A Belizean adventure with teenagers, part three
August 3, 2017
Travel day . We awoke at 5 a.m. to deflate our air mattresses and hit the road. Breakfast was three grapes. Two hours and 47 half-sing-alongs later, we reached a hotel where we left our luggage and continued to Caye (read: key) Caulker.
On arrival, we hopped a boat to the island. It’s about 45 minutes in the open water to the Caye. We dropped off the non-snorklers (this left me alone to supervise more than a dozen teenagers), and and went on tho the scuba rental place. We got our gear, along with the other PPM group, and headed out with great anticipation. Our guides were great and even gave us fresh pineapple. We saw Tarpins and pelicans and the kids fed both fish.
Then, we did the official snorkeling among the the coral reefs, also seeing some Dori-like fish #FindingNemo. Derwin was my buddy for safety purposes, and his life jacket came apart in the middle of our swim, leaving him floating in open ocean as chunks of foam floated away in all directions like so much shipwreck debris. The salt water was brutal, but otherwise it was so amazing.
Afterward, we went to “Shark and Ray Alley”, which I suspect is so named for the benefit of the tourists. There we saw stingray s galore, a barracuda and maybe a shark. They gave us bagged water (Crystal, of course) on the way back. Poor Rachel had her GoPro fall apart in the depths, so who knows if the footage will have survived.
After, I accompanied Rachel and Peyton to lunch at a beachfront place called “Bambooze,” (which I mean, OK, seems great for a mission trip but whatever, we were hungry) a restaurant with rope swings at its tables. I had a burger with a weird pink sauce and fries. The girls tried a pineapple chicken, which I’d like to try at home, when my taste for chicken returns.
After our sandy adventure lunch at Bam-no-boozle, I returned to my room to shower in our glorious air-conditioned hotel room and took a long nap. I was so tired and dehydrated and had a gnarl sunburn where I missed with the spray. I awoke just as we were gathering for dinner. I took a few pictures on the pier and left briefly to grab a pen and lock the door to our room. When I returned the group had left without me! I called my uncle and he came back to retrieve me. Dinner was just down the alley, after all.
The food was OK. Nothing special, but I didn’t have much appetite either. Chicken (of course), lobster, coleslaw and watermelon. After dinner, Mark gave a final message and anointed me and the other adult chaperones. I anointed the other Laura and she her group and so on. It was lovely to hear the kids talk about each other. Afterwards, we had a final worship with Maddy, who was dead tired by this point. Mark and a few of the girls prayed with me which was really sweet. It’s so peaceful on the beach with the sea breeze coming in. I am normally so awkward in worship situations, but I really felt like the presence of God was there with us.
I also learned that it was probably the second of Anna’s two left flip-flops that saved me earlier, when one of mine went missing from the boat. I chatted with a few of the kids about politics briefly, which was actually OK. I’ve spent the entire week avoiding the topic and the news, which has been so, so healing for my soul. A bunch of the kids were scheming to stay up all night, but Maddy and I were in bed pretty darn quick!
August 4, 2017
Travel day. Woke briefly for the sunrise at 5, then slept fitfully until I showered and packed up quick at 7. Had juice and cinnamon rolls with the team on the beach before boarding the bus back to the mainland.
We saw part of a dolphin on the way. Those who stayed up all night were already startin to nod, but they’ve turned it intol a full competition. It’s not a competition any of us over the age of 30 ever wants to take on!
Once we arrived at the mainland, we took the bus to get our luggage at the Global Hotel, then on to the airport. I was already sweating profusely by 9 a.m., having undone the work of my shower. I bought a few things at the airport gift shop (including a $5US Red Bull) to use up my Belizean dollars, but I still have $30 BZ to go. We’re headed to Atlanta and then on to MSP. It’s all air-conditioned from here on out!
