact, these snakes are so dangerous that even a small bite could result in an entirely crippled limb. A worse bite could be fatal. Scary stuff. On our way to the Mayan Ruins a few days before (in chapter three), we filled up the van at a gas station, and the employee actually had a crippled hand from a Fer de Lance bite; again (Life Lesson #54), be careful where you swing your machete!
My Dad and Don's close call had definitely fulfilled our snake-encounter quota for the trip, and made us wonder what was under our cabin at night a little too much when we went to bed!
On our last day, we packed up and finally had to say our goodbyes. One last game of tetherball was needed, along with pictures, hugs, and blessings. Homeward bound, we were. The time we shared at Machaca and in the Southern Toledo district will be remembered dearly! It was such a blast to travel and just be with my Dad and brother on such an exciting trip, which gifted a fresh environment and culture for us. Who knows, we might find ourselves down there more sooner than later.
... You better BELIZE IT!
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| S.T.T.I's Class of 2012 at Machaca |
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| Our goodbye photo with Cliff, Luke, and Don. |
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| Willie taking it all in. |
Ben Howard - "Only Love"
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p.s. Wow, it has been seven months since our amazing trip to Belize. It took me a long time to finish this series of posts, but it has been a joy to continuously relive the memories for every single one of these five segments. I'm glad I stuck with it for my family's sake! And now, maybe I'll be free from my conscience to blog more... We'll see! Ha
Ciao for now!
