A trip to the lake

One day we decided it was time to take our kids to the lagoon, where we so often went for fun when we were younger. The lake now is not visited nearly as much as it used to be, which makes is all the more a hidden quiet retreat in the jungle to get away to on a lazy Sunday. And to be honest, a little spooky.

  Bad thing, it rained. Good thing, we could eat under this shelter and enjoy it until the rain let up. the lake was much higher than I remember it being.

 Then we heard a howler monkey from the jungle, up close! The kids were super excited to go and find it. 

Except little Vicky of course, she did not think this strange noise was anything to be happy about.

 We wanted to see at least one crocodile in one of the lakes but we had no luck. Maybe next time. They will appear in the night if you go rafting out unto the lake on a full moon night. I am talking from experience, and one I would never ever care to repeat. Whew.

 Here they are inside the green hole. This hole resembles the other ones surrounding the lagoon but for some reason this one does not hold any water.???

 

 Little miss and myself did not go down but watched from above. 

 Climbing out of the hole.

 Going home again. It was a fun visit, but it is always good to be out of the jungle again where we can feel a little safer. Its a beautiful country, but you always cast an extra look over your shoulder in places like these.

Gone Camping

 It had been a long enough time ago since we went camping last time, so we decided to go last weekend. Off to Mountain Pine Ridge we went with my brother and his family.

 Two cousins that are still working on becoming friends, and this weekend helped along a long way.

 A growing pineapple that someone must have planted.

 Wild orchid, the national flower of Belize. And below is what is believed to be ST. John's Wort, but I can not be sure of that, since online photos seem to differ.

 A (somewhat-risky) swimming hole for the children. It was pleasant to go there and put our camping chairs in the water and cool our feet during the heat of the day, while watching out for the little ones.

 Perhaps the most fun activity was the four-wheeling fun. There are countless rough logging trails, or trails made by four-wheelers that we can explore all day if we want to.

 This is my brother's family.

 The children had lots of fun, creating what they could with what was available.

 Playing school.

  And the food, it was good as always! It must be the best part of camping.

Lizzy's breakfast was beans with eggs and fried jacks. Hmmm good.

Mine was buttermilk pancakes with homemade breakfast patties.

 Those favorite blankies are special everywhere...little Ashley

 

 

 While exploring we came across an abandoned military camp. That was an exciting find. The military likes to do some of their training back here in the isolated mountains.

 It felt like a historic battlefield, but good thing we know it wasn't that.

 This boy had almost too much fun, if there is such a thing!

 The children had not yet seen the 1,000 foot waterfalls, so on our way back from camp we decided to stop by. It was well worth it. It was awesome and majestic just seeing it again, even though I have seen it before. Only about a third of the falls can be seen, but that third is spectacular enough to go see it.

The Summer Rain

He shall come down like rain upon mown grass; like abundant showers dripping on the earth. Psalms 72:6

Isn't a shower on freshly mown grass one the most refreshing things on earth? That is how our Lord will come one day... Here in Belize we now have the rainy season, so I can enjoy this over and over lately. 

I never get tired of watching those rain clouds. The grass is as green as it gets. In short, I just love the rainy season. I have been taking more photos lately, because everything is just beautiful. Sometimes I can't believe how lovely this old earth is. What will the new one be like?!

 Daniel is happily farming agriculture this summer. This is our corn. I can't wait for those tamalitos! I shall tell you all about making those when the time comes...The corn has been having perfect growing weather so far. Corn is in high demand in this country lately, so we hope it will turn out to be a wise investment.

 This is Daniel's parents' farm. Which might maybe be our temporary home someday, let's see.

So, now I want to share one more reason for the title. I have a new niece! Can you guess what her name is??? Her first is Naomi, which means pleasant. Her second is Rain. How sweet is that! I can't wait till she comes back home from Canada so I can enjoy her...

Thirteenth Anniversary

Daniel and I celebrated 13 years together last week. We took the weekend to get away. And, a wonderful get-a-away it was all right. We went right back to the place where we spent part of our honeymoon. Here are some photos to enjoy. 

 The cabins at our resort, MET. The resort is tucked away in the forest, a very private and lovely place to retreat from bustling life. 

 We did not ride, but I did like the looks of the stables; I like anything rustic. 

 The cantina where fresh home-cooked meals are served.

 Birds eating at a bird feeder.

 Saturday afternoon we went further into Mountain Pine Ridge. We visited some friends, and then hiked to this waterfalls that is way out where nobody is. That is one thing I really like about this country; there are places to go where nobody else is, places that are out there in the wilderness for us to explore.

 Private road we took to the falls.

 This creek comes from the falls. We were determined to swim so we did, but whew, was it cold. I mean it was cold, kinda like canadian waters.

We had a sunny day on Saturday when we did the hiking, then on Sunday when we wanted to rest and relax it was cloudy and a little rainy. Perfect weather.

 To top the weekend off, we ate sunday lunch at this Barn & Grill Steakhouse. It again is rustic, just according to my liking. If you are from Belize or visiting, be sure to check them out! They are just west of the dangerous curve on the Western Highway, in Teakettle.

 I had cowboy steak. It was seriously delicious.

I tried to capture the rain, but I can never do that too well with my cameras. But you get the idea.

That was our weekend! Hope you enjoyed the tour.

(There is one special item that I acquired when we were still at the resort, but I will blog about that later! I am very excited about it, but I have yet to go back there to pick it up...I know you are curious, but keep checking back! Think vintage, furniture...;)

Jaguar Preserve Camp

 We went camping  last weekend after we left the beach.

 The trail to the river. We went tubing, and had a blast, but unfortunately we don't have a waterproof camera so we couldn't take it with us into the water We had to drag our own tubes to where we got in the river, and then tubed about 20 minutes. Timothy and I walked back after that, but the others swam a little more. That is when I found some jaguar tracks.

 I think these are called cow foot leaves. They make a wonderful tea, and it tastes just like sassafras tea. We made some at camp.

Too bad we never got to see one of them, but we saw footprints so we knew they were close by, and just knowing that went a long way. I am pretty sure in the evening at dusk we heard a huge cat, and I dared Daniel to go and find it; he went, but it was not on the path and the jungle is mostly impenetrable so he couldn't find it. It sounded just like a cat meowing, only much louder and deeper. It could have been another member of the cat family, as the reserve has 5 species of wild cats.

 The next day when Daniel took the oldest two hiking, I took Timothy and went back to the tracks to take a photo of them. Its not very clear, but the best I could do.

 Isn't it wonderful when you go camping, and your children take over putting up the tent? I love it!

I dared this little 'mancub' to climb up here, and he did. Then he wanted to jump down, and I had to explain that you don't do everything they do in movies!

 Studying the map to see what hike to take the next day...

Warming up by the fire in the morning.

 Our camp in the morning mist. Daniel and Joseph shared one tent, and we others in the other one. We don't all fit in one anymore. It was so peaceful here, no one else camped except us and the wild things.

 Cooking is always the best part, isn't it... Here we have potatoes, chicken, and beans with onions and culantro. Culantro grew wild all over the place, so I added it to our food. (Culantro tastes like cilantro, only better!)

 This is taken by Daniel, on their several hour hike. Next time I camp here, I'm taking this hike! They told me how beautiful the waterfalls, the mountains and everything was.

 Taken by Jessica. Victoria Peak is in the background, the second tallest mountain in Belize, and hiked by only expert climbers.

Oooohhhh. Who wants to join me in going here?!!

 Crossing the creek at the plane wreck.

 Three people who were studying the jaguars crashed this plane here long ago. (Nobody died.)

The park has lots of birds that I have never seen elsewhere. We saw curassows a few times. We saw no animals except one deer, but we heard more than that. This truly is a wild place, but absolutely enjoyable.

Now, who wants to come visit us? I am looking for another chance to go back here...