~Tobacco Caye~

After Pelican Beach, Tobacco Caye was a shock! It is most definitely different. After a gorgeous boat ride, we arrived here. The water is so clear and the reef is perfect. We arrived and explored. Then we snorkeled. As said before, it is beautiful!! Then, we found the puppy. There is the cutest little puppy. We love it almost as much as we loved Tobacco Caye!

Arrival in Tobacco Caye

Dear Parents,
Erin Haber called from Tobacco Caye this evening to say the students are enjoying the sun and sand. They are learning to snorkel in the shallow waters of the caye before going to the Smithsonian research institute tomorrow. They had a wonderful service project at Dangriga and are enjoying their last few days before coming home!
Ross Wehner

Learning about Beach Erosion

Alice, owner of Pelican Beach Resort, gives us talk about beach erosion. She explains the differenct techniques they've tried to keep the sand from washing away. Alice thinks that the increased erosion in the past 10 years is not due to the water table rising, but the mining of limestone up the river. She feels that the loose sediments washed down stream come at a much larger quantity and get pushed out to sea instead of stopping to rest at the beach. The girls enjoyed the hammock setting on the dock for a classroom and thanked Alice for her presentation.

Getting the plants.

Do you think I can get this in my suitcase?

Mrs. Noronha, Ashley, and Meagan go to the local nursery to select the plants we need for the school with the assistance of Mrs. Cyantano. It was a tropical wonderland!

A hard and rewarding day.

Where do we put the palms Roy? --Roy Cyantano is a national icon for Belize. Not only is he the most famous writer in Belize, his knowledge about plants was greatly appreciated.

Today we finished our mural with the students from Christ the King School and planted 12 trees about the property; some for shade others for erosion protection. A beautiful ceremony at the end of the day commemorated the relationship and the gratitude from both sides. We won't forget what happened here.

Noronhawomen takes a fall!! Apparently she has forgotten how to use a hammock. Gasp.

Annabel teaches ballet.Mrs. Latham and Mrs. Noronha met the principal of Christ the King School. On our first day we had walls prepped with plaster and we painted them in the afternoon. Today we will be planting a palm tree to represent each of us on the beach in front of the school and donate the rest of our supplies. Mrs. Latham and Mrs. Noronha are going to try to also purchase enough ceiling fans for all of the classrooms. This will be a fun day wrapping up the paint and the beach restoration. project.

Having a Blast!

Dance off in Belize!!

The Five Star Resort at the Pine Ridge Mountains

We got the suite with a bucket for our toilet paper! Fancy!

Xununtunich

The ancient ruins at Xununtunich unfortunately suffered some damage during last weeks earthquake in Honduras. There are cracks in the upper ceremonial chambers and visitors are no longer allowed to climb to the very top. However, we still were high enough to see Guatemala.

Annabel, Elise, and Kenzie at the ruins.

Getting to know the locals.

Meeting the local Belizians.

Sounds in the night!

Listen to the howler monkey greeting us at the zoo at night!

A good time at the market on our way to Pine Ridge

Thanks to Ashley, the girls have enjoyed an amazing watermelon that she picked up at the local market!!!

The earth-shattering news may not have made it to the States yet, but Lana Latham actually leaped off a 35-foot ledge into a lagoon yesterday! Twice! There were many witnesses on hand to verify this fact! Pictures coming soon!

Arrived in Dangriga

Hello North Carolina!

We have arrived in Dangriga where we were graciously greeted with juice and luxurious ice cubes! We have traveled from ancient times at the Myain ruins, away from our rustic abode in the Pine Ridge Mountains, to modern civilization at Pelican Beach Resort in Dangriga. Mrs. Latham is please that she won't have to worry about a mouse scurrying across her face tonight!

The Belize Bunch is doing well and everyone back home should be proud of them. Their spirits are amazing as we hiked through desert-like heat and soothed our souls in the coolness of the waterfalls. We ARE happy campers!

Phylis has graciously invited us to her house for dinner tonight. So we are off for another adventure.

Welcome to Belize!

Wow - it is different down here. The airport, even, is a shock. It was tiny, and REALLY hot. There were also some...umm..nice (sarcastic) customs people. But I still can't believe that we had to wait 30 minutes for customs. Anywho, we then met Juan and Erin, they are so cool! Juan is a VERY tolerant guy who drives us everywhere. Erin is our World Leadership School dude/person/girl. She is incredible. So after a long bus ride, we arrived at Monkey Bay. We had a quick tour and then loaded into our rooms. Then it was dinner time. We had some incredible tacos - WOW. After that we went to the Belize Zoo, a beastly place. One of the first things we did was see snakes but we didn't only see them - Mrs. N, McKenzie, Mary, Ashlyn, Maggie, Megan, Mandy, Annabel, and Elise held the boa constrictor. We also saw an ocelot, a river otter, a jaguar, tapirs, a cougar, hollar monkey, and lots of pickerels, two harpy eagles, several margays, crocodiles, deer, a puma, and two beautiful honey bears! It was so cool! Then by the time we were finished it was time for bed! To be continue tomorrow when we arrive in Dangriga.

~ Belize Bunch

First night in Belize!

Hello parents!

There is very limited access here at Monkey Bay for the kids to update the blog. We are going to work on it today, but then we'll be at Mtn Pine Ridge tonight and tomorrow night, so we will call the office to have them post a blog tonight.

Everything is great! Girls are great, Mechelle and Lana are great. We had an AWESOME night tour of the zoo last night and are headed out in just a few minutes to go to the ATM caves.

~Erin Haber (WLS Instructor)

Burlington Day School Students are in Belize!!!

Hello!

We just wanted to let you know that the Burlington Day School students have safely arrived in Belize. They are on their way to the Monkey Bay Sanctuary where they will be enjoying their first taste of Belizean food for dinner. Tonight they will be doing a night tour of the Belize zoo.

The faculty and students from Burlington Day School will be posting on the blog as much as possible but if you have any questions please don't hestitate to call the office at 303-679-3412.

~Erin