Belize: Day Four (Caryn Delong)

Happy New Year from Belize!  Today we left Belize City and headed to Placencia.  We left the hotel around 8 a.m. to begin our four hour journey.   On the way, we passed through many different towns, saw some beautiful sites, and learned a little more about Belize.  Our first stop for gas was in Belmopan.  Belmopan is the capital of Belize which houses the University of Belize as well as all legislative buildings.  While stopped there we all bought drinks and snacks.  I tried the sweet potato chips today for the first time and must admit they are my new favorite Belizean snack!  Shortly after leaving Belmopan, we headed down the Hummingbird Highway; this highway is said to be one of the most beautiful highways in the world and after experiening it myself, I have to agree (at least its one of the most beautiful I've seen so far in my life).  The highway was filled with breathtaking forestry and farms.  We saw many houses along the way, both big and small, but one thing I noticed was that I did not see any markets; this made me wonder if the people in these towns barter their own goods amongst each other or if they must travel into town to get their food and supplies.  Further down the Hummingbird Highway we passed through Belize's citrus country.  Citrus country was filled with all types of citrus trees and we learned the Belize grows one of the sweetest oranges in the world. I personally am more of a fan of sour oranges, but would still love to try these oranges!

Finally we arrived in Placencia! Immediately we knew this was a different town than Belize City.  Large mansions covered the land upon entering the city.  Further into town however, the houses got smaller and you felt like you were back to that simple Belizean lifestyle.  Everyone waved as we passed in the bus and I immediately felt comfort.  Our hotel is quaint and right on the water; has a very tropical feel to it.  After arriving and eating lunch, we got into our groups to begin working on our presentations for Stella Maris School.  We were instructed to make a ten minute presentation  that can then be demonstrated to as well as practiced by the teachers.  Although many of us had issues connecting to the internet, we all got a good start on our presentations and the excitement to begin helping these children is definitely growing stronger! I cannot wait to see what these next few days in Placencia hold for us before finally arriving at Stella Maris!