I feel very blessed for all that I have received and really wanted to give back to people less fortunate. The thought of going to a place where no one knew who I was or what I had been through was hard to pass up, too. In the past, a few organizations that had contacted me seemed interested in just using me as a poster child to advertise their cause. Having my own foundation keeps me pretty committed to my own cause. I just wanted to go to Monkey River to be another ordinary person helping out.
Since 2001, despite its remoteness, the village has continued to persevere. Even with constant besiegement from the ocean and its horrible storms. Their village was all but destroyed a week after 9/11 by a huge hurricane. Over a mile of their small beach was wiped out, which took away their tourist industry.
On this particular trip the goal was to help clean up the teacher’s house, which would be a house the teacher could use to stay in. Monkey River has one elementary school that supports not only Monkey River but also the surrounding districts across the river. Each day schoolkids get “bussed” over in boats to go to school in the village. Older high schoolers from Monkey River ride over to get on a bus that takes them to the high school one hour away. Sometimes the road becomes flooded due to all the rain the area receives, which makes the trip even longer for them.
After disembarking from the plane at the Belize airport, I went through customs for the second time in my life. We were then met outside the airport by Ted and the other volunteers that would make up our group. Rebecca spotted Ted and introduced us to him, and he in return introduced us to the other volunteers: Tony, Jack, Rachel, Pete, and Walter. The plan was to journey from Belize City to Monkey Bay Wildlife Preserve for the night.
There was just one problem I saw. We had one van for eleven adults and their luggage. We needed some serious organizational skills to fit it all in. Each person had at least one suitcase and backpack! It was a very tight squeeze, but we made it fit.
Oh, and did I mention NO AIR CONDITIONER! It was around eighty-five degrees, and with all the people stuffed in the van, it felt much hotter! Plus, I get car sick. I had taken Dramamine for the plane ride, so I was okay. The road was very narrow, and although Ted was a good driver, we came very close to the passing trucks. Wow, thinking about it, I can’t believe we made it in one piece!
Monkey Bay Wildlife Preserve is where researchers come from all over to study the ecosystem in Belize. Dinner that night was burritos with refried beans and fixings with sweet potato cakes for dessert along with tamarind and pineapple juice. The rooms were set up bunk-bed style. I slept like a rock, but others found it hard to sleep.
Since our trip to Ireland, Rebecca and I had started to work out religiously to get into better shape. So even though it was tempting to skip the exercise when on vacation, I didn’t want to get flabby! I kept up my cardio with Rebecca with a run that first morning in Belize. We started down a dirt path from the preserve and ran down about a mile to the Sibun River, which connects to the local swimming hole. A little dirty for even my standards, LOL. We went back to the preserve for a shower. Did I mention there was no hot water? Make that the quickest shower in history.
We once again piled into the van for the Belize zoo. We saw jaguars, toucans, howler monkeys, ocelots, and many other native animals. Lunch was at the local farmers’ market in the Belize capital of Belmopan. We chose a food stand called Deliah’s.
After lunch we began the two-hour journey to Monkey River Village. The road was very bumpy all the way out to the inlet of Monkey River. Once we arrived, we took a small motorboat across the river to the town. It was such a beautiful view from the boat looking across to the town: palm trees swaying in the breeze, coconuts on the ground, people about their daily tasks. Lots of dogs roaming around as well.
During my stay in the village, I learned that the local dog population is a village unto itself with a social system unique to the setting. One dog in particular captured my heart. For some reason, this dog started following me around town. I have no idea why. I promise I gave him no treats. We had been warned that some of the dogs were not friendly and were encouraged not to engage with them. Rex, for reasons of his own, took a liking to me and wherever I went, he could be seen. He was a pit bull and, true to the stories, as sweet as sweet could be.
Rex always made me smile every time I would see him behind me. Quietly following me wherever I went. One day when Chelsea, Rebecca, and I decided to go for a swim, a funny thing happened with Rex. I walked out into the nice warm water. There was a very long stretch of shallow water due to beach erosion. I could walk a long way without being totally submerged in the water, which was nice because you could sit in the water and it made you feel like you were in a bathtub! As I walked farther out, all of a sudden I hear shouting behind me. I looked back and the group on the beach, watching out for sharks, was shouting at the dog that was paddling his way out to me. Rex decided that even water would not separate us. So sweet. When it was time to leave the town, it was hard saying good-bye to such a sweet dog. I hope he is still that sweet dog I remember. Unfortunately, half the dogs in the village do not get spayed or neutered. I know Rex had a very good owner that took really good care of him and his fellow dog mates.
About two hundred people live in Monkey River. We were greeted by Debra, the hotel owner. The “hotel” was really just a run-down two-story shack of a building. I really couldn’t believe it was standing at all. In fact, some of the support beams looked very iffy and appeared to have massive termite damage. I know I lived in a tent, but it was never this bad. The people are very poor here.
As we explored the hotel, we found there was one bathroom downstairs and one upstairs. The toilet was hard to flush, and there was the biggest spider with the longest legs in history living in there. I hoped I didn’t have to go at night! Two people per room. I bunked with Chelsea in a room upstairs. We also teamed up for the eating schedule. Two people per household in a rotating schedule, so we ate with one family breakfast, lunch, and dinner for two days and then switched to the next host family. Kassel was my dinner partner, and dinner the first night was with Cazerine. She made us stewed chicken, yellow rice, and salad. She was the teacher in Monkey River for sixteen years. She had six kids and eight grandchildren. We finished the night with a beer and sat by the beach with some of the group. The sound of the ocean was so relaxing.
One of the volunteers, Walter, was a doctor, and he wanted to get the clinic back up and running while we were there. There was no medical doctor on the inlet, so all serious cases had to be boated and bussed into the nearest town. We cleaned the clinic for two days. There was a two-foot termite nest in the back bathroom. Gross! Chelsea, Charles, and I swept and mopped the floors. Rebecca cleaned the toilet. Pete fixed lightbulbs. The clinic opened on Monday and stayed open the entire ten days we were there. The line of patients never ended. Makes me sad to think they have no access to a full-time doctor. Reminds me of how my kids grew up without a doctor, too, and how scared I would always be when one of them got sick.
Kassel, Chelsea, and I played soccer with some of the village kids. It was fun to just run around and play a game. I about laughed myself to death. Who knew it could be so fun just to kick a ball around with friends?
Kassel and I had lunch at Cazerine’s where I tried fried snook for the first time! Not a fan. Thank goodness for the beans, broccoli, and cauliflower! After lunch, the kids took us down to the beach and we went swimming. We explored a ruin of an old house. I also saw the school for the first time that day.
I even had time for a nap that day, which was nice after the game of soccer. When I woke up, I went for a stroll down the beach to take some pictures. It then started raining, so I took shelter on a bench by Ivan’s bar. The dogs know just where to lie to not get wet. Rain showers are very frequent there. Charles came to get coffee and sat for a while until the rain subsided.
Later that day, the supplies for the teacher’s house came by boat. The group unloaded the supplies, and I helped take all t
he wood to the house for the project. We made a plan to start the next morning after breakfast.
Dinner that night was lobster fritters, rice, beans, salad, fried plantains, and banana bread for dessert. It was all really good, but the shells in the lobster fritters were hard to eat around.
It’s impossible to sleep in on Monkey River. The roosters start crowing at 3:00 a.m. every day. Which gets the howler monkeys started, which makes the dogs bark. The mornings are not quiet and peaceful. But I was not there for relaxation, I was there for the new experience, and I was getting the whole shebang.
Every morning Rebecca and I would exercise in some way or another. We wanted to keep active even though it was tempting just to lie on the beach and relax. Some of the local ladies would come and watch us, and we asked them to join us. We formed what we called the Monkey River Exercise Crew. Soon more local ladies joined us each morning for an exercise routine. While there, we learned that the community had a serious issue of diabetes as the women were quite overweight. Many of them died young of diabetes. One young lady was shocked to hear Rebecca was fifty-three, stating that “she should be dead”! It was not the norm there to be over fifty and fit.
I learned a lot about the impact of poverty on food choices, even in a small tropical community. Many villagers used to be farmers, and fresh food was readily available and used. But then the banana plantations moved in and wiped out the local farmers, which left the community importing their food, most of it not fresh. Exercising takes some creativity on a small inlet of land. We used what was available, and coconuts became our weights.
Even though I am not religious, I thought it would be good to observe the local custom of attending church on Sunday. So after breakfast we all went to church, and Ted, the leader of our group, gave a very nice sermon and we sang songs together. It was actually a nice way to connect further with the community.
Later that day, I went fishing with Kassel, Tony, and some local boys and learned how to use a hook and line. It was fun to learn something new. I caught my first small little fish but let it go. We watched the Super Bowl before dinner and had a beer at Ivan’s, where the locals hang out. It’s kind of like a bar, store, and restaurant all in one location.
We went to a new house for dinner that night. Our hostess’s name was Drina. On the last day she gave Kassel and me some homemade coconut oil. Drina cooked Kassel and me barracuda, black beans, and Johnny cakes. Not a fan of barracuda, but I ate half and Kassel ate the rest for me. We went back to the bar and watched a little more of the game, but I decided to go outside to get some fresh air and watch the sunset.
Breakfast was usually served at seven. After breakfast I usually went to Ivan’s and had a cup of instant Starbucks mocha. I had brought the flavored coffee straws with me. Never leave home without your Starbucks!
Work on the teacher’s house continued each day. We worked on removing the moldy, termite-ruined walls. All the walls needed to come down, actually. After that was done, Charles, Jack, Kassel, and Rachel sprayed for termites while Tony, Rebecca, Chelsea, and I went fishing. I caught another fish with just a line, bait, and hook. We stayed out for two and a half hours, and then I started to feel sick, so the boat dropped me, Chelsea, and Rebecca back at Monkey River while Tony went upriver to try to catch something bigger like a snook. Dinner that night was fried chicken, French fries, and tortillas. After dinner I would usually take a very fast shower (with cold water: yikes!).
One night the locals told us that it was a good night to watch for crocs in the river, so we went to the beach to try to spot one. I didn’t see anything, but the moon was very full and the ocean looked beautiful.
On the sixth day, we put up the new walls for the teacher’s house. I mostly nailed them with somebody holding the wall for me. After our day of work, we were treated to a lunch of fried chicken, French fries, and potato salad. After lunch we went back to work and then cooled off with a swim in the ocean.
That night dinner was at Ivan’s. He made us spaghetti and garlic rock shrimp. It was very yummy. It was the first time Kassel didn’t get any of my fish; he was very disappointed. For dessert, Ivan made us a cake with caramel sauce. The others came in after they were done with their dinners and wanted to mooch off our cake!
The next day we left bright and early at six for a cruise up the river to the jungle. Beautiful views surrounded us as we coasted down the river in a motorboat. Our guide was Darryl, and he was the dad of Malverie, one of the local ladies in town we had met and befriended. Malverie makes jewelry to sell at the local shop, and she let us pick a special piece to take back with us; I picked one with a fish. Seemed appropriate to remember this trip by.
Along the river, Darryl pointed out several birds, and we caught a glimpse of a croc for a second. We even saw tiny bats that were hanging onto a rotten tree trunk that was sticking out of the water. Darryl pointed out the male in the center of the group of six. He was easy to spot because he was the smallest one.
Next he pointed out a very tall tree that on first inspection looked like it had dried leaves hanging from it. In fact, those dried leaves were nests! There were hundreds on that one tree alone. Darryl told us that the tree was rare, and that particular species liked to make their nests on it.
After about four more miles, we pulled ashore and took to the jungle for a stroll. We made sure to spray ourselves from head to toe with mosquito repellent. In some places you could see swarms of mosquitoes just waiting to suck our blood! Darryl pointed out many native trees and told us of their usefulness. One tree’s bark was used for snakebites.
At one point, our guide left us in a clearing to go find howler monkeys for us to see. I have to admit it was a little scary being left alone in the middle of the jungle. We were all a little jumpy. Chef Charles kept wandering off exploring, and we would all shout at him to stay together! Finally, Darryl, our guide, came back and led us to where a group of howler monkeys were gathered together. It took awhile because he said the full moon and tide made them sleep in. The monkeys were very high up in the trees and hard to spot at first. We had been warned that they could decide to pee on us, too, so best to keep alert. It was a group of four, and one had a baby on its back. They did some howling for us and put on quite the show. Luckily, they didn’t pee on us. The return trip back to Monkey River was fun because the boat went fast.
We were all pretty hungry by the time we returned. We had lunch at Ivan’s, and it was onion and chicken soup with coconut rice and very delicious. We worked on the ceiling of the teacher’s house after lunch and finished about half of it before Tony, Jack, and Pete went fishing. Some of us stayed to clean up what we could, and a local man came over and brought us fresh young coconuts to drink. Yum. Fresh coconuts are so delicious when you are hot and sweaty. I remember the day was so humid, and the coconuts were the perfect thing to cool us off.
Strolling was fun to do in the village because it was nearly impossible to get lost. There are only three or four streets left in town, and there are absolutely no cars. There used to be more streets, I was told, but they were washed away with the beach. We watched the local woodworker carve beautiful bowls. It was amazing how he carves these beautiful bowls from the trunk of a specific tree that he hunts for days.
What I liked about Monkey River and what really surprised me was the kids and how inquisitive and thankful they were. Ordinary things that we take for granted mean the world to them. They treasured the art supplies and games we brought them. It was fun to watch them play all around the village. With there being no cars around, it was especially safe for them to ride their bikes everywhere. With all the bad things I have seen in the world and even knowing the poverty level there is so high, it refreshes me to see these kids just being kids. I know they have it bad, but they are very resilient.
I also loved to walk around and look at the different types of houses that were built there. Each house is built on stilts so they are above the water. Some are small and some are larger. They are all very col
orful, and each reflects the personality of its inhabitants, I think.
One day I took a walk with Rachel over to a place the locals call Tiger Beach. Kassel and Hector, a local boy he had befriended, were already there fishing. He also had eight other boys that had tagged along. It was very funny to see. Rachel and I walked all the way to the oldest tree in the village, which was right by the ocean and half destroyed. Sad to see that this once-proud tree was home to countless termites now and slowly dying.
The next day we went snorkeling. It was my first time, and I was so excited to learn how. Rebecca, Kassel, Chelsea, and I rented a boat and guide, and he boated us out to one of the many surrounding keys. We had missed exercise class that day, but much to our surprise, a local named Cyndy said she would conduct the class for us. Snorkeling was so much fun but much harder than I anticipated. I found it hard to breathe through the snorkel but eventually kind of got the hang of it. I also learned that day I am not a great swimmer. Much to my embarrassment, I had to use the life jacket to stay afloat and not feel like I was sinking. I couldn’t open my eyes because the sun was so bright and my eyes are very sensitive to light, and the sunscreen was stinging them, too. Our guide took pity on me and tossed me a towel to rub my eyes, and that felt better. I wish I knew how to put on sunscreen without it getting in my eyes. I don’t think snorkeling will be a career choice for me in the future. The life jacket made me look like a nerd, but it made me feel safer.
Being out in the middle of the ocean is terrifying and thrilling all at the same time. Our guide, who had only one arm, by the way, was way cool! He was the best swimmer I had ever seen. He dived down to the bottom of the reef and pointed out a large lobster hiding in a rock. He also spotted a small shark that darted out so fast it was all a blur to me. Diving was hard work and really works up an appetite. We decided to find a nice spot for a picnic.
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