Our first day in Belize

June 15, 2013

            Yesterday we arrived at Monkey Bay Sanctuary after two flights. We went through customs easily and got to rest when we reached Monkey Bay. The dinner was amazing; we are all trying new foods. This morning we all woke up early because of the bird sounds and natural light. Before we left this morning, we met a boy and a girl who were helping their mother and family sell the crafts they had made. There were many beautiful towns that we passed on our hour bus ride to visit Xunantunich (Mayan Ruins). Once we got to the ruins, we hiked to the entrance of the park and had a local tour guide take us around. There was an incredible temple only available to priests and royalty until the empire disappeared around 1000 A.D.; the temple was over 130 feet tall. We climbed to the top of the temple by stairs that surrounded it. When we got there the views were astonishing; we could see into Guatemala. The height of the temple scared some people who decided to head back down the side of the temple. As we were coming down the side, we arrived at a grassy landing and saw a group of school kids dancing to a boom box. After we got back to the bus, we drove to a restaurant called Benny’s. The food was delicious too! Many of us got chicken fried rice. During the afternoon, we did teamwork games at Monkey Bay Sanctuary. Mr. Wallace claimed victory over the pick up soccer game that went on, while the rest of us were playing basketball or lying in hammocks. We learned about temperaments and the uses of our left and rights sides of our brains.

Grace Hall & Meredith Whitman