Coastal Vacation Time!

The rest of our trip was spent in Hopkins.  We stayed at a resort and fully enjoyed their amenities and relaxation opportunities.

We ate at little restaurants where some version of rice, beans and stew meat were the main thing on the menu.

We had ice cream almost every day.

We did have one adventure day!  We went out to the reefs and snorkeled with the fish.  Unfortunately, it started pouring rain on the 45 minute boat ride out to the reef.  The water was warm and wonderful but it sucked to not be able to get dry in the rain.  Will had the most fun but the rest of us were done after the second stop.  We asked to be taken back to the hotel early.  It was amazing to see the different fish and swim in the crystal clear water.  On the boat ride back we were all shivering but happy to have had the experience.

Of course we got lots of swimming in the ocean time done on the beach right outside our hotel door.

We took the hotel bikes out on a ride down a long dirt road.  We passed beautiful homes on acres and acres of land.  Many were for sale, probably a few that were air bibs that they couldn't rent out during COVID.  The different plants were a wonder to see.  We biked along a marsh.  Colter kept loosing his flip flops.  In a most unfortunate event, he lost his flip flop and then lost control of his bike going over the edge of the road and into the marsh.  It was tragic.  

He got back on his bike and made his way back to the hotel.  Once again, memories were made.

More food.

Family game night with popcorn and candy.

Learning to sail with the Capitan.

And our last night was pizza night at a place with African drumming.  Apparently, Hopkins was one of the first places in the Caribbean to create a place where black people were free and not slaves.  It was called Free Town.  One particular tribe of African people made up the majority of the citizens in Free Town.  Today there is a strong influence from this tribe in Hopkins, including this form of drumming.

 We fully enjoyed every second of our time in Belize and we have the bug bites around our ankles to prove it.

A note about the ATM

While we were staying in San Ignacio, we were supposed to take the ATM hike.  ATM stands for ActunTunichil Muknal, which means cave of the stone tomb in Mayan.  Mayans believed caves were portals to the underworld.  They also believed you had to pass through different levels of the underworld after you died.  Priests would go into the caves to offer sacrifices to different Gods of the time.  So the ATM is a sacred site for the Mayan people and the people of present day Belize.  Action Tunichil Muknal is one of the few places tourists are allowed to go but they cannot bring any cameras or phones.  

On the day we were scheduled to take our hike, the ATM was closed due to flooding.  It had been pouring rain every night and parts of the day since we showed up in Belize.  We were sad about missing the hike.  The ATM is supposed to be a once in a life time experience.  Luckily for us, we rented a car in Belize.  While we were in Hopkins we decided we would make the drive back to the ATM and take in the hike.  This was a big deal, the drive is nearly two hours.  But we wanted to see the ATM.  We met our tour group at the entrance to the road down to the ATM.  We got to take our own car to the ATM instead of the tour bus (win).  

We walked for about thirty minutes cross a river three times before we got to the entrance to the cave.  We had to swim to the entrance and start our hike in pitch darkness of a cave.  We had helmets and headlamps to light the way and protect our heads.  I do not know how the Mayans made this hike with their offerings and holding a torch for light?  We scrambled up rocks and waded through water.  We swam and walked through the river in deep water and water up to our chests.  We all had an opportunity to be grateful for the helmets when we bonked our heads on the rocks.  We squeezed through impossible cracks in the rocks.  We learned about the animals and creatures that lived in the caves.  

Finally we reached the sight of the sacrifices.  This cave is a living museum.  There are clay pots and the remainder of alters all over the place.  It is beyond fascinating.  There are also two skulls and one full skeleton, the last person sacrificed in the cave, probably around 900 AD.  

Poor Adell was closest to our guide as he was describing the sacrifices.  The rest of us were spared because of the sound of the rushing water kind of drowning him out.  But Adell heard the full story.  She told Will she wasn't feeling well.  He could tell she was going down hill so he wrapped his arms around her just as she fainted.  Adell fainting was the scariest part.  Will has had this happen a few times in our early marriage.  It is a faint and kind of a seizure.  It is scary to be the one watching and feeling helpless.  It was just a few seconds and she came out of it.  The tour guide gave her a snickers bar and some water.  We took a break before we took the last bit of the hike to see the full skeleton.  

The hike back was much faster.  We all really learned a lot and had a powerful experience...fainting included.  We were all hungry and tired.  The tour company had big plates of rice, beans, and stew chicken waiting for us.  I think it was the most delicious meal I ate in Belize.

Because we were in a rental car instead of the tour bus we got to leave when we were ready and have privacy.  Extra bonus, we got to take a long dirt road through farm fields to shorten the drive back to Hopkins.  We all marveled at the experience we just had.  We shared highs and lows.  We talked about what we learned and what we were grateful for doing.  It was a once in a life time experience!

Chocolate making in San Ignacio

After having our tour of the ATM canceled because of flooding AND an eventful break down of our rental car we spent our last day in San Ignacio touring a chocolate making place and eating at our favorite restaurant, Pops, one last time.  

The whole country of Belize has the most colorful houses.  They put the painted ladies of San Francisco to shame!

Because we were waiting for a "new" rental car to be delivered to us we walked around San Ignacio.  It was interesting to be in the town and experiencing the culture.

The chocolate making tour was the most interesting thing!  They make chocolate in the traditional Mayan way.  We learned how the pods are harvested off of the trunk or large branches of a coco tree, not off the ends of branches like a fruit tree we would see in the US.  We learned how the beans are removed and put in jars to ferment.  We got to smell the fermenting beans and wow, it was gross.  They told us about how the juice from the fermentation is used to make vinegar and wine.  Then the beans are dried and roasted.  Once they are roasted they are cracked and the coco nibs are available.  You can eat the nibs.  Then the nibs are ground into a paste.  Mayans used this paste to make the first hot chocolate drink which was more like a coffee drink than the sweet coco we like today.  

It was a great way to end our last day in San Ignacio and the adventure part of our trip.  The rain was heavy and warm.  We were ready to head to the coast and start the vacation part of our trip.

Horses and Mayan Ruins Xunantuich

 This adventure took my breath away.  In a few ways!  Last night I woke a few times in the night to hear rain pounding on the roof.  I was worried about the clothes I had left outside to "dry" (so much for that) and what the rain would mean for our adventure today.  We were riding horses for about 8 miles to a set of Myan ruins called Xunantuich (tuna sandwich, Chunan TOON eetch).  The rain stopped and started a few times in the 30 minutes we were getting dressed and ready to go.  Will checked with our guide who said "rain or shine we ride!".  Our guide was, once again, fantastic.  He picked us up at our hotel and drove us out to the ranch/farm where we got set up with our horses.  Colter was on the lead horse, Kish.  Clare was second on Noah, I was third on Baaratt, Adell was behind me on Keturah (the only girl horse) and Will brought up the rear on Jacob/French Fries.  Will got the slowest horse.  We were told out in the fields he likes to pretend he is the boss of all the horses and run all over the place but as soon as it was time to work, he refuses.  He just wants to sit and watch the other horses go and he won't go unless he wants to.  I was worried when the first brought my house out, he reared up a little bit.  But he ended up being the sweetest horse.  He was a good boy.  

As we set out the rain started falling again.  This was actually my favorite part of the trip.  The first half of riding was through farms and kind of plains with jungle/forests far off.  We passed through several gates between properties, and the views were stunning!  We could see a rainbow in front of us at one point.  The lushness of the grass and plants was shocking and so beautiful.  The rain falling was warm and gave the whole atmosphere an extra layer of magic.  I loved it!  Then we rode along a river for another 3 miles or so.  That was cool but we were in forest/jungle along a river so there wasn't as much to see.  However, we saw three toucans!  It was amazing.  They were in the trees right above us.  They were small with a mostly black beak and a bright orange bit on the top of their bills.  We also saw a gigantic iguana across the river.  Our guide, Ellio and Kendal, were so helpful and fun.  It was great.  Then we had a mile or two on the town road and then we took a hand cranked ferry across the river to the road that lead to Xunantuich.  We had to dismount and lead our horses.  It was scary but the horses were good.  

At the ruins we learned a lot about the Mayan culture and times.  The Mayan had a detailed and correct calendar and astrological understanding.  They had months that were 20 days with the last month being 5 days totaling 365.  They had calendars going back thousands of years.  The good looking elite class had their heads forced into cone shapes, crossed eyes, teeth ground flat, and stones placed in the teeth.  They had a God for everything and one God that was the creator of it all.  They had an impressive Queen leader at one point.  They went out and made alliances with people in Tulum and other areas.  They attacked other areas.  They were polygamous.  They knew how to create fuel from the crushed berries of a certain tree.  They knew how to make novocaine from the allspice tree.  They were masons and builders.  They are thousands of years old.  Like dating back to 3000 BC I think.  Our guide, Kendall, speaks Spanish, English and Mayan.  His parents sell produce in the market.  The clouds broke and we had beautiful sun while we walked around the ruins.  A couple got engaged near us at the top of the main castle/pyramid.  It was sweet and fun.  

On the ride home, as soon as we got to town the sky opened up and it started raining buckets!  Like torrential rain!  It came down in sheets and sheets.  We were quickly soaked in rain.  It was a blast.   Xunantuich

I am scared of animals.  I don't know why but I am.  I never feel fully at ease around them, all kinds.  I just get spooked easily around any and all animals.  So you can imagine how excited I was about riding a horse for three hours today.  I took the approach of an out pouring of "good jobs' for Baaratt.  Congratulations, and thanks, and you are doing such a good job.  Were my constant speech.  It helped me feel grateful for what Baaratt was doing (hauling my butt in the rain) and helped me calm down after Baaratt would trot fast or get away from my control for a little bit.  Horses are supposed to be able to tell if you are freaked out and will respond.  I guess they can sense your heartbeat?  Anyway, occasionally I would imagine Baaratt running wild and be getting bucked off, or worse, dragged.  I would start to freak out and would have to pull myself back to the very present moment.  I was safe, Baaratt was being so good, and I didn't need to worry about that happening.  What a trick!  Colter on the other hand, was cool and all but would get easily frustrated with his horse.  His horse had different ideas on what to do.  He wanted to stop and eat grass, he wanted to take Colter under the trees.  He wanted to go fast or slow.  Colter would try and stear or stop Kish and Kish would not listen.  The more frustrated Colter got, the more willful Kish got.  I don't know if Kish was responding to Colter so much as I know Colter could have helped himself out by not getting so frustrated.

December 2021

Will and I decided to give each of the kids a trip for their birthday this "year".  It started with Colter in June getting to go to Las Vegas to see Blue Man Group.  We had not set the intention of taking all the kids on a trip but Colter had been wanting to see them preform and they were finally having their first in person performances after COVID.  Then Will took Wyatt to Hawaii in November to tour BYU Hawaii and surf.  We did not take Lorien anywhere but have brought her home and taken her on a few solo trips in her life.  Now for Adell's trip!  She got a trip down to San Diego to see Lorien and take a special art class together.

On the first night we rented E-bikes and zipped around town.  E-bikes are amazing!  I never want to ride a traditional bike again.  It was so fun to just pedal a little bit and get a zippy push from the bike.  FUN!

We took the girls to a cool restaurant called, Camp Fire.  The food was delicious and their signature dessert was...s'mores you cooked over coals at your table.  Some of us used the coals to warm our hands but all of us enjoyed our dessert.

The next day Adell and Lorien went to their art class while Will and I went out to breakfast at a super trendy place in downtown San Diego, Breakfast Bitch.  Most of the waiters and restaurant staff appeared to be gay and referred to us as bitches whenever they talked to us.  It was hilarious!  "Hey bitches!  Do you want to hear about our specials?"  I laughed all morning about it.

That night we all took Lorien and her roommate/best friend, Emma, out to a fancy French restaurant before we hopped on a plane home.  We tried fun cheese, adventurous main dishes, and fancy salads.  It was another great meal together.  However, as we drove home from the airport around 11:00 pm Adell said in a weak voice (she had been slumped on Will's shoulder for the flight home) "I didn't want to say anything at the restaurant but I couldn't taste a single thing."  UGH.  That meant she had COVID for sure. Will and I were bummed.  We stopped at 24 hour CVS and bought a home test kit.  It came back positive that night.  We moved Colter into our room on the floor and set Adell up to spend 10 days alone in her room.  Not fun.  We also had to do the phone call of shame telling Lorien and all of her roommates they should watch for COVID symptoms.  Woof.

We got a sweet letter from my brother, Charlie.  Charlie is in jail for arson.  We send him books and letters every few months.  He sent us one of his drawings and told us he was well.

After Adell's 10 day isolation we were able to go pick up a Christmas tree.  We normally do that the weekend after Thanksgiving.  But Will and I had COVID that weekend, then we went to San Diego, then Adell got COVID.  We were treeless for a long time!  We quickly picked one of the very first trees we saw and headed home.

With equal haste/efficiency we tied the tree to our roof and zoomed home.  Only to have our efficiency bite us in the butt when our tree fell off the top of the van as we crested a hill.  Memorable times for sure.

To add to the tree saga, once we got it home and set up we noticed the tree was missing all of it's branches on the bottom third of the tree on one side.  We all joked about how much we need Lorien when picking a tree.  Because Lorien has had three "last Christmases" at home she always insists on a big beautiful tree.  Without her pressure/discernment we picked a goofy tree.  More memories!  

We've had a year of baking Christmas treats.  I usually save this stuff for when the kids are out of school for break.  But the kids get out so late it ends up not happening.  Will and Adell had a baking day between his COVID sickness and our trip to San Diego.  Then I kept making treats throughout the month.  Delicious!

The December performances kicked into gear this year.  I had enjoyed our years off due to COVID.  You didn't catch me complaining about it once.  Clare sang with her high school choir.

Clare and Adell put on dance numbers in the Merry Little Christmas Show.  Clare was also a teacher for some of the little kid classes.

Clare and her friends put on a stunning rendition of the nativity with Clare and her friend being angles to another friend's Mary.  The dance was inspired, moving, and beautifully symbolic of the angles that helped Mary when Jesus was born.  Clare and her friends choreographed the whole thing too.  Talented girls!

Wyatt finished high school!  What, what!  He decided to finish school early so he could move out to Utah and try to make is way in the world.  We got balloons and I made a cap to go with the gown we had from Lorien's graduation.  We went out to dinner and cheered our boy on.  

Wyatt decided he would leave for Utah on Christmas Eve.  To get some celebration time with him we did our family dinner, measuring tree, and sibling gift exchange the night before he left for Utah.  Wyatt found the baby Jesus in his cake and got the twenty dollars!

Measuring tree, Wyatt is still the tallest kid but Clare is sneaking up on him...and Adell is sneaking up on Lorien.

Christmas Eve morning we all got our hugs good bye in with Wyatt.  Will and I drove him up to the train station in Sacramento.  His original plan was to take a bus from Dublin at 5 am.  We convinced him to let us drive him up to Sacramento instead.  

Wyatt bought his own train ticket, secured his own lodgings in Logan, Utah, and saved enough money to take care of himself while he found a job.  

I cried literal buckets of tears but I was and am very proud of him for trying to make his own way in the world.  I tried to tell him to buy bricks and not straw and to ignore the wolves when they come knocking at his door.

Christmas morning happened.  A morning after I cried on the phone to my big brother when he offered to visit Wyatt at the train station in Salt Lake so Wyatt wouldn't be alone Christmas morning.  As I sobbed on the phone, Will came down with two antidepressants and two Tylenol PMs and told me to go to bed.  I complied.  Christmas morning was quiet and small but it was the second year without Wyatt home for Christmas.  Will gave the family a trip to Belize and a Nintendo Switch!

AND AT LONG LAST Adell and Colter got their first round of the COVID vaccine.  We had to wait because of our household having COVID but they were total troopers for it.