Caye Caulker Part 2.5

I'm technically getting a little ahead of myself with that title. Last time I left you was with parents and futbolito. So Thursday I did in fact take them to Xunantunich which kinda worked out perfectly because they had gotten all the Mayan history the previous day at Tikal so I could just take them around pointing out some of the major things and just being on our own. My mom and I made it all the way to the top and unlike the last time I was up there, it was pretty toasty and there was very good visibility all around. So clear that I could easily see Benque.

There it is, home sweet home. It was pretty dang cool when people asked where I was from I could just turn and point and say, "There."

We also saw this large iguana on the way down.

So then we did go to Cayo for some lunch and ice cream. And when I say lunch I mean I took my parents to Greedy's where we could get pizza because, well, I wanted pizza. And it was so good to eat it! Then what kind of hostess would I be if I let them leave Cayo without going to Western Dairies for ice cream? So we each got our soft serve which went perfectly with the hot day. After that it was back to Benque to meet up with Deacon Cal for a tour at BRC which is the printing company he started from scratch. It's a really incredible story and I wish I knew the details well enough to do it justice, but basically when they came down almost 40 years ago, they saw that the children weren't learning because they didn't have books. They didn't have books because they couldn't afford them. Without having any clue about business or printing, Deacon decided to start a printing business and through many blessings it has flourished into a very successful company that not only provides the school books for primary schools, but also now does commercial printing. All this of course is giving jobs to people here in Benque, so it's really good work that BRC is doing.

On Friday we had no classes which was awesome because I had no qualms about taking my parents to Placencia! That name might sound vaguely familiar to you because this is the very same place Kelley and I chaperoned the 2nd Form Boys field trip aka one of the best days I've had here. Anyway, it was such a different trip than last time for many reasons. Obviously, there weren't 50 teenage boys for me to be in charge of, it wasn't the rainy season so the sun was out, and I was there with my parents and Joe. All the other volunteers had left that morning to go to Flores, but Joe and I had other things to do that weekend which I will get to in a second. But I do like the drive to Placencia because it's through a much prettier part of Belize than the bit from Belize City to Benque and you get to this little town at the end of a peninsula and you feel so isolated and you forget that you even have a lot of work to plan for next week or dumb students that ruin your day or any of those pesky things. So we swam and sat on the beach and ate lunch and had a lovely day.

 Oh my goodness, I love the beach.

 This is my cute tiny little shell that I found.

Here is proof that Joe can relax. Though to be fair, he was waiting for us to be ready to go...

Since we had eaten lunch later in the afternoon, we kind of skipped dinner but we were in Cayo at the perfect time to stop by Cayo Twist and get some delicious dairy free ice cream. Then it was back home to shower and get ready for Saturday which is when my parents left and Joe and I were heading back to Caye Caulker because....

KAT IS HERE!!!!!!!!

Some of you don't know Kat, but she is one of Joe's good friends and someone Katie, Elisabeth, and I were friends with from Franciscan and she came down with the mission team last year. Well she teaches in New Orleans and this week is their Mardi Gras break, so she thought why don't I go visit? And we figured why spend the whole week in Benque when a) it's not that exciting and b) she's already been to Benque. So Saturday through Monday we were in Caye Caulker. I know, I know, I'm super spoiled having 2 weekends in a row there, but I probably won't have any kind of break/vacation until Easter plus they were for visiting people, so I honestly don't feel the least bit guilty. 

But without further ado, I give you some pictures from our weekend.

The gorgeous sunset our first night

Kat driving our sailboat as we go out to different spots for snorkeling. Also pictured is our ridiculous captain, Keith, who seemed to be in love with her.

This is usually where people stay out of the water. This is exactly where we got in the water. Yep, sharks and rays.

This picture is hilarious because what Kat said was, "Ok now look like you're dying!" I think I'm doing a good job. Joe stinks and looks happy.

That was on Sunday and the rest of the day was spent getting cleaned up, taking a break from the sun, and just enjoying the warmth and breeze of the island. We left on Monday but not until noon so in the morning we went for a little walk down the island to the more remote undeveloped parts. That's honestly my favorite section of Caye Caulker because all you hear is the water and the breeze and you become enveloped in the peace. But alas, we had to return to the mainland and then Benque eventually so we headed to our water taxi and went into Belize. And it was our lucky Caye Caulker trip because when we arrived at the bus station there was an express bus getting ready to leave for Benque! So it makes fewer stops and cuts out an hour of the travel time and is definitely worth the extra dollar. Plus we arrived with Kat! So it was a pretty good welcome back to Benque.

Yay for having such a great weekend!

Then Tuesday came and it was Mardi Gras! Did I mention Kat is from New Orleans? So what this meant for us is real Mardi Gras beads that my 1st Form girls just loved and we had gumbo for dinner. Yes. Please. After gumbo, festivities for Pancake Day were underway. You see, last week 2 medical students from Wales arrived to work in the clinic in Succotz (the town right next to us) and sometimes they come to Benque to hang out with us because frankly we're awesome. They're also the only non-Belizeans living in Succtoz, but I'm sure that has nothing to do with it. Anyway, they were telling us that in the UK they celebrate Pancake Day before Ash Wednesday which includes eating pancakes but also pancake relays and other such games. Naturally, we were all about it. So last night our house turned into a pancake house and there is photographic as well as video evidence in existence about the pancake relay that happened in front of my house. 

Well that's where we are this week. It's Ash Wednesday which means so many things like having Mass this morning at school, but more importantly it means the beginning of Lent. I was talking to one of the classes in the chapel yesterday about Lent and I told them that Jesus went into the desert for 40 days to pray and to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit. And now Lent is our turn to go in with him. Are you ready for it? Ok. Let's go.

St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Totus Tuus, Maria.