Catching up again!

Sorry for the quiet days - the last day in Chan Chich we did a variety of activities including a truck trip up to the escarpment - a huge rock promontory that rises nearly 1,000 feet above the jungle floor and allows a view for hundreds of miles in most directions. The road is bumpy and climbs steeply, and Mr. Grant enjoys roaring up the last hill, cresting it and stopping just short of what looks like the “edge of the world” - a cheap thrill for him and a heart-stopper for the kids (albeit a safe one). Earlier in the day, while I rode horses with mom and Samantha, he took them on a jungle romp and allowed them to “discover” Punta de Cacao, a semi-excavated Maya site deep in the jungle that features a good example of “looters’ trenches”. When the privateers found Belize they quickly learned the architectural patterns of the Maya - in any given village, which structure would have been the temple (in which the treasure would have been stored). Most of the jade artifacts were spirited out of Belize this way in the 1800s, which is a shame. Though there is a jade museum in Belize City, I fear most of the native people’s legacy is spread throughout Europe’s private collectors.
We ended our last night with a big bonfire by the barn and a local BBQ cooked by Silvia and her friends. Some good reggaeton music, great food, lots of company (all of the teachers, Barry & Dixie Bowen and their kids Zander and family and Courtney, on break from Georgetown, with 2 friends. Gilly asked if it were possible that there were more starts here, and it sure looks like it. Though we can see all of our familiar constellations, they have many more neighbors than we are used to seeing because of the light pollution at home. Let’s just say Orion is wearing way more than just a belt and sword down here. The kids packed it in reasonably early and we got up muy temprano for our longest travel day yet …. All the way to the beach.